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?

October 17, 2002

Book of the Week: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton. In a world where Vampires are legal, and protected by law, someone's killing them. The vampires turn to Anita Blake, re-animator and consultant to the police for occult matters...she's going to help them whether she likes it or not. Adventuresome and erotic, it's a nicely done yarn.

Graphic Novel of the Week: Harlequin Valentine by Neil Gaiman & John Bolton. Another piece of prose by The Neil that has been translated into graphic form by the extremely righteous John Bolton. It's a tale old as time: boy loves girl, girl doesn't know boy exists, boy affixes boy's heart to girl's door with a hat pin. You know how it goes. And the whimsy just gets odder from there.

Comic Book of the Week: Daredevil #38 by Brian Michael Bendis & Manuel Gutierrez. I never was a big fan of hornhead. Kevin Smith couldn't get me excited about him either. But Bendis is another story. He's turned the Kingpin into a King Pincushion, had Matt Murdock outed on the front page, and now has Murdock involved in a lawsuit with the people who published the story on him. This ish sees him using a cell phone in an extremely novel way to gather information for another hero in trouble. Now that Winick's leaving, Bendis is the last of the consistently good big guns in the Marvel stable.

DVD of the Week: Hanky Panky. I miss these two so much. There's never been another Gilda and Gene Wilder has been sorely absent from the silver screen in recent years. This comedy that puts Wilder in the wrong place at the wrong time and thus caught up in conspiracies and whackiness he can't control is another example of how incredible these two were together. Not to mention it's directed by Sidney Poitier!

CD of the Week: Amelie Original Soundtrack by Yann Tiersen. After seeing the film, we knew this had to be grabbed. So much of the mood of this film is embedded in its music, and it's a soundtrack that bears repeated listenings, not just in the context of trying to relive the movie--but because it's just great music all on its own. Switching from light-hearted to haunting and back again, it's just good stuff.

Snack of the Week: Truffle Bars by Seattle Chocolate. This chocolate is so very decadent. Each bar comes in four quarters, which are each almost too much for a single serving, they’re so rich. Perfect with a cup of coffee or a huge glass of milk. Be warned--this is serious chocolate. Our favorite, naturally, is the espresso kind.

Thing That Threatens the Morality of Cobb County, Georgia School Children...of the Week: Twinkies by Hostess. Teachers there complain: "These phallic, flesh covered cakes are filled with white cream. How can I concentrate on getting my students to graduate high school with the Georgia standard fifth grade education when these things are being eaten out of kids' lunch sacks? They must be banned! Because they make me feel all funny and squirmy."