Talented Writers dominate 1st week of Nov.

The Strombo Show is coming to Radio 2 NEXT Sunday!

George Stroumboulopoulos will be landing at Radio 2 with a new show launching November 8th called The Strombo Show.

The Strombo Show will feature four hours of music from all generations and will focus on what George does best - talking about music, interviewing musicians, and bringing listeners a scope of music from the known and popular to the new and unexplored.

in these pictures George, Alex and Bob M.jr. in the former studio of The Strombo Show. George will debut the look of the new studio on Nov 8th.

George will be recording the show in his new home studio with Bob Mackowycz Jr. (writer, Strombo Show co-host and the man everyone loves), and Mike Sullivan (Strombo Show, ExploreMusic) who will be contributing their talents each week along with the show's producer Darby Wheeler (The Hour, Much Music) . Maybe Alex Liu (The Hour, Strombo Show) will drop by but, he is a busy new Dad now so... we'll see.

Musical guests will occasionally perform in G's living room and video of the radio show will be available for your viewing pleasure.

You can make song requests 24/7 by leaving a message on The Strombo Show's line... 416-205-6626 is the local GTA number for now. They will be getting an 800 # soon.

You can hear The Strombo Show Sunday nights from 8pm to midnight, right after Vinyl Tap, starting Sunday November 8th!

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On The Hour this week:
Lawyers and Authors and one outstanding comic.

MONDAY NOV 2
Former Kennedy speech writer and prize winning author and Lawyer Ted Sorensen talks with George about his career and experiences at the White House.

And
George once hosted a Just for Laughs show with stand up comedian

Sugar Sammy
who hails from Montreal and has traveled all over the world with his multicultural brand of humour
Here is a clip of his top comic style. (14+)

TUESDAY NOV 3
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the Clinton Tapes Taylor Branch is on The Hour.

and

Juno Director Jason Reitman who is neither a lawyer nor an author may be talking to George about music... or his new movie Up In The Air.

Here is a video Jason has on his myspace page with Ellen Page singing about him...

Juno Sings- Michael Cera and Ellen Page Sing about Jason

Jason Reitman | MySpace Video
plus it's Tuesday so...
Battle of the Blades' eliminated talent will drop by the studio.

WEDNESDAY NOV 4

George sits down with award winning Novelist, Poet, Author and Canadian Icon
Margaret Atwood

Also on the show

US Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson (also a Lawyer) is new to the job of ambassador and has to deal with the hot topic of the Buy American policy among other issues.

THURSDAY NOV 5

RCMP's new controversial appointee Commissioner William Elliott.
William Elliot is a lawyer and a civil servant and has never served on a police force.

FRI NOV 6
Snoop Dogg in his best interview ever!

and

Anne

Murray
as you have never see her before except if you saw the original airing... then you will see it again and it will be worth it.

600 shows!

Thursday October 29th marks the 600th episode of The Hour!

We wanted to share some moments or experiences related to The Hour that touched our lives in some fashion.

April 25th 2006 I was watching The Hour. It was live on the air back then.
George, who is known for his swearing, was presenting a feature about the "F" word. It was the kind of story The Hour would do that made me growl.
I was living in Montreal at the time and the F word was not in my vocabulary. I was a bit of a snob about it so I wrote the show, via email, right away. To my great surprise George read my email, that was critical of him, on that very show.
I think I wrote something to the effect of the "F" word was low class and if I have to swear, I would swear in French. He countered that swearing in French was just as bad. He had a point, and I wish I had a copy of that clip because that was the magic moment where my bad language skills were sharpened with my exclamation

"Oh Fuck he is reading my email on the air!"
That was the magic moment of corruption. Thanks George, now I can't stop!
Happy 600th episodes! I have enjoyed many many moments from The Hour.

Barbara W.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barb provided me with the perfect segway...the magic moment.

When we discussed doing this post, I thought to myself that it would be tough to pick just one highlight. But then I thought about it and decided to go with an event that occurred after the cameras stopped rolling. If you have ever attended a taping of The Hour, then you are aware of the Q & A session that takes place at the end of production. Audience members take this opportunity to chat and have photographs taken with George. On this particular night there was a large group of young adults in the audience. In talking with one of their chaperones (a father of one of the kids) I discovered the group consisted of 'unique' (special needs) students on a field trip to Toronto. Seeing The Hour and meeting George was a highlight. When their turn came, the group gathered around George as he signed autographs, smiled for photos and answered questions. While this was going on, the dad was telling me that his son idolizes George and had spent hours learning how to spell S-T-R-O-U-M-B-O-U-L-O-P-O-U-L-O-S in anticipation of their meeting. The highlight for me was watching this meeting unfold...a magic moment that meant SO much to someone else...the happiness of a father seeing great anticipation in his son...watching a television personality who possesses an extraordinary gift in dealing with people.

Congratulations on 600 episodes! Steph A.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'd have to say that choosing just one memorable moment is practically impossible. Should I choose an "aha" moment from one of my favourite interviews? Or a behind the scenes moment from one of the many in studio tapings I've attended? It was a tough choice, but I have to say the extremely long conversation that George had with my niece and nephew at the very first taping we attended was a pretty cool moment in time. After one really awkward conversation with him before the show started and then taping the show and then doing meet and greets with an entire audience, I was amazed at the time he took to chat with them, knowing the extremely busy schedule he keeps. For months after that, George asked how they were doing and when they were coming back to the studio.

Congratulations to everyone at The Hour on the 600th show thus taking the title of longest lasting late night talk show in Canadian television history. -Mich

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A Jenuine Moment
For many reasons, since catching my first few episodes of The Hour, I have become a fan of the show and to me, it's just one of 'those shows' that offers interesting diversity with what it has to offer. It has the ability, through it's guests, topics, viewer interaction, news coverage, humour, culture, etc, to challenge your way of thinking, inspire you to delve further or to participate in something you may not have been exposed to before. It's lighthearted at times, intensely thought-provoking at other times & can be just plain old geeky fun.
I, like most people I know, have an extremely busy life with family, friends, hobbies & career, however, it's nice to find something on TV at the end of the day, that I can unwind with while keeping my brainwaves active & depending on the show, run me through a gamut of emotions while watching. Which brings me to a very memorable moment, the kind to literally make me fall off of my couch.
There was a past episode with Ron James, where he comes up with a new opening line for George to replace, "I'm your boyfriend, G.S." to "I'm G.S. in your pants!" It made me laugh & for some twisted reason I kept picturing George in a pair of ladies pants. So, after a bout of insomnia, I began playing with my paint application on the computer & did up a picture of exactly that and for kicks sent it to George's Facebook. To my complete & utter surprise, The Hour showed it on air the following night, which ended up with me, on my floor, laughing my head off. It's nice to know that others sometimes share your brand of humour, I guess.

To everyone involved with The Hour, past & present: Thank you & congratulations on your 600th episode. Yay!

Jenuine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Milestones are funny things...we mark our time to show us where we've been and to give us licence to pause, look back and reflect. For 'The Hour' - 600 of those Hours have been marked. Quite an accomplishment! For me, it's the eclectic array of guests that makes me a fan. George's convo with Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was that guest where I knew this was a show committed to bringing important information to a demographic thirsty for a broader perspective on the world. The father of the microcredit movement, Yunus believes in everyone's right to a hand up, not a handout. Brilliant.

A fave in studio moment occurred when George, who is attached to his Blackberry, glanced at it quickly during a taping and announced to the audience that a certain American Idol's 'people' were trying to book this person & asked the collective what they should do, all the while knowing he'd be giving a rousing Hells No to any American Idol BS. 'We' said -uh-uh- and the thumbs were in motion, giving this reality show winner the virtual kiss off.

My "I did NOT just see that" moment was at the David Foster taping. An audience member didn't turn off their cell phone which rang loudly during taping - prompting Foster to ask if they should answer it. Yikes. At the end of the interview, Foster's gaggle of groupies almost rushed the stage and in process, a rather large girl's pants dipped frighteningly low. Crack. Definite crack. It made the cut (no pun intended) that night but has been erased from replays. Scary. Buy a belt please. Especially if you might be on television.

So, since music is a huge part of things on The Hour and all things Strombo, I thought a fitting ending to this effort would be with the lyrics to Sloan's 'The Good In Everyone', the current theme to The Hour. Happy 600 kids, you don't look at day over 30!!! ~ Tracy

First off, here's what you'll do to me. You'll get rough, attack my self esteem. It's not much, but it's the best I've got. And I thought you saw the good in everyone. Oooooohhhhh...The good in everyone,You see the good in Everyone Oooooohhhhh...the good in everyone.

I close my eyes, I can't give it up. I close my mind, I can't get enough. I'm in no shape, I gotta turn it off. Just let it play, 'The Good In veryone'. ooooohhhhh...The good in everyone,You see the good in everyone Oooooohhhhh...the good in everyone.

George in a Leafs jersey? Skating with Kurt?

Yes, you read it correctly! And it is for a very worthy cause.

Recently, the awesome Stephen Lewis appeared on The Hour to chat about his foundation's latest fundraiser, A Dare to Remember. As you may recall, Mr. Lewis rocked out with The Arkells. A mememorable moment indeed!

Now the tables have turned and it is George who must carry out a dare! He asked viewers for suggestions and he got them! Today on his Facebook/Twitter, George announced what he is terming a "bad idea". In support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, George will combine three dares into one...the die-hard Habs fan will shed his black clothing, don a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey and pairs skate with Canadian figure skating icon and co-host of Battle of the Blades, Kurt Browning. Tune into The Hour the week of November 2nd to see the dare play out.

Better yet, support George in his fundraising efforts. Visit his Dare Page...you can Triple Dog Dare him for $100! Don't have a Sir Robert Borden to spare? That's okay...any dollar amount would be welcomed! So far George has collected about 40% of his $3000 goal. Remember that donations to The Stephen Lewis Foundation A Dare to Remember Campaign help to raise much needed funds to help those in Africa suffering from AIDS and HIV.

A Blonde, a General and a Headstone go into a Bar...

This Week On The Hour... George & Crew are churning out new shows for your viewing pleasure.

Monday October 26th

General Rick Hillier

Does a General use the word 'Scumbag' in public to describe terrorists? If you're Ret. General Rick Hillier, former Chief of Defence Staff for Canada, the answer is yes! While he states he never possessed ambition to be anything but a soldier, his unwavering support for his troops, unconventionally open communication about the state of the Canadian military and it's finances are legendary. His philosophy that he just wanted to be a soldier is expressed in his new book - Just a Soldier: Bullets, Bureaucrats & the Politics of War.

Juliette Lewis

In her career, Juliette Lewis has played a wide variety of characters and displays with ease the gamut of emotions - from the ridiculous - Audrey Griswold in the classic 'Christmas Vacation', to a terrorized teen in Cape Fear, to a Natural Born Killer. She's also carved out a successful musical career that's received critical acclaim. Her latest appearance is in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, 'Whip It'. Oh yeah, she also dated some dude named Brad. Brad Pitt... if you're into that sort of thing.

Tuesday, October 27th

Lewis Lapham

Lewis Lapham is a renowned author and long time editor of Harper's Magazine who now helms his own publication, Lapham's Quarterly, where entire issues are thematically based. Far from a boring intellectual, Lapham has the ability to put together thoughtful yet accessible work. If the 'internet' can be relied upon, a fun fact about Lapham is that he has three children. One married a Prince, one married Caroline Mulroney. No pressure on the single one, right?

Suzanne Somers

She captured hearts in her brief screen appearance as the girl in the Thunderbird in American Graffiti. She sold you on her portrayal of Chrissy Snow on the TV Classic, Three's Company. She sold you 'Masters' of the Thigh and Butt persuasion. Lately though, her career has been authoring cookbooks, diet guides and medical based books touting alternative therapies - therapies she credits for curing her breast cancer. Given her lack of formal medical training, her views on many topics are controversial. Personally, I feel her penchant for making statements of a medical nature are misguided and irresponsible. I only hope that those who may be great fans of this woman seek to learn about all options before making life changing - and perhaps life saving decisions. I will watch this interview with interest.

Wednesday, October 28th

Ali Velshi

Canadian born Ali Velshi has enjoyed a steady rise in media. He's best known for his work on BNN - formerly Report on Business Television and on CNN as host of Your Money. Ali also did a loosely 'reality' based show called 'The Turnaround' where they delved into troubled small businesses, finding the faults and set owners on the path to success. If you love the Daily Show? Ali is known affectionately as H-Pod - the Hairless Prophet of Doom. C'mon. You know you would KILL for a nickname that cool!

Hugh Dillon

Who says that singers make lousy actors and actors make lousy singers? Doesn't one talent always accompany the other? Okay. Okay. I'll give you Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy. Maybe those two, but I'm sure everyone else is awesome. Oh, yes. Hasselhoff. Damn.

So, let's switch gears and say that former Headstone Hugh Dillon has shown an ability to do both... and not just marginally well. This dude hits the mark every time. From the classic Hard Core Logo, Durham County and the current smash Television drama Flashpoint and the Trailer Park Boys Movie thrown in to boot... his career has legs.

Thursday, October 29th

Anne Murray

Canada's Snowbird. She's lived a life of great successes and tremendous heartbreak. Generations love her voice, her ability to entertain and admire her ability to survive and thrive in life. These days, Anne is getting to be known by even more fans as the mom of Dawn Langstroth, who has a burgeoning musical career of her own! Anne has written her memoir entitled 'All of Me'. A preview interview I've seen that she did with her fellow guest this night, Peter Mansbridge, reveals that she once did two well reviewed Massey Hall concerts while tanked on rum. Go Anne! Maybe she trashed some hotel rooms too?

Peter Mansbridge

Peter Mansbridge has enjoyed a long and successful career in journalism that was launched when his dulcet tones were overheard in an announcement on a plane. It's a fact - that's how he was 'discovered'. For over 20 years, he's been the anchor of The National. In the fine Canadian journalistic powerhouse tradition of Peter Jennings, Mansbridge doesn't have a lot of formal education, but with natural intelligence, inborn reporter's instincts and a flair for delivering news in a style that viewers enjoy and welcome into their homes every night, he's likely to be behind the anchor desk for years to come.

Friday October 30th

A replay of some of the best recent interviews from earlier in Season Six!

Michael Moore

From Roger & Me to his newest... Capitalism: A Love Story. Moore is a documentary filmmaker and shit disturber extraordinaire. While his films aren't always the best received critically, they don't shy away from controversy... I've yet to see Capitalism, so my favourite of his films is Bowling for Columbine. The fact that as an American, you can get a gun when you open a new chequing account makes me glad I'm Canadian. Very glad.

Peter Sarsgaard Peter's first big break was in Dead Man Walking where he was raped and murdered by Sean Penn's character. How did that play in the Annual Saarsgard family Christmas Card letter I wonder? Yikes. His work is universally praised and his latest - An Education - where he woos an underage girl would seem like a tremendously risky move. Maybe for a less gifted actor perhaps, but Peter gives him humanity.

Juliette Lewis

Didn't get enough on Monday... well here's your chance. Juliette's interview airs again tonight.

Have a Spooktacular, Ghoulish and Candy filled Halloween everyone!!!

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

... but if you try sometimes you might find... you get what you need. So, in the spirit of Mick and the Boys... ask and you just might receive, dear readers.

What would you like to see us talk about on the blog? What issues pique your interest and make you want to come back and check out what we're on about? Authors, musicians, actors, world leaders, philanthropists? Maybe you'd like to see us play Devil's Advocate on the bigger issues brought out within the context of the interviews on The Hour? How about a series of 'I hope that when this guest is on The Hour, George asks them this... '

We will always commit to bring you the What's Coming Up this Week on The Hour and when the Strombo Show Mach 3 launches Sunday, November 8th on CBC Radio2 we'll yak a bit about that too, I'm sure...

So... believe me. This will be quicker than a dinner time telemarketing survey and FAR less painful than a bikini wax. Please take a moment to contribute your two cents on the content you'd like to see us post here.

What do you like reading? What info can you not live without? What topics do you best enjoy? Keep it constructive, please. One thing you should know for example is that while we get the list of guests scheduled to appear a bit ahead of y'all, we can't control schedule changes. Because, after all, if we were that powerful - wouldn't we just put all our focus into guessing the winning 649 numbers? Yes, that was rhetorical.

In closing... thanks for stopping by and reading when you get a moment. Time is precious, so that you choose to spend some of yours reading our ramblings is an honour.

and the Gemini Award goes to?

Tuesday October 20 th.
Wait! The Gemini Awards are not until November 14th.
You know this because Calgary is hosting and you have your tickets booked for it because you love the hilarious host Ron James and you love Calgary. Total assumptions on my part...

Well there are a couple of industry award nights that are currently happening.
There were some Geminis given out last night Oct 19th for News and Sports /Documentary and lifestyle and there will be some given tonight Oct 20th for Children and Youth/Drama, Variety and Comedy.In the Variety category this night,
The Hour (p. Jennifer Dettman, David Freeman, George Stroumboulopoulos) is up against
The After Show (p. Garrett Wintrip, Pam de Montmorency, Alex Sopinka) and
Steven and Chris (p. Jennifer Dettman, Krista Look, Susan Taylor) This show is coming back in January!
Are all nominated for Best Talk Series.
May the best show win!
This just in The Hour Won Best Talk Series!
Also
One Million Acts of Green (The Hour) is competing in the Best Cross Platform Project category
This just in... One Million Acts did not win in it's category

George is also nominated for a Gemini for Best Host in the Nov 14th Broadcast Gala show.

The Week According to The Hour

Fully enjoying Season Six & enjoying the subtle differences, myself, I wonder if you are too? Some of you have commented on some of the changes....are there things you enjoy more; wish they still did; or are you just going with the flow?


The Hour's upcoming guests:

MONDAY OCT 19

Leaf's GM - Brian Burke
'The Cider House Rules' author - John Irving

TUESDAY OCT 20

Canadian journalist, broadcaster & novelist - Linden MacIntyre
Actor - Peter Sarsgaard
+ Battle of the Blades eliminated pair.

WEDNESDAY OCT 21

Microsoft CEO - Steve Ballmer
The one & only - Snoop Dogg

THURSDAY OCT 22

Real Time's - Bill Maher
Actress - Vivica A. Fox

FRIDAY OCT 23
Catherine O'Hara, Nick Hornby, Drew Barrymore

Let George be the judge!

Battle of the Blades has a new Judge this Sunday!

CBC's latest hit show has some of CBC's other hit shows featuring it, including The Mercer Report this week where Rick skates with Tie Domi... Tuesday night 8 pm.
On The Hour, George's promotion of 'Blades' includes listing the betting odds and having the losers show up to talk about the whole experience.

There are no tickets left to see this taping in Maple Leaf Gardens for Sundays show. Mondays results show offers a rush line at this point.

Here is what George has to say about his promotion to guest judge.

Do You Dare?

Last night on The Hour, Stephen Lewis spoke about the Stephen Lewis Foundation's newest fundraising campaign based upon everyone getting involved and doing a dare. Next week, October 17th to 25th is the week to get involved by declaring a dare.

Check out what Stephen Lewis has to say about this new initiative:





The Dare to Remember website is full of information and ideas from other participants. It's a great resource to implement your best dare and raise money for the amazing work of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

George read a few of the dares on the air last night from viewers. Did you send one in? Do you have the perfect dare for George? Or do you have a dare for yourself or your friends? Let us know your ideas!

What's coming up on The Hour October 12-16th

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone had a chance to give thanks and enjoy a feast surrounded by family and friends.

It's a short week at The Hour this week, but it's packed with an amazing mix of interviews.

Monday, October 12th

Everyone at The Hour is taking a well deserved day off, but there's still a great line up of repeat interviews...

Malcolm Gladwell

Jamie Kennedy (the comedian, not the chef)

Charlie Kaufman

Tuesday, October 13th

Australian scientist and author Tim Flannery drops by The Hour studios to discuss his latest book Now or Never: A Sustainable Future for Australia?. Toronto readers may be interested in attending Flannery's conversation about the book with the CBC's Anna Maria Tremonti at 7pm tonight at the Bram & Blum Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. Tickets are free.

Actress Patricia Clarkson dropped by The Hour studios during the Toronto Film Fest to discuss Cairo Time, her latest movie where she plays a Canadian in Cairo.

Wednesday, October 14th

Canadian comedy darling Catherine O'Hara returns to The Hour to promote her latest voice over project, Where the Wild Things Are which opens in theatres this weekend.

Thursday, October 15th

AIDS activist Stephen Lewis returns to The Hour to promote the new five year campaign his foundation (the Stephen Lewis Foundation) launched last week to raise $100 million dollars over five years called "A Dare to Remember". The campaign involves raising pledge money by either challenging yourself or a friend to a dare.

Recently retired Calgary Flame, Theoren Fleury, drops in to The Hour for an exclusive interview about his new book and the allegations that he suffered sexual abuse as a young hockey player.

Friday, October 16th

As always, Fridays lets us catch some of the best interviews of the past couple weeks for a second time... this week, we take a second look at:

Michael Buble

Patricia Clarkson

Clive Owen

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During this week of giving thanks, please don't forget to donate to your local food bank. Food banks across Canada have seen a sharp increase in the number of people coming to them for help and in turn, could really use our help to keep their shelves well stocked.