Book it!

No this is not about what I'm reading, well maybe it is.... If you read the page this link brings you to, you can make ticket requests for a taping of The Hour and see the offers for special pre-tapes on off hours.
Guests for the pre tapes include Jeff Goldblum, Lisa Ray, MIA, Jane Goodall, Eric Bana and our favourite
Kevin Smith.

We'll tell you more about who will be on and what to expect in the new season coming soon.

Congrats George!

George and the Hour have been nominated for Two Gemini Awards!


Best Talk Series:

The Hour- Producers: Jennifer Dettman, George Stroumboulopoulos and Susan Taylor

Live @Much- Producer: John Kampilis

AND

Best Host or Interviewer in a General/Human Interest or Talk Program or Series:

Peter Mansbridge CBC News: Mansbridge One on One
Evan Solomon Hot Type
George Stroumboulopoulos The Hour
David Manning Spam: The Documentary
Wendy Mesley Underdogs


We at notpaidbythehour wish you the best of luck George!
(Jennifer Dettman and Susan Taylor too!)

Congrats!!!!!

The Gemini Awards will be broadcast on CBC on October 28, 2007.

Enjoy the old, the new will be here soon enough

On CFRB and CJAD Sunday night the Strombo show will be hosted once again by Ryan Doyle.

You can join the Strombo Show group on facebook to participate in the radio show.

This week on The Hour can be found here.

Season four starts with a Sept 11th Prime Time Special then the Season starts for real Monday Sept 17th.

Très Bon(o) interview - You too?

Having finally had the chance to watch George's interview with Bono, I can see why it is regarded by many as one of his best.
In a recent appearance on The Tom Green Show, George was asked by Tom if he had a favorite interview, in which he brought up this 2003 Much Music interview.
He went on to explain getting into a cab with Bono, outside a hotel in Toronto at 7a.m., and holding a discussion in the back seat about Africa, Politics, and The Band, on the way to the airport. Dave, his cameraman and friend, was in the front with a huge beta cam, wedged in between the driver and the middle seat, to capture a rare glimpse of Paul David Hewson.
In contrast, we have seen and heard Bono relaying messages and opinions as a lead singer, a writer, a celebrity, an activist, a humanitarian.....but scarcely as an unguarded human being.
In describing the experience, George remembered kind of looking around and thinking; "Weird!"
(Who wouldn't.)

Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Part 3

Personally, I have always been a colossal admirer of Bono, in all roles, and am relieved to know that the man behind the legend, seems to be who I thought he might be.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Blog George! Like you have never blogged before!

Is anyone else wishing George would blog as he did throughout the summer?
*sigh*
I always found the musings from his head... Amusing. Ha! Ha!

Now, it seems work has made him become... occupied and blog free.

September 17th is coming up soon!

This week in George

The Strombo show tonight will be without Ryan Doyle as host. The man needed a weekend off. I don't know who will be filling in for Ryan, who happens to be filling in for George and Bob.

What is on week on The Hour you can find here.

Sorry this post is so short, I am taking the day off to enjoy the CNE.

Happy Birthday George Stroumboulopoulos

I Don't know what that man is doing for his 35(?) birthday. If he keeps in low key or goes all out.
All I'm saying is, whatever gets your through the birthday, it's alright! Enjoy!

Dame was introduced at the Cravefest Video Awards show tonight (August 15) with acknowledgment for their recent success credited to George Stroumboulopoulos' mention of them on The Hour. I am sure he would credit them right back for all the hard work they have put into it.
They are a credit to themselves,(for 14,15 and 16 they know how to rock) and their hard working Managers: Haydain Neale and Michalea Hudson and a very very supportive family.
This brilliant young band is about to release their debut EP soon and this writer suspects it wont be long until they will be signing a record deal.
By the way George they all wish you happy birthday too!

Pleased to meet you Hope you get to know my name.

Hopefully, I can provide you with a smile, some thoughts to ponder, and not make too many mistakes in this new adventure into the blogging world.
(As I prematurely just posted this, without meaning to, I can see that I'm off to a roaring start.)
My intention with this first post was too introduce my thoughts on the show, and have edited a previous post that I had submitted to insidecbc.com in response to the Ryerson article on Mr. GS and the show. So now that it's out there, I hope you find something you can relate to, and if not, that's cool too.
I give my heartfelt thanks to Barbara for the invite, and to Steph A for her friendly welcome, and to the previous bloggers that left, I thank you for some interesting reads over the last little while, and hope that I can fill a little of the very large shoes that you have left.



There seems to be an ongoing debate of liking/disliking the show/host, and I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about. There are so many avenues & outlets to catch up on the world these days, that it’s really quite overwhelming, and regularly one dimensional.
In my opinion, The Hour (along with the host) offers multi-dimensional subjects, interviews, news coverage, celebrity coverage, humour, and Canadianism (If that’s even a word, but I think you get my drift).
They offer a glimpse into our crazy world and affect our emotions, while encouraging us to expand our knowledge by reading their guests’ books, listening to their music, watching their movies, researching their political views or oppositions, looking beyond what we are fed by mainstream media and slightly feeding our appetite for non-conformity. Most of what they offer us leaves much room for discussion with friends, co-workers, family members, strangers, forums and blogs.
The guests are asked the right questions, often takin them by surprise, prompting knee-jerk responses and honest, unrehearsed responses. Giving their viewers a unique & often memorable interview (eg: June Calwood’s last interview).
Of course the program’s not perfect, nor is the host, nor is anyone, but really, that is what makes the program it’s own. I don’t know how many times I’ve cringed with their awkward attempts at opening skits, but every once in a while, they strike comedy gold and get a good belly laugh out of me. (Falling into the Pope’s vehicle!)
I could be wrong, but I think the show’s directive is to open our eyes & ears a little wider, while prompting debate and new opinions. Like a lot of other people, I take every chance I can get to catch up on the world around me at the end of a long day. I appreciate the shit out of The Hour and will watch it when I can, for as long as it runs.
Cheers,
Jen

She Asked... Nile Seguin

In our video interview series She Asked, we have interviewed George Stroumboulopoulos. We have coming up in a few weeks, an interview with Jian Ghomeshi, and today we are proud to present our interview with a very funny stand up comic and comedy writer Nile Seguin.

Nile Seguin became a familiar face on The Hour this past season as a member of the comedy writing team. You know him from a few top five segments like this one -
Nile Seguin has put together his top 5 ways to survive a Valentine breakup.

She Asked Nile Seguin
__

In the interview you hear the voice of Valia asking Nile some of the questions. In an interesting bit of trivia our friend Valia was the first person to interview George Stroumboulopoulos for a newspaper many years ago.

You wont be seeing Nile this season on The Hour I am afraid.
We are going to miss him there so much! It won't be the same...
To see him live here is a list of his upcoming gigs
at
Edmonton Fringe Fest

17 Aug 2007
22:45
Edmonton
21 Aug 2007
18:45

Edmonton
23 Aug 2007
16:30

Edmonton
24 Aug 2007
14:30

Edmonton
25 Aug 2007
20:00
Edmonton
26 Aug 2007
12:00
Edmonton

and in Toronto...
4 Sep 2007
9:00
Toronto

and in Ottawa
10 Oct 2007
8:30
Absolute Comedy
Ottawa
11 Oct 2007
8:30
Absolute Comedy
Ottawa
11 Oct 2007
8:30
Absolute Comedy
Ottawa
12 Oct 2007
9:00
Absolute Comedy
Ottawa
13 Oct 2007
8:00
Absolute Comedy
Ottawa
14 Oct 2007
8:00
Absolute Comedy
Ottawa

Long way Down

George should be in South Africa for The Hour right about now. What brings him to South Africa is The Long Way Down, the final Leg of the journey. Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor just rode motorcycles through 14 countries in this documented adventure. In the last day of the journey George and many other will be joining for the culmination of their very long trip. The Hour (from what I understand) will bring you the footage and highlights this fall.
Update on The Long Way Down. Sadly, George had too many work commitments to make it to the event in South Africa. But happily, because George is still in Toronto he is able to attend his friend and sometimes radio co host Alex Lieu's wedding.

What The Hour brings you this week coming up is...
Monday: The oldest blogger in the world, Gene Simmons, Shane Smith.
Tuesday: Toronto Sucks, Richards Brandson and The Body Farm.
Wednesday: John Zaritski, Neil Sedaka, Mohammed Ali (no not that one)
Thursday: Alexandre Trudeau, Post Secret, and Moose Death.
Friday: Ralph Nader, Phil Keoghan, and Freegans.

Looks like an interesting week!

On The Strombo Show this week it looks like we get Ryan Doyle to play with again. You can play along on George's Myspace page or The Strombo show page on facebook. You can just listen to CJAD or CFRB on Sunday night at 9 pm to 11 pm live.