Mike's Picks of the Week:

David Gunn's Death's Head series - Book one came out last year while the sequel hits stands two weeks ago. Take a part cyborg, seven foot tall post human soldier with a wisecracking sidekick that happens to be his gun and a knife that he stores inside himself and you've got the makings of a fun character. Add in hard military sci fi set in a distant future where Earth is only a legend and massive powers are waging devastating wars across the galaxies and you've got a really interesting series.

David Gunn is another UK sci fi import who has a distinctive voice and style well worth reading for anyone who likes authors like Neal Asher or Richard Morgan.

Larry's Pick of the Week:

Clamato I have always loved the Clamato juice. Maybe it's growing up in New England, where tomatoes and clams coexist peacefully on the summer picnic table, making me nostaglic for the taste-combo; maybe it's the high sodium content, or the generous helping of MSG. Maybe it's the magical healing properties of the stuff... so much so that they put the recipe for the world's best hangover cure right on the label to save you the trouble. I mean, seriously; next time you're in the grocery store, go look at the back of the label: "Rim your favorite glass with salt. Then over ice, combine the juice of one lemon, a dash of hot sauce, worcestershire and 8 oz. of Clamato. Add a stick of celery for garnish. For an extra twist, add a shot of vodka." I mean really. When was the last time you saw a Coke label? It doesn't say "Take an old Prego jar, fill with ice. Add twelve ounces of Jack Daniels and top off with Coca-Cola" I can tell you.

That drink recipe on the label is a generic version of the Bloody Caesar, which is the national drink of Canada. Although Clamato has just 6 percent of the "red juice" category, it has a 27 percent share among Hispanic consumers in the U.S., and that's grown nearly 20 percent in the last four years. The website is in Spanish. It doesn't even have an English version. And yet, it's in nearly every single big-brand grocery store in America. Clamato is an undiscovered gem, and possibly beverage's best-kept secret. In America.

Ash's Picks of the Week:

House of Coffee I'm sick. Been feverish and flu-like since Friday, and have been largely miserable from it. If Erin wasn't busy mainlining the stuff, she'd realize that something like "Nyquil" or "Theraflu" is too easy of a joke to make for a sick blogger. Instead, this week's pick of the week is the silver lining to any of my stay-at-home clouds, San Francisco's House of Coffee. One quick stroll from the apartment and my morning gets to start with fresh-roasted coffee, a breakfast sandwich, and service with a smile for $5. Henry Kalebjian is a Master Roaster, and getting to watch beans being hand-roasted RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU is a coffee aficionado's dream. Sure, I'd rather not be coughing up a storm, and it'd be nice to feel like a normal human again, but it's nice to know that there is an upside to being stuck around the apartment!

Erin's Pick of the Week:

Nyquil Oh, magical green juice, you've been drugging my illnesses into submission for so many years now. Asthma attacks, the common cold, that nasty incident with the flu...we've seen it all and survived. Your green nastiness is a sign of possible hallucinations and sleep to come. Long live NyQuil!

P.S. And don't worry, baby, I think the red stuff is for sissies. You and me all the way, green death flavored NyQuil!

Rich's Picks of the Week:

Batman #676 - Grant Morrison begins the "Batman R.I.P." storyline that was teased in DC Universe #0. From what I hear, the Batman character is going to get killed off and DC will cease publishing both of the long-running comics Batman and Detective Comics.*

*I may have received bad information on this one but we'll just have to see how it plays out.

Transhuman #2- The second issue of Jonathan Hickman's "mock-umentary" about genetic engineering is noteworthy because my friend Eraklis Petmezas provides the backup story, "Mr. Lune".

Julian's Pick of the Week:

Charlie the Unicorn (and its sequel) - Internet videos and animations come and go, but once in a while one that stands out above the rest comes along and Charlie is that video for me. Go to youtube and search for it if you haven't seen it yet. It's a mixture of bizarre and absurdity that made me laugh much more than anything else in a long time. Also, I have officially declared it The Best Video on the Internet. So, there.