A little like Chris Evans growing up in the North West, Craig Ferguson also tried not to stand out from the crowd as a school boy in Glasgow.
In fact there can not be more Glaswegian stereo typing in this book if he’d tried; alcoholism, beatings, racism, vandalism, drugs, more alcoholism all feature heavily. Not just at the start of the book but it’s talked about throughout that Glaswegians like drinking and violence. Try and stop ‘anyone from Glasgow drinking’ etc etc.
I only know of Craig Ferguson as the host of the Late Late Show, which is on after Dave Letterman in the USA and I have always rated him as pretty funny. Not as funny as Dave, but funny.
Having recently become an American Citizen after many years working and living in Hollywood, I guess he thought now was a good time to write the autobiography. He says he first got the idea for comedy when he was the drummer in Glasgow band, the ridiculously named, Dreamboys and he credits his band mate for suggesting it. I don’t recall the band and I was very much following the Glasgow music scene at the time. In fact, he seems to have appeared on a few TV shows not to mention successfully appearing at the Edinburgh festival in 1986.
He was also in a notorious punk band, James King and The Lone Wolves but basically what the book is about is his fight with the demon that is alcoholism. I find it curious that Ferguson remembers his last acid trip and that he managed to lay (sorry, felt I had to be crude there) so many apparently stunning women in his status as an unemployed, junkie, alcoholic Glaswegian.
I have no idea how he managed to not only marry at 21 but for them to go and both live illegally in New York and then how later he manages to live and work in the US for 20 odd years without becoming a citizen. 1. How the other half live and 2. Times have sure changed since the 1980s.
The princely sum of $625 rent for an albeit tiny studio in the lower East Side of Manhattan, coupled with a bath in the kitchen in what was then the most dangerous place to live seems steep. Either he woz robbed or he has his numbers wrong as you can get a pretty decent studio for $1500 in the gorgeous Upper West Side today. And they managed to afford plenty of coke in 80s New York at $60 a pop.
Still, I’m nit picking I know.
There are some lovely moments in the book and I can certainly resonate with ‘leaving New York was like the feeling there was a great party somewhere and I was not at it’. Like me, Ferguson also fell in love with America at an early age.
There are not many humorous parts from someone who appears so naturally funny but lots of more familiar UK names are dropped; Jimmy Mulville (now more behind the scenes but then also comedy acting and apparently an alcoholic, junkie too), Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson (with whom I had a huge crush on when he was in the Norwich band The Higsons – I followed the Norwich music scene too) and loads of others I’m not familiar with.
A weird moment was actually reading on February 18th that he had gone into rehab on February 18th 1992, crediting the aforementioned Jimmy Mulville for the life saving/changing moment even though at the time he claimed to be indebt to the tune of $ half million. That’s another thing; I do that a lot too, translating for the American reader and now I’m wondering if other British people find that irritating. Sweets = candy, petrol = gas, flat = apartment. Actually that last one has become much more standard in Britain.
Ferguson substantiates his decision to finally become American by making us believe that America is the only democratic country where there is complete freedom of speech.
It’s not even the biggest democratic nation and undoubtedly a racist one where people most certainly live in segregated communities, even though they no longer legally have to.
Overall, my empathy started disappearing quite quickly as the talk of taking drugs and drinking increased there was also the distasteful issue of low (no) morals and womanising. Can you go off someone you quite liked and therefore enthusiastically bought their book?
Still he loves his parents.
I enjoyed the book and it’s well written but I’m not sure if I will see him as the funny Scot who became a success in America anymore.
The boy still done good.
7½/10 Inspiration factor 7/10
PS I love the title!
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Movie – Crazy Heart
This is about a washed-up country musician (Jeff Bridges) so I would have seen it anyway, if just for the soundtrack. I don’t often read reviews before seeing a film but due to the Oscar hype, I unfortunately know the story features the 50 something singer’s relationship with a young-enough-to-be-his-daughter journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) which is more than slightly off-putting. (In the same way it put me off the otherwise quite witty ‘Music & Lyrics’ with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, also watched for the soundtrack potential).
I just don’t understand the appeal of an aging, alcoholic, penniless, chain-smoking, travelling musician with 100’s of one-night stands behind him to a young woman in her prime and I literally had to close my eyes during one intimate scene. It’s like knowing your parents do it but you don’t want to see it.
So whilst I could not believe in that story, especially as we find out said journalist, Jean, has the responsibility of single motherhood, I most certainly understood the rest.
Bridges’ ‘Bad’ Blake is still talented and revered, stooping to playing bowling alleys with the hired house band, looking for a break back into the big time to be able to continue to earn a living and no doubt a little more credibility, although respect he still has. The new kid on the block, Tommy Sweet, played surprisingly well by Colin Farrell, was mentored by Bad and is now a big arena star. The twist is he turns out to be not at all obnoxious and arrogant as I expected.
Possibly the first time I have enjoyed a Farrell performance.
The highlight for me was the live music throughout and whilst the film is well made with brilliant performances from all, I’d have liked the relationship torment to have come from the singer’s estranged and long forgotten 28 year old son who never made an appearance.
7½/10 Smile Factor 8/10
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Tags: Crazy Heart, film, Jeff Bridges, Oscar
Journal – March 7th 2010
2 weeks into my new job/life
2 ½ weeks away from my new abode
3 weeks since I last spoke to the BF
The job is great, even better than I expected and a fulfilling challenge and I’m mostly sticking to my 35 hour week, give and take.
The new apartment has hit a snag in that this brand new city centre building has no cable! Being a big fan of Virgin, I’ve not entertained the idea of using it’s immensely lesser competitors. Or should that be singular as there is only one competitor, the second to worst company in Britain, Sky.
I’m so looking forward to being in my own place, living solo and being able to shut the door behind me and yes this brings back lots of lovely perks such as never having to wear a robe to the bathroom, leaving the bathroom door open and having the music come through and being in the bath as long as I like, having a whole fridge/freezer to myself and generally not having to share my clean, tidy space. This is the way I’ve lived for many years before New York (B4NY).
The other perk is being able to watch TV. Good old fashioned British TV and I was looking forward to that as well as all the other luxuries once I shut the door behind me and enter my own personal and private place. It doesn’t matter that I only have 2-3 must haves to watch each week; it’s just nice to have the option.
The building has over 100 apartments so for arguments sake, well over 100 people who, I cannot believe that in this day and age of 100’s of TV channels, staying in is the new going out etc etc, would be happy without cable TV.
Apparently there is a communal sky dish but they are still going to charge me installation fee (for what?), connection fee for a phone line (I don’t want a phone line, my TV comes through a phone line?) and it’s going to take 3-4 weeks. Because they have to wait 2 weeks for B(F)T (the worst company in the world – just in case you have only just met me) to flick a switch.
So Sky is going to cost more, for far inferior service and many rip-off calls to 0870 numbers every time something goes wrong. Often.
Still I’ll have my own place at last!
Which leaves us with the BF; I have absolutely no idea what is going on there. Ordinarily we communicate most days and chat once or twice a week but the last time I spoke to him was Valentines and it was business as normal. He hadn’t at the time opened his presents but I had one unrelated email a couple of days later and then he never returned my email. Or let me know what he thought of the rest of his presents. I waited a week before emailing to find out his plans for coming over and got a reply48 hours later. He doesn’t know. That was it.
I’m tired of trying to figure out what is going on in his head and keeping this thing together all on my own. Quite clearly, whatever is going on, he’s not thinking of me like I think of him.
If at sometime he remembers I exist, the ball is in his court. Until then, I have unsubscribed/unfollowed everything from him; It’s too painful to know he is at his PC and yet can’t take 20 seconds to drop me a line to see if I’m OK.
As it happens, I’m just fabulous.
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Gratitude List – February 2010
I always say life is in three parts and if you have two right at any one time, you’re doing OK: love life, home life, work life – all three would be amazing.
In January, love life was great, home life was a disaster and work life needed working on.
1. This month, I’m most grateful for a fabulous new job. A good job would have been great but working for NFP/Charity, in hospitality industry, with schools, in Birmingham and from home is pretty much birthday and Christmas present wrapped up together.
And I still own my business which although is mostly outsourced, still has growth potential and is a great source of income.
2. Home life: After weeks of searching (and hugely increasing the money I wanted to spend) it was worth the wait. I move into my lovely new spacious, nicely furnished, clean city centre pad at the end of the month. Peace, independence and for the first time in two years, it’s just me. Absolute bliss. (Although I did not mind the teensiest bit living with other people whilst in New York).
So then there’s the love life; it’s taken a dip. I have no idea what the BF is thinking but he hasn’t contacted me since Valentines, barely acknowledging the cards and poems and I still haven’t heard if he enjoyed the CD I made or received his actual present. He’d received his new local coffee shop gift card – which they had to especially construct for him as they don’t do them.
What I do know is that I’m tired of being the only one that seems to want this thing to work some of the time BUT I’m grateful for everything else going right as it would have hurt a helluva lot more a while back. Time will tell.
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Movie – From Paris with Love
John Travolta as a bald ‘bad’ guy – isn’t that Bruce Willis territory?
Well actually, he is a good guy, just bad, like this film.
Cast alongside Jonathan Ryse-Meyers as the ‘good’ agent, this film should be good but it’s not.
The first half just left me irritated and bored so when the second half came along, the part where the viewer is given half an idea on what is going on, it could only be an improvement.
Plot: Ryse-Meyers plays, Reece working for local government but secretly appears to be a part time agent (however that works) desperate for full time action. His partner, played by Travolta is, as per Hollywood tradition, his exact opposite and they both set about saving the world. Well actually saving some international diplomatic types from a terrorist threat
Saving the world, now that really will be stepping on Bruce Willis territory.
3/10 Smile factor 1/10 There’s one good joke
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Journal – February 28th 2010
First of all, this would have been posted 2 days ago. In my effort to update more often due to my failing on Project 365 (I’m a words person rather than pictures girl) I decided to write a quick post directly onto WordPress but it didn’t save my draft. Never again.
Also, it would have been a lot shorter….
Sunday was obviously worked around the Carling Cup Final, the match I saw a year ago in New York, having kicked the boyfriend out of his own bedroom to view alone, as football has to be for me. This time I’m in Birmingham so poignant that its Aston Villa v Man Utd but I nearly missed the start of the match.
I planned to fill the morning with house hunting, get back in time for the match and then go back out again.
Just yesterday I was saying how brilliant the Birmingham bus service is, you can get pretty much anywhere in the city with relative ease. Except today is Sunday so the dreaded Sunday service prevails. I have no idea why in the era of seven day shopping, and therefore seven day working why there is such a drastic difference in the time table but it meant I was walking for the best part of 3 hours. I had to get two quick buses back, the second of which I was just stepping out of as the national anthem started on Talk Radio – which I’ve never even heard before – why aren’t BBC Radio 5 covering a major cup final?
I turned the TV on just as the whistle went to the referee’s mouth for kick off so definitely no time for pre-match snack. Still they won so all is well and I rushed back out to see the final flat, the one that I knew I wanted before even viewing.
Luckily for me, I hit it of with my new (far too young to be a) landlady and she’s prepared to wait for me to move in at the end of the month. It’s still more than I wanted to pay just for rent but I’ve not seen anything like it in the last two months so it’s time to make the move.
Why have we so much trust in each other having just met? I tell you why; it’s the power of Twitter! We were introduced by a mutual Tweeter who I know in ‘actual’ life too. Yippee!
Back home later, Twitter helped me again by alerting me to the ice hockey ‘final’ between Canada and USA. I do like a bit of ice hockey and I thought it was about time I got into the Winter Olympics, not just because it’s coming from one of my favourite cities, Vancouver, but because it’s ending tonight.
I routed for Canada and they won too. A good day all round.
Oh, you ask why I routed for Canada? For one it’s their main sport so it will be like Wales beating England in the football world cup, second what’s America done for me lately? Yep, nowt.
Talking of Americans doing nothing, the BF is doing one of his disappearing acts where he doesn’t contact me for days. And I can’t be bothered to even find out why this time. I know, so unlike me but sometimes, it’s just so tiring.
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How I Quit The Gym & Got Fitter
How I quit the gym and got into shape
So how am I in better shape after quitting the gym?
This exercise is so simple and it doesn’t cost a penny. In fact it saves you money.
A couple of years ago, I decided to sell my adored, faithful, shiny, navy blue Mercedes CLK320 and go to stay in New York for 6 months. I embark on my big adventure and walk everywhere I can. You don’t live in this great city and then go underground or risk putting your life in the hands of the taxi drivers who learnt to drive in New Delhi or Rome.
You will miss the cat man, the guy who hangs around Columbus Circle with a cat proudly perched on his shoulder. You’d miss the Bloomingdale bag lady who talks to her bags and the British girl who doesn’t think anything of singing loudly to herself.
OK that last one is me.
My tenet is if I takes 20 minutes, walk. Up to 30 minutes, walk if I have enough time and over 30 minutes, use transport but then walk part of the way. I deliberately choose a coffee shop to write in that takes me fifteen minutes to walk to each day.
Guess what people, I haven’t started looking like the she-devil, I still eat the same as I did before I quit gym torture and my cellulite has all but moved out. Seriously.
The difference is I don’t have the expense of a car to run and there are always trains, planes and car hire places. Even if there’s no way you can practically live without the car, do you really need to drive instead of taking the 10 minutes to walk to the store? Really?
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Movie – Soloman Kane
I imagined this to be Lord of the Rings meets Merlin.
Set around 400 years where the belief was both God and the devil exists and the world is run by sorcery and magic. They burnt witches at the stake and believed that any wrong doing and their soul automatically belonged to the devil.
Which is the case with the formally murderous, nobleman and now clean living Soloman Kane who had lost his family inheritance with his refusal to join the church and thus rebelled royally. His elder brother inherits everything and Mr Kane becomes a thug. He is on the right side of the law and/or God until 1. He runs into a family who takes care of him after he is mugged and beaten and 2. A former army colleague begs him to help fight against the evil.
Lots of blood, corpses and severed limbs ensue whilst fighting with monstrous beings seemingly whose bodies are occupied by very bad souls indeed. He now has to renounce his ‘I’m with God now’ status and I note he doesn’t appear to be thanked once for saving umpteen lives and re-selling his soul back to the devil hardly seems worth the price.
Fans of Lord of the Rings and Merlin (which I am) will enjoy it but not if you just like the magical, romantic bits – you won’t be getting that – but it’s a gritty piece of fantasy escapism.
7½/10 Smile factor 8/10
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It’s a new start today
Time to catch you up on the last few months….
You can say I have given this writing business my best shot. For almost two years I’ve been working on my craft almost daily. This has happened due to making a conscious decision and on 4th July 2008 I stopped running my company from offices and slimmed down the business to become a freelancer from home. This gave me both the freedom and time to write seriously. I’ve had a lifelong goal to retire early and start writing; it just came a little early.
My working days went from up to 18 hours to a compact 4-5 hours and only during weekdays. After 4 years of building the business, I come up for air and wondered where my social life went so I booked my flight to New York to retrieve said life and learn to write too. In New York, I developed the perfect life; taking care of any business in the mornings and writing or attending writing school in the afternoons, meeting with lovely new friends in the week and the boyfriend at the weekends.
This blissful ideal lasted for 5 months until I came back to sell-up and give away most of my beautiful, hard-earned belongings, including my beloved car, to be compensated by my new lifestyle plan to spend more time in NYC than England. I’d shipped what was left very expensively to NYC only to be told America no longer wanted me so I have been stuck in limbo in the UK ever since (I did not break any law).
Even without all my worldly goods, new friends and boyfriend, I have been trying to capture my NYC writing life in the UK but it’s not the same. In addition, business is obviously a lot less buoyant than it was two years ago and if I can’t have my freelancer lifestyle in New York, I feel it’s best to end the six years of asking myself ‘is there enough money this month for me to live?’
With savings used up and the economy where it is, working part time is no longer an option. So, having furiously looked for the last few months, TODAY I start my fantastic new but normal job. One that pays at the end of each month, only requires me to work during ‘normal office hours’ giving me plenty of time to write – unlike a few years ago.
The role is to raise awareness amongst school children so they are inspired to work in the under-staffed hospitality industry. But wait, it’s better than that:
- I’m working for a charity within a not for profit organisation
- using all my skills of the last several years: coaching, event organising, fund-raising, working with schools, working with the hospitality industry, raising awareness, obtaining sponsorship, business development
- working from home and in Birmingham, covering the Midlands region saves on both commuting and travel costs (and anxiety)
- I can continue to own my business and work on some tasks in evenings but outsource others. I still want to build on that for the time being.
- have 25 days paid holiday, rather than having a holiday and then paying someone else to do my work, hence tripling the cost of aforementioned holiday
- The biggest plus point, next time I visit the Embassy to obtain a tourist visa, I can tell them I have a bona fide permanent job that ties me to the UK proving I have no desire to give up my UK residency
To summarise: Normal job = normal pay = normal hours = more time to write
I was looking to move to London, something I never thought I would do again but I do need an adventure to keep my mind occupied and lead a well rounded life. However, this organisation had a job in London but they decided I would be better suited to this new Birmingham opportunity. Although I am working for someone else I see it as no different to working on clients’ demands as it’s a completely autonomous role. This way, I plan my own time and enjoy what I do whilst helping a good cause.
I won’t be ducking out for 3-4 hours every afternoon to write but I will focus on that more for a couple of hours most evenings and all weekend so the writing will not suffer. In fact I plan to resume my writing practice with the Gotham Writers Workshop book, start an online course with the same school in New York and start writing a book once I have decided which idea to go with.
I do feel like I’ve come out of the black hole I’ve been in for almost a year and can start living and even build a social life again. I think the wonderful Christmas holiday helped with the motivation although I’d already decided this is what I was going to do for 2010.
Here’s to a new beginning….
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Project 365 – Day 50
Soloman Kane: Witchcraft, sorcery, battle scenes, blood. Oh yes, heads will roll.
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