Summer 2007 in pop culture

With September approaching and schools starting up again, I thought it might be fun to go back and reflect on the summer of 2007. Much has happened in the past two and a half months. Let's start with the "Winners of Summer 2007":

* Books - J.K. Rowling. The 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series was released on July 21st. A gazillion books were sold in the first 24 hours, breaking every record imaginable. Thank you J.K. for turning a new generation back into the love of reading!

* Sports - Barry Bonds. On August 7th, he hit his 756th homerun and surpassed the record from Hank Aaron. I had the opportunity to attend 2 Giants games this summer and one cannot deny the electricity and frenzy that erupted every time Bonds stepped up to bat. Yeah, the dude probably took steroids, which bums me out. But that's another whole discussion entirely.

* Music - Amy Winehouse for "Rehab" (girl, that beehive is distracting, but to each his own I guess) Gwen Stefani for "Sweet Escape" (love Akon's "woohoos"!), Maroon 5 for "Makes Me Wonder (guys, you don't have to drop the "f-bomb" for your song to be a hit), and Fergie for "Big Girls Don't Cry" (were you channeling Blossom in your video with the suspenders and funky hat?) Ultimate winner in music this summer: Rihanna with her song "Umbrella" (ella, ella, eh, eh, eh).

* Technology - Steve Jobs. Oh Steve. Your iPhone was a hit. On June 29th, people who had been dreaming and salivating for months finally got their hands on one. I mean, who wouldn't want one! Don't pay any attention to the $600 price or the $200 required phone activation fee...just look at how cool it is! Music, phone, camera, internet, email....the next version will also be able to make fries. Sweet!

* Television - High School Musical 2. On Friday August 17th, tweens squealed with delight as their favorite students from East High returned for some more singing and dancing. I am a big fan of HSM because just like Harry Potter...it is turning a new generation onto musicals. People are calling it the "Grease" of this generation, but without the smoking, drinking, or sex. Oh and just in case anyone was wondering (which I'm sure you weren't) Zac Efron is the It Hearthrob right now. A study showed that if you are a female in jr. high or high school, there is a 1 in 3 chance you will have a picture of Zac Efron in your locker. (Random question: who does these surveys?!) That's 33% of ladies 11-18 who are ga-ga over him. And I'm sure it will continue to rise. With HSM2 and Hairspray this summer, he's gotta be pretty stoked.

* Movies - here is Sarah's Top 10 Countdown of summer 2007 movies:

10) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Most disappointing movie ever. Not even my boyz Johnny and Orlando could salvage that mess. I am just going to pretend this one was never made and the original Pirates was the first and only one. And when Pirates 3 comes out on DVD, I would appreciate it if they would rename it "Pirates of the Caribbean: At Crap's End". No false advertising there. Thank you.

9) Shrek 3 - also a huge bummer. I really enjoyed the second one so I had high hopes. Oh well.

8) Spider-Man 3 - what is with all the 3 movies sucking?!?

7) Transformers - plot was lame but the special effects rocked. Saw this at the Drive-In with my college students. We made jokes at the dialogue which was fun. Shia LaBeouf is the man. He is joining Zac Efron as dudes on the rise in Hollywood.

6) Ratatouille - cute Pixar flick.

5) Ocean's Thirteen - pure fun.

4) Becoming Jane - I am a huge Jane Austen fan, so I knew I'd love this one. Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy) plays Jane's inspiration of Mr. Darcy in P&P.

3) The Bourne Ultimatum - my fav out of the 3. Finally, a threequel that didn't leave me cringing. On the contrary, I was so into it! Very good movie!

2) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - the fifth book made into a movie. I didn't really like the 4th one, so this one redeemed the movies for me. Little Harry's all grown up and kissing girls! Oo-la-la! I loved the girl they chose for Luna. Spot on.

1) HAIRSPRAY!! My favorite movie of the summer. Amazing cast, rockin' soundtrack, and a great message. Here is one of my favorite scenes: 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland. The height of racial segregation. Tracy Turnblad, our heroine, wants to show people she can dance. You go, girl!

So, there you have it. Summer 2007 in pop culture. Feel free to add anything that I missed. Farewell, summer....you've been a good one.