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?

July 11, 2002

Book of the Week: Neuromancer by William Gibson. While cyberpunk has become cliché, this book still rocks. Seedy, dirty, and subversive, this is the World of the Future seen from its dark underbelly. It still hasn’t lost its narrative power to make computers sexy and cool instead of the beige boxes we have now. A good read after a week of corporate cubicle Purgatory.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell. Ever read a detective story set in Heaven? Yeah, me neither. Not until recently, anyway. Take that novel concept, put it in the hands of The Neil. Don't get overly excited yet--you'll need the energy. Wait until you see the artwork by Russell, which takes a great prose story and makes it a kickass graphic novelette. Between this and the version of Harlequin Valentine with art by John Bolton, I say adapt all Neil's fiction if the end result will be consistently this good.

DVD of the Week: I, Claudius. I’m sorry, but this show kicks Gladiator in the ass. We get to see the history of the Roman imperial family in all its insane, violent, and depraved pageantry through the eyes of Claudius, who stammers and limps to the throne by being cleverer than he seems. While it doesn’t have CGI or a Hollywood budget, it more than compensates with skillful writing and actors such as Derek Jacobi and Sian Phillips at the top of their game.

CD of the Week: Elysian Fields' Queen of the Meadow. A group that deserves much more notoriety, Elysian Fields generally uses minor chords, but mix in some major chords just to surprise you. Blending nihilism, folklore, and brilliant lyrically strains, Elysian Fields is never quite what you expect--moving and exciting by turns. Especially enjoyable here are "Fright Night" and "Tides of the Moon."

Off the Beaten Path VHS of the Week: Hardware. Long before Dylan McDermott found himself a big TV star with the success of The Practice, he was a wanderer in a post-apocalyptic dystopia who finds a piece of junk out in the irradiated deserts. He brings it back to his girlfriend's house, unaware that the thing is a military-issue android killing machine, which starts to rebuild itself in the poor girl's lounge. A pinnacle of the "creature loose in the house" subgenre with unexpected results.

Snack of the Week: Chocolate Covered Popcorn. Every time we tell people about this, we get various versions of "Ewwww.” But when you combine rich sweet chocolate and pour it over salty crunchy popcorn, you get two tastes that taste great together. In fact, it’s so good, it worth the popcorn kernels you'll get stuck in your teeth.

Pastime of the Week: Random Punchlines in Public. There's nothing quite like stepping off an elevator with some friends and into the crowd of people waiting to get on while you let loose with a jokeless punchline. Your friends all laugh like it's the funniest shite they've ever heard, and everyone begins to wonder about you and your crew. Practice your timing with these: "And the nun said, 'Dammit, not another shrunken head!", "To which the doctor replied, 'That explains the Barbie doll on the X-ray, Chuck.'" and a long-standing fave, "Lettuce."