THE BOOK OF COOL
Where cool gets a whole new meaning… by Jake Good
This month’s movie review comes in with a DVD that isn’t as popular, not as visible, yet definitely ranks up on one of the coolest DVD sets out there.
THE BOOK OF COOL (http://www.bookofcool.com)
The premise is simple. Film hundreds of hours of people doing cool stuff, write a small book on how everyone else in the world can do said cool stuff, box it up in a very stylish box, and push it out to the masses. The title alone forces everyone’s curious kitten into action, THE BOOK OF COOL.
The box set comes with 3 DVDs, packed with over 9 hours of footage of cool stuff. So far, all I’ve said is cool stuff… the explanation will come shortly. A very colorful, 200+ page booklet features step-by-step detail on how to do most of the cool stuff featured in the footage. Upon waking up during my holiday vacation, which lasted a cool 4 days, I noticed on Boing Boing a review of a new DVD that’s making its way through the UK. Being the DVD buff that I am, I clicked on the link… and within minutes, whipped out my… credit card and sent the package on its way over the ocean.
Upon arrival, I was greeted with a black, slightly heavy, box. Delightful. I couldn’t wait home to try it on. I mean, place it in the Xbox… yeah.
Notice I still have yet to mention the actual content; the cool stuff. This is totally on purpose. Side note: of course a lot of sales revolve around package design and presentation, this DVD takes the cake. In front of me was very well laid out menu system, beautiful colors, and simple text to help me choose which cool stuff to watch.
So what kinds of cool stuff are actually on this DVD? Everything cool! From break dancing to Frisbee tossing and from bar flair to gun slinging tricks, this DVD is jammed packed with all sorts of human tricks and show. Want to learn how to rope steer? How about learning pool from Mike Massey? What about skateboarding? Razor scooter tricks? The list goes on and on. I mentioned before that there was 9 hours of footage. Believe me, there is a LOT to go through! Mix that with a “How-To†guide and you have THE BOOK OF COOL.
What’s the drawback? Learning awesome, complex “stuff†from people who either can a) barely speak English in some instances or b) who have more fun showing off than actually trying to teach you something, can be really frustrating at times. For instance, the break dancing scene (you know me, I’m all over that). With my cardboard laid across my carpet, I pushed play… to be suddenly surprised by the lack of sentence structure and instruction I got. It seems as though break dancing is not in the cards for me. Though it was fun to watch, trying to cram that much knowledge with no instruction seems to be a little tough.
Bar flair, on the other hand, quickly got my attention. Who wouldn’t want to toss bottles like Tom Cruise in Cocktails? A Bar Flair World Champion appeared on the screen and showed you the quickest little tricks to impress anyone, with a simple twist-top beer bottle. I decided to save the vodka tossing for another time.
There you have it folks, simply put, an awesome DVD set for the curiosity in all of us. The set does come with a warning. These are professional and you shouldn’t try this at home until you are very comfortable with your skill level… or you just want to break shit. Hopefully at the Inetium Christmas Party, I can show off my “not-so-Good†break dancing style… mixed with a little “olives on a dagger†bar flair; ending the night with some pen spinning magic.
The DVD can be purchased on the website: http://www.bookofcool.com
Total with tax and shipping: $46.99
Have a great January… until next time.
(see previous Moving Images)
