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 22, 2002

Book of the Week: Rack, Rope and Red-Hot Pincers: A History of Torture and Its Instruments by Geoffrey Abbott. The name says it all for this one, folks. A comprehensive look at the various ways we have of making people talk, throughout the centuries. Compiled by a former Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Tower of London, it chronicles everything from the familiar thumbscrews and rack to the really obscure torments like the Cave of Roses (a euphemistic name for a Swedish torture involving a small cavern swarming with poisonous snakes). Bedside reading, naturally.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Queen and Country, Vol. 1 by Greg Rucka & Steve Rolston. Tara Chace is a minder, a spy, working for the British government. This is not the glamorous job you would think. No Halle Berry hanging on your arm. And nobody looks like Vin Diesel. Chace is sent in to carry out a job--an assassination trip to Kosovo. Matters get convoluted when the mission isn't as sanctioned as first believed. And then there's getting out of the country. Oh yeah, it's gonna be a bad day. Nice series, characters that breathe--is good.

DVD of the Week: Simpsons: Complete Second Season. Ah, one of the most consistently humorous shows in the history of television--animated or otherwise. You know the content's good, but then Fox has to go and dump the features about hip deep: commentary, videos, interviews, early drawings...it's downright impressive. So why wait for the things to cycle about in syndication--if it's on your shelf, it will bring the funny whenever you deem it necessary.

CD of the Week: The Works of Harry Nilsson. For those of you who don't know who Harry Nilsson is, here's a hint at how influential he was: The Beatles cited him as their favorite artist. If you want to find out more about Harry, check out this article. BMG Japan has just re-released the entirety of Harry's RCA catalog--that's fourteen discs, five of which have never been released on CD in the States. Not only do these CDs contain some truly amazing music (with some very nice re-mastering), but they're loaded with bonus tracks galore. The fourteen discs in question are: Pandemonium Shadow Show (the album The Beatles fell in love with); Aerial Ballet; Nilsson Sings Newman (a collaboration with Randy Newman, consisting entirely of Newman's songs); Harry; The Point!; Aerial Pandemonium Ballet; Nilsson Schmilsson (Harry's only hit album which also contains the song "Jump into the Fire," used during the climax of Goodfellas); Son of Schmilsson; A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night; Pussy Cats (which was produced by John Lennon); Sandman; That's the Way it Is; Duit On Mon Dei; and Knnillssonn. The remastered versions and whatnot are imports, so shop around. Tobias has literally not stopped listening to these discs since they arrived. He admonishes you to pick up the Greatest Hits disc if nothing else.

Beverage of the Week: Dr. Pepper: Red Fusion. It took 117 years to create a new version of Dr. Pepper, and the result is not half bad. Not as sweet as the original, but with added fruit flavors, Red Fusion is not only tasty, but actually quenches your thirst. Besides, it has caffeine and a snappy red color...so you can stay awake and provoke bulls. Righteous.

Snack of the Week: Garrett Popcorn. This is the most amazing and addictive popcorn in the world. Although they’re based in Chicago, they will ship their yummy kernels to wherever you are. Our favorite is the Caramel Crisp & Cheese Corn combo (sounds weird, but just take our word for it). And as a bonus, the tins that they come in are huge and quite attractive for holding other stuff after you’ve snarfed down all the nifty popcorn.

Epithet of the Week: Rat Bastard. A co-worker of Cosette's uses this one often. A nice mix of filth and humor--it’s a great term, and quite effective for relieving stress or frustration. The plural form comes in handy equally well. Try it next time someone cuts you off in traffic and see if it doesn’t make you feel better.