The New York Film Critics Circle Kicked off the 2011 awards season today by giving top honors to a silent, black and white film about the arrival of talking pictures: The Artist.

FORBES: Awards Season Kicks Off With Critics Win for 'The Artist'

On the Web, sitting at home, on a flowered couch, family pictures in the background, talking about having a conversation - all very soft and friendly.

NPR: Full House in White House Race

Since past work has shown that humans will forgo money just for the opportunity to look at sexy pictures, the team suspected that the participants might similarly favor talking about themselves over earning some cash.

FORBES: Social Media Taps Into Our Most Primal Urge: Talking About Ourselves

"So, children learn how to comprehend through interacting with toys, interacting with pictures, and then an adult or another person is talking to them and giving them information about what they're seeing and experiencing, " explains Camarata.

CNN: Scientists look to help children with autism find a voice

We're not sure why the Wall Street Journal just posted up a piece talking about BlackBerry OS 6.0 and the Bold 9800 QWERTY slider as though we haven't been running leaked pictures and videos of them for months now, but whatever -- the story also apparently confirms RIM's Foleo-like tablet plans and says the device could be out by the end of the year.

ENGADGET: WSJ: RIM testing Blackberry tablet for potential release by year's end