Editor’s note: I am such a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, he just can’t make a bad film. Sure he can make you wanna puke, laugh and cry all at the same time, but that’s what makes him superb. I’;ve lifted the following from Slate but make sure you read the whole article it’s well worth it!
You’re Going to Hellboy
Guillermo del Toro’s beastly good imagination.
By Dana StevensWhen people say that comic books are as close as our secular late-capitalist culture gets to having its own mythology, it’s not generally meant as a compliment. But over the course of two Hellboy movies (based on the comic by Mike Mignola), Mexican director Guillermo del Toro has started to look like a legitimate successor to Ovid. Del Toro is not so much a creator of myths as a collector of them, a transhistorical myth nerd whose pantheon of influences ranges from Hesiod to Harryhausen (with liberal helpings of steam punk and Catholic iconography). In Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal), del Toro continues to develop his own private eschatology, a vision of the end of the world dominated by motifs of meshing gear wheels, dangling rosaries, and the looming visage of a devil with sawed-off horns. The joke is that this crimson-faced demon is also a beer-swilling regular guy, not to mention the universe’s only hope for salvation.
The State of Design Festival is Victoria’s peak design event. The Festival will cover many cross-disciplinary design agendas relating to the profession of design and the marketplace that it provides to.
The Festival offers both local and international conversations on design, with a focus on design from across Victoria.
Through partner organisations and brand alliances the Festival links Victorian design into the global design conversation, offering an understanding of the Victorian design context, the opportunities and the successes.
Under one Festival umbrella the best local designers will be honoured through the Premier’s Design Awards, others will be discovered at our trade fair, Design Made Trade. Get involved and unearth metropolitan and regional talents in our satellite program Design for Everyone, or come and listen as some of the world’s most esteemed designers and design-focused business leaders share their knowledge and insight at the design and business conference Design Capital.
The four key elements of the Festival are
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The Awards that recognise design excellence from within Victoria, presented with a showcase exhibition at Melbourne Museum
16th July – 3rd August 2008
The design and business conference
16th – 18th July 2008
The Festival cultural program 2008
16th – 24th July 2008
The trade and wholesale showcase for innovative design brands
17th – 20th July 2008
Australia’s first National ICT Careers week will be held from 28 July to 2 August this year to showcase the dynamic career opportunities currently available to graduates across the industry.
ICT Career’s Week has captured the imagination of the Australian industry and a wide range of organisations, from ICT interests to educational institutions, are supporting the week through events being planned across the country.
No matter what area today’s students want to work in, studying ICT will help them realise their goals; recognised ICT skills are like a passport to the world. ‘I’m currently on a one year assignment to Australia from Chicago, and my career prospects are very wide,’ said Dahlia Bock, Software Developer from participating company Thoughtworks. ‘I could potentially work in any industry, be it banking, manufacturing, insurance or entertainment.’
Among the activities planned for the week, the Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association will host an expo for Victorian students and parents on 2 August to meet with tertiary and industry groups to gain a better understanding of the available career options in ICT and how tertiary training in the field will become an increasingly important prerequisite in many forms of business.
In NSW, the Northern Sydney Institute will be promoting Digi-Girls Robotics on July 29 and 30, a technical skills acceleration program for girls in Years 10–12. The majority of jobs in today’s workforce require a basic understanding of computers and industry technology; to increase awareness of the types of technology used in the workplace, the Digi-Girls program demonstrates the relevance and use of the equipment through hands-on training.
And in South Australia on July 30, high-profile radio and television science commentator and author, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, will be proudly hosted by the University of South Australia School of Computer and Information Science to talk about some of the great career opportunities in IT. Dr Karl’s presentation will examine the exponentially growing opportunities in IT, and how the contemporary workforce needs to be aware of these changes and adapt with them.
‘The National ICT Careers Week will broaden the horizons of young school leavers who may not have considered undertaking ICT studies or the possibilities that surround a career in the ICT industry,’ said Penny Coulter, Chair of the Careers Week Steering Committee and President of the Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association.
‘Working in ICT is not just about sitting at a desk in front of a computer. There’s a world of opportunity out there for young people to become leaders and team players in almost any field of high-technology they choose.’
National ICT Careers Week will be held in all states and territories from 28 July to 2 August 2008. Full details of participating organisations and proposed activities are listed on the National ICT Career Week web site.
When people say that comic books are as close as our secular late-capitalist culture gets to having its own mythology, it’s not generally meant as a compliment. But over the course of two Hellboy movies (based on the comic by Mike Mignola), Mexican director Guillermo del Toro has started to look like a legitimate successor to Ovid. Del Toro is not so much a creator of myths as a collector of them, a transhistorical myth nerd whose pantheon of influences ranges from Hesiod to Harryhausen (with liberal helpings of steam punk and Catholic iconography). In Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal), del Toro continues to develop his own private eschatology, a vision of the end of the world dominated by motifs of meshing gear wheels, dangling rosaries, and the looming visage of a devil with sawed-off horns. The joke is that this crimson-faced demon is also a beer-swilling regular guy, not to mention the universe’s only hope for salvation.
