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?

February 1, 2002

Book of the Week: On Writing by Stephen King. It'll never hold the place in our hearts reserved for the number one tome about writing of all time, Zen and the Art... by Uncle Ray. But still, this book still manages to impart not only wisdom about the craft as well as what went into making King the master of the craft that we all know him to be. A must for King fans and required reading for writers.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr & Brian Bolland. Sure, it's not the greatest graphic novel out there, but honestly--when King Arthur shows back up to save Albion from an extraterrestrial invasion? When Galahad is a samurai with a laser sword? Come on, people, that's some good eatin'. Bolland artwork too--and you know that had to take forever.

DVD of the Week: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Let's go completely goofball for once, shall we? If you've never seen this flick before then shame on you. Featuring a cast of hundreds of name actors (or at least it sure feels like hundreds)--everybody from Spencer Tracy to The Three Stooges--it was ostensibly the inspiration for the recent Rat Race, and the type of actor free-for-all that's been sorely lacking in most cinema of late. Fun.

Off the Beaten Path VHS of the Week: The Brave Little Toaster. Amazingly, not available on DVD. I remember one Sunday afternoon I flipped around the channels and found this film starting. Deceptively looking like a straight cel animated film for kids, it's really actually quite entertaining. With voice talent such as Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman, it's cute, but it won't make you break out in a rash. Cool.

CD of the Week: Joshua Judges Ruth by Lyle Lovett. I don't know why Lyle is constantly referenced as being in the "country" genre. Sure, he's got some twang to his style and he's big on Texas, but...I don't know, that seems too simplistic a description. This album is the perfect in-road to Lovett's music if you've never been there before, a kickass balance of slow, sentimental tunes, choir-backed gospel shout-outs and musings upon delightfully abusive women.

New Hobby of the Week: Urban Exploration. Obviously not for the weak-willed or the faint of heart, and quite possibly not for those who wish to avoid breaking the law. But whether you just want to read about it or maybe, against our better judgement, get involved, we've linked you to the Infiltration website. Go places you probably shouldn't and live to write about it. How odd.