SORTED

 

It tends to be the case that as we all grow slightly older, gracefully or not, we don't pick up on things as quickly as we used to. However, like 'em, loathe 'em or do whatever, a trip to the Trafford Centre's Apple Store actually sorted a few potential problems. For me at least a cloud is something that floats across the sky so why you'd want to store things in one is at times a mystery. However, as a onetime dedicated BlackBerry user the Aged Rocker is someone who has only just made the shift to Apple products which means he's still getting my head around how these things work.

 

 

 

And since the production of this blog is going to be based around Apple's kit it meant a trip to the Apple Store at the Trafford Centre was on the cards. This with regret meant enduring the M60 with those delightful new signs 'My Daddy/Mummy works here so please drive carefully'. As to where they work remains an unknown quantity since as is the usual routine with all UK roadworks, the appearance of someone actually doing something would at least mitigate the endless jams. So after parking up and wading through the seemingly endless number of fashionable trendies, shops that sell things you really wouldn't want to wear let alone be seen in and fifteen minutes in and I have unlimited Cloud and the much needed tripod mount for the iPhone.

The reason for all this is to suggest that when you pass through the hallowed Apple portals, if you eventually find the assistant who 'gets' the fact you don't spend every waking moment glued to your phone/tablet they'll actually take the time to explain and demonstrate what it is you need to know. Throw in the fact I've booked a couple of free of charge workshops and you never know your luck, I might actually get to the stage where I can use this little lot. The surprising thing is, apart from the actual hard wear, the prices aren't bad, the phone's tripod mount a reasonable thirty quid.

 

 

Given time and a little help, even those of us who are a little older than those we're dealing with can latch onto how modern IT actually works. There's still quite a distance to go but watch this space, The Aged Rocker could well be heading your way iPad in hand albeit slightly slower than before!

The Circus Of Horrors

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'The Aged Rocker' went to see the circus last night....ah!

But not the sort you take your toddler to or go with your granny. In fact if you took your babysitter she's more than likely to run away with them to live a life of gothic excess, blood and gore, the Circus of Horrors seriously different.

 

 

Topless babes, evil clowns and the world's smallest strongman with a Henry Hoover attached to his manhood .......! all kept in line by Doktor Haze and Camp Dracula. If you've never seen the Circus of Horrors you ain't lived so get 'em Googled and get your tickets...but you have been warned!!!

 

 

 

 

THE WINES OF AUSTRIA

 

Touring the various wine regions from either the comfort of your armchair, around the shelves of the various supermarkets or actually visiting them has become increasingly popular over the years. New wines from new regions seem to appear almost all the time but wine expert Stephen Brook’s new book ‘The Wines of Austria’ take the reader, occasional taster or the true wine enthusiast on a guided exploration of one of the least known producers Austria.

Drawing on over forty years of wine expertise, Brook highlight’s the country’s reemergence and sudden increase in quality whilst taking the reader on an intimate experience of over three hundred vineyards and their wines. Explaining the geographical and climatic benefits whilst charting the history of each region, the book highlights how Austrian producers have combined traditional processes with modern viticulture techniques, the end result being some of the highest quality and most delicate wines currently available. 

Divided into parts then sub-chapters, Brook starts in Lower Austria then onto Burgenland, Steiermark and onto Vienna before moving onto the various vintages whilst describing the various styles and the different grape varieties. To aid those along for the journey various maps and diagrams help to explain exactly where each vineyard is located, the direction in which it faces along with family histories and ties along with relationship to others if any.

             

In addition there are a few colour plates of varying age and dubious quality which would have been far better if they’d been omitted and replaced by more detailed diagrams. However, there they are although they don’t detract in any way from Brook’s quality of writing and obvious knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject and the ideal addition to any wine buff’s library.

The Wines of Austria is published by Infinite Ideas, ISBN No: ISBN No: 978-1-908984-37-1 and costs £35. For further details visit www.infideas.com.

 

By; Mark Stone

DEATH DRIVE-THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS

 

Since the motorcar came into being over a hundred years ago it has given humankind freedom, the ability to travel effortlessly over vast distances, the ability to fascinate, make a statement, has become one of the ultimate status symbols and to prove one man is faster than another. The car has also provided us with something far more macabre, the endless enthrallment and morbid curiosity of the fatal car crash, none more so than when a major celebrity is involved.

A perverse celebration of automotive lethality, author, consultant and founding director of London’s Design Museum, Stephen Bayley has drawn together twenty of the most famous in his superbly presented ‘Death Drive-There Are No Accidents’. Beautifully produced and bound in blood red cloth and gloss black inserts, an image of the Buick Electra 225 in which actress Jayne Mansfield was decapitated adorns the front cover, Bayley’s book possessing a voyeuristic allure like no other.

From Isadora Duncan, James Dean, Mike Hawthorn, Marc Bolan and Princes Grace of Monaco, each biographic chapter provides the reader with sufficient background and the automotive connection to each subject. Add into the mix a grainy portrait of each of the deceased, the original graphic press images of the wreckages and a detailed description in which nothing is omitted, Death Drive is as visually rewarding as it is morally repellant. It’s only the fact that certain double page bleeds are split by the spine that introduce any minor negative to and otherwise entertaining study of this unspeakably enthralling subject.    

Think on this, no matter how many hours a fatal accident has delayed you, the wait is forgotten in seconds when the automotive turmoil comes into view. The sight of torn metal and suffering becomes even more fascinating when an expensive car and a celebrity are involved no matter how much you try to deny it, famous folk bleeding and dying just like the rest of us! And it’s for this reason Stephen Bayley’s book is both a much needed comment on social history and celebrity status whilst also being an excellent read.

 

‘Death Drive-There Are No Accidents’ is published by Circa Press, ISBN No: 978-0-9930721-2-3 and costs £29-95p. For further details visit www.circapress.net.

 

By; Mark Stone