Brickwork: Lego v Nanoblocks

Ahh, Lego. The one toy it's perfectly acceptable never to grow out of. Especially if you end up with the skills to create masterpieces like these:

There are people out there paid good money to be professional Lego sculptors. Guys such as Nathan Sawaya and Sean Kenney. I want their lives.

However you might not know that Lego has a pretender to its crown. A very small, very tough and very awe-inspiring little rival. Nanoblocks were invented in 2008 in Japan (those masters of miniaturisation) and are distributed in Britain by Nanoblocks UK. That company's founder Ashley Yeates recently promoted the product by making this tribute to the X Factor!

I first saw Nanoblocks at this year's Autumn Fair and my jaw nearly hit the ground. Photos really can't do justice to how intricate these bricks are, but this pig will give you a clue.

The smallest single peg bricks are an incredible 4 mm square so you might need a magnifying glass to work on some of the fiddlier details! Other differences to Lego are that all the blocks are one height, 5 mm, and they have a different interlocking mechanism which makes it easier to place them diagonally, as you can see with the pig's ears.

At the moment you can buy them as kits to build specific models, ranging from an 80-piece cockatiel to a nerve-wracking 6000-piece castle (complete with LED lights). Here's a 550-piece International Space Station from the Sights To See range:

The miniature kits such as the pig come with a 4 cm x 4 cm base plate and Sights To See are 8 cm x 8 cm. With prices starting at less than £8.00, they're a very affordable stocking filler for anyone over 12 that would pass away the duller hours after Christmas. So you could easily collect all the kits, solve the puzzle of how to put them together (instructions are included but the website encourages you to also come up with your own ideas) and still have lots of room left on your shelves!

Hopefully in the future Nanoblocks will release basic starter kits so you can create whatever you want. If they could get artists as talented as Nathan Sawaya and Sean Kenney behind them, the mind boggles at what they could achieve!

•UK retailers for Nanoblocks include Firebox, Dinkybox, FireStar and Clockwork Mouse.

Red Hot + Blue

For World Aids Day 2011 I'm commemorating the 21st anniversary of one of my favourite albums which has now largely been forgotten here in the UK although its legacy is still alive and well in America.

The Red Hot Organisation formed in New York in 1989 to fight AIDS through popular culture, following the devastating effects the virus had on the city's artistic community.

The big idea was to get the top names in pop music around the world to record songs by Cole Porter for a fundraising album, taking on the name Red Hot + Blue after one of Porter's musicals. Cole Porter was chosen not only for the beauty and popularity of his music but also because his life and the impact of his message still resonated with the society of the late 20th century.

He was a gay man in an age when such things were illegal (spending much of his life in a happy platonic marriage) and he also spent much of his life in pain following a serious horse riding accident. His lyrics didn't shy away from strong social comment (Anything Goes, Love For Sale), the agony and ecstasy of love (Every Time We Say Goodbye, I've Got You Under My Skin) or downright cheekiness (Let's Do It, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) His music combined sophistication, wit and debauchery but did it in a way that appealed to the general public.

Cole Porter and his contemporaries epitomised the spirit of the Roaring Twenties, banishing the Victorian prudishness of their parents' generation and living life to the full after the horrors of World War 1. Likewise the New York art scene of the late 1980s fought to prevent a Victorian-style backlash against the AIDS outbreak which risked the gay community, in particular, losing the steps towards acceptance and equality for which they had fought so hard. The way to stem the tide of AIDS was not to pretend it wasn't happening but to face it head on and talk about some uncomfortable truths.

So in that spirit of defiance, King Cole Inc (later renamed the Red Hot Organisation) was born. 22 world-class acts answered the call to record the album and teamed up with some top film makers to record video clips compiled into a 90 minute TV special aired in America on World Aids Day 1990.

Albums are still being released under the Red Hot banner although their activities are now more confined to the USA. Their 15 albums to date, along with related TV and media work, have raised over $10 million for HIV/AIDS awareness and relief projects around the world. Red Hot + Blue was rereleased as a CD and Region 1 DVD 2-disc set in 2006 (and so unsuitable for most machines outside of North America).

Most of the performances from the TV special are available on YouTube. I've picked out some samples that show the wide range of interpretations these timeless classics inspired and the daring, thought provoking visuals that accompany them.

• For more about the work of the Red Hot Organisation, visit http://www.redhot.org

He's Terrific, He's Magnific

At the risk of turning this scrapbook into an obituary column, today I'm celebrating the life of yet another of my childhood heroes who died this week. I've lost far too many of them in 2011.

Mark Hall was the co-founder of Cosgrove Hall Studios who were responsible for some of the most successful and memorable British animation from the 1970s up until their recent absorption into ITV Productions. He and partner Brian Cosgrove came out of retirement this year and teamed up with children's TV creator Francis Fitzpatrick to reform their company, now called Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment, but sadly Mark died of cancer on Friday aged 75.

Hopefully this new team will keep his legacy alive and entertain many generations to come. For now, grab a bag of sweets and enjoy some of Cosgrove Hall's greatest hits.

Their first big hit, the surreal and inventive Chorlton And The Wheelies (1976-1979).

Anarchic and silly, that great British superhero Dangermouse (1981-1992) appealed to kids and adults alike.

Recurring Dangermouse villain Count Duckula got his own series (1988-1993)

Probably their most charming creation, based on the novel The Wind In The Willows (1983-1990)

Go the Fuck To Sleep

The world's most realistic bedtime story has been made even more awesome by casting Samuel L. Jackson to narrate it.

The book is available at the usual retailers and this audio book version can be downloaded from iTunes.

There's a whacking great clue in the title as to whether it's actually suitable for children...

Rude Rainbow

In memory of the late Roy Skelton, the voice of Zippy and George along with the classic Daleks, here's the innuendo-ridden, not-for-broadcast Christmas tape made by the cast of the 1970s' pre-school children's show Rainbow.

I grew up watching these people and look what they've turned me into!

Home

Nitin Sawhney featuring Will Young, BBC Electric Proms, 27.10.2006.

For Colin.

Goodbye My Sarah Jane

Some things can say what's on your mind much better than you can manage yourself.

Cartoon by John Kovalic

http://www.dorktower.com/

Torvill & Dean It Ain't

There's nothing that brightens up a dull winter Sunday more than watching vaguely well known people risk breaking limbs learning to skate on Dancing On Ice.  Thrills, spills, dangerous stunts and fit blokes who aren't scared of pink sequins.  It ticks so many of my boxes.

The 2011 series ended this weekend with the most unpredictable final ever and EastEnders actor Sam Attwater hitting his peak at exactly the right time to win over children's TV presenter Laura Hamilton.

In tribute to the final's traditional Bolero skate-off (and to get over the withdrawal symptoms) I've hunted down an animated version directed by Mario Cavalli in 1993.

This uses a repeated clip of Ravel's music and two motion-captured dancers.  As the video progresses it becomes increasingly abstract and starts playing games with your memory.  It's as remarkable as it is beautiful.

BOLERO from Mario Cavalli on Vimeo.

2010 - A Year In Hosiery

After a longer than wished for break (broken computer, check over at my Work In Progress if you really want to know), I'm back in time to see out 2010. No New Year's Eve is complete without a news review of the year and who better to remind you of the major stories of the past 12 months than the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre?

Well, probably anybody, but these guys do it with their own inimitable style.

The Socks' YouTube Channel

Wishing all my readers a very happy, successful and electrifying 2011.

Loadsa love from Val and Kevin The Octopus.

Simon's Cat in Cat Chat

Simon's Cat is a series of animations by Simon Tofield that pops up from time to time on YouTube.

If you love cats, Simon's Cat will remind you why you love cats.

If you hate cats, Simon's Cat will remind you why you hate cats.

This is the latest in the series, where the cat meets a boring hedgehog.

Simon's Cat's YouTube channel

Simon's Cat's website

Oktapodi

I wanted to watch a cartoon.  Kevin insisted on this one.