Underrated Game - Telestrations

If you like playing board/party games, I've got an awesome game for you called Telestrations. Last year, my friend Amanda kept saying she had a game she thought my boyfriend and I would like that we should play together. We got together a few times, but I've never been that crazy about party games. When we finally got around to playing, I was surprised at how fun the game is.

Telestrations is (like it says on the box) a mix between Whisper-Down-The-Lane and Pictionary. Except it's so much better than both of those games combined. Basically, you pick a card with a word on it and draw that word on a booklet with pages that flip. The person next to you gets your book with your picture and attempts to guess the word that you drew. They write that down, and then the process starts over with the person next to them. When the booklets have made it all the way around your group, you flip through the pages and see if everyone guessed or drew correctly.

Here's a picture of what a finished booklet might look like:

Telestrations is the perfect party game. I've played this game at family events and with friends. Everyone loves it. I even bought it for my father for Christmas, and now all of his friends play. Yes, you have to draw, but it doesn't matter how great you are. The best rounds are when pictures are misinterpreted. I love this game.

Underrated - Hobbies

When I wrote that Cable TV is overrated, it took me a little bit to decide what the antithesis of it would be for the purposes of this blog. I almost devoted this post to Netflix and how great Netflix Instant is (so great).

But then I realized that by watching less TV, I've had more time to devote to what are essentially hobbies. I can't say with a straight face that watching less TV has meant more time to do work. I still desperately need my downtime. But now I've found myself interested in things I thought I'd given up on, like playing the piano, running, and reading books that aren't mandatory for school.

The feeling of setting a goal and then sticking to it has always been there when it came to school and work, but not so much in other areas of my life. I'd forgotten how much of a break from school and work it can provide.

Overrated - Cable TV

I've always been a big fan of TV. I like watching it, but I especially like having it in the background as I clean or do random things. When I decided to cancel my cable a few months ago, I was weirdly nervous about it. I didn't like the thought of giving up so many channels. Only having about 10 channels seemed like a sacrifice. It wasn't though.

Cancelling my cable has turned out to be really positive for me. I still watch some TV, however it's usually at night and it's not at random times during the day. I've discovered I hate most of the talk shows, infomercials, and Court TV shows that fill up the daytime, and in doing this I've discovered that I'd rather have solitude than annoying background noise. My apartment is a more peaceful place.

When I watch TV, it's with a purpose now. I only turn it on if there is something specific I want to watch, so I've had more time to devote to other things. Don't get me wrong, I've been known to go to my parents' house and catch up on some cable shows On Demand, but for the most part, I don't miss it at all.

Underrated Novel - In the Skin of a Lion

In the Skin of a Lion is a book I am constantly recommending. Michael Ondaatje wrote it in 1987, however I think it is very much overshadowed by Ondaatje's most well-known novel - The English Patient. Ondaatje is a beautiful writer: his sentences are eloquently crafted, his characters are nuanced, and his ideas on love and loss never become tired tropes.

In the Skin of a Lion is everything The Pillars of the Earth is not. The novel is set in Toronto, and this setting is an integral part of the story. Ondaatje writes of the construction of a bridge in a way that is interesting, unlike the construction of the cathedral in The Pillars of the Earth. Ondaatje describes various locations around the city and Canada, but always anchors them to the people living there. There are immigrants, anarchists, actors, a professional thief, an escaped nun, and various other characters who all give life to Toronto in the 1920s.

The main character, Patrick, loses his father in a logging accident, and drifts in and out of various jobs. Early in the novel he becomes a "searcher" looking for Ambrose Small, a millionaire who mysteriously disappeared in real life and was never found.

I wish every novel I read was as satisfying as In the Skin of a Lion. Ondaatje creates characters I truly cared about, and a plot that wasn't easy to predict. It doesn't fall into a certain genre - there are elements of mystery, history, romance, and drama. Ultimately, though, the novel is about the writing style of Ondaatje which is poetic and beautiful.

Overrated Book - The Pillars of the Earth

One of the best parts about finishing a book is discussing it with other people. That's why I like reading books that are popular, there are more people to discuss the plot and characters with. The Pillars of the Earth is one book that people regularly ask me if I have read. It makes sense, I love historical novels and I love medieval literature. I was given a copy a few years ago, and I eagerly started to read, expecting to love it. Unfortunately, I didn't. It's popular, but the reasons people give for why they like it have never clicked with me.

The Pillars of the Earth was published in 1989 and written by Ken Follett. It's been a best-seller in numerous countries and was even one of Oprah's Book Club selections. The novel is about a cathedral being built in a fictional town named Kingsbridge in England in the 12th century. It follows the lives of the architect Tom Builder, the villainous William Hamleigh, and Prior Philip, a monk at Kingsbridge. Everyone is ambitious in their own way, motivated by either family or morality. There is mystery, fighting, and romance, but there are also endless pages describing the process of constructing a cathedral, endless rape scenes, and characters whose actions don't make any sense set in the 12th century.

My main feelings about this book can be summed up by a reviewer on amazon.com:

"My true criticisms lie in Follett's inability to write with any literary skill. His syntax and idioms are far too modern for a work of historical fiction. Midway through the book it occurred to me that there were few metaphors, similes, just conflict after conflict which drove the plot. He writes without mood, feeling, or anything that makes language meaningful and beautiful."

Ultimately, the plot and characters are the biggest draw of the novel, but the writing is weak, needs LOTS of editing, and just never pulled me in. Interestingly,The Pillars of the Earth was turned into a TV mini-series in 2010. I found the mini-series much better than the novel. It has the basic plot points and characters without the rambling descriptions.

Underrated Sci-Fi Movie - Sunshine

Sunshine is a great movie that not many people have seen. It was released in 2007 and directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours). It is set 50 years in the future, and is a tense, well-acted movie.

The first lines of the movie sum up the plot:

Our sun is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth frozen in a solar winter. Our payload a stellar bomb with a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose to create a star within a star.

The beginning of Sunshine is a mix of amazing shots of space and the men and women on the Icarus II interacting and dealing with decisions they made. The whole cast is great (Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne), and it's interesting to watch how each astronaut handles the various pressures of the mission.

The action really starts when they realize that they will be passing by the original Icarus project that failed. Should they go off their current course and examine the remains of the Icarus project?

I loved this movie because it really examines the mindset of the characters who are in a situation where every decision they make is huge. There are unforeseen consequences, leading to the end, which honestly is a little crazy. Still, this is a great movie.

Here's the trailer:

Overrated Science Fiction Movie - Avatar

I've seen Avatar, but ask me any question about the plot, characters, or even setting, and I probably will get it wrong. I (obviously) didn't love this movie like a lot of people. I also didn't hate this movie like a lot of other people. I remain at best completely ambivalent about it. I don't get the excitement, but I also don't get the backlash. I remember it was really really fun to look at, but any thing of substance didn't stick. Were there any parts of substance?

I remember there was a love story, a beautiful planet, a message about the environment, and bad bad men who don't appreciate love, beauty, and the environment. It's true I could very easily look up the characters' names, but I would almost immediately forget them.

Avatar was beautiful, but not very memorable. It broke all sorts of records in terms of box office success, but as a huge sci-fi fan, I can say I've seen better.