Get ready... it's the last week of Season Four!

Well kiddos, even if the calendar says it's still spring, I think we can safely say that the summer weather has arrived. Drag your radios and your television out on to the patio becaue it's an action-packed week in the world of The Strombo Show and The Hour, with a wide variety of guests and topics to discuss.

As always, our week starts with three of the best hours of radio on The Strombo Show...
This week on The Strombo Show,
Dallas Green will be down at The Edge studios in Toronto for an interview with George as he gears up to headline the Roger's Picnic in Toronto this July with his solo project City & Colour.
Not only that, but George and crew will be giving away tickets to the Roger's Picnic!

The Strombo Show airs Sundays from 5-8 EDT (2-5 PDT) on 102.1 The Edge in Toronto, Y108 in Hamilton, FM96 in London, Power 97 in Winnipeg and 99.3 The Fox in Vancouver.

Want to talk to George on the show? Call him during the show at 1-866-967-3343. If you haven't already, make sure you join The Strombo Show's Facebook Group. And check out the conversation that takes place on George's MySpace every Sunday night.



And coming up on The Hour this week...


Monday, June 9th

Salman Rushdie

As the author of nine novels, Salman Rushdie is probably best known for the controversy and violence sparked by his novel The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushie is a celebrated Indo-British novelist whose work is described as "magical realism". Rushdie lived in secret for years, because of the fatwa placed on his head by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni, the Supreme leader of Iran, for alledgedly blaspheming Islam. While the fatwa was "officially called off" in 1998, to help repair diplomatic relations between Iran and Britain, certain groups still wish to kill him. Earlier this year, Rushdie released his latest novel, The Enchantress of Florence, a mystery and a love story about a woman trying to create her own destiny in a male dominated world. Rushdie is in Toronto to promote the book, and will appear at the Danforth Music Hall at 7pm, to read a passage from the new novel. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.

Brian Dennehy

Brian Dennehy is a veteran actor of stage, screen and television. As a versatile character actor, Dennehy is drawn to, but not limited to roles of powerful, corrupt men. His filmography includes movies like Rambo, Cocoon, F/X, Tommy Boy and recently, Ratatouille. He's been nominated for six Emmy awards for his work in television, including the 2005 television movie Our Fathers, which dealt with the Catholic Church's sex scandal. Dennehy has also created a name for himself on the stage, winning two Tony Awards for his lead roles in Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey into Night. This summer, he's a member of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's company of players, appearing as the King of France in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well and a double bill of Samuel Becket's Krapp's Last Tape and Eugene O'Neill's Hughie.

Tuesday, June 10th
Barbara Walters

A fixture of American television since the 1960s, Barbara Walters has blazed the trail for all future female newscasters by breaking down many of the barriers into the male dominated business. Starting out as a copywriter, she first appeared on air as NBC's "Today Girl" covering fluff assignments eventually moving up to reporter-at-large, developing and writing her own assignments and interviews for the Today Show. In the late 70s, she became the first woman to ever co-host the evening news and over the decades has built a career around her exclusive interviews, celebrity specials and as a commentator on ABC's 20/20 and a variety of ABC News Specials. Walters is also the co-creator and co-executive producer of the Daytime Talkshow The View, which is currently in its eleventh season. In the past few years, Walters has been at the centre of a lot of controversy regarding The View, regarding the tumultuous departures of Star Jones-Reynolds and Rosie O'Donnell. Last month, Walters released her autobiography, Audition: A Memoir.

Paul Polak

For the past 25 years, Paul Polak has dedicated his work to developing practical solutions to one of the world's toughest problems: poverty. His book Out of Poverty explores why mainstream poverty programs fail, and how his organization has developed an alternative approach that has already helped millions. The book explores what Polak calls the "Three Great Poverty Eradication Myths" (that big business as we know it will end poverty, that economic growth will end poverty and that donations will end poverty.) and how programs based on these ideas ultimately fail. Taking a grassroots approach, Polak believes that there are simple and effective solutions to give people a hand up, not a hand out. With low cost designs to facilitate farming like the Treadle Pump, Polak's organization International Development Enterprises, has helped farmers around the globe increase their productivity helping them to lift out of poverty. Polak believes many of the same principles could be applied in North America to help the poor right in our own backyard.

Wednesday, June 11th
Muhammad Yunus

For some people, winning the Nobel Peace Prize would be the apex of their life, but for Muhammad Yunus, it may have just been the beginning. Yunus won the Nobel in 2006 along with the Grameen Bank for "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." (nobelprize.org) Created in 1976 by Yunus, the Grameen Bank strives the world's poor through the use of microcredit. By using a system that works on "mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity" (grameen-info.org), participants are given the tools and materials they need to make a big difference in their day to day lives, breaking the cycle of poverty. Now Yunus has released a book titled, "Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism" which asks the question, how much could we accomplish if we were able to use the free market to solve hunger, poverty and inequality?

Alexander Ovechkin

On January 16, 2006 Ovechkin, in his first season with the NHL, scored a goal that veteran hockey reporter Bill Clement called "one of the greatest goals of all time". After being knocked down by Coyotes defenseman Paul Mara, Ovechkin slid down the ice on his back and somehow hooked the puck into the net. Recently, Ovechkin picked up two awards: the Art Ross Trophy for being the NHL's leading point scorer and the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy as the league's top goal scorer. He may also be the Hart Trophy winner at the NHL Awards this Thursday (8pm on CBC), according to recent reports about the NHL store selling Hart Trophey T-shirts with Ovechkin's image on them. At the recent IIHF world hockey championship, Ovechkin lead the Russian team to the gold with a 5-4 overtime win over Team Canada.

Thursday, June 12th

It's the last taping of the season!

Carlo Rota

Earlier in the season, we got to hear Rota's Best Story Ever, about an... awkward... encounter with Freddie Mercury.



Carlo Rota is back in The Hour studios to chat about what's new, including the upcoming season three of Little Mosque on the Prairie and his upcoming performance in Othello: The Tragedy of the Moor coming up June 15th at 9:00 pm on CBC.

Friday, June 13th

The live shows may be over for the season, but Friday's show has one of a handful of never before seen interviews that will air in the next little while.

Cyndi Lauper dropped into The Hour studios last week while she was in town with her True Colours Tour to chat with George about her new CD "Bring Ya To The Brink" and her work and support of the Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transsexual community. Her current tour helps to raise money and awareness for GLBT equality. With over 20 years of performing, Lauper is well known for her innovation and creativity and the fact that she just wants to have fun with her music and her career. She won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1985 and she became the first artist ever to have five Top Ten singles from a debut album. You can also check Cyndi Lauper out on her MySpace page.

The Hour will kick off its fifth season on September 15th.


In other news...

Last Friday, Alberta Theatre Projects announced that George would be the recipient of the 34th Bob Edwards Award. This award celebrates people who personify the personality of Bob Edwards, the editor of the Calgary Eye Opener from 1902 to 1922. Edwards was outspoken and controversial in his support of the underdog, attacking the injustices in society. Past winners include Rick Mercer, David Suzuki and last year's winner Gwynne Dyer. The awards luncheon, which is also a fundraiser for ATP, are now available. Early bird tickets are $85.00 or $135.00 (which includes a VIP reception). After June 30th, tickets will be $95.00 and $145.00. A tax receipt will be issued for all ticket sales.