ESCAPE FROM CITY 17

CANADA/ENTERTAINMENT - Canadian directors the Purchase Brothers have created a video called "Escape from City-17" that has gone viral on YouTube. Using Toronto's industrial parks as landscapes for the video, they created a plot based on the extremely popular computer games Half-Life and Counter-Strike.



David and Ian Purchase of Markham, Ontario have been toiling towards their dream of becoming movie directors and their video has caught the attention of Hollywood producers.

Three reasons: #1. Its an extremely popular (over 2 million views in the last month). #2. Its a very well made video, complete with spectacular graphics. #3. Its also extremely low-budget, only $500 for the first 2 episodes.

"The $500 budget went to the costumes and the airsoft guns," explains David.

"But in terms of time, that first one took about three or four months of working on it. And we've been working on the other (instalments) too. We shot them all simultaneously, and then filled in the gaps," says Ian.

"Escape from City-17" is a five-and-a-half-minute film, the first part of a series of videos planned to be released on YouTube. Lauded by viewers worldwide for its engaging story, special effects and accurate depiction of the tense first-person-shooter's universe, the video has many fans and online commenters clamouring for more, and people in the film industry hoping and believing that this is possibly just the start for the suddenly up-and-coming siblings.

A month ago they signed on with "Sons and Daughters", a local commercial production company who would represent them in Canada.

Many of the scenes in the first installment were filmed in a local train yard, where they were often chased off by security guards. Much of the acting was provided by friends like Derek Chan, who stars in Part One with Ian, who plays a fellow soldier with a vaguely European accent.

They're not happy with the flaws of the film, the sound dubbing and they have to limit themselves because they know they have limited resources.

There have been very few video game-based films that actually pleased gamers. The brothers sent a rough cut to Valve Software, the maker of Half Life and Counter-Strike, and garnered such a positive reaction that they were flown down to its Bellevue, Wash., headquarters to discuss the possibilities of making a film. This was high praise, as Valve has little interest in making a Half Life film; many of the previous pitches to them were considered ridiculous.

"After seeing some of the dreadful ways Hollywood has attempted to turn video games into film, it was great to see how well the Purchase Brothers have brought our game to life. Hollywood could learn a lot from these guys," says Gabe Newell, owner of Valve.

"I know that some directors like to change things, like the floating airships in the background, and some would say, `Oh, let's make them black, to make them stand out more.' Well, no, they're supposed to be white, that's the type of stuff that matters," says David.

Valve's disinterest is a slight problem, because as the video started racking up hits, Hollywood producers started asking "How do we turn this into a movie?" Since then 'Sons and Daughters' flew the brothers to Hollywood to discuss possible deals.

Within a week in L.A., the Purchase Brothers had met with most of the top agencies in Los Angeles and are now represented by Anonymous Content for commercials in the United States, and signed with CAA for feature film representation, sharing an agent with Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight). The pair are already working on their own feature film idea.

"It's going to be set in World War Two, it's going to be feature length, it's got a very cool story that we can't really talk about," says David.

The good news is that their budget has increased significantly and the brothers are now scouting out locations to shoot more scenes for "Escape from City-17".

See Also:
Censoring Canadian Films
Online Strategy and Roleplaying Games
Zombie Movies from Hell
Online Poker Games

Wind Generation in Ontario Sets a Record

CANADA/ENVIRONMENT - Wind generation in Ontario achieved record output on March 11th (yesterday). Over a 24-hour period, wind energy created 16,585 megawatt hours (MWh), which is enough electricity to power the homes and businesses of 550,000 people for 24 hours.

The record is due to a combination of more wind turbines being installed and a particularly windy day yesterday.

The hourly average wind output for the day was 691 megawatts (MW), with a high output of 781 MW and a low output of 419 MW.

"The strong winds yesterday translated into record levels of electricity produced by wind turbines located throughout the province," said Ken Kozlik, Chief Operating Officer of the IESO. "Ontario is making significant progress in its efforts to phase out coalfired generation and develop a greener, more sustainable supply mix, which will lead to more recordbreaking days."

With nearly 900 MW of wind capacity providing energy into the electricity
market, Ontario is leading Canada in wind generation capacity. The IESO
forecasts that at least two terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity will be
produced by wind farms over the next year.

NOTE: 1 terawatt = 1 billion kilowatts

See Also:
Building a Wind Turbine Factory in Ontario
The Solar Powered Myth
Home Energy Saving Tips
Solar Power becoming Profitable
Ontario Goes Nuclear
Canada's Electricity Problems
Ontario wind power gets $1.3 billion

Ozone tied to respiratory death rate

Residents of big cities face greater threat to breathing hazards and death due to pollution, a new study finds.

CANADA/ENVIRONMENT - According to the study long-term exposure to ozone in Toronto may be responsible for approx. 20% of all lung-related deaths in the city. The massive new American study on health risks of the common air pollutant compares smog levels in major North American cities and deaths caused by smog.

People who live in cities with smoggy ozone pollution are 25% to 30% more likely to die from lung disease than those living in areas with the cleanest air, researchers reported.

The study, which looked at data tracking 450,000 people over 18 years, suggests the current emphasis on peak ozone days (also known as smog days) as the smog component's major health danger ignores the serious, cumulative perils that breathing it over a lifetime impose.

"It's not just the peaks you should worry about, it's the cumulative, entire ozone season that's important, too," says George Thurston, a professor of environmental medicine at New York University.

"So we can't just sort of hide in our homes on the peak days and avoid the adverse effects of ozone," says Thurston, who directed the air pollution portion of the study.

The report, released today in the New England Journal of Medicine, does not look at Canadian cities, but York University air pollution expert Geoff Harris says Toronto's ozone levels are almost identical with those found in many large cities in the northeast United States.

About 20% of respiratory deaths in these cities can be directly attributable to long-term exposure to the pollutant. Ozone and fine airborne particles are two of the major components of smog. In New York and Washington ozone smog increased the risk of dying of any respiratory ailment, from cancers to a severe asthma attack, by approx. 25%.

In very smoggy Los Angeles ozone increased the risk of dying of any respiratory ailment by about 50%.

Ozone in the upper reaches of the atmosphere helps protect the Earth from the sun's punishing ultraviolet rays. But at ground level, ozone is corrosive is a key player in respiratory fatalities.

Ground level ozone is created by sunlight reacting with nitrogen dioxide and fine particle pollutants emitted by cars, factories and coal-fired generating plants. The resulting triple oxygen molecule (O3) is volatile, and can react with the vulnerable surface of the lung, breaking down the tissue and causing a host of pulmonary conditions.

Doctors have long known that ozone is hazardous. Short-term exposure aggravates asthma symptoms and causes breathing problems. It is especially dangerous for those people who suffer from pre-existing pulmonary conditions such as emphysema.

The study is the first to tease out the relative percentage that ozone exposure contributes to deaths due to smog. The study will give more ammunition to groups like his to argue for tougher pollution standards.

Toronto Public Health says air pollution in general accounts for about 1,700 premature deaths in the GTA and 6,000 hospital admissions each year.

See Also: Pollution in Canada getting worse, statistics show

Iraqi shoe-thrower imprisoned for 3 years

POLITICS - The Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at former United States president George W. Bush has been sentenced to three years in prison for trying to assault a foreign leader.

The decision against journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi comes after a short trial Thursday in which al-Zeidi pleaded not guilty to the charge. Al-Zeidi said his action was a "natural response to the occupation" and shouted "long live Iraq" when the verdict was read.

Al-Zeidi has been held in Iraqi custody since he hurled shoes at Bush during a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December.

Video of the thrown shoes has become one of the iconic images of the nearly six-year-old war.

See Also:
Iraqi Man Throws Shoes at George W. Bush
Shoe-thrower asks for pardon
Shoe Throwing All the Rage
China's Leader gets shoes thrown at him