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Catching Up With the Hipster Grifter
The Daily Beast: How do you sleep? Are your dreams different now that you are in such a strange place?
Ferrell: Sleep is, at this point, a foreign concept. With the cacophony of pipes, keys, doors opening and closing, screaming inmates, etc. I can rarely stay asleep for more than a couple of hours at a time. My dreams have changed in the sense that the actual concept of them is pretty normal, just the way I view them has been altered. Before I was just dreaming of everyday things, now they are semblances of how it was, and what I miss. Also, it’s a strange phenomenon to dream about being arrested and waking up in the clink.
The Daily Beast: I found that I was very protective over a frail and jittery 19-year-old girl during the incarceration. Even to the point where I shared my bed with her for fear of her getting harassed by the inmates. Have you noticed this kind of pairing? Can you describe it?
Ferrell: There isn’t really a need to protect anyone, as there isn’t too much violence (in my pod, at least) around. Even if there were, we couldn’t be able to do anything about it, unfortunately. You can’t even hug here, if you do you will pick up a new charge. I can’t imagine what they’d do if they saw someone trying to comfort someone in a physical way. Of course people “pair” up, there are small cliques here, but not in the way described.
The Daily Beast: If you could have one thing sent to you in prison what would it be?
Ferrell: Ooo boy. Definitely my iPod and a way to charge it (Steve Jobs should pay me mass quantities of scrilla for that endorsement). I miss music more than anything. I am the “Hipster Grifter” after all, what do you expect? I commonly call people and convince them to play “Holland, 1945” over the phone. If we’re talking about things I can actually have here, probably books. The library selection here isn’t terrible, they just don’t have many "obscure" or contemporary authors. JPod by Douglas Coupland would be nice (HINT HINT).
The Daily Beast: What do you think will be different about you once you get out?
Ferrell: I will be much more humble. I will not take people or things for granted. I will, obviously, not partake in any illegal activities besides, y’know, (consuming organic produce). I will look at freedom and time in a whole new light. I hope to show people how truly sorry I am for the terrible mistakes I’ve made.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper is the Los Angeles corespondent for The Awl. Her book Mad Men: Unbuttoned will be released by Harper's studio in 2010.
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Natasha is the Los Angeles corespondent for The Awl. Her book Mad Men: Unbuttoned will be released by Harper's studio in 2010.
rod179
What a waste of time, jail isn't very nice, the beds aren't comfortable and the food's crap, thank's for those huge revelations. No insight, no nothing, a giant bundle of meh, who actually cares what a small-time fraudster thinks about, well, anything?
QuixoticStranger
I found the piece quite interesting actually. I find it somewhat beneficial to get an insight into the prison system from someone who isn't your typical criminal. In response to the post above:
Who actually cares about your opinion on what a small-time fraudster thinks about in jail? The irony of this statement and the statement below is not lost on this reader, especially when the subject of the piece happens to be an all too ironic hipster.
Twisted
It's not the prison system it's county jail eons away from a prison. Most people in county are there for mandatory minimums on alcohol and drug crimes like dui or failure to pay child support or fines. Most people in county are in mod units because they are on work release they work their regular jobs 40 hours per week get paied and pay their fines, for that they usually get nights with their spouse and family. Other inmates who don't have jobs get sent out to do county work for pay, only the dregs get put in lock down like the subject of this piece!!!
Chichikov
It's absolutely remarkable that she has any celebrity status whatsoever. Why would anyone care what she does/says/thinks?
jbo206
people like you who read this story...
TER137
She doesn't exactly sound contrite.
I also hate to break it to her, but prison libraries probably won't stock anything other than hand-me-downs from the local junior high.
AlanD2
And rejects from second-hand book stores and Goodwill.
AlanD2
And rejects from second-hand book stores and Goodwill.
jaydeekay
This is the first time I have ever heard of this lady.
So I assume she's hip... and a grifter...
hithere3
We're getting grifted... journalistically.
loloo33
I have no idea who she is.
johnny99
A woman so aggressively and unsubtly promoting her own intelligence. From a jail cell. Where she's serving time for check fraud.
Not sure if it's intentional, but it sure is ironic.
greeneg1114
JPod is a terrible book... overly ironic, snarky, and completely devoid of meaning. Kind of like herself. Or was she being ironic in her reading choice, who the f--- cares.
neroves1
And the peanut gallery has spoken! I thought is was a funny ass story. Would love to see Natasha in a striped jumped suit.
brothajohn
The three times I have read about her (including this article) my main thought was "why is she famous instead of half the people I went to college with?" I knew dozens of selfish pricks who slept on you couch, at your food, stole your wallet and hit the clubs. Still do not get what all this is about.
PS. Glad jail sucks, it's supposed to. It a freakin' Utah jail, not Fantasy Island.
cpasqualone
Would this be the first Neutral Milk Hotel plug from a jail cell? Jeff, my boy, you've really made it.
ginsushark
hmmm entertaining banter about nothing. it would be nice if the content matched the craft. makes me wish i was reading vice magazine... viceland.com ahoy
redrik
How interesting, jail is not the most intellectually stimulating
location to be placed into. The food is unappetizing, the bedding in uncomfortable and you dont have acces to your personal belongings (IPOD)
Maybe thats why they call it INCARCERATION
whipmawhopma
It's not entirely unlike waiting in a bus station ticket in hand. One meets the same sort of people, though it is coed, and one doesn't dare display much in the way of personal belongings.
Spacedalien
Who the hell cares what this bimbo thinks about anything !!??
What a wasted interview.Might as well have asked a donkey.. was up!
Thank you.
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