“The woods were wild at nightfall. She heard dim crashing and splashes and the bark of a dog, and through the gaps in the trees was a mottled sky of fading pink and grey discs, microbes moving toward the west. She had almost gotten away but not in time and now leaving wouldn't save her. She lay down on the deck with the woods all around her.”

“We look for signs of wildlife, like coyote or squirrel tracks, and if it's a clear day, we'll see some birds. It's so very quiet, and we might even be breaking trail.”

“For those who have never done it, snowshoes have no learning curve, and they're really great for beginners. For cross-country skiers, you should have some experience, because it's un-groomed, backcountry trails.”

“We want to increase the number of schools offering animation courses. To do this, we are partnering with the government and educational institutions, through the regional offices of the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), to communicate the attractiveness of a career in animation.”

“It will definitely be an edge for us if we can boast of industry-certified animators. Studios will be confident that the people they are hiring are industry-ready and require little or no additional training.”

“But our efforts in promoting the industry to the rest of the world amount to nothing if we don't get potential animators interested.”

“There is enough business for everybody and we aim at training and producing some 25,000 new animators over a four-year period through 2010.”

“Boosting the industry's workforce with fresh animators to enable the studios to meet global demand is the most formidable challenge the industry faces.”

“We were arrogant, we thought we were safe because we had our production contracts with the big studios. Now we have to look at new ways to grow.”

“We have the same sense of humor as the Western studios, and we pay attention to detail like the Japanese.”