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Notables: I guess this article from Time magazine is right: the Chihuahua is Hollywood's new top dog. As I noted in the last roundup, surely the baffling success of Beverly Hills Chihuahua has to do with 1) it being a kid flick, and 2) the public's desire for mindless escapism in the midst of an economic crisis and an increasingly nasty presidential election. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this will win an Oscar for Best Picture. Anyone out there brave enough not only to admit they've seen it, but even defend its indisputable value in today's world?

A horror movie took the second spot. We're going to see a few more like this one in the weeks ahead. As you well know, Halloween is just around the corner. Still, I've been intrigued for quite some time by the roaring comeback of horror movies. Sure, the genre will never quite go away. It's sort of like the cinematic version of Barry Manilow. But I think there's something pretty deep at play. I couldn't help but think of this older article, in which one horror director, George Romero, says: "There may be a bit more acceptance of horror because of what's going on in the world today. When people feel threatened, they either go to pure entertainment or to something that might strike a chord with the fears they have in real life." In other words, when times get tough, we go to the movies to have our fears matched and scared out of us by zombies, ghosts, and whatever else goes bump in the night. Then again, sometimes we just want to go see a bunch of cute dogs have a conversation.

The only other newbie this week was Body of Lies. For all the political rhetoric about how the public despises the war in Iraq, movies that speak out about the subject certainly don't do all that well. For more on this fact, be sure to check out this article, too. Perhaps the public is trying to tell Hollywood that the entertainment business is preaching to the choir. Or maybe - notice our running theme here - the public doesn't quite view such films as escapism. Who wants to be chased by the news when going to the movies?

So here's your nugget of insight this week - one I'm sure you've long known, but can be effectively punctuated by cinematic evidence: your listeners are looking for escapism right now. Perhaps gentle theological realism will help.

A few additional things to keep your eye on: Last Friday saw the release of a new movie about the early years of Billy Graham, creatively entitled Billy: The Early Years. Franklin Graham didn't like it. CT Movies didn't care much for it. But maybe you or someone you know will. Just know that it's out there lurking about, looking for an audience. On a completely different note, Oliver Stone's caustic look at our current president is out today: W. I'm pretty sure this one was rushed along for a pre-election run. I'm trying to remember: has someone ever made and released a movie - not a documentary, a movie - about a standing president? This seems a bit unprecedented. The closest I can think of is Primary Colors, a film that was clearly about Bill Clinton, but not as in-your-face obvious as W. Anyway, I've got some thoughts on this one, but I'll wait until next week.

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

Notables: I wish there was more to talk about here, but there's not. This is awfully similar to last week's report, save one exception: The Lucky One swapped spots with with Brisinger. Boring! However, in an effort to keep things fresh, let's talk about William P. Young for a moment. He was at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta last week, and he shared some pretty interesting things. Marshall Shelley and Skye Jethani, chief editor and managing editor of Leadership journal, took notes on Out of Ur. Check out the entries from October 9. I think you'll find some very interesting stuff there...

Top Five Albums
1. Paper Trail, T.I.
2. Death Magnetic, Metallica
3. Appeal to Reason, Rise Against
4. Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson
5. Dig Out Your Soul, Oasis

Notables: This list hasn't changed much either. T. I. is still on top. Metallica moved from fifth to second. Let's pause there for a second. Metallica's goal for their newest album was to be "louder, faster, and stronger." Here's the problem: fans are saying the album is too loud. Now how weird is that - metal fans insisting that the music is too loud? Music insiders say the iPod is to blame. In order to overcome the digital limitations, Metallica mixed everything high. Fans are signing an on-line petition for the band to remix the album so they can catch all the little details they are missing. Ah - the details we lose in a digital world. An interesting thought.

Not much else of interest here - just a few new ones from Oasis and Rise Against, and Hudson was on the list last week. I think we're safe to move along.

Top Singles
1. "Womanizer," Britney Spears
2. "Whatever You Like," T.I.
3. "Live Your Life," T.I.
4. "So What," Pink
5. "Hot N Cold," Katy Perry

Notables: T.I. is still on everyone's iPods. It's sort of funny to see that Britney is, too. She's had some real ups and downs, eh? She has a new album coming out in early December. Maybe she actually has a comeback in her. I looked up the lyrics to her new single. It was what I expected: lots of repetition of a thought that probably only needed to be said once. The only thing I noted was that it's in line with some of the songs we've been keeping an eye on by Katy Perry, Pink, and Rihanna. "Womanizer" is about a woman standing up for herself and living life the way she wants. In this case, Britney insists she's no longer going to settle for some narcissistic, lustful womanizer. Katy just wants to kiss another girl (and like it), Pink wants to fight, and so does Rihanna. Anyway, nothing else to report here. I just continue to be intrigued by the recent string of songs from women artists that scream, "I'm fed up, and I'm not going to take it anymore."

Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. uconnect jwu
2. gordon liddy
3. alfred e smith
4. uconnect.jwu.edu
5. coupons for online savings

Notables: I think the first and fourth items concern a school, but they might also be some sort of web gathering spot for videos and the like. I'm not sure. Someone was searching for it early this morning, and after hitting a few walls, I had no desire to chase it down.

Gordon Liddy is to McCain, what William Ayers is to Obama. This article will help explain the whole mess. The crucial issue being raised by both sides is that associations matter. They're right on a big picture level. I'm not so sure they are in these examples. I'll leave that to you. Who we hang with says a lot about who we are - a lesson well learned by us all.

As for Alfred E. Smith, a political roast is hosted in honor of the famed 1920s New York governor to raise money for causes close to the heart of the Catholic Church. This year featured Obama and McCain. You can read some of their barbs here. It certainly seems like it had a different tone than the debates. That third one was pretty testy.

Last but not least: of course people are looking for coupons. Who doesn't love coupons - especially when the economy is bad! And there are coupons to be found.

Boy, the economy is really freaking us out right now, isn't it?