Underrated / Overrated

UNDERRATED

Crossword puzzles: Mark it down (or across): Sudoku is so mid-2000s. Stretching your word power is back. Hollywood’s on board as well, with Sandra Bullock fraying the edges of plausibility as a lovesick crossword puzzle nerd in the upcoming movie “All About Steve,” set for a March release. We make no promises about the entertainment value of the film, but the folded page is always a safe bet.

Self-imposed TV blackouts: We spent a recent week roughing it away from what Homer Simpson called “television’s warm glowing warming glow” and we have to say, it does a body good. There’s too much news and entertainment out there to make such decisions permanent -- especially while “Lost” is just starting to make sense -- but it’s sobering to remember that TV is a treat, not a whole meal.

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OVERRATED

Coachella 2009: The annual concert in the desert has spoiled us with top-line performances such as Rage Against the Machine, Kraftwerk and the Pixies, but it’s that track record that left us feeling so uninspired about the coming lineup. All due respect to Paul McCartney, Morrissey, et al, but where’s the can’t-miss headliner? With so many like-minded festivals, the answer is “probably across the country.”

The JoBros’ Grammy nomination: We rarely court teen or ‘tween anger on a Sunday, but if the Jonas Brothers walk away with a statuette tonight, it may be another plague-of-locusts harbinger of the End Times. Trust us, JoBros fans: Having grown up loving Duran Duran, we understand -- but they don’t deserve the hardware. Big sales and the nostalgia circuit in 2021 is all the musical legacy they’ll need.