Over and above back-to-back arts events for 11 weeks straight... I find myself in a particularly exciting week book ended by me in a bumble bee suit at the Grave Gala and a flight to Buenos Aires. In between, I had a flash adventure in Regina, Saskatchewan, for the 22nd Gemini Awards. (I hardly even watch television. When I do watch, I watch The Hour or Corner Gas.) I had a line on good seats through a friend and I couldn't say no...

I've seen the Gemini Awards now and again but this was obviously different. If you know George Stroumboulopoulos and The Hour, you'll not be surprised that he and some of his team re-invented the Gemini awards this year.* As soon as the show went live on the air at 5 o'clock, the energy in the room spiked. George was his usual attentive, humorous and provocative self. Somehow, a show about television, became about relevancy and response to the Canadian condition. The humour became a little more real. (I hope you saw the "Saskatchewan IS flat" skit - not the correct title - written by Paul Bates, I think.) This was the first Gemini Awards that was open to the public (which hopefully foreshadows the open and transparent future of Canada). The day ended with a party in the (haunted) Hotel Saskatchewan lobby with a crowd of young and smart Canadian television makers. Besides feeling a little star-struck, I'm reminded of the constructive threat our generation provides to the status quo.

I'm excited for the Juno Awards in Calgary, April 2008!! Let's break the Calgary music scene wide open to the world. Music lives here!

P.S. Many thanks to George and his friends for the hospitality.

*My knowledge of the whole Gemini's production is limited.