Pleased to meet you Hope you get to know my name.

Hopefully, I can provide you with a smile, some thoughts to ponder, and not make too many mistakes in this new adventure into the blogging world.
(As I prematurely just posted this, without meaning to, I can see that I'm off to a roaring start.)
My intention with this first post was too introduce my thoughts on the show, and have edited a previous post that I had submitted to insidecbc.com in response to the Ryerson article on Mr. GS and the show. So now that it's out there, I hope you find something you can relate to, and if not, that's cool too.
I give my heartfelt thanks to Barbara for the invite, and to Steph A for her friendly welcome, and to the previous bloggers that left, I thank you for some interesting reads over the last little while, and hope that I can fill a little of the very large shoes that you have left.



There seems to be an ongoing debate of liking/disliking the show/host, and I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about. There are so many avenues & outlets to catch up on the world these days, that it’s really quite overwhelming, and regularly one dimensional.
In my opinion, The Hour (along with the host) offers multi-dimensional subjects, interviews, news coverage, celebrity coverage, humour, and Canadianism (If that’s even a word, but I think you get my drift).
They offer a glimpse into our crazy world and affect our emotions, while encouraging us to expand our knowledge by reading their guests’ books, listening to their music, watching their movies, researching their political views or oppositions, looking beyond what we are fed by mainstream media and slightly feeding our appetite for non-conformity. Most of what they offer us leaves much room for discussion with friends, co-workers, family members, strangers, forums and blogs.
The guests are asked the right questions, often takin them by surprise, prompting knee-jerk responses and honest, unrehearsed responses. Giving their viewers a unique & often memorable interview (eg: June Calwood’s last interview).
Of course the program’s not perfect, nor is the host, nor is anyone, but really, that is what makes the program it’s own. I don’t know how many times I’ve cringed with their awkward attempts at opening skits, but every once in a while, they strike comedy gold and get a good belly laugh out of me. (Falling into the Pope’s vehicle!)
I could be wrong, but I think the show’s directive is to open our eyes & ears a little wider, while prompting debate and new opinions. Like a lot of other people, I take every chance I can get to catch up on the world around me at the end of a long day. I appreciate the shit out of The Hour and will watch it when I can, for as long as it runs.
Cheers,
Jen

Another new face..

Hi ya’ll ! I’m Angie.. or AngB depending on where you may know me from. This is my first foray into blogging with a purpose and I’m somewhat technologically impaired so I may start out a wee bit slower than the other ladies. I found out about this place after meeting people through George’s Myspace during the Strombo Show on Sunday nights.

This is my first season watching The Hour regularly. I started watching the first episode of the season. I remember it because it was the day after my birthday and I was telling Mom about this show on CBC I’d seen a couple of times but couldn’t remember the name of the host. All I really knew was that it was a news/entertainment show and the host had a long greek name and spoke very quickly. A few minutes later The Hour came on – it was sort of spooky. I’ve never been much of a news watcher but here was a show I could relate to. Fast paced, relevant, informative and funny. It was a perfect fit for me.

As a host I love that George doesn’t play it safe. He goes for real honest answers and doesn’t let people skate through with routine responses. I’ve done my share of commenting on his attire (I don’t get the studded belt thing but his shirts are usually cool) and his personal ticks (I like the playing with the pen thing) but it’s always his personality and interview style I find engaging. There are times when I think.. dude you rock and others when I roll my eyes and think.. oy vey you’re such a guy.

I’ve been lucky enough to make it to two tapings. I recommend checking it out if you can. I know many people think the audience detracts from the show. I haven’t seen enough of previous seasons to really comment on the difference one way or the other but having seen it live I have a whole new appreciation for the show. I’m kind of a geek so I was easily distracted by the cameras, monitors and lights. I think sometimes that’s why the audience doesn’t seem to respond to jokes and things. Or at least that was my experience. I watched the shows later on tv and caught things I’d missed live. Both shows were mostly pretaped but I got to see Jian G., Peter Mansbridge and Paul with his suggestion box.

There have been many guests I found inspirational and a couple that made my teeth grind. There were a few I couldn’t wait to see and some I forced myself to sit through. Sometimes the reactions to the guests were more interesting than the actual interviews.

There have been lots of spin offs to watching The Hour and listening to The Strombo Show. I’ve been exposed to new music, interesting books and have made lots of new friends. The past few months have been tumultuous for me so it’s possible that many interviews have hit closer to home for me than for most people but I’ll take interesting and thought provoking where I can get it.
I don’t know where The Hour is headed but it’s been fun so far and I’m excited to start participating here and getting to know everyone.

New Team Blog Member - Hedy

Hello Stoumboulopoli readers! My name is Hedy and I’m adding my name and writing to this wonderful blogging team. My work and school keep me pretty busy, but I never miss an episode of The Hour and often spend my Sunday nights listening to The Strombo Show while frantically finishing up some last minute paperwork before Monday morning rolls around.

Unfortunately, I’ve just become a regular watcher of The Hour this year – as my schedule conflicted during its first two seasons – but I feel as though George has been a constant in my life – whether hosting the Punk Show on Much Music or fascinating millions of Canadians with his plea for Tommy Douglas as the Greatest Canadian – I’ve been a fan and an admirer for years.

I’m really looking forward to having the chance to voice my thoughts on both The Hour and The Strombo Show, as well as some of the politics and pop culture that are talked about on both shows. I don’t always agree with everything that is said or like everything that is recommended, but that’s the part of the shows that I like the best – that they allow for a difference of opinion and for those differences to be discussed and debated. The most recent debate in my house is around George’s humour. In one corner is me laughing at George’s jokes on the Hour vs. my partner yelling at the tv for George to “Be More Funny!!”. He is currently asking that Nile hosts the Hour regularly or that he be allowed to write all of George’s material.

I hope that blogging on the fabulous Stroumboulopoli will allow for differing opinions, debates and discussions and a space for me to ramble on about The Hour, the Strombo Show, and the man I can’t seem to get enough of, no matter what path he chooses. Thanks for the space!

New Team Blog Member - Brooksie

Hello everyone. I go by the name Brooksie and I have been a regular reader of this blog since its inception. I am also a regular participant at the Strombo Forum. I have now joined this team blog and look forward to sharing with you some of my thoughts regarding The Hour and the topics and people it features.

I began watching the show right when it first launched. It has been interesting to see how the show has changed and not changed over the course of 3 years. This has been a popular topic (and contentious one) with the new season. I doubt I will focus on that, but I am sure it will continue to come up.

A little bit about where I get my news and information and how I watch The Hour...

I get some of my news from Newsworld and watch a few of their programs on semi-regular basis (CBC News: Sunday, the Passionate Eye). I enjoy my local TV news and I also get a fair amount of news and information from various websites.

I watch the show with my husband. We typically catch the 8PM Newsworld version though sometimes we tape it and then watch it at 9. It also feels good to have the 11PM version there just in case we miss a part of it (typically the opener - when we are late coming home from an errand or activity).

While my husband enjoys the show as one of his own news and information sources he spends his online reading & commenting energies at different sites than me. Still, we do enjoy the discussion the show can incite for us.