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?
August 21, 2003
Book of the Week:
by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean. Behold! The prophecy has been fulfilled! Many, many moons ago, I found myself
with the distinct honor of hearing The Neil give a reading of two works. One was the first third of
Coraline, the other was this followup to
the extremely clever The Day I Swapped My Dad for 2 Goldfish. McKean was working on the artwork, though I think he
was delayed by, you know, being one of those mad artistic geniuses and making more short films or music or some such
irritating and brilliant nonsense. Regardless, the book is out and it's even better than I remember. Lucy's family is in denial about
the fact that there are wolves living in the walls of their house. This is bad, you see, because when the wolves finally
do come out of the walls, then it'll all be over. What will be over exactly? I'm not sure, but you should probably ask
the Queen of Melanesia.
Audiobook of the Week:
by Derek Lundy, read by Richard Easton. The author apparently had a great-great-uncle. This great uncle,
Benjamin, is such a good sport that he allowed himself to become the center of attention in this book, in which he signs
on board the Beara Head, a square-rigged sailing vessel, and takes a voyage around Cape Horn. Lundy uses this as
an excuse to recreate what life would have been on such a ship, blending fiction and fact about life on the sea, making for
an interesting listen--all of which is delivered capably by Easton. A very educational bit for when you're stuck in
traffic.
Graphic Novel of the Week:Mystic, Vol. 2: The Demon Queen
by Ron Marz & Brandon Peterson. The Guild Masters, after Giselle smacked them down in the last trade, decide to unleash a
powerful enemy that they were barely able to contain the last time she got out. Well, they were never renowned for their
wise decision making, were they? Marz continues to evolution of this interesting character and the artwork by Peterson
rocks as well. Lovers of fantasy and magic will want to snag this one for the weekend and Crossgen Metaplot types will
be interested in more information regarding The First.
Comic Book of The Week:Y: The Last Man #14
by Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra. As two of the probably three men left in the entire universe hurdle towards the surface
of the planet, Yorick's caught between the government agent who's supposed to protect him and a squad of Israeli soldiers
determined to bring him back to their homeland. Suffice to say, the shit hits the fan. Vaughan has this uncanny ability
to infuriate me at the end of every issue--because every single one's a cliffhanger for me to ponder for thirty days. What
a brilliant sadist. If you're not reading this series, you should get on board immediately: it's the best Vertigo book
going.
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. One thing you can say for Fox: they do their animated series right. That's why on this boxed set, the fan
of the show can find nineteen episodes spread across four discs--with audio commentary on all of them, hot damn.
In addition to that, you get deleted scenes on fifteen of the episodes, animatics, storyboards and other madness from the
man who brought you The Simpsons. If you need a good chuckle, we recommend a weekend spent in the 31st Century.
DVD of the Week:
. We dig the living hell out of zombie movies--but nobody makes zombie movies...like Romero makes zombie
movies. Or made, rather. We're still waiting for Twilight of the Dead, George, goddammit! Anyway, while you, like
the rest of us, are waiting in vain for that particular sequel, pig out on this kickass special edition from Anchor Bay.
You get two audio commentaries, a new documentary with practically everyone, a behind-the-scenes docu, an audio interview
with Richard Liberty (Dr. Logan), and a slew of stills, photos and art. Saaaaaah. 1985--the last banner year of
zombies, people. Relive it this weekend. And hey--choke on em.
CD of the Week:
by Chuck Berry. Nicely done compilation of Berry doing exactly what the album says he is, playing the blues.
If you want to see why this collection stands out from other Berry CDs that you've heard and/or own, just give a listen to
"House of Blue Lights" and "I Just Want to Make Love to You."
Magazine of the Week:
. Have we mentioned we love this mag? For the techgeek in all of us, get the latest and the greatest--especially
this month, where they predict that Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age will soon be upon us--not to mention giving us
some words from Stephenson and how a robot can help you find sunken treasure. Sweet.
Book of the Week:
by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean. Behold! The prophecy has been fulfilled! Many, many moons ago, I found myself
with the distinct honor of hearing The Neil give a reading of two works. One was the first third of
Coraline, the other was this followup to
the extremely clever The Day I Swapped My Dad for 2 Goldfish. McKean was working on the artwork, though I think he
was delayed by, you know, being one of those mad artistic geniuses and making more short films or music or some such
irritating and brilliant nonsense. Regardless, the book is out and it's even better than I remember. Lucy's family is in denial about
the fact that there are wolves living in the walls of their house. This is bad, you see, because when the wolves finally
do come out of the walls, then it'll all be over. What will be over exactly? I'm not sure, but you should probably ask
the Queen of Melanesia.
