December 2012 calendar wallpaper

So once again, we've got to the point in the year where there's just four weeks until Christmas (gasp!). So, in the spirit of getting festive, without going as far as cracking open the eggnog (shudder), I have put together a winter wallpaper to share with you (hooray!).

The wallpapers are set at various sizes and can be downloaded from Smashing Magazine. Fancy one without a calendar? No problem, there's a bunch of those uploaded too.

Enjoy!

When the rebel scum aren't not around

George Lucas hasn't exactly made the wisest move in his recent re-tinkering of the Star Wars films, a re-tinkering which was a re-tinkering before the re-tinkering before that… basically there was a whole load of tinkering. But, to be fair, his smartest decision was to secure the licensing rights to the Star Wars merchandise. A move that the studio believed to be worthless; he had waived his director's fee in the negotiation, what were they to miss out on?

Lego for some time has released a plethora of Star Wars figures, as well as vehicles big enough to fill a child's room. But you knew that already, and if you didn't have you been on planet Hoth all this time? There's been plenty of homages to the loveable characters, but for me, none quite so inventive in the way Vesa Lehtimäki has photographed them. Shot for his Lego on Hoth book, Vesa brings charm and macro brilliance to the iconic action figures, and looked like he had a heck of a lot of fun in the process.

Procastination

George Lucas and his neck is here

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The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Christmas has come early for many, as Warner Bros. has released a trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. Admittedly, even I found myself avidly waiting for the HD trailer to download, so it's safe to assume I'm definitely part of that crowd.

Judging by what's been glimpsed so far, be it leaked photos of Catwoman riding the Batpod, as well as her in in a fight scene holding a half-eaten apple, a significant portion of the final instalment will be set in daylight during winter. In the trailer itself, one other key scene being part of a huge melee in Gotham’s financial district (actually shot on Wall Street). As Batman faces Bane for powerful blows to be traded, I wondered whether the snow in the financial district scene is a nod to Bruce's early training with Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins. An epic training setting in the snowy mountains of Bhutan carried through subtly to the final epic film of the series. Added to that is the gas that Bane relies on which is concocted from one of Ra's formulas. With these elements featured, however subtle, are a nice touch in bringing the trilogy full circle.

The Dark Knight Rises is released on 20th July, directed by Chris Nolan (Inception, the Prestige, Memento)

Watch the trailer on Apple

Frozen Planet

After managing to pick up my jaw from the floor I can finally enthuse about this. The most expensive screensaver for your TV; Frozen Planet will be hard to ignore over the coming weeks. The licence fee is worth it alone for this enchanting and captivating new television series. I could go on introducing the show, but seriously, just head straight over to iPlayer, if you haven't already.

Or, make the most of your HD TV and pre-order the boxset here

Win a luxury ski break in Chamonix

Glamour has teamed up with Timberland to offer one reader and three friends a winter break to Chamonix. The lucky group will spend 3 nights at boutique hotel The Clubhouse. The hotel is so exclusive there are just seven rooms, each with teak-decked 'rainforest' showers, REN toilets and Flatscreen TVs. Unwind at the end of a day's skiing at the uber cool Milk & Honey bar.

Look good as you ski/snowboard the famous Mont Blanc as there's also £1000 spending money, plus £200 each to spend at Timberland.

*Competition now closed*

More on The Clubhouse
Timberland winter shopping

Top image: Getty

Top Gear episodes go on Facebook

Dog sledge training, check. Arctic Doctor with shotgun, check. Heavily modified Toyota pick-up truck, check. Denim and corduroy, can remain at home. It's the Top Gear Polar race.

Admittedly, I haven't actually seen the episode, but I've posted this article because whenever I've stumbled on an episode of Top Gear, it usually ends up being an enjoyable and entertaining experience.

The BBC has developed a video-on-demand app for Facebook that will allow users of the website to rent a limited number of Top Gear episodes using Facebook Credits.

Users at a cost of 15 Facebook Credits (93p) can rent the episode for 48 hours. Other episodes available include US Road Trip and Vietnam Road Trip.

Here's the Facebook page so you can like the link and get watching. But with over 9 million fans already, chances are you already have!

Grab a tea, here's a few facts

Hammond arrived in the Arctic Circle a week earlier than Jeremy and James to take a crash course in dog-sledging. Much of his journey was done either on skis or standing on the back of a sled, and this while facing a steady stream of flying dog poo. Yuck!

The race was to reach the Magnetic North Pole, and not the True North Pole. The True North Pole is a fixed cartographical point which relates to time as well as position, the Magnetic North Pole (the one your compass points at) actually moves slowly over time due to magnetic changes in the Earth's core. So you could find yourself at the True North Pole and still need to travel north to reach the Magnetic North Pole.

It was because of this that Richard never actually made it to the Pole. Communications between the two teams were unreliable at best, and after Jeremy and James arrived, Richard was so far behind. The crew saw it cruel to make him go the extra distance just so Clarkson could gloat.

The polar bear is the largest land carnivore on the planet. It can run as fast as a race horse, has an incredibly keen sense of smell, and is the type of bear most likely to prey on humans. Apparently the crew encountered lots of them. In fact, the doctor who accompanied Hammond's team, and who travels to the Arctic Circle every year, said he'd seen more bears on this trip than any other he'd made. The shotgun wasn't for show.


Illustration: katejonesdesign.co.uk
Facts via BBC Top Gear site

Is anything more refreshing than a Coors Beer? Apparently nothing, but frozen tight pants come close.

Let's face it when the ad breaks come back on, they are loud, really loud. Maybe perhaps due to being broadcast with compressed audio files which can be ear-shatteringly intrusive even when you're two rooms from the lounge. Who knows? But enough of the technical stuff. One advert came on, that made me dig out the remote from the back of the sofa, fumble for the mute button, to see the mighty Jean-Claude Van Damme muse about his ice cold pants. Complete with mullet and double denim, here's a past glory action figure that clearly doesn't mind taking the mick out of himself. Grab a Coors Light and enjoy...

The website



Jean-Claude doing the rounds

The muscles from brussels

Hard Target: Best scenes

JCVD

Inside the Human Body

Here's a series that's got all the charm of Innerspace but with bags of science fact. Over the last few weeks Michael Mosley has been taking us on an engrossing journey exploring the wonders of the human body (with the help of some superb state-of-the-art graphics). Such scenes include the epic story of sperm fusing with an egg to create life, as well as following Wim Hoff 'The Iceman' swimming in glacial lakes so cold they would kill a normal person. Catch the rest of the fascinating BBC 1 series on iPlayer.

More about the series