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 19, 2002

Book of the Week: Book of Mercy by Leonard Cohen. A collection of fifty psalms from the man who brought you such timeless dreary classic songs as "Everybody Knows" and "The Future", it's the voice of a man struggling with both his creator and himself. Unfortunately out of print these days, if you can find the thing, pick it up. Read in short doses, though, this is Cohen we're talking about.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Goddess by Garth Ennis & Phil Winslade. Lots of people know Ennis as the twisted guy who brought you the brilliance that was Preacher. But this little eight-issue mini-series was a bit of trip as well. Rosie Nolan has just found she has the ability to tap into a heretofore unknown power--and uses it to split Scotland away from the rest of England. Things just get crazier from there. Beautifully painted by Phil Winslade, it's finally collected in a trade. Rock. (Not sure where you can buy it yet, though, for some reason.)

DVD of the Week: Top Secret!. Now that we've got this and Real Genius on DVD, you can have that classic Kilmer double feature night at your house at last. Luckily, this has more in the feature department than RG, including commentary and cut scenes. So rejoice in one of the last good all-out parodies to hit the cinema before Leslie Nielsen and Mel Brooks had to go and ruin things for everybody.

CD of the Week: Keb' Mo's Slow Down. Like the blues? Like acoustic rock? Try Keb' Mo', and not just for his adorable, big, goofy grin on the cover. Country-blues touched with R&B, soul, and a bit of rock, Keb' Mo's songs are refreshing, moving, and interesting. In the tradition of Muddy Waters or Taj Mahal, you'll especially love "Henry", the beautiful and simple "I'm Telling You Now," and the title track. There's an import, also, with two bonus tracks.

Snack of the Week: XTZ Herbal Energy Mints. Wow, these suckers are strong. In more ways than one. Not only do they back a breath-freshening punch (or at least a good hard jab), they also wield guarana, gotu kola, kola nut, ginkgo biloba, ginseng..."and a partridge in a pear tree...!" Oh, we consume them often.

Potentially Lethal Animal of the Week: Stonefish. Stonefish as in looks like a stone, right? Or also as in could kill you stone dead. With spines along their back that have nifty venom stored within, they're just waiting for you to step on them as they lay on the bottom. The stuff can kill within a couple of hours. The nasty little beasties are found mostly around Australia, though, so before I start getting letters from mothers in New Jersey--Australia is that big island on the other side of the globe. No, really.