Each Thursday (or Friday, since some weeks we seem to be running behind on everything), Needcoffee.com's staff of whackos will wrack our brains to give you interesting and new things to do over the weekend. Books, movies, whatever. We'll throw them out, you do with them what you will. And hey...if you have something you want to recommend--whatever it is--drop us a line.

Incidentally, we've provided links where we can for you to buy the stuff or find out more if you're interested, courtesy of those Amazon types. Hey, come on, we can't be totally selfless in this, can we?

January 11, 2002

Book of the Week: Olivia by Ian Falconer. We stumbled across this children's book purely by accident, drawn by the stylized rendition of a plucky, bipedal pig on the cover. Then we were hooked when we turned the page and saw the titular character singing from a book entitled "40 Very Loud Songs." A perfect children's book with just the right twist for audiences of all ages. Gotta love it.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Angry Christ Comix by Joseph Michael Linsner. The best of Linsner's work from the series Cry for Dawn, it's not for the faint of heart, but it's for people who are tired of horror stories in comics that are...well, tired. Also recommended for pick up are Linsner's Drama and Eleven or One one-shots.

DVD of the Week: Toy Story: Ultimate Toy Box. You want a recommendation for a weekend DVD? This DVD will take you all weekend to get through--because the only thing better than a Pixar set is a Criterion one, amigos. Both movies are here with hilarious commentary from Team Pixar, and a third disc gives you more information than you can shake one of those little green aliens at. Must have.

Off the Beaten Path VHS of the Week: Fortress. It's not available on DVD, but from what I can tell it's in print on VHS. This movie's so good I'd tell you to buy it on tape if you can find it. Starring Rachel Ward, it's about a town in the outback of Australia whose one schoolroom full of children and their teacher (Ward) get kidnapped and taken into the wilderness to be held for ransom. Intense and underappreciated. Watch it.

CD of the Week: Post Orgasmic Chill by Skunk Anansie. Ah, the vocal stylings of Anansie's lead singer, Skin. How do describe it? She can sing beautifully, seductively...and within moments turn her voice into a Ginsu knife. It can slice straight through your soul and still cut this tomato. Hard, destructive and at times upliftingly depressing.

Beverage of the Week: Gypsy Cold Care Tea. We're in that time of year when the weather keeps changing and messing with your head. Literally. But the last thing you want to do is get sick, because when you get sick, you usually spend a lot of time in bed. And when you spend a lot of time in bed--you have a tendency to fall asleep. Just say no. Vitamins and hot tea, baby, and this is a good one to try.