Is Originality Dying in Hollywood? Ticket sales would certainly suggest that originality is on it's deathbed. From the New York Times: That originality is a dying value on the blockbuster end of the movie business is no secret. In the last five years, only about 20 percent of the films with more than $200 million in domestic ticket sales were purely original in concept, rather than a sequel or an adaptation of some pre-existing material like "The Da Vinci Code." Read the complete article here.

TOMS Shoes' mission is simple. Buy a pair of shoes from their store, and they will donate a pair of matching shoes to a child in need. Founder Blake Mycoskie spent time in South America and saw the field workers wearing alpargatos, a durable traditional slip-on shoe. He was inspired to come back to the States and found TOMS, bringing the shoes to Americans with fashion sense and bringing more shoes to those in need worldwide. TOMS come in a wide array of colors and designs. They look good, you feel good, children get shoes, and everybody wins.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has a plan to clean up rap music. Simmons is proposing that labels and broadcasters should ban three racial and sexist epithets from radio versions of songs. From the International Herald Tribune: Expressing concern about the "growing public outrage" over the use of such words in rap lyrics, Simmons said the three words (which we will not list here) should be considered "extreme curse words." "We recommend (they're) always out," Simmons, the pioneering entrepreneur who made millions of dollars as he helped shape hip-hop culture, said in an interview Monday. "This is a first step. It's a clear message and a consistency that we want the industry to accept for more corporate social responsibility." But the suggestion has not been met without its critics, and some are not pleased with who exactly is receiving the blame. Writer Joan Morgan said "It says let's take the responsibility away from people creating the content and put it back on the corporations," said Morgan. Give us your thoughts. Where do the lines of responsibility fall between the companies and the artists?

Here's an interesting article by Mark Driscoll over at The Church Report. Mark talks about the growing trend in our culture of 'singleness'. He writes: "Is your church family-friendly? Does your church provide family programming? Does your church defend family values? If so, you may be guaranteeing yourself a perilous future. According to recently released 2005 Census Bureau data, for the first time ever the traditional marriage is no longer the preferred living arrangement in the majority of U.S. households."