TobyMac on ‘The View’ (ABC)

How often is it that you can call any decidedly Christian rock song a "chart-topper?" Probably not since the mid-’90s, when singers like Amy Grant or LeAnn Rimes could combine their theology with an insane vocal range.

But against all odds, it's happened again:

Today, the genre of Christian music has hit another peak, with The New York Times heralding in a new era of C-rock, thanks to a performance of TobyMac's "Eye on It" (Forefront), which hit the top Billboard numbers this week at 69,000 sales. Why is now such a good time for Christian rock? It might have something to do with how bad its listeners feel about ripping the song from bittorrent sites instead of buying:

Depending on whether you see the music industry’s glass as half-empty or half-full, this either points to a long-running genre that has built a healthy audience or simply done a better job holding on while most other music sales have tanked. According to Billboard, 27 percent of TobyMac’s sales came from Christian retailers and bookstores.

And in case you wondered what you were missing from TobyMac, here you go!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/352691

The Brooklyn Nets' parked billboard (Twitter)

Deron Williams is a hot commodity right now: The NBA player almost single-handedly turned around the New Jersey Nets' subpar season when he scored a personal and team-breaking record of 57 points off the Charlotte Bobcats in March. (Not to mention that this was the NBA's season record high as well.) Comparisons to Kobe Bryant were inevitable, since he's the only player to beat the Bobcats with more points than Mr. Williams.

Obviously, Mikhail Prokhorov would really like it if Mr. Williams--who on Saturday is set to become a free agent--would relocate with his teammates to Brooklyn. Rumor has it he's willing to offer the point guard a $100 million contract for the honor of having Mr. Williams play at Barclays.

And that doesn't even include the perks...like a GIANT MOBILE BIRTHDAY BILLBOARD, which Deron Williams' wife tweeted a picture of when she opened her front door this morning and found this outside:

And if that doesn't work, Jay-Z will pop out of a giant birthday cake and sing "New York State of Mind."

American Atheists' latest signage (YouTube)

"You know it’s a myth," reads the signs, which cost $30,000 each to post in heavily Muslim-and-Hasidic areas. (They read in Arabic and Hebrew respectively.) "And you have a choice."

Tru.TV went around trying to gauge the reactions of the Williamsburg community, who pretty much refused to respond to the shock tactic.

This is part of a new campaign by the American Atheists, spearheaded by the group's president, David Silverman. The myth billboard was originally turned down in Williamsburg but has somehow found a way back into the neighborhood.

Electile Dysfunction advertisement by Kenneth Cole (Facebook)

Well, then you're in for a big treat this morning. Designer Kenneth Cole is premiering the first politically-aimed billboard in his "Where Do You Stand?" campaign.

Mr. Cole, known as much for his aggressive activism as he is for his modern take on the Oxford, has been stirring the pot with his controversial WDYS billboards since they lauched in September, but so far the campaign has focused mainly on hot-button issues rather than attacking politics straight on. (For example: his Right to Choose poster, which isn't asking you the question of "Where Do You Stand?" so much as telling you that there is one correct way to answer this question.)

As Mr. Cole told The Huffington Post:

"We've often said what you stand for is more important than what you stand in but this primary process is leading us to believe otherwise. Reality TV has never been this good. As we ask ourselves on wheredoyoustand.com, 'With the whole world watching, are we really proud of our electoral process?'"

Again...not so much asking as presuming, but at least Mr. Cole has his heart in the right place.

And hey, if you don't like his billboards, you can always make your own! Seriously: Mr. Cole is currently holding a contest on his Facebook page, asking people to come up with the next caption for his rage against the machine-style smackdown. Winner gets their slogan on a billboard! We'd love to see something that's a little more inspirational than "Electile Dysfunction", which is sort of defeatist in nature and doesn't rally our spirits so much as make us want to call out sick from work so we can stand naked in front of a mirror and cry.

Wodka Vodka: the anti-Semitic spirit of choice!

If you hadn't had the pleasure of checking out Wodka Vodka's billboard alluding to the stereotype of Jewish dogs being really cheap, you've missed your chance. The ad has been torn down and put in a "crumpled heap near the road."

But don't worry...Wodka has so many more mascots to offend you!

Trying to get in touch with Wodka's PR, we went to the product's website, where we were directed to email "New Dehli Neil" (an Indian man dressed as a snake charmer):

And Sumo Cho (who is apparently in charge of sales):

Or their "Black Russian" campaign, which thankfully has not run over NYC yet:

(Photo via Wodka Vodka's Twitter)