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 29, 2002

Book of the Week: Schwa World Operations Manual. Probably one of the most twisted books to come out of Chronicle Books, it appears to be somewhat out of print--but if you can find it, grab it. It has all the information you would ever need to dominate the hearts and minds of a planet. With large friendly text exhorting you to "KEEP REALITY SECRET" and mottos like "ALONE CANNOT YOU IT RESIST", it's no wonder that the Schwa Corporation has been easily taking over entire planes of reality. Get a franchise now and avoid the rush.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Goldfish by Brian Michael Bendis. Well, I thought about recommending Jinx, but I figured we'd deal with Mr. Fish first. Goldfish is a grifter who comes back with a mission to find his son--but the problem is his ex is the coldest she-bitch of a goat's gizzard you've ever laid eyes upon. And she happens to be in charge of the city's underworld. And, as you might expect, it just goes downhill from there. If you like his work on stuff like Ulty Spidey, you'll dig the hell out of this crime graphic novel. We nod to it and grin like madmen.

DVD of the Week: Robotech: The Macross Saga - Legacy Collection 1. Okay, so what can you do? Sure it was the 80's. But damn, I had a soft spot for this series: characters actually died and stayed dead, the first animated interracial relationship I had ever seen, and just some kickass mecha. This set also comes with the "pilot" of the series which has seldom been seen--complete with insightful commentary by producer Carl Macek.

Off the Beaten Path VHS of the Week: Sunset Boulevard. With the passing of Billy Wilder, we have to recommend this scathingly entertaining expose of the cult of celebrity that is still highly relevant today. William Holden is fantastic as a drunken writer, Erich von Stroheim is a former star director reduced to playing butler for his ex-wife, and Gloria Swanson is the queen of a dead era of film. Ponder the deeper context of the stars' roles when compared to their real lives, and keep your eyes peeled for the stars in the card party scene. Oh, and avoid the dead monkey, ok?

CD of the Week: The Grand Pecking Order by Oysterhead. Holy crow, when I heard that Primus' Les Claypool, Phish's Trey Anastasio and The Police's Stewart Copeland were forming a band together, my first thought was--hmmm, all the bandnames start with P. And then my second thought was a shudder of terror at what these three mad geniuses would create. And I was not disappointed. Three musical whackos that you would never picture together actual turn out a manic soundscape that's not mind-destroying to listen to. Especially check out the disturbed "Shadow of a Man."

Beverage of the Week: Love Bus Brew by Sobe. You like chocolate? I mean...SWEET chocolate? Okay, cool, because this drink will be your new best friend. You'll forget about the vitamins and ginseng and whatnot that's in it, because the sugar content will knock you flat on your arse. Then you'll get back up and shake that groove thang. More liquid sleep from those whackjobs at Sobe.

Hobby of the Week: Tree Climbing. Not like climbing the magnolia tree in your front yard. Try a sequoia. The members of Tree Climbers International take this stuff seriously. How would you like to sleep 200 feet off the ground sometime? This website gives you pictures of the basics for those people who want to leave the ground and play around with pulleys and whatnot. Good luck and godspeed.