We all know by now that 3D printing, or rapid prototyping, has taken the digital art world by storm. There seems to be no end in sight of the extraordinary uses of this new technology. Now the World Future Society takes us on a tour of printable houses and the future they offer. You really don't want to miss this fascinating incursion into tomorrow. (Thanks to RF for this.)

China's Ai Weiwei continues to tweak the sensibilities of the central authorities. Weiwei has sued the Chinese government over a tax issue. He is welcome to sue, they have told him, but he must first produce a document that has been confiscated by the government and he cannot recover. The issue centers on a company seal taken by the police. Weiwei is attempting to convince a court that he must have access to the seal. His chances appear to be slim.

The Smithsonian Institution is sponsoring a traveling exhibition called "X-Ray Vision: fish Inside Out". According to the curator, the X-Rays of deep sea creatures allow scientists to study them without disturbing the specimens.

Anna Ursyn of the University of Northern Colorado has produced a new book titled "Biologically-Inspired Computing for the Arts, subtitled "Scientific Data through Graphics". Ursyn has compiled a collection of artists using computers to connect biology,engineering, and material sciences, highlighting the current collaboration between art and science. Among the topics covered are "Bio_Interfaces:Designing Wearable Devices to Organic Interactions", and "From Zero to Infinity: A Story of Everything".

Karmatube has produced a video on the amazing life of Alice Herz Sommer, the oldest living survivor of the Holocaust. At the age of 108, Sommer continues to practice the piano for three hours daily. You won't want to miss this interview.

Google's project to put the works of Museums online with virtual tours now includes more than 150 of the world's great museums. The high resolution close-ups have given viewers an extraordinary way to view fine art from their computers. Recently added were the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the latter offering the Dead Sea Scrolls which recently drew over one million visitors in three days.

If you are a fan of unusual textiles, you will want to look at the work of Gali Cnaani, whose pieces are being shown at the Periscope Gallery in Tel Aviv. Cnaani explores the relationship of textiles to books, both of them seen as intimate activities done "quietly and alone".

Some thirty years ago, artists like myself exploring the possibilities of the new world of desktop computers, became fascinated with fractals. Software was difficult to come by - the best one I could find was attached to an inexpensive paperback book - and color fractals were an impossible dream. Things have changed dramatically since then, as you would expect. Take a look at this You Tube of moving fractals to get an idea. For those who want to try their hand, these were made with Mandelbulb3D.

A collaboration between MIT and the Pilobolus dance group has resulted in "Seraph", a dance between man and robot. (If you are offended by nudity, do not watch this.) Included are quad-rotor flying robots, covered with strings of lights. The performance took place at the Joyce Theater in New York City. By way of background, the Distributed Robotics Laboratory started out as the Dartmouth Robotics Laboratory at Darmouth College and in 2004 moved to MIT. You can see more of their projects at this second link.

Another and quite striking interaction with textiles has been undertaken by Joana Vasconcelos, who showed at the 2005 Venice Biennale. Vasconcelos makes extensive use of crocheting, which leads to her exploring that technique's tendency to "clothe, covet, smother, and suffocate". Vasconcelos is now the first woman to exhibit at Versailles.

Last summer, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles became the recipient of the work of photographer Herb Ritts, whose eye for the human body is unmistakable. Ritts' life was shortened by AIDS-related pneummonia at the age of 50 in 2002. "Herb Ritts: L.A. Style" is the Getty's exhibition of the stunning black and white photographs, several of which are shown here.

I have omitted graphics and used only links, partially due to the current brouhaha over copyrights. Give me your feedback on your how you feel about this.