I got to hold a Gemini award today. They're much lighter than they look on T.V., but just as shiny.

"There's No "I" in Hockey". the pilot episode for Wapos Bay, won the Canada Award at last week's Gemini Awards. The award "honours excellence in mainstream television programming that reflects the racial and cultural diversity of Canada." Given that the crew on Wapos Bay is over 50% Native, and that the show itself is focuses on a fictional reserve in Northern Canada, it was hailed as an achievement in First Nations filmmaking. It's also quite the achievement in Saskatchewan filmmaking, proving that the province does indeed have the pool of talent necessary to pull off an animated series.

Our directors just came back today from the awards ceremony in Toronto and called us all into the production bay for a big party. They were practically dancing with delight. I was less delighted, since I was in the midst of scrambling to pull the last of episode 6 together, but I still came out of my office for a few minutes while things were rendering to take a look at the award and to congratulate the directors.

I didn't work on Episode 1, but I've seen it. There's a huge jump in quality between it and the next run of episodes. (The pilot was shot two years ago, and episodes 2-6 were shot this past year. Post-production wraps this week.) The sets are more solid, the animation is better, and most importantly, the new puppet designs are easier to work with and look a thousand times better. And, not to brag, but the VFX is looking pretty good too. (It better, after all the time I've put into it!) So, if the pilot is winning awards, I'm excited to see where this season will go.

Work...

....67 hours this week and still counting.

Hazel the fearless!

This is Hazel, my new hedgehog. She's an 8 week old brown algerian snowflake. Isn't she a sweetie?

Why a hedgehog? First off, I'm allergic to just about anything else with fur, and snakes and lizards, while cool, aren't exactly snuggly. Secondly, hedgehogs are low maintenance. They sleep most of the day but are active in the evenings (ie - after work), are solitary by nature but also enjoy human company (especially when it means they get extra mealworms!) They eat cat food and can be litter trained. And, most importantly, they're the cutest little things ever. Seriously. Have you ever seen a hedgehog's 'grumpy-face'? Too cute!

Hazel continues to amaze me. I've been doing my research on hedgehogs, and from all the stories I've heard, most hogs take weeks to warm up to their new owners and are notoriously grumpy when they're faced with even the slightest change. Not my girl. Hazel seems to haven taken it all in stride.

She demonstrated that ability when I first met her. The breeder brought out a shoebox with two little snuffly balls of quills in it. The coffee shop was loud, and bright, and it was the middle of the day when they'd normally be sleeping. The bigger hog, Hazel's sister, voiced her displeasure at the outing by hissing and 'popping' her quills at anything that made a sound. But, Hazel almost immediately uncurled and started sniffing around, completely unphased by the surroundings. I picked her up, expecting her to curl into a huffy little ball, but she kept her quills flat and set about busily exploring my arm. She poked her head into my sleeve, pooped on my hand, and then ran up my arm and went to sleep in the crook of my elbow. I figured that it was love!

Even when I brought her home, she was absolutely fearless. She sniffed around the floor for a bit, attacked a chunk of the carpet that had some interesting smells on it, and then let me hold her for a bit. Not even her new cage could scare her. She sniffed it a bit, and then climbed under her blankets and went to sleep. And slept, and slept and slept...

She's quilling right now: losing her baby quills and growing a much thicker (but less sharp) set of adult quills. I typically find between five to fifteen tiny little quills in her cage each night. She sleeps a lot as a result, because I image it takes a lot out of her, and is also pretty darn uncomfortable. It works out alright though. I'm still in major crunch time, so I wouldn't have a lot of time to spend with her . I planned it this way, since they recommend giving hedgehogs a week of adjustment time when they first come home, which means that by Monday, when I'll finally be done with the crazy hours at work, I'll have plenty of time to start litter training her. Hopefully she'll be feeling better by then.

So. Cute!

Ow. My brain.

My first experience with Bollywood films was in Fiji. The little theatre in downtown Suva was either hot and stuffy (when the air conditioner didn't work) or so cold you'd spend the whole movie shivering, but they sold these seasoned baked chickpeas that I'd eat instead of popcorn any day. The movies they played were an even split between your standard Hollywood fare, and Bollywood films.

I was always fascinated by the Bollywood film posters. Some of them came off like your average romantic comedy film poster - the guy is doing something goofy while the girl looks on a) flirtaciously, or b) disapprovingly. But then there were so lavishly detailed - a whirl of the intricate detailing that you'd see on a temple mixed with all the drama of an old B movie poster. Every time I'd walk past the theatre, I'd stop to check out the posters in much the same way as someone would examine a painting in a gallery. And, with posters like that, it wasn't long before I got around to catching a matinee of Bollywood theatre.

Mango-flavored soda and seasoned chickpeas in hand, I shuffled into the theatre, noting that I was the only non-Indian person in the theatre. (Well, non -Indian- Indian, anyway. My treaty card didn't mean a lot there, and few believed that this 'white' girl was anything other than "American". *shudder*) The lights dimmed, but strangely, the theatre didn't get any quieter. In fact, if anything, it got louder. As far as crowd experiences went, it was rather like watching Rocky Horror, except there were fewer drag queens on screen and far more elephants and random explosions of glitter. I didn't understand a word of it, but who needed to? There was singing, dancing, crazy gymnastic stunts, and cheesy, over-the-top acting. It was half circus, half soap opera, all bizzare and amazing! I think the word 'spectacle' was created for that film.

I can't for the life of me remember the name of that film. (And, even if I could, I doubt I could pronounce it properly.) Which sucks, because I saw many, many other Bollywood films in that theatre, and none of them had that perfect blend of 'this is so weird I can't tell if it's bad or not'. But, I finally found another clip that captures a little of that essence.

Behold, Bollywood Superman meets Bollywood Spiderwoman!!

Superman is totally the best dancer. Ever.

Find your Celestial Choir

Can anyone tell me what that angel is doing? Is he dancing? Falling? Trying to give someone a hug? All three at once? All I know is that if I were an angel, I'd totally make weird faces at God when He wasn't looking. 'Cause he'd totally know. It's like trying to give Professor X bunny-ears in the school photo, or sneak up on a ninja.

My God did I ever need a holiday... Last week was extreme crunch time, as we -had- to get all of Episode 3, the most FX intensive episode out of the bunch, done by Thursday so that the guy in charge could go on vacation next week, a fact I only found out after pulling a miracle out of my ass to get the whole thing finished in time. (No. I'm not bitter about that at all. Thanks for asking.)

Thursday afternoon I dragged my exhausted, stiff, and generally grumpy self home, and went for a long walk in the sunshine to clear my head. I could feel the stress peeling off me in sheets as I strolled through the brush. The trees were that vivid shade of yellow and orange that you only get in the early fall, before the frost and wind has knocked most of the leaves to the ground. The prairie grasses were gold against the bright blue sky, and there was a species of small, spindley bushed that I couldn't identify that had turned a brilliant red. I climbed a tree. I watched some chimpunks. Life was good.

The rest of the weekend passed in a delightful blur of relaxation. Layne and I watched some movies, I caught up on some reading, and even had a chance to work on my comic. On Sunday, we went over to my uncle's house for a big Pete family thanksgiving dinner. For the first time in well over ten years, my mom and her siblings were all together for a holiday, and they spent time catching up on the years of teasing each other that they had missed. I was largely exempt from the whole affair, mainly because I had Layne with me. It was a little strange hearing my mom and aunt entertain my cousins at the 'kid table' while I sipped wine calmly in the dining room, because three years ago, that would have been me making mashed-potato sculptures to delight the kids!! (Ok, ok, so I still do that... Just, not at someone else's house. :)

On Sunday, I visited the husband of the friend I lost to cancer early this spring. It was great to see him again, especially since he seems to be doing a little better now. (As he put it, he doesn't have to pull over to the side of the road anymore because he's crying too hard.) But, ow. We both agreed that fall is hard on both of us. I remember the long fall walks my friends and I took in my favorite park just outside of town, watching the gold-on-blue of the fields and listening to the geese. I haven't been there since she died. Maybe it's time I went there again, before the last of the leaves are off the trees.

Anyway, sad thoughts aside, this next week promises to be just as grueling as last, since we'll have less than two weeks to completely finish an entire epsiode, and a shorter work week on top of it all. But, I think I'm ready for it. The break helped, and it's not long now until all the episodes are finished and on the air. Fingers crossed that everything goes off without a hitch...