Autodesk would like to honor those young inventors and engineers that make the FIRST Robotics Competition possible at Autodesk. Autodesk Inventor allows you to quickly and easily design and modify your robot using the same iterative techniques employed by professional engineers.The Autodesk Inventor Award recognizes outstanding student achievement in mechanical design of the team robot using Autodesk Inventor® software. The software gives teams the power to test designs and check for interferences in a virtual environment so issues can be resolved without creating a physical prototype. The judges look for quality of robot design, technical expertise, and presentation of the final design. Visit this page for your rules and regs.

At Left: “Arctic Antics” was the 59th consecutive entry into the parade. Ideas are being sought for next year’s float design.

Want a front row ticket to the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade and prime seats for the Rose Bowl game? Submit an entry into the Cal Poly Universities’ 2008 Rose Float concept contest.

The winning float concept will become the Cal Poly Universities’ 60th consecutive float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. Aside from having their float seen my millions around the world, the contest winner will also receive two tickets to the Rose Bowl and four tickets to the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. The winner may also choose to forego the tickets in exchange for a $1,000 cash prize. Read the rest of this entry »

Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock’s artful, sometimes literal, sometimes distorted use of San Francisco architecture and geography in his 1957 suspense movie “Vertigo” is the topic of “The Architecture of Vertigo,” a free lecture by Sandy McLendon at 6 p.m. Thursday, 1 February, at the Speed Art Museum, 2035 S. Third St., Louisville, Kentucky.

McLendon is an architecture and design writer; editor of www.jetsetmodern.com, an online design magazine; and author of “PreFAB Elements” (HarperCollins: 2005). The talk is presented by the Hite Art Institute as part of the Frederic Lindley Morgan Lecture Series at the University of Louisville.

Screamfest prez Rachel Belofsky and partner Stan Winston (yep, the FX guru) have made their annual call for entries. There are three deadlines to mark on your calendar: For film submissions, 15 June is your early deadline, 15 July is the normal deadline and 15 August is the late deadline. That latter August date also applies to late screenplay submissions, while 15 June is the targeted normal deadline for you writers out there. So get crackin’! Visit the sitetitle for details and entry form.

At Right: “Long Days Short Life” is nationally known skateboard artist Patrick Jilbert’s first solo show.

“Long Days Short Life,” a first solo show for nationally known skateboard artist Patrick Jilbert, opens Friday with a 6 to 10 p.m. reception at Louisville’s Butcher Block Gallery, 931 E. Main St. Jilbert’s work has been included in many West Coast shows, including “Skate or Die” and “Blood Is the New Black.”

The Louisville exhibit, which continues through Feb. 28, is sponsored by Blood is the New Black, the company that sells T-shirts featuring Jilbert’s drawings, including his “Louisville Is for Haters” design. More of Jilbert’s work can be seen at www.patrickjilbert.com.

Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. The gallery, in the former Cinderblock gallery building, is operated by artists Lindsey Dobson and Matt Dobson and photographer and Louisville-based Bejeezus ‘zine founder Hillary Harrison.

The PLATFORM International Animation Festival will debut June 25- 30, 2007 in Portland, Oregon. The new, boundary-breaking festival and competition will feature films, installations and exhibitions.

Looking to fill the need for a major animation event in the U.S., the PLATFORM International Animation Festival will be a literal platform for artists, innovation, debate and discussion as well as set the stage to explore new developments in animation. The Festival program will feature premieres and retrospectives, exclusive screenings, guest speakers, exhibitions, workshops with leading artists, parties and networking opportunities with industry insiders. The Festival is being solely sponsored by Cartoon Network. Read the rest of this entry »