In addition to being a talk show host, actor, novelist, screenwriter, director, producer, standup comedian, punk rock band drummer, theme song vocalist and pilot, Craig is also a columnist. After the passing of longtime Parade Magazine celebrity writer James Brady, the familiar staple of Sunday newspapers across the country began experimenting with different columns and writers to anchor its back page. They’ve decided now on a rotating group of columnists including Mitch Albom, Harlan Coben, David Gergen, Connie Schultz and the multi-talented Craig Ferguson. His first column for Parade will appear this Sunday but is available now online at Parade.com. In his debut opus, Craig waxes philosophic about the benefits and perils of electronic gadgetry.

Perhaps it’s a good day for some Craig Ferguson trivia. Does Craig have a favorite football (soccer) team? When asked in recent years, Craig jokes that his favorite (American football) team is the San Diego Chargers but when pressed to name a team back home, he opts for a non-controversial position. In and around Glasgow where Craig grew up, there is no more intense sporting rivalry than that between two clubs in the Scottish Premier League, known as the Celtic Football Club and the Rangers Football Club. In deference to enthusiastic fans on both sides (and perhaps in self-defense because the two popular clubs are fanatically revered and declaring allegiance to one team in the presence of the other’s fans may invite a brawl), Craig claims allegiance to a Glasgow team known as Partick Thistle Football Club, which plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League, considered to be one notch below the Premier League. Curiously, the club is based in the Maryhill area of Glasgow and hasn’t played in Partick for more than a century but traditions in Scotland hold fast. Craig was raised in the town of Cumbernauld, just northeast of Glasgow. Cumbernauld has its own team called the Clyde Football Club which plays in the SFL’s second division. To avoid getting in too far over our head with the intricacies of Scottish sport and generations of rivalry and bitterness, we’ll stop there and invite you to research the teams on your own.

Craig tweeted a new picture: http://tweetphoto.com/14998953 Me hiding in a bathroom during press day for HTTYD @ 4 seasons in LA How come I always look guilty?

Moments later, he tweeted this from his hotel room: http://tweetphoto.com/15001125 LA from balcony of 4 seasons bedroom. Take that Paris. (the city, she’s not in the room)
And more from the How To Train Your Dragon press event:

http://tweetphoto.com/15012469 Stalking America. Take that court order. – http://tweetphoto.com/15004218 Jay Baruchel signing posters. He’s out of my league. – http://tweetphoto.com/15009065 (America, Gerry and Jay)

And since it’s the end of the week, it’s time for a Friday Fact: If @CraigyFerg ‘s 151,192 followers were laid out end to end, they would stretch from his LA studio to Tijuana, Mexico. (Assuming the US average adult height of 5 feet 4 inches and a couple of stops for gasoline and milkshakes along the way… you’d actually end up in the countryside a little south of Tijuana but who’s counting? When you’re in Tijuana it’s easy to get disoriented.)

We can enjoy one more “vintage” Late Late Show this week, dating all the way back to February 10th. Craig’s guests include Academy Award nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe, music from rockers OK Go and comic Jeff Stilson. New episodes return next week!

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