Finishing off 2009 in Strombo style...

Happy Holiday Season to all & may the end of 2009 hold relaxation & mellow reflecting on another year gone by. Easier to attain then you think:

From the Facebook group, The Strombo Show:
"Anyone listening in strange wintery places?
Dare we say, an All-Country Sad Off tonight? Bob is in with his Saddest Country songs.
The Strombo show continues with our last show of 2009.
8pm- Midnight All Across Canada.
Saving Radio 2. (That's a joke)
Commercial Free.
Fife Master's, Parisian hipsters, Twins and Love and... Porn are just some of the things we will be serving up tonight."
Stream Online http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/
Radio Frequency http://www.cbc.ca/frequency/
Mobile Application http://www.cbc.ca/mobile/iphone/

The Hour's shows for Dec 28 - Jan 1

Mon, Dec 28

Michael Moore, Nickelback, Morgan Freeman

Tues, Dec 29

Howie Mandel, Michaelle Jean, Stephen King

Wed, Dec 30

Andre Agassi, Jimmy Carter, Drew Barrymore

Thur, Dec 31

NYE SPECIAL ~ Featuring Al Gore

Fri, Dec 1st ~ Repeat: NYE SPECIAL

Don't forget, if you didn't get a chance to see The Hour's Holiday Music Special you can watch it on their site: cbc.ca/thehour
AND.... if there's any tracks from the show that you can't do without, you can download them HERE.

Happy New Year's Everyone!

The Hour will continue the season with brand new shows, starting on Mon, January 4th, 2010.

Monday, December 21

It's the much anticipated Hour Music Special with an amazing roster of talent! Guests appearing include:

Norah Jones


Anvil

Tuesday, December 22

During the much deserved Holiday Hiatus from taping,
The Hour will bring you some of the best interviews from all of 2009, including...

Comedic Master Carol Burnett
Journalist John Roberts

Snoop Dogg

Wednesday, December 23

Talk Show Legend Larry King

Comedian Martin Short

Canadian Icon Anne Murray

Thursday, December 24th

Because once isn't enough, The Hour's music special is on for a repeat performance. Here's a sneak peek of Michael Buble's performance...

Friday, December 25th

And to keep the festivities going, it's a repeat of the first Music Special from 2007.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and festive holiday. Don't forget that the New Year's Eve Special is just around the corner. Tickets are already available for the in-studio version of The Hour, make sure you check out the ticket availability page for more information.

It's the week of December 13th!

Are you ready for Christmas or are you already participating in Chanukah festivities? Are your halls decked? Cookies baked? Shopping done...or even started? The two weeks leading up to Christmas always seem to be the busiest weeks of the year. But, in all the holiday hustle and bustle, you must recharge your batteries with a little downtime. Speaking of (ya, crappy segue), this is the last week that The Hour will be taping until January 2010. I just checked and as of now there are still some tickets available for this week.

As always, the week begins with a new edition of The Strombo Show on CBC Radio 2. Find your frequency here.

Unfourtunately, we have not yet received a list of the guests scheduled to appear on The Hour this week. Therefore, the following may be subject to change...time will tell.

Monday, December 14th

Head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, Paul Kennedy.



Canadian heavy metal band Anvil.

Tuesday, December 15th

Portuguese-born, Toronto raised actor in Stargate Universe, Louis Ferreira.

A few weeks ago, George had mentioned the story of six year old Elena Desserich. Elena, suffering from brain cancer, knew she was dying. In the time she had left, she began leaving hundreds of notes hidden everywhere in her family home. Her parents, Keith & Brooke Desserich have compiled these notes into a book, Notes Left Behind 135 days with Elena. Keith will be on The Hour. I could write more, but instead I would ask that you watch the brief clip below, as it will preview Elena's story far better than I could.

Wednesday, December 16th

Founder of Samasource and Huffington Post contributor, Leila Chirayath Janah.

Canadian musician, author and activist Matthew Good makes a return visit to The Hour.

Thursday, December 17th

Actor, writer, animator, director and Monty Python alumni Terry Gilliam.

In case you missed the memo, the world will be coming to Vancouver in February! No one is more aware of this fact than John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Presumably, Mr. Furlong will be providing an update on the Vancouver preparations as the Olymic Torch is currently making its way across Canada. This week "the flame" will be passing through my community. Has it come to your town yet? Let us know!

Friday, December 18th

This "best of show" includes Stephen King, Shawn Ashmore and Anika Noni Rose.

In other news...

Did you happen to catch the holiday special Deck the Halls with Steven and Chris? You can watch it here. George participated in the show and created a rather 'interesting' gingerbread house, now up for auction on Ebay. Proceeds from the sale of George's creation will go to Serve Canada, an organization that "empowers youth to become caring, confident, and contributing members of their community through experience-based learning". Also still up for grabs on Ebay is that infamous Toronto Maple Leafs jersey!

~ ~ ~ ~

CBC Learning has released a five volume DVD set of The Hour for use in the classroom. The set includes "The Hour’s best interviews on key curriculum-relevant subjects, including politics, civics, the environment, business and character education". If you are an educator, you may want to check it out. Also, if you have someone on your gift list who is a fan of CBC programming, be sure to check out the CBC Shop Online.

~ ~ ~ ~

And finally...don't forget to cast your vote for The Moose Award.

Maple Leafs Jersey for sale!

New!! Bidding is done!
The jersey earned $635.00

George posted this plea on twitter today Get this complicated jersey out of my life & help raise dough for the Stephen Lewis Foundation http://tr.im/H7D4 (@stephenlewisfdn) #leafs

Why is he posting that tweet? To remind Canada that he has a Strombo Leafs jersey with the autographs of the Battle of the Blades stars, plus his own, for sale on eBay with proceeds going to The Stephen Lewis Foundation A Dare to Remember fundraising campaign.

How did George earn a Maple Leafs jersey?
Only on a dare!
You may want to view episode 28 to see The die hard Habs fan wear the blue and white Maple Leafs jersey while figure skating with Kurt Browning.

At the time of this post the bidding was at $280
Bidding closes December 18th at 11AM EST!

The Hour Lineup for December 7th-11th

A few things to note...

*This article in NOW asks The Frantics Comedy troupe (love the Frantics!) a few questions.
A couple of the questions are Strombo related.
also
*There is voting going on over at The Hour's website for the Moose Awards. There are twenty nominees making the news over the past year that will be whittled down to one newsworthy Moosie winner to be declared on New Years Eve. Go check out the details and vote with your heart and your head if you like because you get to vote for more that one Moosie favourite
Did I mention Al Gore will be a featured guest for this New Years Eve Special?
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Sunday Dec 06
The Strombo Show
Don't have a radio handy to listen to The Strombo Show? If you have an iPhone, there is an app for that.

The Strombo Shows starts at 8 pm Sunday up until Midnight on CBC Radio 2 http://www.cbc.ca/radio2 (To listen online) . If you aren't near a radio or a computer and you have an iphone, check the CBC Radio App.

The Strombo Show fans, thanks to Mariposaland, have a new chat room friendly listeners are welcome to join. Just register and chat while the radio show rolls...

Strombo wants you to call him... They are still looking for your song requests... 416-205-6226. Long distance charges may apply.
Sorry about it being a Toronto Ontario number a 1-800 is still in the works...

MONDAY DEC 7
On the show tonight Journalist and Writer Sir Harold Evans

and
Toronto Raptor' s own Olympic Gold medal winning All Star
Chris Bosh

TUESDAY DEC 8

National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn Atleo

and

Mark Bresslin founder of the Yuk Yuks empire, has produced TV and hosted Radio

WEDNESDAY DEC 9

Co-Author of Notes Left Behind

Keith Desserich
also check out
http://www.thecurestartsnow.org/

Plus Hulkomaniacs favourite wrestling hero Hulk Hogan

THURSDAY DEC 10

?

plus

Norah Jones is a Grammy award winning American singer-songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, and actress. Oh yeah and she has a new album out. The Fall.

Friday DEC 11

Favourite Fridays show will include

The Legendary Canadian Comedian
Eugene Levy,

From Glee Cory Monteith

and Norah Jones again.

---------------

Making a difference at CBC Toronto...

As The Hour goes into the last three weeks of production in 2009 and the Rick Mercer Report goes dark until 2010, CBC Toronto is helping to make a difference in the Greater Toronto Area with a few charitable initiatives...


This Friday, December 4th, the Glen Gould theatre will come alive with the annual Sounds of the Seasons, a full day of live, on air performances from some of Canada's favourite performers. Starting at 5:30 am with Metro Morning, the day's line up includes Matt Dusk, Hawksley Workman, Jully Black and many more according to the schedule.

The Sounds of the Seasons Silent Auction has a wealth of unique items to bid on donated from a variety of CBC shows, including a package to attend a taping of The Hour and dinner at a Prime Restaurant.

Speaking of The Hour, everyone attending live tapings in studio from now until the last 2009 taping on December 17th is encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Sounds of the Season initiative. Donation bins are located next to the Sign In desk.

Last year, Sounds of the Season raised over $300 000 and 8500 pounds of food for the Daily Bread Food Bank. This year, Sounds of the Season will help support food banks across the Greater Toronto Region.


In other CBC fundraising news, The Rick Mercer Report teamed up with a group of Sheridan Institute students for the last two tapings of 2010 to raise funds and collect new, unwrapped toys for children who will spend the holidays in McMaster Children's Hospital. At the November 27th taping, it was announced that the initiative had successfully raised over $1000 dollars and collected over 300 toys.

This post focuses on the fundraising initiatives at CBC Toronto, but now we want to hear from YOU about what's going on in your community. Leave us a comment on this post to let us know what's happening in your community to help the less fortunate during the holiday season. Let's give our local charities some national exposure!

World AIDS Day 2009

When we think of December 1st, many of us think of it as just 24 days until Christmas. For those living with HIV/AIDS, it's a day to remember, promote and work towards finding a cure for the devastating disease. 2009 is the 21st annual World AIDS Day and the crusade towards a cure struggles on.

World AIDS Day began in 1988 and from the beginning it has focused attention on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. The movement's ultimate goal is to bring attention to the ongoing fight to find a cure and bring attention to the care and support AIDS patients need.

An integral part of World AIDS Day is the bringing together of people in the community to celebrate and remember the victims of the disease. The Canadian AIDS Treatment and Information Exchange has an extensive list of events happening across Canada. Make sure you check out the World AIDS Day schedule, but here are a few of the events:

Vancouver - The Positive Women's Network is hosting a Condom Blitz
Edmonton - HIV Edmonton's annual candlelight vigil at the Citadel Theatre, 7pm
Saskatoon - AIDS Saskatoon has a Glimmer of Hope Party from 1:30-3:30 to celebrate success stories.
Thunder Bay - AIDS Thunder Bay is hosting their Second Annual AIDS Day Breakfast
Montreal - La Maison du Parc's Voices of Hope World AIDS Day Concert at St. Andrew and St. Paul Church
Halifax - the Micmac Native Friendship Centre is hosting a candlelight vigil, 7pm

These are just a few events happening across Canada, please leave us a comment on this post if you know of any others.


Stephen Lewis, a frequent guest on The Hour and a champion to bring an end to the rampant epidemic in Africa has posted a World AIDS Day message on the Stephen Lewis Foundation Website:

Back in 2005, at the G8 Summit, all countries agreed unanimously to achieve “Universal Access” for AIDS treatment, prevention and care by the year 2010.

It’s not going to happen. We have slightly over four million people in treatment around the globe, but there are at least nine million who require treatment today, and millions of them won’t be reached by the end of 2010.

Prevention is not yet working. For every two people whom we put on anti-retroviral treatment so that they might live, there are five new infections. Prevention remains an elusive goal in the high-prevalence countries.

That leaves care. In this category, as well, the need greatly outstrips the response. Just think of the monumental numbers of orphans and grandmothers struggling to survive, let alone the vast host of people living with AIDS. ...

To read the rest of Lewis' message, check out the World AIDS Day pages on the Foundation's Website. While you're there, don't forget to check out the A Dare to Remember page and find out what other Canadians are doing with their dares. You'll remember that Stephen Lewis was dared by George to perform with the Arkells... and he came through with flying colours. Check out the video. If you're a regular viewer of The Hour, you'll know that viewers dared George to do three things: wear a Leafs jersey, wear something other than black and go figure skating with Kurt Browning. To relive the experience, rewatch Episode 28. Well, George came through his dare with flying colours and according to his Dare Page, he exceeded his goal of raising fundraising $3000.00!

Do you do anything for World AIDS Day? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Divas, Authors and Actors... Oh My! This Week on The Hour

If you're Canadian... perhaps you're watching the Grey Cup. If so are you already elbow deep in chicken wings? Or is pizza more your speed? No matter... if you want to multitask, perhaps you can watch football AND listen to some tunes at the same time. Since it IS Sunday, you can tune into the Strombo Show on CBC Radio 2. George. Bob. Music. Chat. Listen Live HERE.


Then there's the matter of a little program called The Hour.

Monday November 30th

Patrick Trahan

The team for The Hour is kind enough to ensure we get a heads up of the guests scheduled a touch in advance. Imagine my dilemma when Patrick Trahan was listed... I certainly hope it`s the Football hero who will be gracing the Red Chair! If it`s the Jazz musician Patrick Trahan... I apologize profusely. Destined for greatness as a football hero, Trahan was suspended from College ball for poor academic performance caused by learning disability, which is very prevalent in college athletics, Trahan has taken some stigma off this issue with his personal struggles...

Shawn Ashmore

Shawn Ashmore has enjoyed a prolific career in films and television including X-Men, Smallville and a million other projects in between. According to his IMDB, he has 4 projects currently in production notably the remake of Bonnie and Clyde. If you thought Iceman only dwelled in the land of Top Gun, you should catch The Superhero Squad Show.

Tuesday, December 1st

George Monbiot

As a writer for the prestigious UK newspaper `The Guardian`, Monbiot is highly involved with the Green Movement. A kinder, gentler type of activist, he lobbies for the right to access to greenspace in the UK for the citizenry. He is the author of `Bring On the Apocalypse: Six Argument for Social Justice.`

Anna Kendrick

Confession time. I had NO clue who Anna Kendrick was before I googled her. Yes, if you think you can get through your week without hearing about `Twilight`... think again. In her short career, Kendrick has been nominated for a Tony for her turn in `High Society`. In the Twilight films, she portrays Jessica in which she`s likely a vampire, human or werewolf. I have no clue, nor inclination to look into it much more as I have taken a vow to abstain from anything Twilight. ;)

Wednesday, December 2nd

Jully Black

I am sure many regular viewers of The Hour will look forward to Jully`s return to The Hour. Her last appearance saw this most powerful, confident and uber talented performer break down in tears at her excitement for being a featured guest. I have been a fan of Jully for a long time and `follow`her on Twitter. The common themes with Ms. Black you glean through her `tweets` centre on her love of performing, her awe at how amazing her band is and how much she loves her family - including her mom`s traditional cooking. The latter is perhaps why she also seems to be a workout fiend-- to balance out the goodies! The Jully Black promotion machine is in high gear as crisscrosses the country promoting her new CD The Black Book. She is an inspiring artist, immensely talented - a truly positive, delightful soul.

Dr. Julio Montaner

The Director for the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV Aids and President of the International AIDS Society is a researcher, clinician and tireless advocate for preserving aggressive treatment protocols for those with HIV. I was privileged to be in the audience last time Montaner visited The Hour and encourage anyone who missed him last time to tune in. His passion comes through loud and clear.

Thursday December 3rd

Lyle Lovett

Quick. Word - or more accurately - NAME association time. When you say `Lyle Lovett`... most people would chime back `Julia Roberts`. It was 1993 when the elopement heard round the world happened... though their marriage was but a blip, lasting less than two years, it`s a huge footnote in Lovett`s life. An introspective, quiet but powerful performer, Lovett has been recording for decades as well as acting from time to time. His Annual `Cayamo`music cruise which he co-headlines with Emmylou Harris is a highlight for many devoted fans every February and provides the most captive audience imaginable to feature the best in Alt-Country and folk artists in North America.

Friday December 4th

Interviews so nice, you can watch them twice.

Shawn Ashmore

If you missed Monday`s show -- catch a replay of Shawn`s appearance...

Anika Noni Rose

Appropriately... Ms. Rose voices `The Princess` in Disney`s latest mega hit `The Princess and the Frog`.

Stephen King

Horrormeister and frighteningly photogenic author Stephen King`s interview takes another spin this day... enjoy!

Just an FYI that if you might like to take in a taping of The Hour, that the last taping before Christmas break is December 17th. So... don`t hesitate to go on down... the warm up, rock paper scissors and fire safety instructions are sometimes almost as entertaining as the actual celebs. They`ll treat you right. Promise! Visit The Hour`s website to request your seats.

This Week's Eclectic Line-up: Roses > Rodeos > Crosses..

The 3rd installment of The Strombo Show starts at 8 pm tonight up until Midnight on CBC Radio 2 http://www.cbc.ca/radio2 (To listen online) . So far, for anyone unable to catch the show, they have been posting their songs played, on their Strombo Show Facebook Page, here: The Playlist

This week on The Hour:

Monday, 23rd

Michael Chabon - Pulitzer Prize of Fiction Award winner with his new book: 'Manhood for Amateurs'.
Aren't they all?! (Hee hee)


Eugene Levy - Starring in a soon to be released: 'American Pie Presents: The Book of Love'.
Oh lordy, what teachings will his character bestow in this one?

Tuesday, 24th

Steven Levitt - A 'rogue' American economist & chosen by Time magazine as one of 2006 '100 People Who Shape Our World' with his second book: 'Superfreakonomics'.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of super freaks...so should be good.


Anika Noni Rose - An award winning actress & performer, creating history by becoming Disney's 1st black princess, as the lead voice in the upcoming animated feature: 'The Princess and the Frog'.
Granted, Disney brought forth the cultures of Mulan & Pocahontas, but I mean, really....could this not have happened before Obama came into office? Just sayin'.

Wednesday, 25th

Naomi Klein - the author & activist regarding global profiteers & deregulated Capitalism in her books: 'The Shock Doctrine' & 'No Logo' visits The Hour for her 2nd appearance on the show.
Really looking forward to this interview!


Blue Rodeo - Jim Cuddy & Greg Keelor, promoting their new album: 'The Things We Left Behind'.
OMG, OMG, OMG....I have a concert ticket to see them on Thursday! I'm totally hoping Jim Cuddy will be sporting his HABS jersey to make my experience complete!

Thursday, 26th
Not sure why, but it looks like our Canadian late night show will not be live and will be observing the American Thanksgiving......so anyhoo, in it's 'absence' they are offering us some great recent interviews with the following:

Michael Moore, Peter Sarsgaard, Juliette Lewis.

Friday, 27th
And to round off the week.....

Morgan Freeman, David Cross, John Irving.

Have a good week, all.......and Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbours of the South!