Said PDK, “We are living in a computer-programmed reality. And the only clue we have to it is when some variable is changed, and some alteration in our reality occurs.”

YouTube – Did Philip K. Dick disclose the real ‘Matrix’ in 1977?.

Lab might do for video games, what USC did for film:

GAMBIT’s researchers, a collaboration of artists, historians, writing instructors, and educators, are mostly interested in breaking away from gaming conventions: the princess who needs rescuing, the shady merchant with the weapon you must get to survive the next chapter, the mushroom power-up.

They are also focused on teaching courses with heady titles like “Making Deep Games’’ and publishing papers such as “Bioshock: A Critical Historical Perspective.’’

“Everything done in the lab is based on some sort of research interest,’’ said Eitan Glinert, who was GAMBIT’s first graduate student, in 2007.

via MIT lab helps designers reimagine video games – The Boston Globe.

Live Video streaming by UstreamMore about the event:

“We are marathoning for earthquake relief in Haiti. We have teams of players ready to grind it out for charity, but we need your help! Tune in to the webcam feed on the weekend of February 26th-28th to check it out, and please donate to the cause. Every little bit helps.”

via Complete Game-Completion Marathon 2010.

Isabella Rossellini talked with Tom Ashbrook yesterday about her series of 18 shorts, Green Porno. It’s a great interview about these gorgeous little pieces, which feature simple sets and cool, paper costumes.

Five hundred magazine covers — Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair. Famous screen roles — “Blue Velvet,” “Wild at Heart,” “30 Rock.” Famous parents — Ingrid Bergman, Roberto Rossellini. Famous lovers — David Lynch, Martin Scorsese.

Now Isabella Rossellini has taken her talents, humor, and iconoclasm to the sex lives of the animal kingdom.

Click here to see the Sundance page with Rossellini’s sexy science videos.

As for whether these are NSFW, well, I don’t know what to tell you.

Loren Coleman’s got it at Twilight Language:

Aeromexico Flight 576, which is 5+7+6 = 18, thus 1+8 = 9, was hijacked on 9/9/09.

Breaking news is that the plane hijacking in Mexico is over after special forces stormed the jet and arrested several suspects.

More at CNN:

MEXICO CITY (CNN) — A 44-year-old Bolivian drug addict and alcoholic who describes himself as a church minister was the sole person responsible for the brief hijacking Wednesday of a commercial jetliner, a Mexican official said.

Emergency vehicles stand ready near a hijacked Aeromexico jet after it landed Wednesday in Mexico City.

Emergency vehicles stand ready near a hijacked Aeromexico jet after it landed Wednesday in Mexico City.

The suspect — Jose Mar Flores — told authorities he hijacked the Boeing 737 jet because the date — September 9, 2009, or 9/9/9, and 666 reversed — held some significance for him, said Genaro Garcia Luna, the secretary for public safety.

via Bolivian man acted alone in Mexico hijacking, official says – CNN.com.

1. Newspapers vying for Web appeal think they can do it on the cheap. They can’t.

2. A ridiculous number of MSM editors and reporters think they are creative, and have many other talents. They don’t.

3. The same people also think art and design have no place online. (I infer this from the goofball setup the Post used for its videos.) They’re wrong.

At least the AFP didn’t lead its story with the tired line, “It sounds like science fiction, but…”

The creators of the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, say it’s slowly developing social skills by interacting with humans and watching their facial expressions, mimicking a mother-baby relationship.

A bald, child-like creature dangles its legs from a chair as its shoulders rise and fall with rythmic breathing and its black eyes follow movements across the room.

It’s not human — but it is paying attention.

via Japan child robot mimicks infant learning.

But to say the CB2 is “paying attention,” or “developing social skills,” is a stretch, if you consider these to be functions of a conscious mind.