Shiny Objects -- No. 6

Yeah, I know I've been lax in posting. Life has just been crazy busy. All apologies. Here's just a taste of all that's been consuming me. 

1. Snizl

TBC Media and The Bakersfield Californian is partnering with British app maker Snizl to offer Bakersfield real-time deals and events listings.

The Snizl app (details on how to download for iOS and Android here) allows you to take advantage of last-minute deals on the go. And if you’re a business owner or event organizer, you can publicize you event for as little as $10.

2. “High Stakes & Dangerous Men: The UFO Story”

I picked up this biography of legendary British hard rockers UFO at Twist & Shout, a stupendous Denver record store that has a terrific collection of music books. Author Neil Daniels uses personal interviews with music-press clips to string together a mostly chronological 40-year review of a resilient band whose catchy hard rock continues despite dozens of personnel changes. The book’s pace takes on a rote feel about a third of the way in -- to finish it you have to be a hardcore fan. That I am (as I've noted on this site previously).

3. Nuzzel

I’ve been playing with this cool tool that helps prioritize my Twitter and Facebook feeds. Nuzzel features a highly customizable dashboard that prioritizes popular posts in a dashboard view but also offers tabs for News from Friends, News from Friends of Friends, News You May Have Missed and Recently Read Stories.

Nuzzel also allows you to receive alerts with a story is shared by a predetermined number of your friends (mine is set at 5), get daily digests of top posts (perfect for someone like me who doesn’t have the time to camp out on social media).

4. The Strypes -- “Snapshot”

My good friend Doc tipped me off to this awesome mix of garage rock, pub rock and punk, courtesy of Ireland's The Strypes. "Snapshot" features a lively mix of punchy originals and tasty covers that include Nick Lowe’s “Heart of the City.”  

Here's a sampling.

5. “Set Habits You’ll Actually Keep”

Harvard Business Review’s IdeaCast podcast is among my favorites, and this interview with author Gretchen Rubin is especially good. Rubin explains some of the more interesting takeaways from her new book, “Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives.” I’ll never think about willpower, rewards and loopholes the same way again.

6. Onboard with Robert Kubica

I’ve watched all 11:32 of this video several times and remain amazed at how World Rally driver Robert Kubica is able to navigate dangerous roads at high speed and -- apparently -- without much hesitation. I’ve said it before and will say it again: The most skilled drivers in the world compete with the World Rally Championship? Watch this video and dare to disagree with me.

7. The musician who's famous and faceless

Rhino Records has an wide-ranging interview with Midge Ure, whose storied music career reminds me of Forrest Gump. He’s had success as a solo star, as a guitarist in Thin Lizzy, with (at least) three different synth pop bands, and as co-writer of one of the most popular -- and humanitarianly beneficial -- songs of all time. You probably don't know of him but you and tens of millions of others have heard his work.