(...)

"Epicurus's philosophy exercised so widespread an influence that for a long time it was touch and go whether Christianity might not have to give way before it," writes Lawrence Durrell in a tone of lament.

One consequence of Christian hostility, a kind of passive resistance, is a broken tradition. Epicureanism was ignored by the monastic scribes who transferred the works of approved authors from the school of Athens, particularly Aristotle and Plato, from papyrus to parchment and vellum. Only a few letters, sayings and principles survive from the 300 scrolls attributed to Epicurus in antiquity.

A few fragments from Epicurus's lost work, On Nature, inspiration for the Roman poet Lucretius's magisterial poem, On the Nature of Things, have been unearthed at the Villa of the Papyri. But the Herculaneum scrolls are mainly the works of an Epicurean sage named Philodemus, previously known as the author of some rather racy light verse.

These finds are contributing to a revival of scholarly interest in Epicureanism, Europe's first green philosophy, at a time when the West urgently seeks advice on living with less. Epicurean counsel sounds at times like contemporary wisdom; it provides the philosophical language for an eco-friendly art of life. A few lines from Lucretius, penned at the apogee of paganism, are equally applicable in the age of the plasma screen:

But while we can't get what we want, that seems

Of all things most desirable. Once got,

We must have something else.

But there is an exquisite edge to the discovery of this Epicurean library in Herculaneum, and it is honed not so much by the knowledge of what has been found as the fear of what might be lost. An alliance of mainly British and American scholars, convinced that more texts remain to be found at the Villa of the Papyri, are calling for its urgent excavation. They cite the threat posed to the villa, which has never been completely liberated from its prison of rock, by a further eruption of Vesuvius. The volcano's bellows were heard as recently as 1998.

Richard Janko, head of classical studies at the University of Michigan, believes the Villa of the Papyri promises to yield the greatest number of new texts since the discoveries in the 16th century that nourished the High Renaissance and fashioned Western secular humanism. "This is the only place in the world where we know for certain that a Greco-Roman library was entombed in a manner that ensured its preservation," Janko says.

"There are almost certainly more books to be found there."

He points out that many of the scrolls were discovered in carrying containers arrayed in a line, as if being evacuated towards the sea.

Robert Fowler, professor of Greek and dean of arts at Bristol University, hopes that a study recently published by the local archeological superintendent's office on the future conservation of the Herculaneum site, ancient and modern, might show the way forward.

"The villa remains one of the great buildings of the ancient world and it should certainly be excavated," Fowler says. "This would be true even if we were to find no further papyri, though the likelihood that we will find them adds much to the case. The building will certainly contain many other things, and is of unique historical interest. If we know of a site that should be excavated, and we have the capacity, let us get on with it. Of all the sites in the world, this one ranks close to the top of the list for potential and historical importance."

If a significant number of lost classics are found at the Villa of the Papyri it would enlarge the cultural and intellectual tradition, and might even alter its course. Should scholars find the famous lost second book of Aristotle's Poetics, the narrative spring of Umberto Eco's best-selling medieval mystery, The Name of the Rose, the discovery might shift the ground of Western aesthetics. Of Sophocles' 120 plays, only seven are known, and of these the Oedipus trilogy has embossed itself eternally on the Western imagination. The Kypria, a martial epic believed to have been Homer's source material, disappeared some time in antiquity.

All gone. Or perhaps only lost from view....

(((The chain-smoking gay mayor and the revolutionary Communist postman. I dunno, maybe these two guys are really gonna thrive. In the meantime, Sarko's popularity is up five points.))) ttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4614091.ece Link: Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë bids for French Socialists leadership - Times Online .

Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor of Paris, today made a bid for leadership of the Socialist opposition, just as the rudderless French Left risks being upstaged by a new party founded by a revolutionary postman.

Mr Delanoë, 58, France's most popular leftist and most senior gay politician, (((okay, he's chainsmoking, gay and also old))) was the second big beast to enter the fight to succeed François Hollande, the lacklustre outgoing leader. Half a dozen contenders are already in the running for the November party vote, including Ségolène Royal, Mr Hollande's former domestic partner, who lost the run-off for the presidency to Nicolas Sarkozy last year.

The Mayor staked his claim amid media bedazzlement with Olivier Besancenot, 34, a charismatic Trotskyite (((I'm trying to imagine the Russian reaction to a Trotskyite French leader -- icepicks leap to mind))) and second most popular leftist, whose star has soared since he scored four per cent in the presidential first round. A no-compromise Marxist of a type extinct elsewhere, Mr Besancenot is surfing on discontent with both Mr Sarkozy and the parliamentary Left.

Riven with disputes, the Socialists have failed to capitalise on Mr Sarkozy's deep unpopularity. On Sunday Mr Besancenot said that he would do the job and outlined plans for a Nouveau Parti Anti-capitaliste (NPA).

To the delight of Mr Sarkozy's camp, this will drain a substantial fringe of leftists who have given up on the Communist Party and believe that the Socialists have sold out. "French capitalism is in the process of cracking," the baby-faced Mr Besancenot declared to a cheering crowd. "What they need is a good old revolution." (((I'm looking forward to the giant French communal farms.)))

Mr Besancenot's movement, which is opposed to profits, parliamentary democracy and private enterprise, is being credited with a potential 7 or 8 per cent of the national vote. Along with support for a new broad Green coalition, this would fragment the Left just as the far-right Front National of Jean-Marie Le Pen did to the Centre Right of Jacques Chirac in the 1980s and 1990s.

Ms Royal, 54, is the other big contender for the leadership of the self-destructing Socialist party...

(((I'm back from the hills. Some hills are cozier than others.)))

(((From EDRI.)))

===================================================

3. Problems with online FoI in the Georgia-Russia conflict

=================================================

The conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia region has extended to Internet, both countries having launched cyber-attacks and blocking each other's broadcasting sites.

Georgian authorities have blocked access to Russian news broadcasters and websites, the action being justified by Georgia's Interior Ministry with the argument that Russian broadcasts would "scare our population" which the government could not allow.

Mamia Sanadiradze, founder and CEO of Caucasus Online, the biggest Georgian ISP, told Reuters: "People from the (Georgian) security agencies asked me to block Russian sites. There were threats from viruses, we faced disinformation and so on. (...) I hope that when war is over, we will unblock these sites."

On the other hand, Georgian online news media and the Georgian government websites have been attacked by Russian hackers, including the President's site. In order to remain accessible, the foreign ministry website changed its URL address.

Security researchers claim to have evidence showing a link between Russian state businesses and the cyber-attacks against Georgia. Denial of service attacks against Georgian websites started a day before the break out of the military conflict over South Ossetia.

Don Jackson, a SecureWorks researcher said that logs showed that part of the attack was run from command and control servers located on the networks of Rostelecom and Comstar, two Russian state-run companies. "We know that the Russian government controls those servers theoretically, if they have not been 'pwned' by somebody else," Jackson told eWeek. The two companies made changes in routing tables that blocked internet traffic to Georgia. The same networks were used to launch denial of service attacks and cache poisoning attacks against Georgian networks, according to SecureWorks.

Reporters Without Borders condemn the violation of online freedom of information. "The Internet has become a battleground in which information is the first victim. On the one side, the main Georgian ISPs severed access to Russian websites. On the other side, Georgian government websites were attacked by Russian hackers. With newspapers and radio and TV stations putting out very little independent news, the Internet is a vital tool for the public, so these attacks must stop at once."

Russian and Georgian websites fall victim to a war being fought online as well as in the field (13.08.2008) http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28167

Georgia cuts access to Russian websites, TV news (19.08.2008) http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSLJ36223120080819

Georgia accuses Russia of coordinated cyberattack (11.08.2008) http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10014150-83.html?hhTest=1

Bear prints found on Georgian cyber-attacks (14.08.2008) http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/14/russia_georgia_cyberwar_latest/

Russian cybercrooks turn on Georgia (11.08.2008) http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/11/georgia_ddos_attack_reloaded/ (((Meanwhile, next door in the Ukraine, in the office of President Yushchenko:))) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4593424.ece

(...)

Q: Russia claims that you are selling arms to Georgia. Is that true?

Yushchenko: It is very difficult to comment on the unsubstantiated claims of Russian officials particularly as they have supplied no evidence. The partnership between Ukraine and Georgia is based on law and on mutual benefit, as with any two countries. We have an inter-governmental agreement on military cooperation signed in 1995 and 1996. No limits have been set by international organisations on military technical cooperation between Georgia and Ukraine, so any comment on this subject amounts to unhelpful speculation.

Q: Are you going to try to box the Russian fleet into Sevastopol?

Yushchenko: We cannot control a foreign fleet"s operational activities. However we can and must demand that our Russian counterparts strictly abide by Ukrainian legislation regarding the stationing of the Russian navy on our territory. It is set out in international law and there is a modus operandi for situations like this. I have issued two decrees to control the re-location of Russian troops and military equipment outside their bases as well as their crossing of the Ukrainian state border.

This fully complies with the core agreement signed between Ukraine and Russia that regulates the situation as long as the Russian navy is stationed on our territory.

We still face a lot of unresolved issues with respect to the Russian navy"s stationing in the Crimea but I am confident that we will be able to reach a compromise.

Q: So when will you start talks with Russia about removing the fleet when their lease runs out in 2017?

Yushchenko: We have repeatedly urged Russia to consider this issue. However every time we face a lack of understanding and outright reluctance on their part to solve this problem. (...)

Q: How do you feel about the poisoning attempt that scarred your face? Do you know now who was behind it?

Yushchenko: The issue of my poisoning is my personal tragedy and that of my family and unfortunately it has become an integral part of the political debate in Ukraine. There is a great deal of speculation about this. We will have to wait for the legal procedures to take their course and draw a line under this matter.

(((I bet those are gonna make interesting reading, especially if you're way into, like, Bakunin and Nestor Makhno.)))

(((Where's the charge, officers? "Suspicion of being from Berkeley"?)))

(((More:)))http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-08-21/article/30943?headline=Berkeley-Campus-Police-Raid-Long-Haul-Seizing-Computers-Disks-Drives http://thelonghaul.org/ Link: An Infoshop in south Berkeley | The Long Haul .

*Berkeley, CA* — At 10:30 am on Wednesday, August 27th, the UC Berkeley police, plainclothes FBI agents, and an Alameda County sheriff raided at gunpoint the Long Haul, a long-standing community library and info shop. Police spent at least an hour and a half searching the premises without allowing Long Haul members entry to their building. More than a dozen computers and other equipment were seized in the morning raid. Having made no attempt to contact Long Haul members, agents forced their way into the building by entering a neighboring non-profit office with guns drawn. Police refused to provide a search warrant until after the raid was over and property was seized.

“This is an outrageous abuse of authority by the federal government,” said TKTK, a member of the Long Haul. “What cause could the police have to come into a community center like the Long Haul and seize information belonging to the people of Berkeley? They must return our property immediately.” The police went through every room, both public and locked - cutting or unscrewing the locks - and removed every computer from the building...." (((I wonder why they never leave two or three, just for variety's sake.)))

(((Be there, or be so beyond merely "square" that you're probably some kind of flaccid cryptographic rebus.)))

Tickets and pre-signed books are now available for the Anathem book launch evening on September 9th, 02008 in San Francisco. The evening will include a reading by Neal Stephenson, a followup conversation with Danny Hillis and Stewart Brand, and a short live concert of the music inspired by the book. There will even be a martial arts demonstration of Shovel-Fu from the the book.

Due to the size of the event, the only way to guarantee a signed copy of the book will be to pre-purchase one through the RSVP and ticket link.

As time allows, Neal has agreed to do some inscriptions after the reading.

Time: Doors open at 6:30pm, program begins promptly at 7pm (if you need to buy a book or pick up your pre-order come on the early side)

General admission tickets are $10, or $42.50* with a pre-signed copy of Anathem (that you pick up at the event).

Long Now Members need to RSVP for their complimentary ticket, and to pre-purchase their signed book. (check your email for the instructions)

Venue: The Regency 1320 Van Ness @ Sutter, San Francisco, CA 94109

Not in SF? You can watch the event live on the web at Fora.tv, with streaming donated by Streamguys.

(((You could probably run the planet for a couple weeks just on the dead-media vinyl LPs.)))

Link: Planet Ark : Could US$100 Oil Turn Dumps Into Plastic Mines? .

UK: August 27, 2008

LONDON - Sparked by surging oil, a dramatic rise in the value of old plastic is encouraging waste companies across the world to dig for buried riches in rotting rubbish dumps.

Long a symbol of humanity's throw-away culture, existing landfill sites are now being viewed as mines of potential which as the world population grows could also help bolster the planet's dwindling natural resources.

"By 2020 we might have nine billion people on the planet, we could have a very big middle class driving millions more cars, and we could be in a really resource-hungry world with the oil price climbing and a supply situation in Libya, Russia and Saudi where natural gas is limited," said Peter Jones, one of Britain's leading experts on waste management.

"It is those drivers, those conditions, which will encourage the possibility of landfill mining." (...)

(((Wait a minute, boys -- wrenches don't evolve. Wrenches have intelligent designers. You don't wanna be so nerdy that you blow your argument here.)))

I don't understand why I can sort-of blog, and also twitter and flickr, without an ability to pick up my email.

I'm leaving Belgrade for the mountains, where I plan to work on some fiction.

Connectivity may be sketchy, which is pretty much the point.

(((I much admire these "Evil Mad Scientist Lab" guys, so I hope they grasp the deeper reality that the Internet is *already* a huge, decaying box of electronics junk.))) Link: Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories - The Great Internet Migratory Box Of Electronics Junk.

The Great Internet Migratory Box Of Electronics Junk is a progressive lending library of electronic components. An internet meme in physical form halfway between P2P zip-archive sharing and a flea market. It arrives full of wonderful (and possibly useless) components, but you will surely find some treasures to keep. You will be inspired look through your own piles, such as they are, and find more mysterious components that clearly need to be donated to the box before it is passed on again.

Recipient Conditions for The Great Internet Migratory Box Of Electronics Junk:

Take out and add as much electronics junk as you like (but keep it small enough to fit in a USPS flat-rate Priority Mail box).

Write up, photograph, document or otherwise publish in some way online at least one thing you took out (suggested flickr tag: TGIMBOEJ).

There is a little book in the box. Add a checkmark by your name to show that the box has been to you. Also propose a future recipient by adding their name and e-mail address to the book.

Within two weeks pass the box along to one of the people whose name is in the book. Before mailing it to them, send them this list and make sure that they want to participate.

If you get the box, who you should send it to?

A proposed recipient should be someone you suspect of having a critical mass of (or at least sufficiently interesting) electronics junk, should have a non-zero online presence, and should be reliable enough that you think they actually will send it off again within two weeks. (Naturally, bonus points for open source oriented hardware hackers.)

Why would you want to get a box of junk in the mail?

As Mark Frauenfelder observed in Make: vol. 12, there is a certain importance to keeping a junk box for future projects. We heartily agree.... (((Or you can just wait until your past projects BECOME junk. "Any sufficiently rapid technology is indistinguishable from garbage.")))

Guinea pig
Originally uploaded by nicolasnova

A Peruvian guinea pig. I wasn't aware that they baked them and served them whole with the heads on.

The flying rear feet are a nice decorative touch.

Digital Deli

The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy

by The Lunch Group & Guests

Edited by Steve Ditlea

published 1984

(((If you were born after 1984, you definitely need a look at this.)))

Worldchanging Executive Editor Alex Steffen has become a respected voice of dissent in the global conversation about geo-engineering strategies. This fall, he re-enters the debate as part of the cast of front-line innovators featured in a new docu-style series from Discovery and Impossible Pictures. The program, called Discovery Project Earth, launches this Friday, August 22.

The series will profile some pretty extraordinary experiments aimed at slowing global warming, generating alternative energy and restoring natural resources. Cutting-edge thinkers around the world, including scientists, engineers and other innovators, stand at the helms of these most ambitious projects, which face no small amount of uncertainty in their quest to save all life on Earth.

Alex was tapped to comment both generally on the wisdom of geo-engineering and specifically on several of the climate-hacking initiatives featured in Project Earth. These plans read like the scripts of science fiction movies, but they are being worked on right now, to address what is perhaps the biggest challenge the human race has ever confronted. According to a press release issued by Discovery Communications:

From covering acres of Greenland's glaciers in protective blankets to stop it from melting to constructing space rockets to send tiny reflective lenses into orbit to planting thousands of saplings via a mass aerial drop to reforest barren areas, these are experiments on an epic scale. Each one will push the boundaries of science and technology, but will they produce groundbreaking environmental results? Make no mistake: we need thinkers who are willing to go beyond the norm; who are willing to imagine on an epic, legendary, mythological scale; who aim to be the heroes who preserve life on this planet.

But Worldchanging has always encouraged careful debate and long-term consideration when it comes to geo-engineering. Drastic measures that dramatically alter intricate systems and delicately balanced exchanges on the Earth, in our oceans, in our atmosphere and beyond are daunting, because altering the natural flow of ecosystems is how we created this disaster in the first place.

Whether or not you'll be tuning in to Project Earth, we've put together a gallery of Worldchanging's past coverage of geo-engineering. We hope that this modest anthology will help those who would like to follow the debate and our role in it, and to help many of you deepen your understanding of some of the most cutting edge, beyond-the-pale, and, we worry, the most dangerous ideas now in the arsenal for our fight against climate chaos....

(((I can guess right now how this kind of thing is going to play out -- it'll be like South Ossetia. "You didn't expect us to just SIT ON OUR HANDS during a HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE, did you? Of course we had to send in the giant geo-space lasers...")))

(((Digging it that they found a graffiti guy to do this instead of something all torpidly corporate.)))

(((The number of progeny required to assure continuance of the Spice Girl species would be some 2.11 Spice tots per Girl, which by my calculation means they are still short by 2.55. But considering they're European, a grand effort all round. Got the full DNA complement of gingerness, poshness, scariness, and sportiness into the baby gene pool.))) ttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1047951/Happy-Mel-C-confirms-shes-expecting-Baby-Spice.html Link: 'Happy' Mel C confirms she's expecting a Baby Spice | Mail Online.

(...)

Melanie sparked rumours she may be pregnant last Friday when she wore a blue floaty dress at a show in Liverpool.

And in a recent interview she hinted that she was feeling broody.

She said: 'I love kids and one of the best bits about touring with the Spice Girls this time round was getting to know everyone's babies. I'm sure that babies will be a part of my future.'

Once Melanie gives birth it will bring the total haul of Spice babies to eight.

Victoria has three children with David Beckham - Brooklyn, nine, Romeo, five, and Cruz, three.

Melanie B has two girls - Phoenix Chi, nine, with dancer Jimmy Gulzar, and Angel Iris, 16 months, with Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy.

Geri has one youngster, two-year-old daughter Bluebell with Sasha Gervasi.

And Emma gave birth to son Beau Lee, aged one, with former lead singer of boy band Damage Jade Jones....

(((Wow, an actual novelist in TECHNOLOGY REVIEW. Doing what novelists do best: complaining.))) Link: Technology Review: "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

"I'm still unable to accept that the best word-processing program ever written, WordPerfect 5.0 for DOS, won't even run on any computer I can buy now. Oh, sure, in theory you can still run it in Windows' little DOS-emulating window, but the tininess and graphical crudeness of that emulator are like a deliberate insult on Microsoft's part to those of us who would prefer not to use a feature-heavy behemoth. WordPerfect 5.0 was hopelessly primitive for desktop publishing but unsurpassable for writers who wanted only to write. Elegant, bug-free, negligible in size, it was bludgeoned out of existence by the obese, intrusive, monopolistic, crash-prone Word.(...)

"Just 10 years ago, New York City (where I live) still abounded with collectively maintained public spaces in which citizens demonstrated respect for their community by not inflicting their banal bedroom lives on it. The world 10 years ago was not yet fully conquered by yak. It was still possible to see the use of Nokias as an ostentation or an affectation of the affluent. Or, more generously, as an affliction or a disability or a crutch. There was unfolding, after all, in New York in the late 1990s, a seamless citywide transition from nicotine culture to cellular culture. One day the lump in the shirt pocket was Marlboros, the next day it was Motorola. One day the vulnerably unaccompanied pretty girl was occupying her hands and mouth and attention with a cigarette, the next day she was occupying them with a very important conversation with a person who wasn't you.

"One day a crowd gathered around the first kid on the playground with a pack of Kools, the next day around the first kid with a color screen. One day travelers were clicking lighters the second they were off an airplane, the next day they were speed-dialing. Pack-a-day habits became hundred-dollar monthly Verizon bills. Smoke pollution became sonic pollution. Although the irritant changed overnight, the suffering of a self-restrained majority at the hands of a compulsive minority, in restaurants and airports and other public spaces, remained eerily constant. Back in 1998, not long after I'd quit cigarettes, I would sit on the subway and watch other riders nervously folding and unfolding phones, or nibbling on the teatlike antennae that all the phones then had, or just quietly clutching their devices like a mother's hand, and I would feel something close to sorry for them. It still seemed to me an open question how far the trend would go: whether New York truly wanted to become a city of phone addicts sleepwalking down the sidewalks in icky little clouds of private life, or whether the notion of a more restrained public self might somehow prevail.

"Needless to say, there wasn't any contest...."

"Below we present 10 recent developments in the field of user experience design. Most techniques may seem very futuristic, but some of them are already reality. And in fact, they are extremely impressive. Keep in mind: they can become ubiquitous in the next years....

(((I'm liking those. Especially this one.)))

Holographic Interface - round interface - Ringo from Ivan Tihienko on Vimeo.

(((Imagine BEYOND THE BEYOND oozing right out of mobiles and laser-painting the very streets.)))

"It is beyond amusing the lengths to which CDO managers have gone (had gone) to avoid price discovery. But the day of reckoning approaches them all, if it has not yet arrived. Amusingly, two CDO managers I knew tangentially simply refused to accept reality. Their superior management ability made it impossible for their CDO structures to fail. The (Markowitz) efficient frontier was calculated to blend the tranches to perfect proportions, down to two decimal precision. Superior in every way these structures. Until they weren't. I can't help but poke fun...."

(((Just part one of a complete seven-part Gotterdammerung series...)))

(((Somewhere at Intel: "There's gotta be *some* way to undercut those colossal sums Pixar is pulling down... wait a minute! What if we even don't pay the animators? Let Facebook kids do all the work!"))) http://www.dexigner.com/design_news/the-future-of-creative-collaboration.htm Link: The Future of Creative Collaboration | Design News.

Intel Corporation today announced a collaborative animation project to produce a computer-generated animated short film for theatrical release. The Mass Animation Project, presented by Intel, will be open to established and aspiring animators.

Intel is sponsoring the development and promotion of a Facebook Page where animators will be able access a collaboration application built on the Facebook Platform, and will work together to create the animated short film. Starting this fall, artists around the world will be able to contribute by animating small pieces of a 5-minute, professional-quality animated short film. The start date will be announced soon.

"This is a great opportunity to bring together computer graphics with the creativity of both Hollywood and the Facebook community" said Michael Hoefflinger, general manager of Intel's Partner Marketing Group. "The power of Intel high-performance processor technology makes it possible for content creators to design, animate and innovate. Intel processor performance and Facebook communication and sharing tools enable large numbers of people around the globe to collaborate on a single creative endeavor"

The Mass Animation project will be produced and directed by industry veteran Yair Landau, former vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of Sony Pictures Digital.

"Mass Animation combines original computer-generated animated storytelling with social networking in a powerful, new way" Landau said. "With such partners as Intel, Autodesk*, Reel FX Entertainment, Aniboom and Facebook, we will reach so many talented animators who might not otherwise have access to this community of imagination and artistry. This project is the future of creative collaboration"...

The tools that animators need to collaborate on this project will be provided. (((Gosh, that's handy.))) Participating animators will be able to download an evaluation version of Autodesk Maya Unlimited software to layout and animate sections of the script. Reel FX Entertainment animation studio will then use proprietary tools to convert the selected videos to final quality animation frames for posting and sharing on the Facebook page....

(((So, there you are... in your shack, in your slum... with your Google Mac Cloudbook, coughing up your lungs from tuberculosis -- but by golly, you did *forty five seconds of the second-greatest animated feature ever!* The cartoon is probably a musical about some big-eyed, pitiful, but awesomely creative kid who's dying in a colorful slum, while his loveable Mom cooks his last vegetarian meals over a flaming heap of Marxist tracts by Mike Davis. "We're dyin', Ma," (koff-koff) "but we're dying in the Creative Class with all our Facebook friends!")))

"SIGGRAPH announced the Computer Animation Festival's Best of Show, Jury Award, Student Prize, Audience Prize, and a special Well Told Fable Prize for SIGGRAPH 2008, the 35th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.

""The caliber of submissions this year was truly phenomenal, which made the jury's job especially difficult," said Jill Smolin, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Entertainment Director. (((Judges always say that.))) "The winners truly showcase what is possible today and provide a glimpse into what artists can achieve in the future. Really, the only limitation is the imagination."

Award and prize winners were chosen from hundreds of submissions from around the globe, presented by both professional studios and students alike. An expert panel of jury members selected the winners for exemplary use of computer-generated imagery, animation, and storytelling. SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Award Recipient Ken Perlin and a host of industry presenters recognized the nominees and winners in a fun, lively awards ceremony.

Best of Show Winner

Oktapodi

Gobelins, l'ecole de l'image, France