Top Picks: 'Melody Gardot Live in Europe,' 'The Post,' and more

Some of the works at the Uffizi Gallery can now be viewed from your couch, Dan Bransfield’s 'Pizzapedia' is a lovely celebration of pizza’s creation, ingredients, and variations, and more top picks.

Pinnacle of her art

In this time of the ubiquitous auto-tuned vocal, what a pleasure it is to hear a truly gifted vocalist at the pinnacle of her art. Melody Gardot Live in Europe finds the pop/jazz chanteuse from Philadelphia thrilling her rapturous audiences from London to Vienna, backed by a soloist-rich band stretching the very boundaries of jazz. Listen to Gardot’s elastic alto effortlessly channel the best elements of Barbra Streisand, Edith Piaf, and Nina Simone, and you’ll wonder why she isn’t a household name.

Bug alerts

The WeatherBug app can be a good go-to whether you’re still trying to keep track of snow in the forecast, wondering whether lightning will strike in your area, or wanting to see the Doppler radar map. WeatherBug is available free of charge for iOS and Android.

Couch to museum

Some of the works at the Uffizi Gallery, a museum in Florence, Italy, known for its pieces from the Italian Renaissance, can now be viewed from your couch via the gallery’s virtual tour. Check it out at http://bit.ly/uffizigallery.

Post stories

The Post, the story of how The Washington Post fought to release the Pentagon Papers during the 1970s, stars Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks and is available on DVD and Blu-ray. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer praised Streep’s performance as Post publisher Katharine Graham, writing, “In inexorable increments, she transforms what might have been just another feminist standard-bearer into something far more complex. Her hesitations, rue, and ultimate valor are soul-deep.”  

Pizza celebration

Dan Bransfield’s Pizzapedia is a lovely celebration of pizza’s creation, ingredients, and variations explored through 80 playful watercolor illustrations. The book details pizza’s origins in the Persian Empire during the 5th century BC as well as the various cheeses, toppings, and crusts of pizzas from Rome to New York to Chicago. Fun and wacky trivia about ambitious inventions, failed pranks, and world records peppers the pages and is sure to put a smile on your face.