Conan's (Street) Sign Of The Times

The Mayor's office has responded to talk show host Conan O'Brien's request to have his own eponymous Los Angeles City Street. And lookie lookie, it also features one o' dem new-fangled Chevy logo/UFO street signs that The Militant talked about in great detail a few months ago.

The gist of the video response is that Coco needs to prove his worth to the City by giving back in some form or another. Though The Miltant has had his criticisms of Villaraigosa through the years (most of them non-transportation-related though), The Militant is 100% in agreement that the Boston-area native-via-NYC transplant has to sow, and not just reap, in this urban farmland of Los Angeles.

The Militant may or may not be a Conan fan of course, but the "giving back" mandate should apply to  everyone in the entertainment industry. Do we not have a huge divide between the money-grubbing entertainment industry and the countless urban needs in this City? Imagine if all the entertainment companies would "prove their worth" in this City (other than sponsoring the annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, which seems to be the sole token example of community support the entertainment industry really does).

Furthermore, when the Angelenos listed their litany of community give-backs in the Mayor's video, The Militant couldn't help but realize that he's already done most of these things already.

The Militant has been living in Los Angeles longer than Conan O'Brien obviously, but his blog (4 years) has long outlasted the talk show host's 15-month stint here (7 months at NBC, 8 months at TBS).

So where's Militant Angeleno Street? RECOGNIZE!

Get Down In Chinatown This Saturday!

You may or may not know that Los Angeles' Chinatown is celebrating its 72nd birthday on Saturday, with a big '40s-themed bash in Central Plaza on Broadway.

The party lasts from 7 to 11 p.m. and will feature Chinese, American and Chinese American entertainment. The price? Like totally free!

Operative reports relayed to The Militant indicate that free strawberry cakes courtesy of Phoenix Bakery will be given away as part of the celebration.

According to ChinatownLA.com, there will be free valet parking at 950 N. Hill St starting at 5 p.m., but of course, that's gonna be crazypackedbackeduptrafficlongwait, so you're gonna be taking the (M) Gold Line or riding your bike there, right?

Los Angeles history buffs know that the 24-block Los Angeles' Chinatown is actually Chinatown 2.0, dedicated in 1938. Chinatown 1.0, established circa 1870, was originally located a few blocks to the southeast, on the other side of Alameda, and was moved to make room for the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, otherwise known as Union Station.

Today, Chinatown is still going strong as a cultural tourism destination, with a handful of late-night eateries, bars and art galleries. Plus there's this real cool park next door.

Check out this FunnyOrDie.Com video from Hollywood stuntman Steven Ho (a recurring guest on the now-unfortunately-defunct Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien), who made this viral flick for the Coco crowd in April. You'll see some very familiar sights:

Asian Conan Ep. 1 - watch more funny videos

Los Conangeles

As you may or may not know, last night, Conan O'Brien finally brought his Late Night antics westward to become the fifth host of The Tonight Show.

For the Militant, who admits to being a Conan fan since September 1993, the thought of bringing the show here to Los Angeles is an awesome opportunity (for Triumph to poop on!), the ability to go see a taping notwithstanding.

Of note to the Militant is his amazingly beautimous set, which includes the requisite cityscape/skyline talk show backdrop, but prominently features well-known local edifices as the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills city halls, the Hollywood Bowl, Mann's Chinese, the U.S. Bank Tower and Bullock's Wilshire (which seems to tower over all the others). Above the backdrop is an art deco-style mural with So Cal iconic images (beach lifeguard station, etc) - a nice nod to one of the world's capitals of Art Deco.

Of more note to the Militant is how the City gets portrayed to the national audience. Granted this is a comedy program, so people, places and things will no doubt get lampooned, but surely one can be ROTFL funny without resorting to tired old stereotypes. O'Brien's predecessor, Jay Leno, initially relied on poking fun at the usual showbiz/superficial/cosmetic surgery-obsessed jokes posted at Angelenos, though in later years it's either been tempered down, or re-focused (i.e. the same jokes, but pointed at Beverly Hills). The intellectually-challenged interviewees from Leno's "Jaywalking" bit also inadvertently depicted Angelenos as clueless buffoons at first, but eventually the segment was taken nationwide and demonstrated that clueless buffoonery was simply an American phenomenon.

The Militant already has high hopes; so far O'Brien has employed the usage of "Los Angeles" far more times in the first episode than simply "L.A." (A pet peeve of the Militant, especially since you never hear those Frisco people say "S.F." when both cities' names contain the same amount of syllables). Plus, O'Brien's trademark non-sequitur/referential humor would likely offer something more than the expected stereotypical humor. The reference to the 99 Cents Only store (especially in the obscure products found there - in contrast to Leno's approach to 99 Cent store items) in the Universal Studios tour bit was a good indicator of what may be to come.

One thing, though that irked the Militant was O'Brien mentioning that guest comedian Will Ferrell "Lived in Los Angeles for quite a while." For quite a while? Um, the dude's an area native! Ferrell's from Orange County and all of the Militant's USC operatives know that he's a Trojan alum.

So welcome back (O'Brien lived here in the late '80s-early '90s, just prior to starting Late Night) to Los Angeles, Conan! Maybe the Militant can show you and your crew around!