Award-winning provider of software training videos lynda.com is launching—today—its online training, entitled “CS4 University,” for the new Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 product family. lynda.com has over 100 hours of instructional videos on Creative Suite 4 training, 28 training courses available now (8 additional courses being added by Oct. 23rd), and more planned for the coming months. lynda.com’s “CS4 University” can be accessed at www.lynda.com/CS4U . The company has also produced training videos that are bundled with the new software, as the exclusive in-the-box video training provider for Adobe Creative Suite 4.

These new Creative Suite 4 courses are the latest additions to over 700 hours of Adobe training already available at lynda.com. The company’s other diverse online courses include multiple training sessions for Adobe AfterEffects® CS3, Flash CS3 Professional, Illustrator® CS3, InDesign® CS3, Photoshop® CS3, Acrobat® 9 Pro, Dreamweaver® CS3, Fireworks® CS3, Soundbooth® CS3, and many others. For a comprehensive list of these courses, please see: http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modListing.asp?vid=74

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From October 17th to October 26th ILLUSTRATIVE’s 4th forum of illustrative and graphic arts will take place in the Zurich Messehallen. Conceived in 2006 in Berlin, ILLUSTRATIVE is an annual forum, and the one and only of its kind worldwide that presents the latest inclinations which run the range of illustrative and graphic art in one exhibition.

In 2008 the Illustrative has given international creative companies the possibility to showcase their work and activities in an exclusive booth area. Taiko & Associates Inc., the internationally prestigious creative management and illustration agency, based in Tokyo, Japan, will exhibit a group of 20 Japanese young and leading illustrators. The extraordinary show with over 40 artworks will be shown at the Illustrative Forum, Zurich Messe, Halle 9 from October 17th (opening party start 19:00h) until October 21st. 2008 from 11:00 - 8:00 daily. For more information please view www.illustrative.de

The 2nd Annual Open Web Awards is only weeks away. The Open Web Awards is the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in Web technology. The first Open Web Awards was spread over 50 international blog partners and this year they are aiming higher. Already in just over a week we have 30 blog partners confirmed in 4 languages and 8 countries. Help us expand.

Open Web Awards is the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements in 26 categories. This year, we’re partnering with over 100 blog partners, Poll Daddy for extra security and ease of voting and extending the nominations period and voting rounds for greater participation.

The requirements are minimal. Nominations will be held from November 5th till November 18th 2008. The first and final voting rounds will be held from November 19th till December 15th. If you are a blogger and would like to participate please fill out the Blog Partner Application at Mashable

The City of Helsinki organises, in co-operation with the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), an open international ideas competition on the planning of Koivusaari Island.

The competition is open to all. The competition languages are Finnish and English. The entrants are encouraged to form multidisciplinary planning groups with a wide range of expertise on land use, landscape planning, traffic technology, municipal engineering, and construction and energy engineering.

The competition is organised in order to prepare the component master plan for Koivusaari Island. The objective of the competition is to produce innovative plan alternatives which can serve as a basis for further planning and drafting of the component master plan and to identify the essential features of this new district which will have a maritime atmosphere and an underground railway connection.

Before the jury panel makes its decision the entries will be publicly displayed. If necessary, a second stage will be arranged. There is no entry fee for the competition. Registration is not required. Deadline is 10 Novemer 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Oregon Metro’s restoration and enhancement grants support individual, non-profit and government sponsored restoration, enhancement and education and efforts in regional watersheds. These grassroots, community-minded projects create new connections and improvements to neighborhoods, natural areas, backyards and beyond.

In May 2008, the Metro Council awarded $250,000 to successful applicants whose projects restore and enhance regional watersheds, educate citizens about watershed health, and/or inspire environmental awareness and action.

Metro is now accepting grant applications for projects that connect citizens to their watershed through hands-on restoration activities and environmental education. Pre-applications are due 7 January 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

MyToons.com, the world’s first and only online animation community to deliver HD animation, today announced the launch of its latest artwork and animation contest, Creepy Cartoons. Creepy Cartoons invites artists and animators worldwide to upload their Halloween-inspired creations in celebration of this ancient Druid holiday. Halloween, much like animation, has transitioned from a kid-centric phenomenon to one increasingly enjoyed by adults.

In the spirit of Halloween, MyToons will award winning animators with Disney & Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Collector’s Edition DVD, along with the Nightmare Revisited soundtrack CD, as well as celebratory exposure on the highly-trafficked MyToons.com homepage. The 2-Disc collection has been digitally remastered and restored with state-of-the-art technology, and is the first Disney DVD to include a downloadable Disney file. The Nightmare Revisited soundtrack is a frightfully fun collection of cover songs from the cult-classic movie, and features covers from artists such as Danny Elman, Polyphonic Spree, All American Rejects, and Marilyn Manson.

“Halloween is a fun holiday that brings out the kid in all of us. Who can resist the opportunity to play a little dress-up or, in this case, toss some gore into our toons?” asks Stacey Ford, CCO and co-founder of MyToons.com. “We are definitely fans of All Hallow’s Eve here at MyToons, and we invite all artists and animators to celebrate the season and share in our enthusiasm. So, dig your animated skeletons out of the closet and send shadowy shivers up the spines of all your fans by uploading your creepiest animations to MyToons.com!”

MyToons.com is accepting submissions throughout the month of October. Members are invited to enter by uploading their artwork or animation and tagging them as “Creepy Cartoons – Halloween.” Selected artwork and animations will be featured daily on the MyToons blog, The Animation Snack, as well as the Creepy Cartoons Channel on the MyToons.com homepage, where it will be available through November 2nd.

The Creepy Cartoons artwork and animation contest begins today and continues through November 2nd. For more information please visit The Animation Snack.