Top Picks: Music group Tank & the Bangas, the Smartify app, and more
Tour the sky
In addition to labeling stars and planets, the app also offers a tour of the sky and lets you 鈥渇avorite鈥� a constellation, planet, or other object so you can be alerted when it will be appearing near you. The app is free for iOS and Android.
The sound of joy
The unanimous winner of NPR鈥檚 2017 Tiny Desk concert contest (out of more than 6,000 entries), Tank & the Bangas charm and inspire, exuding complete joy in the process. The New Orleans darlings play a deep but feather-light groove, and frontwoman/poet Tarriona Ball is a supernatural wonder. See what all the buzz is about at .
Smartify yourself
Looking for more information on a work of art? Using the app, hold your phone in front of the piece of art to identify the work and learn how it was created. The app is currently usable for works of art in galleries including New York鈥檚 Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles鈥檚 J. Paul Getty Museum, and London鈥檚 National Portrait Gallery. It鈥檚 free for iOS and Android.
Floor plan guidance
If you鈥檙e rearranging furniture in your living room and want to have a floor plan handy, try the app. Just tap your phone to the wall to create a floor plan. The newest version uses augmented reality scanning to generate a plan as well. It also works for a yard or other outdoor area. It鈥檚 $0.99 for iOS.
Fascinating footage
Director Bill Morrison鈥檚 documentary uses silent movies and newsreels discovered in the Canadian city in 1978 to depict the history of the area, including the period when gold mining dominated daily life. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer calls the footage 鈥渇ascinating鈥� and writes, 鈥淭he rise and fall of Dawson City, intimately tied to the vagaries of climate and man鈥檚 greed, is heartbreakingly rendered.鈥� 鈥淒awson City: Frozen Time鈥� is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
