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?
April 4, 2003
Book of the Week:
by Stewart P. Evans & Keith Skinner. We're no fan of true crime, mind you. However, true crime of another
century might get us interested. And of course, anybody who's read Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's masterpiece,
From Hell would want more of the story. This volume is
ginormous, clocking in at 750 pages, and comes complete with photos (including the "Dear Boss" letter) along with a ton of
documentation from the time. Nice reference material.
Audiobook of the Week:
by David Liss, read by Graeme Malcolm. When you consider that this book concerns Europe right before the demand
for coffee really caught on (we're talking 1659 here), you won't bother to ask yourself why we found it of interest. But
it's of interest to you too, since it concerns intrigue and scads of money changing hands, all centered around a Jewish
trader on the Amsterdam stock exchange. All he wants to do is make a decent score so he can be Somebody again--but we all
know it's never that easy. Especially when caffeine is involved. Malcolm's rendition of this abridged text is quite as
well--we dig people with accents.
Comic Book of the Week:
Ultimate Spider-Man #39 by
Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley. Wasn't it just the other day that I was having a discussion with Cat about what makes
Spidey tick? Yes, I believe it was--we were talking about how crazed it was that Spidey could think he had to be Spidey
all the time. And as has happened before with Bendis, following my saying such things, he comes out and blows me
out of the water on that very subject. In a very different issue, Peter Parker has a nice little convo with Nick Fury
as well as Dr. Curt Connors. One of the best issues of this title in several months--and that's saying something.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Tony Bedard & Paul Pelletier. One of the best of the CrossGen cadre of books. Take characters from all
over the CrossGen universe, some with sigils, some without, and then abduct them into a completely different universe.
Said alternate universe is peopled by angry, pissed off baddies called the Negation. They want to see what makes the
denizens of the CG Universe tick...and if that takes dissection, so be it. Filled with carnage, people getting perforated,
and lots of BOHICA (no, we won't tell you what it means), it's a helluva good sci-fi read.
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. A nicely done two-disc set from the History Channel, it covers the length and breadth of a U.S. President who,
unfortunately, some people only know from Arsenic and Old Lace.
He was everything from a cowboy to a Rough Rider to a police commish, so you know the story can't be boring. Richard
Dreyfuss plays the voice of Teddy. It's good and it's educational; after watching reality TV shows all week, you know you
need some of that, come on.
DVD of the Week:
. Sometimes your cinematic eye just screams out "character study"! And, well, you must obey. If you want to
see three actresses acting their respective arses off, then check out this release from MGM. You get Parker Posey, Fairuza
Balk & Kyra Sedgwick all in their own little mini-films within the feature, dealing with life as they know it. Rebecca
Miller (known to some as Mrs. Daniel
Day-Lewis) does an admirable job, and the flick is eminently watchable.
CD of the Week:
. Tis the season for remastering. While we wait for some new format to completely blow us all away (SACD,
DVD Audio, who knows what will be the next Betamax), it's time to go back to the catalog for some goodness. And if
blues albums all followed the example of this one from MCA, we'd be in heaven. Not only do you get the original album (which features
Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman & Charlie Watts--along with Ringo Starr under a pseudonym), but you get bonus tracks
out the wazoo--a whole second disc of alternate takes and different mixes. So easy to just put in the CD player, hit
full repeat and just go. Nicely done.
Zine of the Week:
The Urban Pantheist. It's an excellent
zine devoted to urban wildlife encounters. It includes essays, photos, drawings, and just about anything that shows
the wealth of life to be found in cities. The Spring 2002 edition has an article on crows, why people don't look up
in cities, and more. For more information, contact Jef Taylor.