It's a new week and here is what's on

April 1st to April 5th

Sunday night Strombo Show: It will be a live show! I just got word.

Monday on The Hour:

We get to view the last interview June Callwood is planning to make. She chose to talk to George about her impeding death and about her life. It should be an intense and interesting interview.
Many people are looking forward to hearing what Ms. Callwood needs to teach us.

Also on the show Monday Jacques Villeneuve : Champion race car driver and singer...

Tuesday

Jon Heder aka Napolean Dynamite

Politician James Bartleman

Neil Sedaka, musician and songwriter.

Wednesday

Jeremy Scahill, Mercenary

Finally Halle Berry

Thursday is a big show because the Trailer Park Boys are a going to be on.

Terry Tamminen is talking about tackling climate change .

And that is all coming up this week on The Hour.

For those celebrating Easter or Passover, have a happy one!

Dont Forget Friday The GTA group will be supporting the Chart Attack Hack team at 2007 Exclaim Summit hockey tourney, raising money and donations for the Daily Bread Food Bank of Toronto

Update on my Best Story Ever post... My BSE is up on the Hour's website now.

When George is away...

Here is the story in pictures.


When George is away from the CBC this is what happens.
The Lord Stanley's Cup gets brought forth and presented in the atrium of the CBC building.


People gather and line up to be photographed next to it.

I happened to be there dropping off my Best Story Ever remix when all this took place.
And look who I see standing proud, next to The Cup!

Luce

Nile

and Paul

It was a real pleasure to meet them all.

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I found out more about the Everything You Wanted To Know segment. It's not done by just one producer it's done by a number of them. It works on a formula. That's why it looks so uniform even though it comes from different sources. I always enjoy that one and I always learn something from it.

Barbara W.

The Week starts with Strombo live

Week of March 25 to 30th

Sunday The Strombo Show on CFRB will be live according to sources.


Monday on The Hour

P. J. O'Rourke political journalist was known to have said:
"I'm a registered Republican and consider socialism a violation of the American principle that you shouldn't stick your nose in other people's business except to make a buck."
O'Rourke, P.J. (1987), Republican Party Reptile. The confessions, adventures, essays and (other) outrages of P.J. O'Rourke. London (Picador), 45

Chuck D
Chuck D has always believed in the political power of hip-hop. From his early days as the front man for Public Enemy (which captured black rage at the Reagan era with 1988’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back), his music has been a medium for the message. Or, as D once famously remarked, “Rap is CNN for black people.”
Borrowed from Mother Jones Article Interviewed By Jeff Chang
September/October 2004 Issue


Tuesday The Hour is on at a special time 9 pm on CBC

Mark Wahlberg with a lot of good stories to tell.
why is he famous?
In a span of ten years the Lazarus of leading men has gone from rapping roughneck to underwear model to major box-office puller. With a string of acclaimed performances in films like Boogie Nights and The Perfect Storm, Wahlberg has become a certifiable star of the silver screen.

Master Cpl.Paul Franklin Tells his story.
Despite losing both legs to a suicide bomber he is back at work.

Rick Mercer's Best Story Ever
Rick Mercer season finale will be on before The Hour so this is you extra bonus round of Rick Mercer this night.

Wednesday

Halle Berry Sexy talented Actress...
The worst thing a man can ever do is kiss me on the first date." -Halle Berry

Tim Flannery He is an author and a leading authority on Ecological issues. His book The_Weather_Makers is often quoted by enviromental activist like David Suzuki, who happened to be in the audience for the taping of this interview.
Speaking of Global warming... There is a possibility that Al Gore will be on The Hour again this season.

Oh yeah and Will Ferrell will be on Wednesday as well. This link to Will Ferrell demonstrates how the entertainment media is sucking the fun out of YouTube.... check it out and see for yourself.


Thursday, not sure about Thursday yet... I'll get back to you on that. OK today is Thursday and the Scissor Sisters will be on as well as the new CFL commisioner Mark Cohon and George is taking the one who plays George (Craig Lauzon) and Luba Goy of The Royal Canadian Air Farce to the newsstand.


On Friday some of us are going to go see Nile do his stand up routine at Second City 11pm.

If you are in the GTA you may consider coming along.

In Which Two of Us Bid You Farewell

“Promoting healthy discussion on the latest issues” – that is the stated mandate of the Stroumboulopouli and I think it’s a very laudable intention. Of course, in order to encourage discussion of the issues, one must have an understanding of the issues. I no longer do.

When the members of the Stroumboulopouli started this blog, I felt compelled to write about a variety of issues that had arisen on the program, issues that enticed me to explore them further, and I immensely enjoyed having many subsequent discussions with you.

That all changed with the start of this season. What began as disappointment with the new schedule conflicting with my own, continued as disillusionment with the new format of the program. The few times I was able to watch The Hour, I found the addition of the audience to be distracting, both to the television viewer and quite obviously to George, as he focussed on their presence rather than on the cameras or, more importantly, on the issues. I don’t know if my disillusionment coloured my perception of the quality of the program, but I felt it had become fractured, that it was no longer playing to its strengths as an informative and in-your-face news program. It felt like a rather limpid talk show. Eventually I lost interest.

And this, of course, meant that I no longer had anything about which I felt compelled to contribute to the Stroumboulopouli. When I look back on the few posts that I have managed to produce this season, I see that they are overwhelmingly negative and critical. And while I think that criticism is a healthy thing, I also believe that it needs to be tempered with constructive possibilities. I no longer feel that I have anything to contribute to the discussion.

So it is with considerable regret that I say good-bye. I thank everyone who has ever entered into a discussion with me or with any of the other members of this blog. I have made some fine friendships through my involvement with this blog and with The Hour and for that I will be forever grateful. Thank you all.

Barbara B

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My decision to leave has been in the making for quite some time. Unlike most, The Hour's new schedule was not a problem for me, I can still turn on the television at a variety of times to catch the show. However, what has changed, as Barbara has so eloquently outlined, is the format and the content being showcased on the show, and I no longer feel a passion to discuss the what is being represented.

Every time I have tuned into The Hour this season, the live audience format and inserting of 'stand-up-like' jokes has turned me off, and I find it distracting, but more importantly, taking time away from discussion which seemed to flow so readily in seasons past.

When we started this blog back in May, all members of the Stroumboulopouli, spread across this glorious country of ours, stated we wanted this not to become a fansite, we wanted to be about a discussion of the issues, and I feel that slipping. So why not write about the issues yourself, you might be thinking. Well, I would if I felt a connection to the show, but you simply cannot force creativity.

Like Barbara, I will always be forever grateful to The Hour, as it led me to not only the other members of this blog, but to you, the readers, who have made our comment sections some of the best talk out there. Thank you for your interest.

Allison

Week of 18th of Mar...

Lets start the week with a useless fact from The Book of Useless Information...

Dinosaurs were among the most sophisticated animals that ever lived on Earth. They survived for nearly 150 million years - Seventy-five times longer than humans have now lived on Earth.

that's a bit depressing...

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Now for what's on The Hour this week. Apparently not Mark Wahlberg yet... maybe next week.

Monday
Chris Gardner homeless to Hollywood
Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols goes to the newsstand.

Tuesday
Sienna Miller This is about sexy...
Rob Stewart (not Rod) This is about sharks

Wednesday
Tony Campolo talks about the church and the State
Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo

Thursday
Master Corporal Paul Franklin gets back to work.
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In other news

Tonight's Strombo show looks like it's going to be live..

Mark Wahlberg is coming up on The Hour.

Somewhere is my boxes there is the cable I use to upload my pics from my camera to my computer... So for now no pictures from tonight's taping.
I have to thank Greentea for getting my computer up and running and online so fast and for helping me move.


A taping on a Friday night?

There was a special taping just for one guest.
Mark Wahlberg.

I know you all know who he is and have seen his films... do you all have your opinions of him formed?
I had to catch up. The kind of films he's in are, for the most part, too macho for my taste. I did see Planet of The Apes however... But I can't form an opinion from one film.
So I watched some of his music videos via youtube .. then I said to myself, Not enough info, keep an open mind, and see what he says in an interview.

It's 5:30 on a Friday night and people are lining up to see The Hour.
A large crowd of 90 turned up for the taping. Many of them are CBCers.. I got more compliments in line on my CBC earrings (the ones Karma made)...
I was close to the back of that line but I got a front row seat. Maybe because I was alone... I think it's because I just really looked like I needed a seat up front. ;-)
We were not allowed to take pictures in any case. There were some serious Hollywood stipulations and regulations for this taping. It almost seemed tense. Then George and Mark came out to do the interview.

I kept an open mind and was ready to listen and try to understand who Mark Wahlberg is.
I won't give away what was said in this interview. You will see it on The Hour Monday or Tuesday... But I can say I was impressed by someone I did not fully expect to be impressed by.
Many in the audience were huge fans of Mark and got autographs after the taping. It's so nice that they could have that.
I stuck around after the taping and observed the interactions, then I chatted with George for a bit. That's about when I took pictures I don't currently have the means to upload...
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GTA group to see Nile do his stand up....
CHANGED to April 2nd at a different venue. See Nile's myspace page. You can still go to the March 30th event if you like but there is no guarantee Nile will show.

Who's on The Hour from the 12 to the 16th

Is the strombo show live?
This week The Hour talks to 4 Prime Ministers

Monday on The Hour
The right Honourable Joe Clark is the first of four in four night talking to George.

Stephan Gandhi Jones is Reverend Jim Jones' son and talks about his father.

Tuesday on
The right Honourable Kim Campbell, first female Canadian Prime Minister.

Richard Branson offers 25 million dollars find out more.

Wednesday
The right Honourable Brian Mulroney you know Ben's dad. Brian says it like he sees it.

The one and only Ron Jeremy if you have ever watched any kind of porn from the 70ties and 80ties well then you know. He now has a myspace and an autobiography...

Thursday
The right Honourable Paul Martin. Our most recent Prime Minister.

Bob Lefsetz (The Lefsetz letter) talks about the music business.

Friday
The best of the above.
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In other Hour related news

Jian Ghomeshi is in Toronto Life this issue

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This part has nothing to do with The Hour
Bit of trivia for you from The Book of Useless Information.

It's physically impossible for pigs to look up at the sky.
also
Scientists say that pigs, unlike all other domestic animals, arrive at solutions by thinking them through. Pigs can be - and have been - taught to accomplish almost any feat a dog can master ('cept looking at the sky) and usually in a shorter period of time.

Huh?

Is it just me or did I just see The Hour's Paul (not the web guy, the one who tells his own jokes) on a Nutrigrain commercial? Odd...
Sorry, this is kind of pointless, but I was just surprised to see a guy from a supposed news show on a snack ad...

What on the week of Mar.04-08

The Strombo show will be live this Sunday. See www.strombo.com for details.
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You could look here for the latest schedule.

I know June Callwood will be featured on The Hour soon.
Let's look at who the planned guests are this week.

Monday
Writer Simcha Jacobovici Was Jesus Married?
Actress Mariel Hemingway and she's an author.

Tuesday
Athlete extrodinaire Ray Zahab
The R & B soul singer Robin Thicke
Jenny McAlpine of Cornation Street

Wednesday
Actor Gerard Butler from the 300
Author Nuruddin Farah
Pastor Tony Campolo talks about Church and State

Thursday is Franklin Graham son of a preacher man...

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In other news The Chart Attack Hack got retired in the semi-finals. Thank you to all the Hack supporters for coming out and cheering. Well played.

Pictures and Stories

There was a snow storm going on in Toronto Thursday. Many of the audience members who booked The Hour this night cancelled. So if you were near the CBC building in Toronto at 4:20 this afternoon you could have found a seat at The Hour. In the end 32 intrepid fans showed up.

I was first in line.

So we had George all to ourselves.
Any questions? Was his favourite question for us.

Hence the many photos of George telling stories and answering questions.

Did you know for example, that George has his own production company and reads scripts in the summer. He was also telling us that's coming up on the Hour are interviews will a series of former Canadian Prime Ministers including Brian Mulroney who says some surprising blunt things.

All the guests were pretaped today because of the storm.

They taped the interview with David Wilkins in the studio in the morning before the storm hit.

George taped most of his intros and interactive segments in front of us. We also got to be the Friday audience... Ah the magic of Television. They just put it all together like it should be and it looks smooth when you see it at 8 pm or 11pm or 3am... whatever your preference...

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Now let me tell you about Karma the wonderful lady who started the strombo forum.

I knew making jewelery was one of her many talents. I could not find CBC logo earrings in the CBC shop or anywhere else for that matter. So I asked if she could make me some.

I have to show my support of the CBC.

She figured out a way and made a pair for me and pair for whomever I thought would enjoy CBC earrings. So there are two pairs in the world and they came in the mail to me this week. I wore one pair Thursday to The Hour. Also wore them to a job interview... I got a compliment on them from the interviewer.

George noticed them too.

The other pair goes to the wonderful, patient, pleasant woman who books The Hour audience.

Thank you Siobhan, for waiting for the audience to tear themselves away from George after the show and photos ops and the stories and the hugs. I know you are not the only one who waits around for us. I thank everyone.

Any questions?

Barbara W.