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?
March 21, 2003 - Special St. Patrick's Day Version
Yeah, we know, that was Monday...but do the Recommendations early? Good God, man, we can barely get them done on
time. And besides, if there's one thing the Irish do well (and we know from close friends that there are many), it's
throw a party. So your hardcore are still partying this weekend. Now, granted, some of these don't exactly ring out
Irish, but it's not like they have a comic book out this week set in Dublin. "Marvel brings you...ULTIMATE
DUBLINERS." Yeah, right. Right.
Book of the Week:
by James Joyce. Like we could pick anything else. You want to know where the word "Joycean" got coined? Come
on in, brother. A labyrinthine, overwhelming, brilliant bludgeon of a novel--it's twenty-four hours in the life of Dublin.
It's where Bloomsday comes from, where a whole lot of literary references originate, and further, where you get prose like
this: "Stephen, greeting, then all amort, followed a lubber jester, a wellkempt head, newbarbered, out of the vaulted
cell into a shattering daylight of no thoughts." It's so good, I'm hemmorrhaging.
Supplment to the Book of the Week:
by Don Gifford. And when I am bleeding out the eyes, thanks to Jim Joyce, what's the one thing I can use when
performing self-triage? This. For God's sake, man, don't try to enter the world of Ulysses without it. It's about
the only thing that will keep your bearings. And it's about as long as the book itself, which is terrifying.
Reference Book of the Week:
by Bernard Share. Gobberloony. Odjous. Clinkers. Allied Irish. Trousered. All of these words are more
can be found within these pages--quite useful, I must say. Those five are just a few of my favorites. The latter one, for
example, means "drunk". Use it a sentence? The book does. "I had a dream once that I was out on the batter with Alex
Higgins, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, George Best and the late Richard Burton. Completely trousered we were..." Nice.
Comic Book of the Week:Judge Dredd vs. Aliens #1 by Andy Diggle, John
Wagner & Henry Flint. Okay, I admit it freely. There is no way in hell to tie this in with the Irish. Unless one of the
creative team is Irish, but I couldn't find out in time--the 2000 AD
website doesn't exactly have extensive bios with places of birth and whatnot. What I can tell you, though, is that this
book is just wicked.
Dredd uncovers a plot to use the Aliens in pit-fights (WTF???) and, as you might imagine, everything goes right to hell.
Drokk, indeed.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon. If you're smart, then your favorite Irish comic book character is...well, surely
not Shamrock. Hell, no. It's Cassidy, baby. That's right: the hard-drinking, punkish, Irish vampire who was the coolest
guy ever...until, of course, the entire series went south. But at this point, Volume 3, it's still rocking and rolling.
One of the best Vertigo series ever.
DVD of the Week:
. Speaking of rocking and rolling, how about a nice R&B group from Dublin? I think the phrase you're looking
for is, "Yes, have some." One of Alan Parker's most enjoyable, watchable films (compared with Angela's Ashes? No
contest), it comes complete with a killer soundtrack and a great story of a musical rise and fall. Sweet indeed.
CD of the Week:
. I know, I know. People talk about Irish music, you think of Chieftains. It's almost old hat. But you know what?
There's a reason why. They're musical gods, okay? But if you're not familiar, this is a great intro CD.
And if you've never seen them live, you should do so immediately.
Beverage of the Week:Baileys Irish Cream.
Our Bailey has nothing to do with this. But he wishes he did.
Book of the Week:
by James Joyce. Like we could pick anything else. You want to know where the word "Joycean" got coined? Come
on in, brother. A labyrinthine, overwhelming, brilliant bludgeon of a novel--it's twenty-four hours in the life of Dublin.
It's where Bloomsday comes from, where a whole lot of literary references originate, and further, where you get prose like
this: "Stephen, greeting, then all amort, followed a lubber jester, a wellkempt head, newbarbered, out of the vaulted
cell into a shattering daylight of no thoughts." It's so good, I'm hemmorrhaging.
Beverage of the Week:
Baileys Irish Cream.
Our Bailey has nothing to do with this. But he wishes he did.