It’s interesting that swine flu was recently declared red flag alert, a pandemic, and a state of emergency, when the AIDS still stand as more fatal.

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The sight of teachers confiscating electronic games from their students is about to become old school. Nintendo has announced a classroom version of the popular Nintendo DS Lite hand held machine.

Starting February 2010, the company plans to supply schools with an assortment of Nintendo DS Lites, PC’s with Wi-Fi connectivity, and special educational software developed with Sharp. The idea behind this is to enable students to work on assignments in class, and send their work on the DS Lites to the teacher’s console. When ready, the completed work can be sent back the same way which neatly reduces paperwork. All information is transmitted wireless.

Considering the DS touchscreen and stylus features are ideal for writing Japanese, gaming extensions in the classroom could work well in the future. This is an indicative sign that Nintendo is moving beyond gaming as sales sag in Japan.

With a peculiar sculpture piece based on a system of “Dendroids,” American artist Roxy Paine has created a 130-foot-long by 45-foot-wide stainless-steel sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Roof Garden. It is an interesting combination of concepts – Paine uses both mechanical means and the innate logic of natural forms to create his “Dendroid” tree-like sculptures. Like in nature, these are a series of vascular networks, tree roots, mushrooms, and fungal mycelia. His meticulous research and observation of a variety of tree species help him to understand the nuances of how a tree grows. Paine has said:

“I’ve processed the idea of a tree and created a system for its form. I take this organic majestic being and break it down into components and rules. The branches are translated into pipe and rod.”

Employing the “language” that he has invented for each of these fictive species, Paine’s trees are “grown” through a laborious process of welding together the cylindrical piping and rods and manifests itself with the green and concrete surroundings of New York.

Maelstrom (2009) is Paine’s largest and most ambitious work to date and is showing now until October 25 at The Metroplitan Museum of Art Rooftop Garden.

Installation images of Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom

Installation footage of Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom
[via The Met]