The JibJab Brothers will be holding a signing of their new children's book GRUMPY SANTA. The book will be available at any Barnes & Noble or Borders this Christmas. Gregg and Evan Spiridellis will be signing copies at the Borders Books on 3700 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, California 90503 at 7:00 pm. For more information, visit www.jibjab.com.

XSI New York User Group Wednesday, Nov 12 7:30 PM - mark your calendars! Join us in NYC where Dadi Einarsson of The Mill NY will be showing a recent commercial done in XSI, along with Softimage's Mark Schoennagel, who will be presenting some very cool material. The NYC User Group is always a great opportunity to catch up with friends and peers, and get the latest buzz in the Softimage community. Location: NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies Address: Woolworth Bldg. room 430, 15 Barclay St, New York, NY 10007

CATNAP's November meeting looks at the topic of Flash Animation vs Traditional techniques. Featured presenter is Flash guru Bob Risetto. The monthly meeting also features networking, screenings and an update on the group animation project. Open to all and free of charge. The meeting begins at 1 pm at the studios of itoons, 3717 N. Ravenswood Ave, Suite 210, Chicago.

Terrytoons - Mighty Mouse Over Westchester Decades of Hollywood publicity have obscured the fact that cartoons have been made in New York since around 1900. Among the pioneers to arrive on the scene was cartoonist and photographer Paul Terry, who in 1934 moved his Terrytoons organization to New Rochelle, NY. This was the birthplace of his most popular characters, including Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle. These beloved characters, along with Tom Terrific, and others will be features in our screening of Terrytoons shorts from the 1920s to the 1960s. In addition, we will show Paul Terry's rarely seen silent short "How Animation Is Made". (Total running time approx. 90 minutes) Q&A with animator, writer, and director Howard Beckerman after the screening.

For the second year in Miami, the Trade Commission Office of Spain along with the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and FAPAE (The Federation of Associations of Spanish Audiovisual Producers (FAPAE) are organizing a market for the television production industry of Spain. This initiative has been created in response to the raising demand of Spanish productions. The second edition of Spain TV Expo has been created as a meeting point that will improve the commercial relations between Spain and the main TV channels of Latin America, U.S. and Canada. During three days, the latest creations and projects from the main Spanish producers will be presented to the most important TV channels from U.S. and Latin America, along with a series of debates that will engage and discuss the current situation and trends of the U.S. Hispanic Television market. For more information, visit www.spaintv.spainbusiness.com.

Friday, Nov 20 at 6:00 PM Digital Pictures--brand new authorized reseller 212 N. 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401 Digital Pictures is celebrating joining forces with Softimage and SOFTIMAGE|XSI. As the number one 3-D reseller to the entertainment market in the Midwest region, Digital Pictures is in the perfect position to bring SOFTIMAGE|XSI to the Midwest. To mark this new partnership, Digital Pictures is holding a launch event in their new luxury space on November 20. This event features a demo of SOFTIMAGE|XSI given by Softimage's own Mark Schoennagel. Mark is a senior animator who has 15 years experience with the Softimage family of products. His work has taken him from Atlanta to Los Angeles where he has been involved closely with leading companies in the film industry, including ILM, Pixar, DreamWorks, Valve and Stan Winston Studios. With all this experience and a magnetic presence, it is no wonder that Mark's demos are often standing room only! The demo will include a variety of highlights of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI environment and will be followed by a Q&A session during which Mark will be happy to share his extensive knowledge about SOFTIMAGE|XSI. The event will culminate with food, drink and an opportunity for you to mix and mingle the evening away. Click here to register!! http://www.softimage.com/community/xsi/events/more_info/Event_03_MN.htm

Hosted by Alias, SIGGRAPH LA will be holding a

StoryBoard Pitch Night will feature the David Williams, whose projects include storyboards and key animation on THE WILD THORNBERRIES MOVIE and RUGRATS GO WILD, and board artist on LAND BEFORE TIME 11. This month's pitch list includes Ed Monegan, Christa Percival, Ramael Slater, Tyree Dillihay and Linda Lee. The event will run from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at The American Animation Institute -- 4729 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hollywood. For more information, contact Christa Percival at tel: (323) 664-2711; or e-mail: frankenchrista@earthlink.net.

The California State University, Fullerton chapter of The Pencil Mileage Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of drawing and painting with an emphasis on applications to the commercial arts of film and print, and on November 22, 2003, the PMC will present

The 4th Annual Durango Film Festival is dedicated to celebrating the art of cinema, enjoying flickering images on the screen and honoring the talented filmmakers for their passion, vision and work. Located in historic downtown Durango nestled in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of southwest Colorado, the juried 9-day festival presents independent narrative features, documentaries, animation, shorts, experimental, children and regional films, showcasing the work of filmmakers that embody the passion and distinctive voices in independent film. Also featured are speaker panels, educational salons, panels comprised of directors and producers of films in competition. For more information, visit www.durangofilmfestival.com.