Top Picks: The Digital Detach app, Mark Ronson's track 'Uptown Special,' and more
Some Best Picture nominees are available for viewing before the ceremony, PBS's 'The Big Burn' chronicles the 1910 Rockies wildfire, and more top picks.
Some Best Picture nominees are available for viewing before the ceremony, PBS's 'The Big Burn' chronicles the 1910 Rockies wildfire, and more top picks.
Retro funk
Producer/DJ Mark Ronson knows a thing or two about funk, having produced megahits for Amy Winehouse and Bruno Mars. Uptown Special has already zoomed to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, with only sky above. It鈥檚 a star-studded ode to a more innocent and melodic time, borrowing the synth sounds and drumbeats of Michael Jackson鈥檚 鈥淥ff the Wall鈥� grooves of the early 1980s. Mars, rapper Mystikal, and Stevie Wonder guest star, with Ronson鈥檚 buddy novelist Michael Chabon collaborating on lyrics.聽
Smart phone timeout
If you find yourself reaching for your smart phone instead of focusing on more important tasks, check out Digital Detach. This app lets you temporarily turn your Android device back into a dumb phone. You can send and receive calls and messages, but e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and all of your other apps take a timeout. It鈥檚 available in the Google Play store for $1.99.
Prep for the Oscars
Looking to catch up on Best Picture Oscar nominees before the Feb. 22 ceremony? Nominees 鈥淏oyhood鈥� and 鈥淭he Grand Budapest Hotel鈥� are available on DVD and Blu-ray, while 鈥淏irdman鈥� and 鈥淭he Theory of Everything鈥� both arrive on Feb. 17, giving you time to watch before the big night. 鈥淎merican Sniper,鈥� 鈥淭he Imitation Game,鈥� and 鈥淪elma鈥� came out near the end of 2014, so they may still be in a theater near you. See oscar.go.com for more information on nominees.
Battling the blazes
On Feb. 3, 鈥淎merican Experience鈥� on PBS presents聽The Big Burn, the story of the 1910 Rockies wildfire 鈥� the biggest fire in US history. The conflagration was fought by the members of the still-young US Forest Service, and their methods 鈥� good and bad 鈥� are still providing lessons on how to combat wildfires today. 鈥淭he Big Burn鈥� premi猫res at 9 p.m. EST. Check local listings for rebroadcasts.聽
Fashion forward
From Cut Video comes a look at hair and makeup styles over the past 100 years. In the clip, a team of makeup artists seamlessly transition a model to re-create the fashion mores of each decade, from the demure elegance of 1910 to the bouncy waves of the 1950s to the intense eyeshadow of the 1980s up to the present decade 鈥� captured with a requisite selfie. Check it out at http://bit.ly/beautybydecade.聽