Every Friday, the Preaching Today Blog takes a look at the week that was - what people are watching, reading, listening to, and learning about?
Top Five Movies
1. Burn After Reading (R)
2. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (PG-13)
3. Righteous Kill (R)
5. The Women (PG-13)
5. The House Bunny (PG-13)
Notables: I've seen a lot of critics point out that the Coen brothers often follow up a heavier movie with something a little lighter. Case in point: last year they released the brilliant-but-brutal adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, while just last weekend they released the screwball comedy Burn After Reading. I can see their point, but (1) such a tried-and-true rhythm really isn't the case when you look at the Coen catalogue in order, and (2) virtually every one of their films is dark, regardless of their being pegged either a drama or a comedy. When you get right down to it, every Coen film is heavy - it's just that some are heavier than others or some are carried along by lighter characters. All their films are designed to make you think - either with your mouth agape in horror or the corners of your mouth turned upward while you think, Should I be laughing at this? There is no doubt that No Country did what both McCarthy and the Coens wanted it to do: horrify you into a reflective mood about good and evil, choice and fate. So what do they hope you think about after watching their newest flick? Some think it's about nothing - it's simply filled with swirling plot devices to make you giggle at a bunch of narcissistic morons. But this critic thinks the film is one long, dark-but-silly look at "three favorite American (and Hollywood) pastimes: money, sex, and self." I'd say that's something.
As for the others, Tyler Perry has rolled out another hit. His is an interesting story. Check it out. Righteous Kill is by two actors who people have wanted to team up since 1978 (Al Pacino, Robert De Niro). You can read about it here. It sounds like the ever-popular anti-hero tale. Which, by the way, is a theme I've started to tackle in an article for the mother site. I'll post it here, too. I think our obsession with the antihero is endlessly fascinating. And last but not least, there's not one male on the screen in The Women. Seriously - none. It's by the ladies, for the ladies.
Top Five Books (according to USA Today research)
1. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
2. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Shack, by William P. Young
4. Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
5. Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer
Notables: Have you all heard of this Stephenie Meyer? She seems to be quite popular. I kid! I seriously have nothing else to say about this phenomenon. Check out some of the old roundups for my thoughts (as in, the last twenty roundups). And I've only got one thing to say about The Shack - something somewhat unrelated. The author of The Shack, William P. Young, is going to be at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta (October 8?10). I'm going to be there, too. I would love to get together with some of you to talk about life, ministry, preaching, and how best we can help you in your kingdom efforts. Shoot me an e-mail and let me know if you're going to be around, and maybe we can work something out.
Top Five Albums
1. Death Magnetic, Metallica
2. The Recession, Young Jeezy
3. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
4. Do You Know, Jessica Simpson
5. All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot
Notables: There's not much here to get excited about, though I suppose Metallica fans will disagree with my assessment. It's been five years since their last album, after all, and Death Magnetic is supposed to be their return to heavy metal glory. The new album includes such songs as: "The Day That Never Comes," "My Apocalypse," "Cyanide," and "The Judas Kiss." If you've been reading the roundups as of late, you know that the Billboard charts have seen quite a bevy of depressing, heavy metal albums. It seems to me that we are all feeling pretty hopeless right now. Young Jeezy's album certainly isn't providing any escapism ("We're in a recession, too!"). The only sunny hope we have is Jessica Simpson's attempt at crossing over into country music. But does it really make us feel any better to know that she's desperate, too?
Top Singles
1. "So What," Pink
2. "Whatever You Like," T.I.
3. "Disturbia," Rihanna
4. "Paper Airplanes," M.I.A.
5. "Swagga Like Us," Jay-Z and T.I. (featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne)
Notables: The only new tune is "Swagga Like Us." It's a song about humility, about considering others better than one's self, about the dangers of pride. Oh wait. No. No it's not.
I do find it interesting that our top albums and top singles are in complete disagreement with each other in tone and theme. While the albums shows a people walking with a limp, our top singles say we ought to walk with a swagger. While our albums show we feel defeated, Pink is singing rather defiantly.
Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. isearch
2. talk like a pirate day 2008
3. ryder cup
4. lisa sparks
5. cal poly Pomona
Notables: The folks at Intelius have designed a new web-based program called "isearch," a "people search" function that lets you dig up sensitive information on just about anyone (from money issues to legal issues to who knows what else). I think this article is right: though this might help you flag questionable people when you're looking for a babysitter, it only helps lead us further and further into extreme privacy invasion. Stalkers must be rejoicing over our lunacy. At what point will we realize we've gone too far? And on a more spiritual level, I wonder if this only helps us figure out who our neighbor will or will not be? Tools like this are quite helpful in building up walls, in writing others off, in pharisaical behavior.
When you woke up this morning, did you feel a certain call in your life to be different, to stand out, to switch things up and do something bold? You should have. Because today is "Talk Like a Pirate Day". If you want suggestions for how to celebrate this glorious day, click here. Among other things, the author suggests you "growl and scowl often," "mutter unintelligibly unless yelling," "be as loud as humanly possible," and my personal favorite: "Procure one dead stuffed parrot and sew feet to right shoulder of 2nd hand store jacket."
The Ryder Cup is an international pro golf event.
I'm not sure who Lisa Sparks is. I did a little searching, came up empty, and given the darker corners of the Internet, I'm giving up the search.
Cal Poly Pomona is in reference to a female college student who has been missing for 11 days. Authorities say she had long feared she was being stalked by someone - which brings us full circle to item #1 on our list.
Posted by Brian Lowery at 9:00 AM on September 18, 2008
