Cutting edge Canadian media

Seems our neighbors to the north are pretty tech savvy. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last month became the world's first broadcaster to partner with blog search giant Technorati. The CBC's Web site features a new section, which highlights the news stories generating the most buzz from among the 86 million blogs tracked by Technorati. And in May the CBC created an initiative with FaceBook called the Great Canadian Wish List (See my post from June 18).

I haven't seen much like it here in the state. Go figure, eh.

A sick stragety for covering up "Sicko"

Michael Moore's latest documentary "Sicko" takes on HMOs and the sorry state of health care in the United States. Another thing that makes me ill, in addition to the condition of our health care, is Google and its attempts to inoculate the health care industry against this movie -- for a fee of course.

According to Boingboing.net:

Google's "Health Advertising Team" is trying to sell the health industry on buying ads to be shown opposite searches for "Sicko." The idea is to counter Michael Moore's amazing, enraging, must-see indictment of the health industry's grip on American society by running ads over search results for Sicko.

Another approach would be to reform the practices that Moore criticises in the film -- for example, refusing to pay for an insured individual's surgery because she didn't mention a 15-year-old yeast infection on her application; denying MRIs to patients with brain tumors; and paying medical directors bonuses for denying claims.

But why make your customers healthier -- at shareholder expense -- when you can just give money to Google to FUD and astroturf the issue?

Bill O'Reilly bested by a 16-year-old

If you've watched even a minute of FOX News' The O'Reilly Factor, you're probably familiar with the format: Bill O'Reilly strikes a tone of righteous indignation over some imagined affront to so-called American values (read neoconservatism). He then proceeds to pillory some camera-shy wallflower for her part in this imagined affront. If O'Reilly's behavior rankled you in the least, you're sure to enjoy this YouTube video of Bully O'Reilly being put on the defensive by 16-year-old Jesse Lange. The only response the ever-so-articulate O'Reilly can muster is to call Lange a "pinhead." He really has a knack for raising discourse to a higher level. Kudos B.O.!

Thanks to David Weinberger for pointing this out.

Calling all filmmakers

The 48 Hour Film Project, a two-day competition to see which team of filmmakers can write, direct and produce the best movie, is coming to Portland this summer. The competition will be held the weekend of August 10 and the winning film from Portland will vie with films from around the world for the title "Best 48 Hour Film of 2007." Teams must register by Monday, July 16.

For more information, check out the 48 Hour Film Project Web site.

Documentary watch

PBS is airing a documentary tonight about some survivors of Sierra Leone's bloody civil war, who met and formed a band while living in a refugee camp. Sounds interesting.

From the Refugee All Stars Web site:

The plight of the refugee in today’s war-torn world is captured in the African proverb, “When two elephants are fighting, the grass will suffer.” So it was in Sierra Leone from 1991-2002, where the government and various rebel factions carried out a brutal civil war in which the terrorizing of civilians — by killing, mutilation, rape, and forced conscription — was common practice on all sides. The war sent hundreds of thousands of ordinary Sierra Leoneans fleeing to refugee camps in the neighboring West African nation of the Republic of Guinea. That’s where the remarkable documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars begins.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars are a band of six Sierra Leonean musicians who came together to form a band while living in a refugee camp in Guinea. Many of their family and friends were murdered in the war, leaving each of them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved and brought hope and happiness to their fellow refugees through their music.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars chronicles the band over three years, from Guinean refugee camps back to war-ravaged Sierra Leone, where they realize the dream of recording their first studio album. And so begins a musical phenomenon that is making the world hear the voices of West Africa’s refugees – through the film Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have been able to launch an international musical career, while drawing the accolades of Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Ice Cube (one of the executive producers of the film), and Joe Perry.

Through their unflinching spirit, their powerful stories of survival and their joyful music Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars celebrate the best that is in all of us. As violent conflicts multiply around the globe and the worldwide refugee crisis deepens, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars is a humanizing ode to all the innocent survivors of war whose brutal realities are often dismissed by surface mass media sound bytes.

The next Scorsese?

OK, a little presumptuous, I admit. But I'm excited, so please forgive me. This is, after all, my first attempt at filmmaking. It's a short film that my girlfriend, Katie, and I put together this week in our laptop filmmaking class. The class opened our eyes to the storytelling potential of film and video. Being writers, we have, until this point, conceived of and executed stories primarily through the written word. But having taken this class, we both feel confident that we can produce high-quality short- to medium-length films. We hope to further refine our skills and continue making videos in the future.

Have you heard what's up with Canada, eh?

Got warm feelings for the frigid frontier to the north? This is your opportunity to share them with the world, or at least other Canadian. CBC News, Facebook and the youth organization Student Vote are asking people to share their hopes for the country's future through THE GREAT CANADIAN WISH LIST. The GCWL, which launched May 28, allows Facebook users to post ideas for building a better Canada and is a central part of the ambitious ‘national conversation’ campaign leading up to the country’s 140th birthday on Canada Day July 1. CBC journalists are monitoring the postings and generating stories for radio and television based on the postings and interviews with the posters. This marks the first time that Facebook has partnered with a major broadcaster.

The initiative was developed by Mike Wise, a CBC News reporter in Toronto, and Taylor Gunn from Student Vote, a group that promotes civic engagement among Canadian youth.

CBC has its own ‘Wish’ list blog where readers can follow the discussions.