Notables: It's been a little while, eh? Well, it's good to be back. Marley & Me is hauling in cash by the truckloads. People love dogs, so people will love movies about dogs. Just ask the makers of Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Bolt.

I don't know much about Bedtime Stories. It sort of looks like an attempt at being the next generation's Princess Bride.

My wife and I will be going to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this weekend, so maybe I'll have more to say next week. I liked the way the folks at CT Movies closed their review:

In his song, "Start with the Ending," folk crooner David Wilcox laments that life's best comes at the beginning when we do not have the maturity to consciously enjoy it, while the worst part arrives at the end when we can feel it with all the sharp keenness of experience. If only we could "start with the ending, get it out of the way," he sings. The metaphor is peculiarly haunting. We may not live our lives backward, but Benjamin's story - a whimsical yearning for love and connection, a desire to hold onto that which is necessarily transitory, an acceptance that we are not in control but guided by forces beyond ourselves - is acutely universal.

Valkyrie is a World War II flick about a plot to assassinate Hitler. I don't have much to say about this one, but I am intrigued by something related to World War II films - specifically films about the Holocaust. We will soon see the release of Defiance, a movie about a group of Jews who fought back against the Nazi regime. In a provocative article that's currently running on Time magazine's website, Richard Corliss, along with other fellow critics, wonders if we've gone overboard with Holocaust movies. Consider this staggering statistic from the article: "Since the early 1990s, when Steven Spielberg was preparing his Oscar-winning Schindler's List, there have been 170 Holocaust movies. (The Internet Movie Database lists 429 titles on the subject.)" Did you know that? Anyway, a debate is raging about this issue, and Corliss looks at it from a thoughtful angle. The act of remembering is important. Remembering appropriately is even more important. This could raise some really cool conversations.

Finally, Jim Carrey has returned to the world of comedy with Yes Man. Which is a remake of Liar, Liar. Oh wait - it's not? Oh. A sequel? No? Oh. Well, it's making a lot of money, so who can blame Carrey and the gang?

Top Five Books (according to USA Today research)
1. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
2. Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer
3. Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
4. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
5. The Shack, by William P. Young

Notables: It's been weeks since we did a roundup of the weekly "top fives" (remember that the last one before Christmas was actually a roundup of 2008 as a whole). Despite the time away, guess what? Stephenie Meyer still holds four of the top five spots. I would be pulling my hair out if it weren't for my having stumbled upon this little article that ran in the UK. I really wish I hadn't missed this one when it first came out. Look - I know I've sent you to some other material on this whole phenomenon, but you really should check this article out. I would encourage you to read it in its entirety, but here are a few highlights:

There is no pre-marital sex in Meyer's books but sex - or the lack of it - is much of what they are about. The pages swim with teenage hormones. Edward's battle to restrain himself from sinking his canines into Bella's neck is an obvious metaphor for the importance of sexual abstinence.

That is hardly surprising perhaps from a Mormon who attended a college where pre-marital sex is a violation of the college honour code. "My high school, college experience, a lot of it was about restraint." She is appalled by the sexual promiscuity of many teenagers. "As a mother of three boys I just think that there are so many ways you can screw up your life when you are too young to understand what you are doing. I would hope my sons are smart enough to see that coming and make the right choices, so they don't get themselves in a situation where their future is on the line. It makes me sad. I see so many teenagers who have so much promise and they screw it up. Kids don't get to be young any more, it kills me. It's good to be a kid for a while."

Interesting stuff. Seeing as one of the central themes of her novels is teenage sexual restraint, it's safe to say that Meyer is using fiction to do what is often done through purity banquets or seminars or youth rallies at churches. She's actually using the fictionalized sexual tension between a teenage girl and a vampire to teach girls and boys - directly? indirectly? - to say "no" to premarital sex. And she offers quite an apologetic for saying "no" to premarital sex in her story: if Bella (the teenage girl) chooses to have sex with Edward (the vampire) he might actually be overwhelmed by his animalistic feelings and?kill her. Imagine that: teenage sex that comes with very real, very painful consequences (Bella dies and poor Edward sits around for all of eternity, weeping over his transgressions).

As the article continues, things continue to get interesting. It does seem that Meyer has used these novels to air out some of the tensions she's faced as a Mormon. Listen to this quote:

[Meyer] says that some people are surprised that a Mormon is writing vampire novels, but they generally haven't read her. "When you think about vampire novels, there is a lot of gruesomeness, a lot of sexuality, a lot of darkness, blood obsession. When you read my books it is completely different. Really, the whole vampirism thing is a metaphor for feeling trapped in a certain role.

What do you suppose we do with that doorway into the mind of Meyer? Anyone want to think out loud? I'll see you in the comments section. Meyer - and this whole vampire phenomenon - just got interesting all over again?

Top Five Albums
1. Fearless, Taylor Swift
2. I Am?Sasha Fierce, Beyonce
3. 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West
1. Twilight Movie Soundtrack, Various Artists
5. Dark Horse, Nickelback

Notables: We saw all of these before the holiday break, so there's not much to report. Taylor Swift had quite a 2008. In fact, she was one of the celebrities invited by Dick Clark and the gang to ring in 2009 at midnight. That's not too shabby. Then again, they also invited Lionel Richie. Does that sort of water down the honor? If you're wondering who she is and what she sings about, you'll get a chance to see her on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

Top Singles
1. "Just Dance," Lady GaGa (featuring Colby O'Donis)
2. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," Beyonce
3. "Live Your Life," T.I. (featuring Rihanna)
4. "Love Story," Taylor Swift
5. "Heartless," Kanye West

Notables: These were all hanging around before the break, too. Nothing to talk about.

Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1. john 3 16
2. mary lynn rajskub
3. windows 7 beta download
4. all inclusive vacations
5. ana ortiz

Notables: You read that right. Right now (it will change as the day progresses, of course) the top search item on Google is John 3:16. Why? Because of last night's BCS Championship football game between the Florida Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners. Florida's quarterback, Tim Tebow, came out to play the game "John 3:16" written on his eye black. There are two things that interest me about this one. First of all, according to the article, Tebow did this because he "is the son of Christian missionaries and, with the opportunity to play before a national TV audience of millions and millions, he wanted to do his part in saving some souls." Again, that's what the article says. I can only assume they've got their facts straight (which is a big assumption when it comes to today's journalism). If they are correct about his reasoning? Well, you might think that's a great, great thing, while others might say, "Really? A textual reference on eye black is going to get someone sitting in front of their television set to cry out, 'What must I do to be saved?'" As you wonder which camp you are in, I suppose you do have to consider that something about it worked. It's the number one search item right now on Google. Which brings me to my second point: Isn't it awfully telling that people have to look up John 3:16 on Google to even know what it says? I know we're largely illiterate these days on all things biblical, but have we reached a new low? It used to be that you could bank on people knowing at least a few verses, a few biblical narratives. John 3:16 was one of them. It has, after all, been broadcast at pretty much every professional game - often on poster boards and often by a guy wearing a rainbow wig. Anyway, just a thought.

Mary Lynn Rajskub plays one of the most beloved characters on TV - the often-exasperated Chloe on Fox's 24. Why is she in the news after six seasons of the hit show? This weekend sees the season premiere of 24's seventh season. That's right: Jack Bauer is back. Anyone want to keep a tally of how many people he kills/beats up/tortures? Keep an extra pen handy. The first one will probably run out of ink. But he's effective, right? That makes it all right, right?

Windows 7 Beta Download is a new program from Microsoft. Poor Windows. Someone has already written a piece on all the reasons to ignore their new toy.

As for "all-inclusive vacations," people are probably looking for them because they might very well be the best route in these troubled times. Consolidate all the bills - flight, lodging, and food - into one affordable price. Maybe it's a wise investment in troubles times.

And finally, Ana Ortiz. She's a television star (Ugly Betty). She's pregnant. She's probably hoping the paparazzi leave her alone. But she's probably not going to be left alone. Which is sad - and as I've pointed out before, creepy.