In our preview of the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival last month, we incidentally mentioned that the overall SIGGRAPH confab was being held in New Orleans.
The incidental becomes essential, though, in this column. For one, the event, which wrapped last week (8/7) brought some 20,000 industry professionals from six continents to New Orleans, furthering the region’s economic recovery as we approach the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting southeast Louisiana (8/29/05).
Indeed while New Orleans proved to be a great city for the SIGGRAPH confab, the region is still in need of support. Beyond the obvious benefits derived from having hosted SIGGRAPH, New Orleans finds itself gaining on several other fronts thanks to the SIGGRAPH 2009+1 Outreach Program, which focuses on helping to educate local youth about careers in technology and creative arts. The long-term goal is to strengthen the New Orleans community by investing in the next generation.
The program entails:
• Helping the Algiers Technical Academy, a charter high school that is part of the Algiers Charter Schools Association, which features several courses to train students in computer graphics. SIGGRAPH has performed a complete makeover of the school’s computer room and is creating a new student computer graphics lab with computers donated from Walt Disney Animation Studios and software donated from Autodesk. Volunteers assisted with painting, decorating, hardware setup, networking, software installation, and cleanup of the lab.
• The Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp, which trains 100 young people per year (ages 10-21) in music and dance. The camp also offers three week-long training programs in the music business, recording engineering, and music notation technology for advanced students.
To support the camp, SIGGRAPH 2009 partnered with Basin Street Records to offer a custom album of music by some of the city’s finest musicians. Proceeds from the $9.99 album download will support the camp and its kids. Plus, this allows people from around the world to help out an important New Orleans initiative. The album is readily available for download.
• NOCCA–New Orleans Center for Creative Arts: A school in New Orleans providing pre-professional arts training to middle and high school students in culinary arts, dance, media arts, music, theater arts, visual arts, and creative writing.
SIGGRAPH brought 50 students each from NOCCA and from Algiers Technical Academy for a mentor/mentee day that provided students with a glimpse into a variety of professions available in the world of computer graphics and interactive techniques.
• Tipitina’s Foundation: A non-profit organization that features “Instruments a Comin,” a program that provides new musical instruments to New Orleans area schools. SIGGRAPH put in place a mobile text message-based fundraising campaign that people participated in during the SIGGRAPH confab.
For detailed information on the SIGGRAPH Outreach Program visit http://www.siggraph.org/s2009/community/outreach/index.php.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Reach Divorce Settlement After 8 Years
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two.
Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement was first reported by People magazine.
"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt," Jolie's attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. "She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family. This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. A judge will need to sign off on the agreement. An email late Monday night to Pitt's attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood's most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together.
Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt's actions on the flight. Two months later, the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the U.S. attorney did not bring charges.
A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by The Associated Press in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause... Read More