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Notables: I guess most of America thought that the cure to feeling about as low as the Dow Jones was to go see a movie that features talking dogs. I would say the numbers are high on this one because of the kiddos, but seeing as I'm doing this roundup a little late, I already know that this one took the top spot again this weekend. Box office trackers are saying that many adults are coming to the flick sans kids. Really? Are we that depressed?

Eagle Eye came in second, while a little indie flick - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - snagged the third spot. Check out this interesting article about what one critic noticed about the movie.

The Richard Gere weepie hung in there in the fourth spot, and the western continued its comeback of sorts (kick started by last year's 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James but the Coward Robert Ford) with Appaloosa. I must admit I find the resurrection of the western to be a curious thing. Is it saying something about the current state of things? I don't know. I'm mulling that one over myself.

One additional note concerning Fireproof. CNN.com recently featured an article about how this little film is the hit of the fall. Check it out.

Top Five Books (according to USA Today research)
1. Brisingr, by Christopher Paolini
2. The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks
3. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
4. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
5. The Shack, by William P. Young

Notables: Not much to report here. The top spot and the bottom three spots remained the same. The only newbie was The Lucky One, a new romantic story from the always-popular Nicholas Sparks. Sparks happened to write a little book called Nights in Rodanthe. I would suspect, then, that The Lucky One will one day be a major motion picture - starring Richard Gere.

Top Five Albums
1. Paper Trail, T.I.
2. Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson
3. Something Else, Robin Thicke
4. Covers, James Taylor
5. Death Magnetic, Metallica

Notables: Wow. Except for Metallica (who dropped from first to fifth), this list is completely different from last week. I think we've officially hit the craziness of fall music releases. T.I. is in the heyday of his career - which is good for him, because everything else seems to be a bit bad for him. Jennifer Hudson, the American-idol who could, comes in second. Hudson's story is a fascinating one - especially when you place it alongside the folks who actually won American Idol.

As for the rest, Robin Thicke is melting the hearts of ladies once again. Robin is the son of this guy who played TV dad to this guy who stars in this movie. What does all of that have to do with anything? Nothing. I just happen to think Robin Thicke is a bit boring to talk about. And last - but certainly not least - James Taylor, a true great, has given us another album to cherish (although, as the title clearly points out, these aren't originals).

Top Singles
1. "Live Your Life," T.I.
2. "Whatever You Like," T.I.
3. "So What," Pink
4. "Disturbia," Rihanna
5. "Let It Rock," Kevin Rudolf (featuring Lil' Wayne)

Notables: T.I. clearly has a spot at the cool kids' table. I don't know if I'm reading too much into the lyrics of "Live Your Life," but it seems like he's trying to show the slow downfall of an arrogant kid. If he's not, well?he still is.

Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. paul krugman
2. kashkari
3. columbus day
4. post office holidays
5. usps holidays

Notables: Because I'm a little late on this roundup, I decided to do the top five searches so far today (October 13, 2008). Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences today because of his stellar work on international trade and economic geography. Maybe he can help us figure out how to fix the current economic crisis.

Speaking of trying to fix the economic crisis, Treasury Department Assistant Secretary Neel Kashkari has been labeled the U.S. "bailout czar." Good luck, Kashkari. (Please note that I did not make any lame puns using the "Kash" part of his name. You're welcome.)

All this talk of economic crisis reminds me to remind you about the free sermon we have up on the main site. Check it out. It doesn't have much to say about our needing to turn to Krugman or Kashkari.

As for items 3?5, today is Columbus Day, and it seems everyone wants to know whether or not they can mail something. Well, can they? No. They cannot. The post office is closed today.