Top Picks: The documentary 'California Typewriter,' the Cal app, and more
Celebrating typewriters
Think the days of the typewriter are over? Various fans, including famous ones such as Tom Hanks and David McCullough, would beg to differ. The documentary California Typewriter celebrates the machine and is 鈥渃harming,鈥� writes Monitor film critic Peter Rainer. There鈥檚 even a typewriter orchestra (hailing from Boston) in the film. 鈥淐alifornia Typewriter鈥� is available on .
Striking images
The isn鈥檛 just a place to record your commitments 鈥� it will also get you excited about the coming day with images for your calendar (a new one is supplied daily) and will keep you on top of the events and tasks that you have coming up that day, week, and month. Cal is free for iOS and Android.
Sky guidance
If you鈥檙e looking up at the night sky as you leave the latest holiday gathering, use the to get guidance on the stars you鈥檙e seeing. The app can identify more than 600,000 stars as well as satellites. Stellarium Mobile Sky Map is available for iOS for $2.99 and Android for $2.49.
Actors鈥� showcase
Director Steven Soderbergh鈥檚 latest film, Logan Lucky, stars Channing Tatum and Adam Driver as brothers who try to rob a NASCAR race with the aid of criminal Joe Bang (Daniel Craig). Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, and Seth MacFarlane also star. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer compares the film to Soderbergh鈥檚 鈥淥cean鈥檚鈥� series: 鈥淟ike those movies, it鈥檚 inconsequentially entertaining 鈥� a showcase for some funny actors to horse it up.鈥� 鈥淟ogan Lucky鈥� is available on and is rated PG-13 for language and some crude comments.
Skiing help
No need to worry about getting stranded on top of the mountain without a map while you鈥檙e skiing or snowboarding 鈥� the
has more than 1,000 maps for the United States and beyond, and no cell service is needed to access them. If you鈥檙e not on the slopes, the app also has snow reports for your favorite resort and forecasts so you can plan your next ski weekend. It鈥檚 free for Android.
