My Secret Crush
...
6 October 2009
For some time now, I’ve been growing increasingly fond of Craig Ferguson. I knew I was hooked when, one (late late) night, after having had a rather unpleasant argument with my life mate, I was watching Craig with the earphones hooked into the TV — just to be doing anything at all that did not involve confronting said mate in the bedroom — and I found myself laughing out loud. Continually. For about half an hour.
Of course, Craig has the good fortune — ratings-wise — of being scheduled opposite Jimmy Fallon. Who — despite his run on SNL and charming performance in FEVER PITCH — is cringingly unwatchable in the Late-Late venue (although, if you’ve ever seen his “Head Swap” bit, that’s pretty funny. But that’s really the only thing that’s funny.)
If you’ve never watched Craig, keep him in mind for those insomniac (or post-spousal-argument nights). He’s doing something none of the other late-show hosts are doing; he’s just being silly. (And, ok, a little bit bawdy. But in a silly sort of way.) I don’t think I realized just how nourishing plain old silly can be.
And since the dust-up with Letterman last Thursday (I’d post the amazingly bizarre, fascinating, vaguely disturbing mea culpa video here, but CBS has confiscated it from YouTube), where he confessed to being blackmailed by a CBS producer who knew that he’d been sleeping with his female staffers (“To that I say, ‘Yes. Yes I have,’” said Letterman to his live studio audience), I’ve been hearing more and more praise of Craig. To the tune of, “I only watch Letterman so I can get to Craig Ferguson anyway.”
Here are a couple of recent NY Times pieces:
About his show
About his recently released memoir
5 October 2009
I’ve recently “come out” regarding a favorite novel of mine. For some time, it’s been my little secret; the book I cherish that few people (in the U.S.) have heard of. But somehow it seems about time to come clean, to — borrowing a bit of religious terminology — spread the good news.
I’m a fan of literary publications and online sites that devote space to books which are under-recognized, or perhaps once-recognized but long out-of-fashion. The Second Pass is one such site. Read my review of Carrie Tiffany‘s Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living here at the Backlist column of The Second Pass.
2 October 2009
In case you are looking for some suggested reading, here’s the list of all works of fiction that were nominated for the Best of the Millenium (So Far) at The Millions. It makes one a little breathless to behold the vast range of good fiction being written and read.
