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 24, 2003
Book of the Week:
by Graham Phillips. What in the world does the book of Exodus, a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, a Greek island,
and a goddess of destruction have to do with each other? Well, Phillips has some ideas. Atlantis of legend may have been
an actual island that fell prey to a bit of volcanic destruction, and he presents his case as to how this all ties in. Does
it hold up? Well, you'll have to read it for yourself and find out--but whether you buy into it or not, it's still an
entertaining read.
Audiobook of the Week:
by Stephen Hawking, read by Simon Prebble. Hawking has forgotten more about...well, everything...than most
people know in the entire lives. The man is a freaking genius--and c'mon, how many physicists have a Simpsons
action figure? In this book, he attempts to take mind-numbingly complex ideas--like the origin of all there is, for
example--and break it down to where people of only reasonable intelligence can understand the stuff. And more times than
not, he succeeds. And with this audiobook set from Bantam, you can be learning about the cosmos while the other people
stuck in traffic are just getting pissed at the world.
Graphic Novel of the Week:
by Max Allan Collins & Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Fans of the original graphic novel or
the film will appreciate this first of three
appendices to the story of the O'Sullivan family: apparently six months passed while father and son were on the road knocking
over banks, and these stories will fill in the gaps. Collins is not a bad storyteller at all, so the whole thing's worth
the ride.
Comic Book of The Week:Avengers/JLA #2
by Kurt Busiek & George Perez. Okay, let's face it. You throw that many characters, battles, objects and machinations into
one place and it's going to be a mess. But damn, it's a glorious mess. Busiek's geek touches will be legendary
for generations (Scarlet Witch tapping into Chaos in the DC Universe, Superman vs. Thor) and Perez has never produced finer
work. This series is the best crossover event--bar none, people.
Sicko Animation of the Week:
. I...um. Hmm. Ever have one of those things that you think is hilarious and yet, if you were to admit in
public that you think they're twisted and brilliant, your friends and family would lock you away somewhere under all manner
of heavy sedation? Well, that's the risk I'm taking with this--the series from Mondo Media whose first two volumes are out
and will make you laugh all the way to the exorcist. It's like Shirt Tales on crystal meth. Just...wonderfully
wrong.
DVD Boxed Set of the Week:
. Like this is a surprise. What is surprising, though--and better than we initially expected (we would have
been happy with bare bones on these flicks, to be truthful)--is the fact that all three movies look damn good in Paramount's
boxed set. And the fourth disc gives you some nice, extensive bits on the making of the entire trilogy. So hey, even if
the fourth movie crashes and burns, we finally got the originals on DVD. We can now cope.
DVD of the Week:
. MGM's special edition of this Brothers Coen classic may not be as stacked as it could be--but the commentary
we do have from cinematographer Roger A. Deakins is quite good, you get interview time with both Coens and McDormand, and
there's also a photo gallery. It's worthy and the fan of the film (which should be everybody) will want to spend some
quality time with this release. Of course, I would have included the pilot they made to make this a series, but that's
just because I'm a twisted individual.
CD of the Week:
by Alex de Grassi. A collection of de Grassi's interps of folk songs, it's a nice release from 33rd
Street that hits solidly when it hits (an almost unrecognizably jaunty "Swing Low Sweet Chariot") and misses wide
when it misses (a whacked out "Oh Susanna"). But there's much more good than bad, and regardless, at least the man has the balls
to inject new life into some timeless classics.
CD Boxed Set of the Week:
. Is the definitive collection? Nah. It's missing some of the more contemporary artists that I personally would
have included--but is it still impressive? Hell yes. Five discs and 115 tracks of goodness, everything from Tampa Red &
Georgia Tom's "It's Tight Like That" to Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" to Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy." Haven't
seen the series so I can't speak for it, but its soundtrack is amazing. If you've got a fan of the blues whose education
across time periods is not complete, this monstrosity from Hip-O is a great way to cross-pollenate.
Book of the Week:
by Graham Phillips. What in the world does the book of Exodus, a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, a Greek island,
and a goddess of destruction have to do with each other? Well, Phillips has some ideas. Atlantis of legend may have been
an actual island that fell prey to a bit of volcanic destruction, and he presents his case as to how this all ties in. Does
it hold up? Well, you'll have to read it for yourself and find out--but whether you buy into it or not, it's still an
entertaining read.
Comic Book of The Week:
Avengers/JLA #2
by Kurt Busiek & George Perez. Okay, let's face it. You throw that many characters, battles, objects and machinations into
one place and it's going to be a mess. But damn, it's a glorious mess. Busiek's geek touches will be legendary
for generations (Scarlet Witch tapping into Chaos in the DC Universe, Superman vs. Thor) and Perez has never produced finer
work. This series is the best crossover event--bar none, people.
