The Hour March 2nd-6th

The Strombo Show

Live on the radio this Sunday March 01!
The Edge 102.1 (Toronto) The Fox 99.3 (Vancouver)
Power 97 (Winnipeg) Y108 (Hamilton) FM96 (London)
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on The Hour this week

Monday March 2, 2009
I can't wait to see Peter Mansbridge say who is coming on The Hour following The National.
Will he be third person about it? Will he pretend the interview was just about to happen?
Anchor of The National and friend of The Hour Peter Mansbridge

Peter will be talking to Geeeorge Stroumboulopoulos about the news makers like Obama and Harper and what it's like to be at the center of the news.

This just in... Nickleback will also be on the show

Tuesday March 3, 2009
Emmy-nominated star of Roots - Host and creator of The Reading Rainbow and Star Trek :TNG
Actor and Director LeVar Burton

&
Heather Reisman is the founder and CEO

of Indigo Books & Music Inc., Canada’s largest book retailer.
She is the reason that they put those stickers on all those books Heather's Picks.
-
Speaking of authors and reading and The Hour if your interested in the authors featured on The Hour please visit the forum's **Official Booklist of The Hour**

Wednesday March 4, 2009
- best-selling author/social and economic trendspotter -

Richard Florida
who is one of the world's most sought after speakers on global trends, economics, prosperity, competitiveness and growth.
In March he is releasing a Canadian version of Who's Your City.

Also on the show

Swedish-Canadian model/actress and singer - Malin Akerman
Star of Watchmen (march 06 ) A superhero film based on a graphic novel.

Thursday March 5, 2009
He was scheduled to be on the show two weeks ago but better late than never
Emmanuel Jal is a former Sudanese child soldier, who brings a unique perspective into the world of Rap.

&
Actor/Producer/Director - Corbin Bernsen

will be on the show. Not only has he worked with the actress, Diana Muldaur on LA Law who worked on Star Trek The Next Generation with LeVar Burton who is on The Hour this week. Corbin was involved with the trading of One Red Paperclip that was featured on The Hour in season two. It's all explained in that link. So how many degrees to George Stroumboulopoulos is the name of this game.

Friday March 6, 2009 (R)
in case you missed it
- NHL Commissioner - Gary Bettman
&
'Jay and Silent Bob' actor - Jason Mewes

This is the Week Ahead on The Hour

To get you in the Pre-Oscar mode... why not check out the latest and greatest tunes and interesting chat on The Strombo Show from 5pm-8pm EST on the Corus Radio Network.

George and company will play some tunes. Talk some talk--- it is a pretaped show, so you'll lose a bit of the spontaneity, but there will likely be more tunes than usual. Word is that that juggernaut of cutting edge music "Bill Nye The Science Guy" will be a guest.

Listen online Here

Welcome to TV Land... This Week on The Hour

Monday, February 23rd

Azar Nafisi

Hailing from Iran, Nafisi is a professor and prolific author. As a young woman, who's father was the Mayor of Tehran, she was engaged and excited by the passion and appeal of Western literature. By following her passions she faced great opposition, oppression and censure. In 1981, Nafisi was expelled from the University of Tehran for refusing to wear the traditional veil. In 1997, Nafisi relocated her family to America and continued teaching, lecturing and writing.

She is the Director of 'The Dialogue Project' at the foreign policy institute at prestigious Johns Hopkins University.

Her most successful book is 'Reading Lolita in Tehran : A Memoir in Books' and her latest 'Things I've been Silent About' is an unflinching look at the trials she has endured, including childhood sexual abuse.

Chris Cornell

What can you say about Chris Cornell? He's the consummate frontman with killer pipes and piercing baby blues. Most musicians would sell their soul for the chance to lead ONE successful band - but Chris has lead two of the world's most commercially and artistically rich bands in Audioslave and Soundgarden AND enjoyed great solo success to boot.

Life's not been without struggles -- battles with alcohol & drugs, depression and marital breakdown have coloured his world. The often cited artistic differences led to the demise of Audioslave in 2007.

Cornell's partner in Audioslave crime - the brilliant Tom Morello - has called Cornell's lyrics "haunted, existential poetry". Fans will get to listen to his latest Solo work 'Scream' when it drops next month.

Something tells me you may see a more contented, settled and focused Chris Cornell than you might expect. Vive La France!

Tuesday, February 24th

Gordon Pinsent


One of the most prolific actors of our time... this award winning actor has worked steadily for over 40 years. Not content to work in one medium - Pinsent has starred on many prestigious
stages including Stratford and on TV series such as Due South. His feature film work has also spanned a variety of genres with his most notable work coming in the critically acclaimed feature film - Sarah Polley's directorial debut -- the exquisite and sensitive Away From Her. His work in this film is truly magical.


Pinsent is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has been honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. I wonder if there are any special perks or secret handshakes involved?


Michael Muhammad Knight





I'd never heard of Knight before, but am looking forward to this interview because he has definitely gone the road less travelled! Knight is an Irish Catholic kid who discovered the teachings and philosophy of the controversial Malcolm X through the Enemy. Public Enemy that is. After studying Malcolm more intensely, Knight converted to Islam at age 17.

After his conversion to Islam, Knight didn't stay enamoured with the tenets of the traditional, conservative Islam for long. He'd written a fictional hit called The Taqwacores in which tells the tales of a group of Muslim punk rockers.

In his quest to seek a true American Islam, Knight did what anyone would do... he travelled 20,000 miles by Greyhound bus. Hardcore! The resulting work was a novel called 'Blue-Eyed Devil: an American Muslim Road Odyssey. Of particular note is his encounters with Islamic notables including Canada's Irshad Manji and founders of a movement called 'Muslims for Bush'.

His latest work wins the award for the most amazing book title ever... I don't even care what it's about, I want to read it - 'Osama VanHalen'. If it's turned into a musical -- will it be Diamond Dave or Sammy in the lead role? As long as it's not Gary Cherone? We're good.


Wednesday, February 25th



Joe Clark

The Right Honourable Joe Clark has been many things --- A politician, statesman, professor, husband and father. For a brief shining moment - June 1979 to March 1980, he was Prime Minister of Canada. Back in the days where the Conservatives were still 'Progressive'. Clark was well regarded for being one of the first leaders to adamantly oppose Apartheid.

Looked upon by some as soft, Clark was actually highly respected and thought of as a strong competitor by his Liberal foes. After his election defeat and leadership succession by Brian Mulroney, Clark served in key senior Cabinet posts on Mulroney's team.

A couple of Joe 'Jems' for you... In 2004, he said of our current PM ' I do think it would be dangerous to have a leader with the kind of mentality Mr. Harper has.' You're not the only one Joe...

When he sat in opposition of the charismatic Trudeau, this well hurled volley -

"A recession is when your neighbour loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. Recovery is when Pierre Trudeau loses his."

Soft? Don't think so. It will be interesting to hear his perspective on the current state of our Government, our economy and this business of politics.

Eugene Levy

Eugene Levy first struck comedic gold as a member of the brilliant cast of SCTV -- a veritable television institution and since those early days has always possessed a knack for stealing the show. Bobby Bittman's suits alone were scene stealers! My SCTV box set is a prized possession.

Whether he's making a memorable cameo, is featured in a small role or as a leading player, it doesn't get much better than Levy. He acts and writes... not an easy feat. The American Pie franchise undoubtibly won him a generation of new fans.

My Levy love is directed most strongly to his amazing collaborations with the brilliant Christopher Guest and the terrific troupe of actors featured in films such as Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. Don't you wish YOUR dentist could bust out a tune and dance like Dr. Allen Pearl? Sing you "God Loves a Terrier" ? He and Catherine O'Hara together are gold. How they actually get a film together is what I'd like to know - who could stop laughing long enough to get a usable take?

Levy has won many accolades including his career including the Governor General's Performing Arts' Award.

And yes... in case you can't put your finger on it. Bespectacled MTV Canada host Dan Levy is Eugene's son.

Thursday, February 26th

Colin Mochrie

Colin Mochrie continues to be one of the busiest performers working today... everything from commercials, live improv, game show hosting, television series and film. It's perhaps his self deprecating attitude combined with his talent that makes him so likable and engaging. His commitment as a husband and dad caused him to relocate back to the calm of home in Canada from the frenzy of LA. No one does the deadpan as well as Mochrie.

Colin has done stints on the UK and American versions of 'Whose Line is It Anyway.' Gotta love the green screen news reporting and cheesy infomercial segments! He was a cast member of This Hour Has 22 Minutes for two years and has asked the age old question. 'Are you Smarter than a Canadian 5th Grader?'

Mochrie continues to entertain in live Improv shows - most frequently with Whose Line collaborator Brad Sherwood.

On his website, Colin greets visitors with the words 'Welcome all who love me. I applaud your taste. '

Scott Taylor

A former Soldier, reporter, editor and author Scott Taylor has been to war... embedded in Iraq where in 2004 he was held captive by Iraqui extremists for 5 harrowing days.

Currently the editor of 'Esprit De Corps', Taylor has written a book entitled 'Unembedded: Two Decades of Maverick War Reporting.

Now now... those of you still playing Sarah Palin drinking games don't need to take a shot... Scott is a REAL maverick.


Friday February 27th




It's Friday which signals time to revisit a couple of recent interviews from The Hour's vault.


You know... interviews so nice, they air 'em twice?





Joshua Jackson




Formerly of Dawson's Creek and current star of the excellent Fox Series 'Fringe', Joshua has also received acclaim for his most recent film - 'One Week'. A must see!

Chris Noth

What guy wouldn't like to be called Mr. Big. Of course for Canadians, there's a double meaning there. No, not that - the chocolate bar. Jheesh - get your mind out of the gutter! As the star of Sex and The City and the original Law and Order series, Chris Noth has achieved great success and will bring his celebrity cachet to work for Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto as the emcee of 'One Night Live' - A high profile benefit concert featuring Sting and the Canadian Tenors.


Have a great week and depending where you are... my sympathies to you as you shovel. AGAIN.

Don't forget to check out The Hour's website to catch interviews you may have missed, request tickets to see a live taping of the show or to check out their new Forum.

The Facebook Dilemma

In the past few days, Facebook has faced a public firing squad for the changes it quietly made to it's Terms of Service (TOS). Because Facebook plays a role in the day-to-day life of this blog, The Hour, The Strombo Show and many of our readers, I thought I would assemble all the information into a timeline of events to start a discussion about Facebook and their terms of use.

It all started on Wednesday, February 4th, Facebook announced on their "behind-the-scenes" blog that they were changing their terms of use, effective that day:

We want to let you know that today we're updating our Terms of Use—the rules you and Facebook agree to when you sign up to use the site. We used to have several different documents that outlined what people could and could not do on Facebook, but now we're consolidating all this information to one central place. We've also simplified and clarified a lot of information that applies to you, including some things you shouldn't do when using the site.

Most of these things are pretty obvious; you probably wouldn't ever do them. For example, you probably don't "provide any false personal information in your profile" or "intimidate or harass other users." But in order to help Facebook remain a safe and trusted environment, we think it's important to specifically mention behaviors like these in the "Prohibited Conduct" section.

As always, protecting your privacy and information is of the utmost importance to us, and these updates provide you with the same level of protection you have come to expect from Facebook.

You can check out the updated terms here.

(Source: The Facebook Blog)

This information remained relatively quiet and unknown to the majority of Facebook users until late last week, when the news started making the rounds of Facebook users and finally hit the news outlets earlier this week.  The Consumerist was one of the first to announce the changes on February 15th: 

Facebook's terms of service (TOS) used to say that when you closed an account on their network, any rights they claimed to the original content you uploaded would expire. Not anymore.

Now, anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later.* Want to close your account? Good for you, but Facebook still has the right to do whatever it wants with your old content. They can even sublicense it if they want.

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.

That language is the same as in the old TOS, but there was an important couple of lines at the end of that section that have been removed:

You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.

Furthermore, the "Termination" section near the end of the TOS states:

The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service: Prohibited Conduct, User Content, Your Privacy Practices, Gift Credits, Ownership; Proprietary Rights, Licenses, Submissions, User Disputes; Complaints, Indemnity, General Disclaimers, Limitation on Liability, Termination and Changes to the Facebook Service, Arbitration, Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction and Other.

Make sure you never upload anything you don't feel comfortable giving away forever, because it's Facebook's now.

(Note that as several readers have pointed out, this seems to be subject to your privacy settings, so anything you've protected from full public view doesn't seem to be usable in other ways regardless.)

Oh, you also agree to arbitration, naturally. Have fun with that.

(Source: The Consumerist)

Once this was posted on the Consumerist website, the news spread like wildfire causing concern and great consternation from Facebook users and technological experts alike. Incensed Facebook users started groups on Facebook protesting the changes and the media ran wild with the story, causing a media storm that Facebook claimed it never expected to happen. In the middle of the storm, Mark Zuckerberg, made the following statement on the Facebook blog claiming that the changes to the terms were being taken out of context:

A couple of weeks ago, we updated our terms of use to clarify a few points for our users. A number of people have raised questions about our changes, so I'd like to address those here. I'll also take the opportunity to explain how we think about people's information.

Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with. When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they've asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn't help people share that information.

One of the questions about our new terms of use is whether Facebook can use this information forever. When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created—one in the person's sent messages box and the other in their friend's inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear.

In reality, we wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want. The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work. Our goal is to build great products and to communicate clearly to help people share more information in this trusted environment.

We still have work to do to communicate more clearly about these issues, and our terms are one example of this. Our philosophy that people own their information and control who they share it with has remained constant. A lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective of the rights we need to provide this service to you. Over time we will continue to clarify our positions and make the terms simpler.

Still, the interesting thing about this change in our terms is that it highlights the importance of these issues and their complexity. People want full ownership and control of their information so they can turn off access to it at any time. At the same time, people also want to be able to bring the information others have shared with them—like email addresses, phone numbers, photos and so on—to other services and grant those services access to those people's information. These two positions are at odds with each other. There is no system today that enables me to share my email address with you and then simultaneously lets me control who you share it with and also lets you control what services you share it with.

We're at an interesting point in the development of the open online world where these issues are being worked out. It's difficult terrain to navigate and we're going to make some missteps, but as the leading service for sharing information we take these issues and our responsibility to help resolve them very seriously. This is a big focus for us this year, and I'll post some more thoughts on openness and these other issues soon.

(Source: The Facebook Blog)

By Wednesday morning, Facebook had backed down.  Facebook users signed in to see a message at the top of their news feeds and profiles explaining the situation and Mark Zuckerberg had posted another update on the Facebook blog:

A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.

Many of us at Facebook spent most of today discussing how best to move forward. One approach would have been to quickly amend the new terms with new language to clarify our positions further. Another approach was simply to revert to our old terms while we begin working on our next version. As we thought through this, we reached out to respected organizations to get their input.

Going forward, we've decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms. We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now. As I said yesterday, we think that a lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective so we don't plan to leave it there for long.

More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Our terms aren't just a document that protect our rights; it's the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world. Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service.

Our next version will be a substantial revision from where we are now. It will reflect the principles I described yesterday around how people share and control their information, and it will be written clearly in language everyone can understand. Since this will be the governing document that we'll all live by, Facebook users will have a lot of input in crafting these terms.

You have my commitment that we'll do all of these things, but in order to do them right it will take a little bit of time. We expect to complete this in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we've changed the terms back to what existed before the February 4th change, which was what most people asked us for and was the recommendation of the outside experts we consulted.

If you'd like to get involved in crafting our new terms, you can start posting your questions, comments and requests in the group we've created—Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. I'm looking forward to reading your input.

(Source: The Facebook Blog)

So what do you think? Are these changes to the terms of use on Facebook an issue for you?  Was the outcry necessary?  Let us know what you think.

Have a heart....

What does Valentine's Day mean to you?

From The Stroumboulopouli to you, to George & to everyone at The Hour, we wish for you a pleasant, commercially enriched V-Day (to keep our economy going, of course).

Sunday, Feb. 15th on The Strombo Show:
Interview snippets from Gordon Ramsey & Ron MacLean
and
Toronto's classic rock revivalists; Flash Lightnin.
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This week on THE HOUR:
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Mon, Feb 16
Dalton Conley

A social scientist and author of 'Elsewhere, U.S.A.' - examining how people today have moved on from distinctions of work and leisure, to a present 24hr workday of combining the two (coining the term: "weisure").

Pat Quinn

Hockey coach for Canada's under-20 team; 2009 World Junior Champions, who brought home our country's fifth consecutive gold medal.


Tues, Feb 17
Lily Allen

UK pop musician with a new album out: 'It's Not Me, It's You', which takes on more mature subjects such as religion, politics & family tensions, and according to pop charts, is rising quite impressively; 'Fuck You Very Much' (It's one of her songs....honest!)

Ed Broadbent

Canadian political specialist & former NDP leader, who recently announced his support to Peter Tabuns, for the Ontario NDP leadership.


Wed, Feb 18
Emmanuel Jal

A former Sudanese child soldier, who brings a unique perspective into the world of Rap, including his thoughts turned to song, on 50 Cent.

Howie Mandel

Canadian born comedian & game show host. Lets hope he stays in his seat this time!


Thur, Feb 19
Brian Mulroney

Former Prime Minister of Canada, who in 2006, was praised by Corporate Knights Magazine, as Canada's greenest Prime Minister.
Stephen Harper was among the guests and told reporters earlier in the day, that the celebration showed a new understanding of Mulroney by environmentalists.
He started out by saying: "At the time, I don't think there was any environmentalist who had anything good to say about Mr. Mulroney," Harper said of Mulroney's time as prime minister. HA! Irony anyone?

Rick Mercer

Canada's political satirist & funny man, who's slated this week to embark on a zero-gravity flight & will be checking out North America's most successful recycling program in Edmonton.

Fri, Feb 20
Lily Allen
UK pop musician
Garry Marshall
Hollywood actor, director and producer

And the party goes on... What's on February 8-14

Well, it's the week after Canada reached the one million mark and the party goes on with an exciting week on The Strombo Show and The Hour...

Sunday

The Strombo Show live!

The Stills will be live in Studio to snakecharm the masses!
Also George and Alex will be talking about the Junos.

Monday

Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsey

Last time he was on The Hour, Gordon Ramsey called George fat... and now he's back on The Hour.

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard is here to talk politics and world issues with George.

This Liberal Prime Minister served Australia as PM from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007.

Tuesday

One Million Acts of Green Celebration

as of this Sunday morning
Total Acts of Green

1,061,759

Greenhouse Gases Saved:

60,300,428 kg

Canada's Handyman Mike Holmes

Mike Holmes is a friend of The Hour and a huge supporter of One Million Acts Of Green
Mike helps The Hour mark the special occasion by sharing his green tips.

Wednesday

Hockey Night in Canada Host Ron MacLean

For the hockey fans in all the land the host of The Hour talks with his favourite TV host.

Actor Chris Noth

TV , film star and club owner talks about Sex in the City and upcoming projects like a Sex in the City sequel.

Thursday

Funny Guy Jon Dore

Has his own show returning soon on The Comedy Network and has actively been touring comedy clubs.

Canadian Author Dave Chilton The Wealthy Barber has some advise for these difficult economic times. His book has sold over 2 million copies since it was first published over 10 years ago.

FRIDAY's best of show features

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

Spiritual Teacher Eckhart Tolle

BREAKING NEWS: ONE MILLION ACTS!

No one was really sure it would happen, and if it did, it would be a long, winding road. But guess what?  It happened... and we all have each other to thank for it!

As of this evening, the One Million Acts of Green Initiative has reached and exceed the goal of One Million Acts... one act at a time...  a mere three after the initiative started in October!

Which act was the most popular?  

Replacing an incandescent light bulb with a compact flourescent... over 146 382 people and counting made this act happen.

Wondering which act saved the most green house gasses from the atmosphere all by itself? 

Recycling at Home... at the time this was published over 8 512 000 kg gasses were saved from this act alone. 

Make sure you tune in next Tuesday, February 10th for a special One Million Act of Green edition of The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

Congratulations Canada!  Tell us about your One Million Act of Green experience.  What was your favourite Act of Green? Which Act of Green was the hardest to accomplish? The easiest?  Which act did you want to do but didn't get around to? 

We've gotten this far, now let's take it to the next level! One act a time!