We Made This

Nature's Great Events

It's not often in life that you get to use the phrase 'awe-struck' with any kind of real meaning. But heck, Nature's Great Events, currently running on BBC1, seems to be determined to change that. Repeatedly.

The series is just mind-blowingly good. Every episode manages to show us something we've never seen before - be it beautiful, inspiring, heart-warming or tragic, this is the real reality TV. And it's made truly perfect by the ever-brilliant narration from the god-like genius David Attenborough. 

For a taster, check out the show's video gallery. You can catch the full programme on BBC1 on Wednesday evenings, or on the BBC's iPlayer. The Nature's Great Events [DVD] is released on 16 March in the UK.

Truly brilliant television.

(Oh, and the image above is from Jason C Roberts, location manager from Episode 1 of the series: The Great Melt. Check out the full gallery of images.)

Swifty at No Vacancy

After we recently posted about Swifty, Ken Tan from the urban art online store Project Midas (based in Singapore) got in touch to tell us about the new exhibition of Swifty's work they're hosting at the No Vacancy gallery in Melbourne.

Ken revealed that the show will feature original work, as well as "a remix of the classic Vegemite brand, limited edition prints and t-shirts, plus a live painting of a Suzuki Swift car".

The show runs from 5 to 14 March 2009.

Drop Caps

Ah, now this is just type geekery gone bonkers.

Kern is the new iPhone game from FORMation, who are an "alliance of independent creators" based in Texas.

The game involves moving a letter along a base line so that it's in exactly the right spot to fit into the word that's dropping down onto it from above. And that's pretty much it. But it's been designed by Jason Franzen with a typographer's keen attention to detail, and it only costs 59p, so even if you only play it a few times (most likely in the pub when you're trying to outgeek some other type nut), it's hardly breaking the bank.

Ridiculous yet essential.

Thanks to Catherine Dixon for the heads up.

Here's Johnny

This looks like it should be really interesting: More 4 are showing the award winning documentary Here's Johnny (February 17, 10pm) about the comic book / horror artist John Hicklenton.

Hicklenton has worked on raft of fantastic strips, including the daddy of British comics, 2000AD, and the groundbreaking Crisis. He's also suffering from MS, and the show explores both his work and the frustrations of living with the disease.

Make your own money

Times are tough. And now it looks like it's got so bad, we're being invited to make our own small change.

Following on from Matthew Dent's re-design of the UK coinage, The Royal Mint has just launched a competition to design commemorative coins for the London 2012 Olympics.

You get to pick from one of 27 Olympic sports (the athletics and cycling coins are being designed by Blue Peter viewers and schoolkids, so you can't pick them) and then download a design template for the reverse side of the coin (the Queen gets to stay where she is). The closing date for entries is Friday 24 April (you have to register by 22 April), and you can send in more than one design. 

27 designs will be picked, one for each sport, and winners will then be announced in November. Each winner gets to see their coin designed (and in people's pockets from 2010), as well as £1,000 and a trip to the Royal Mint.

Some of the existing 2012 coins.

This will probably once again kick off the debate about opening up key designs to public competitions instead of commissioning designers, as was seen with the recent competition to design a new bus for London which pulled in entries from design companies as well as the public.

We reckon it's good to have a public competition now and again, as it gets everyone talking and thinking about design, and that's surely a good thing. 

Giant horse to welcome visitors

Remember the Ebbsfleet Landmark Competition to create a new piece of public art at the upcoming international train station in Kent?

The competition was launched in May 2007, and they've just announced that the commission has gone to the public's favourite piece, Mark Wallinger's 50m high white horse.

We think it's the best of the bunch (here are the losers), and suitably bonkers. As you ride in on the no-doubt much slower than anticipated train, you can look out at the giant steed, and think, "Hmmm, I'd probably get there quicker if I was on that".

As Jonathan Jones points out, it's a mash-up of George Stubbs and Magritte - a smart horse at a surreal scale. It might be a one-liner, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some art can make you think, some can make you really think, and some can just make you smile.

Swifty

Swifty (you might know him from the MoWax logo, or perhaps the stuff he did on Straight No Chaser magazine) has just done up his website, and has got a selection of tasty bits and bobs there: some prints, some fonts, some shots of his street-art playtime. All worth a shufty.

How to build an igloo