Luna Negra: a delectable and unforgettable Italian dining experience

This is an experience not be missed! I have tried a lot of Italian restaurants in Jakarta, but I could say that the only one I like so far is Pepe e Nero ... Until I met the owner of Luna Negra, and he introduced me to the food of heavens above.. Haha.

Luna Negra is located at the Citi building in Plaza Bapindo, the building right after the Jakarta Stock Exchange building, in Jalan Sudirman area. Once you get in the lobby, don't go to the 'x-ray door' but instead, take a right turn and you will see a lovely lady waiting for you to greet you at the door. The restaurant has a sense of Italian Mafia kind of place, but not scary, just classy. When you walk in, you will be greeted by the bartenders at the bar and you just walk right through until you see the restaurant area in high ceiling, getting the ambiance of a NYC restaurant. It feels like Little Italy has just moved in this place.
I was really looking forward to indulge in a wonderful midday meal.

I asked what were the food recommended at this place and the lovely owner -who comes from Bergamo, Italy- said to try the 'Linguine al Mare'. Indeed I opt for that. Then I saw a big sign with lots of pizza lists to choose from and I asked what was recommended in that department and he mentioned the Pizza with the 'melanzane' or the eggplants. Ok, not sure what will look like, but he promised there'll be a lot of cheeses. Mmmm... Yum!
The drinks came out first, ordered the lychee tea and it was ok, not that great. Then the pizza came and it was huge! I think it is suitable for 3 to 4 people, even 5 or 6 if you're on a diet. The smell was delicious, I couldn't wait to take a bite. It was amazzzzzing. The mozzarella cheese indeed was tangling and melts in your mouth, to die for! There was also hints of different cheeses inside, including blue cheese. A little plate of different sauces came with it too, including dry chilli and parmeggiano. Buonissimo!

My main course arrived and it was the 'Linguine Al Mare'. Oh, if you could smell it, you could really breathe the sea in Italy, I swear! That's how fresh the seafood are. Cozze, vongole, squid and fish are the stars of the dish. Then combine it with the linguine adds to the whole matrimony of great northern Italian seafood. I was doing the "Mmmmm...Mmmm" sound and just sunk in the moment.. Coz it was that good. Here is the dish from heaven.

I didn't get a dessert but I am sure that everything else is as superb as the courses I've ordered. The chef is from Rimini and only speaks Italian, but he's totally consistent with the beliefs of his cooking, and that is what matters in an Italian meal.
Bring your family at lunch and lovely dinner date with your loved ones, don't forget to order different things from the menu each time you come to the place. I truly enjoyed my day and I really hope to come back again real soon.

My Black Moon has arrived... In my tummy :)

K.P. Bex
29-12-2010

Patriotism: Is it new in our country?

How many times have you seen on TV, Internet or on paper the articles regarding our National Soccer Team?? You might think plenty.. Well, to me it's plentisaurus!! Hell, it should be made into a new word just for them.

Hot news in the country used to be all about Ariel, Gayus or other nonsense religious views that were on the media and now we got to see something really fresh.. And I'm really talking about one particular individual, who has been the talk of the town in the past few weeks. Yes, non other than.. Irfan Bachdim, or the Indonesian version of Haley Joel Osment.
He's playing for Persema, which is the soccer league in Malang, East Java, and got chosen to play with the National Team, representing our lovely country, Indonesia. He's not only talented on the field, but he's somewhat good looking, good enough to be the idol of all the ABGs throughout Indonesia. Not to mention, having a gorgeous, voluptuous model girlfriend, who's none other than the granddaughter of Kwee Hong Sing, a well-known Persija player from the past. He sounds like a pretty good package! Anyhow, either it's him or Gonzales, Indonesians suddenly have the HOTS for their National Team, all because we won through and through with those other ASEAN countries.

These past few weeks Indonesia has been celebrating its victory toward our winning with all the other Asian teams that played us in Jakarta. We kicked some serious asses, especially Malaysia with 5-1, Thailand with 2-1 and the Philippines with 1-0. Well done, mates! But do you think that's enough? I don't think so. Like, hello?? This championship is only for ASEAN countries.. It's nothing compare to say, Asia Cup or something like that (I don't know, I don't follow soccer). People, don't get too hyped! Or even, just take it easy and see what will happen next. Just pray that everything will be alright. (read: Indonesia next match in Malaysia playing WITH Malaysia for finals.) All hell could break loose in this particular match. That's why.. Don't get your hopes up, just have hope.

TIMNAS...You are now being unfairly treated. Yes, coz all these times WE have never shown such enthusiasm, and now that a 'bule' managed to kick some goals -whatever naturalization you may call, he's still caucasian- and because one good looking Haley Joel Osment did a funny turkish victory dance after he made a goal for his team, people are sooo into you... No! That is wrong!! We are guilty of being so shallow. Maaf.

Anyway, in two more days we are going to kick some serious Upin and Ipin asses, and we hope that our faith lies from this final match. Though it's a small championship, we have to dream big. We should dream big. Indonesia is rising. Hell to the YEAH!

K.P. Bex Bachdim *dear gawd! oh just laugh!! HAHAHAHA*
25 December 2010

"Garuda Pancasila.. Akulah pendukungmu.. Patriot proklamasi.. Sedia Berkorban untukmuu.... "

One word to describe this blog: Determination

Yes, I would totally describe that day as that ... Determination. To get Maroon5 pre-sale tickets!!

The day started the night before, when I calculated for myself to sleep early, so that I can wake up at 6am and leave home at 7am. I actually left at 6.50am to get an 'ojek' ride to Adrie Subono's house.

Adrie Subono is this mega well-known promoter in Indonesia under the name Java Musikindo. He's brought Suede, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Alanis Morissette, Bjork, Arkarna, Muse, Black Eyed Peas and many more to Jakarta. Thanks to him too, lots of other promoters got inspired by him and are now doing a great job inviting artists that basically are not into Adrie's type of music.. hehehe.. Seriously.
I first enjoyed his first concert in 1997, when he brought Arkarna to Bengkel Nightpark. Truly, his professionalism in the business makes him the best of the best in the music promoter business in Indonesia.

Anyway, going back on that day, Sunday, 5 December 2010, I came out from the house at 6.50am, walked out to the portal to see if there were any ojek drivers waiting for passengers. Unfortunately, no one was in sight so I took a walk to the next station and took the ride from there. I then arrived at Adrie's house around 7.15am. Uh-oh. I saw cars parking, lots of them. Then the ojek took a turn to his house and UH-OH. Major crowd were already packed outside Adrie's house and when I got to the gate to get the Q number, I knew I was very, very, -waaay- late, there is no way I would get one of the 100 pre sale tickets given. My number was 685.

Holy %*#$@.. 685!!! Not 50, not 300, not 558.. But 685. I swear, I think I screamed in my head for awhile. The crew said people were already coming at 2.30am and some other people said that when they came at 6am, the number was already in 350 something. Amazeballs. People really like Maroon5. Or people are really hypnotized by Twitter. Yes, people. Twitter made all of these happening.
Adrie Subono was already standing in front of his gate talking to a couple of guys who seemed like they came very early in the morning. Think dawn.
Anyway, I approached that group to talk to Adrie Subono as well and he said that we should come back later in the afternoon, while he would tweet the numbers in waiting. Well, I had to go back since I had wedding reception to attend. One other thing Adrie Subono said. He's actually not so familiar with Maroon5 and he kinda felt that the type of music they play is too 'soft' or 'meye-meye'. HAHAHA.. I loved the way he said it :P . While talking to him, I knew that I won't be seeing him as relaxed as then and so I asked for both of us to take a picture together along with my Q-ing number in hand. Man, I kinda felt defeated. Happily defeated, at least.

Long story short, the fun actually began when Adrie started to tweet the numbers. I had to keep the updates so that my number would not be surpassed. It was 300smt when I arrived at the wedding and it was almost in the 600 range when I decided that all of us should leave the wedding (it was a cousin's wedding, so all the family came by too). Then it was 631 when I arrived at his house again. Wow. The power of Twitter.
These pictures can give you ideas on how hectic that day was:






Mrs. Subono, the lady of the house showed up in the front porch of the house to take a few pictures of the line. She was out for a few minutes, and I was looking at her from outside the gate, but I could see how beautiful she is. I think Adrie will never cheat on her. Ever. She's such a keeper :)

I got my tickets in 40minutes and I came out from the house thanking Adrie for my ticket, which is not exactly called ticket but voucher to be later redeemed at their office in Kuningan in April. *sigh* another Q in waiting.
Well, the story isn't that interesting but it does give you an idea of how complicated and hard working being successful is. You have to do the best for the people so they won't lose your trust. And Adrie Subono with Java Musikindo never fails to impress us. Kudos to him! Long live Maroon5 *lhooo??* Hehehehe.... Oh, and by the way, Maroon5 ticket sales was SOLD OUT to tha bone in 10 hours. Amazeballs. Thank Twitter again. Thank God for determination.

Peace out,

K.P. Bex
7 December 2010

Pasta Autentico

Pasta Autentico is located at Thamrin Nine/ANZ Building, between Sizzler and Grand Indonesia. Once you get in the entrance, go up the escalator and there will Pasta Autentico be waiting for you.

The ambiance is very common, why I say that is because it reminds me of Canteen or perhaps other typical restaurants that would like to pass as simple but really it isn't. Once you get in you will be welcomed by the greeters and you will be ushered to your seat of choice. My friend and I decided to get the table near the window, expecting to see a beautiful view of the street, but instead got a full view of the parking lot -which isn't great if you look below, but ok if you're looking up the skyscrapers. So yeah, come at dinner for a nice view of the city.

The waiters are very friendly and helpful, they will try their best to confide the menu of the day and if we don't know exactly what the dish is about, then they will happily tell you at once. They have the Today's Menu like the tortelloni or the crab meat linguine -which the Napolitano Head Chef eagerly said that the crab came from Papua, wearing the 'koteka' or the wooden cover of the Villager's precious private parts- all, of course, as a joke.

We got served complimentary bread and olive oil with slices of sauteed paprika and grilled eggplants, smeared with olive oil which was a delightful taste combined with the sliced baguette. I don't know whether this happens with everyone, since we did meet with the Italian chef and tried to speak one or two words in Italian. Perhaps he was impressed? Hopefully it happens to everyone.

I ordered the simple dish called 'Spaghetti All'Amatriciana', which consists of parma ham, tomato sauce, and some italian herbs. It wasn't the best dish, I could taste the fresh tomatoes which is great, but I was a bit disappointed that the ham, spaghetti and tomatoes didn't blend well as a whole. The taste was a bit bland and I wished I could've tasted the same dish as when I had it in Sicilia when I was growing up in the late 80's.



My friend ordered the 'Ravioli ai spinaci' which basically had about 6 pieces of the ravioli and it looked ok. I tried to have half a bite of it and it was good, but not great. The sauce was very little, and I think they may have overcooked the pasta a bit, because it looked a bit dry.



Then I saw my vegetarian friend's dish, the 'Spaghetti agli Olio' which is simple spaghetti, olive oil and a bit of chili. Looked delicious -didn't get to try it- but my friend said it was good.



Then my other friend ordered the steak and sausages and that's when I thought, "Yes! Finally! Something that was tasty, authentically Italian and extremely tender meat". I am guessing, that this restaurant might have really great Italian veal and sausages to try, and when I did try them, it tasted delicious, the flavor was everywhere in my mouth and the tender veal meat was able to be cut real smooth. The best dish so far.



I know I'm not doing justice by saying words about few of the many dishes they have in the menu, so I would still recommend this restaurant for people who want to get some real Italian atmosphere in the middle of Jakarta city. Bring your date, your family, your friends here for a night out.

Oh, and for closure, again, I think the chef loved us, hahaha, we got 3 different complimentary sliced cakes to end this lovely evening with close friends. Will I come back again? Maybe. Will I order the same thing again? No.

The Big Big Bang

That is the title of Rock Mafia's newest single and it is absolutely banging! I love listening to it, and when it first debuted on E with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic presenting it... I knew that the song is going to be major. Well, it might be because Miley Cyrus is on the video but I really don't care about her... The song totally rocks my world, people!!

It reminds me of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy but deeper and edgier. Damn Miley Cyrus for being in the video! Totally made the song -on screen- less cool. Whatever, I have been listening to this song for over 20 times now today, in a row, I don't know why, but I guess it can make your ears hypnotized. Yes, ears can be hypnotized when listening to this single. Beware.

Listen to this song and pay attention to the whistle.. That made if for me. At first, it sounded like someone is whistling in the alley, but then it becomes so much catchier. Since this song is rocking my crazy ass, I have downloaded the song into my phone so I could listen to it anytime of the day, everyday, till I want to puke coz I'm mad and overdosed on this song.

Ok, again... Will let you know again. The Big Bang. Rock Mafia. End 2010 HIT. Bring it on!

K.P Bex

Major crush alert 2010!!!

I have to say, that it is time now to cut the crap and really hope that I'm going to move on and really get a life!
Yes.. I'm indeed getting the hots, once again, to an actor that I saw on the TV screen. Would not be embarrassed to say that this time is a REAL HUNK A BURNIN LOVE. His name is David Conrad, and he played Jim Clancy, husband of Melinda, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt in 'Ghost Whisperer'. He's so yummmmmyyyyy...!! He really is.

Not only he's gorgeously handsome, but he's also a Julliard and Brown University Grad, who's got a passion with theater plays and is still single, in his early 40's and incredibly down to earth and drop dead gorgeous *I said that already, haven't I? :P*

Anyway, this stupid crush -whatever- actually came kinda late. I mean, I have been watching that show since it first started but somehow I really began to take notice when I watched it at midnight sometimes ago and realized that the character he played got shot and died. Somehow, I started watching the show again *thanks to my crazy insomnia that makes me sleep like 2 or 3 am in the morning* and then just really ... kinda... fell for him. David Conrad. Even his name is beautiful *halah!*

Right, so I'm just going to daydream a bit about him in this blog. It's totally fiction with a touch of reality. Check this out :D

"As soon as the casts of 'Ghost Whisperer' found out that the series is not going to be picked up anymore, they knew that the show is really over. They are going to move on with their lives. Jennifer is going back to making movies and writing more books, Jamie Kennedy is still doing stand ups around the U.S and he will be getting his own show once again on pranks on reality tv. Camryn Manheim just had a conversation with a certain producer who will be doing a mini series on cable and he's interested to cast her as the leading role. David Conrad...*sigh* well, he's going back to his native town of Pittsburgh and will be doing theater plays and producing once he settles for good. So life goes on but not together anymore.
Now it has been six months since GW ended, and by the look of it, David has now been working on his new play. He has settled down in a beautiful house and in enjoying his stay, along with his dogs and cats."

Ok.. I don't think I want to continue the story anyway.. What would you expect? That 'suddenly, a woman comes into his life and they live happily ever after'? Yeah, as if. This is my little dream, and the person in his life should be me. Haha. It's getting late, almost 3am here. I must be drunk. Anyway, this blog needs to end now.
David Conrad is yum. David Conrad is good looking. David Conrad is sexy. David Conrad is my kind of man. I need a man. Oh Shizzle, I'm really drunk.

My Britpop Memories

When I was young, innocent and trying to be cool -and failed-... I used to listen to britpop a lot.. And I mean.. A LOT! I discovered Brit music through magazines from Britain that was fairly available in Thailand. Not to mention the radio stations that kept playing British music. It was quite 'dandy'. Ok, not going to blah, blah, blah this time.. Here is the list of music I listened to at the time of puberty:

Chemical Brother with "Setting Sun", "Block Rockin Beats" and "Smack my b up": Truly a wake up call for me. I discovered dance music then. Afterwards, I officially became a true ChemBro fan for life.

Prodigy with "Firestarter" and "Breathe": Of course it had to be my favorite songs ever.

Daft Punk with "Around the World": At this time I was hypnotized by the electronic sound of the music they played and bonus, was gobsmacked when saw the video clip. Tots aws! But wait.. They are not British, they are French! Haha.. Didn't know back then.

Oasis and Blur : Whatever music they were playing, it meant to be super awesome. If you knew of them, then you're cool. I thought I was quite cool knowing about their rivalry and fighting over that vocalist chick from Elastica (what's her name again?).. They are still one of the most influential bands of the century. Legends.

Bluetones: I loved their whole album back then (yes, back then coz now they don't really exist anymore, or are they?) Slight Return was my favorite of the loot.

Paul Weller with "You do something to me": Classic. It melted me whenever that song came out on MTV. Love, love that song.... But didn't quite know who Paul Weller is. Well, I knew he is old.

Ocean Color Scene with "The Day we Caught the Train": I was crazy about that single, bought the CD at Tower Records, Thailand. Yeah, good times.

Shed 7 with "Ocean Pie": You got the key to the ooooceeaann.... I always thought that was the title of the song. Not.

Everything but The Girl with "Missing you": Again, that's another classic. It can still be played anywhere today, and no one would notice it's a 90's song.

Olive with "You're not Alone": This too, was a song that can be still played today and no one would noticed it came from the 90's.

Massive Attack with "Teardrops": I was always mesmerized when the video clip shows up on MTV. I love the baby in the wound story. So deep and soothing. Love that song.

Supergrass with "Alright": The 'monkeys' of the 90's ... Thought they were inspired by either monkeys... or cavemen.

Radiohead with "Creep": This is a band that made me think if I heard him correctly when he sang "I don't belong him" when I realized after a couple months that he said "I don't belong here.." Doh!

Ash with "Goldfinger" and "Oh Yeah": Those songs still rocks in my head. Love the clips too.

Kula Shaker with "Govinda": A masterpiece of that era. I always .. ALWAYS sang that song everywhere I go. Got the CD single then, and worshipped it, I don't know why.

Babylon Zoo with the whole album: Ok, I've got a confession to make. I used to be obsessed with Jas Mann, the vocalist and at the same time bought all their CD singles AND CD album. I was such a freak.

Spice Girls with the whole album: Enough said. Pretty much says it all.

Suede and Pulp: I often mistook between the two bands just because both the vocalists looked pale, skinny and sung about the same kind of music.. But usually I would recognize which one is which if I were to listen very..very carefully.

Erasure with "Always": Love and hate relationship. Hated that song, but whenever it came out on MTV, I'd somehow watch it. You try it, and see what I mean.

East 17 with "Hold my body tight" and "West end Girls": Actually, I would say these guys were kinda my first favorite british boy band I liked. I remember that 'West End Girls' usually comes on only after 1am on the radio and so I used to wait -sleepily- until that song came out and then fall asleep afterward. Strange magic music will do to you.

Terence Trent D'Arby with "Delicate": Hmmm..Such a soothing song. I love Des'ree singing with him too. Lovely.

Mansun with "Wide Open Space": We have a special bond, Mansun and I, especially with this song. Somehow, that single is already a part of my life. The album -attack of the grey lantern- is top notch. Buy it and never regret.

Pet Shop Boys with "Go West": Hoo Hoo!! Love them! They're so weird yet fun! 'Se la vida' e was a favorite too.

Take that with all the albums: I got to see Howard in G-strings! Haha.. Cool times. Love them, love their songs... Love them better than the Backstreets and NKOTB.

Boyzone: Basically, every song they sang became a hit and I just couldn't understand, but anyway.. Somehow, somewhat..Strangely, I've seen them twice in concert..Both in Bkk. I think I had amnesia or something (R.I.P Stephen, you were my favorite!)

Bjork: tho I know she isn't British, she was kinda dominating the world of pop music.. Hers was the Picasso of music.. Couldn't quite understand it or digest it.. But it makes you feel good. My favorite songs are "Hyperballad" and "Army of me".


Scatman John with "I'm a scatman" and "Scatman World": Wow. Fond memories why I liked these songs. One day, a radio station was having a contest, who can scat like Scatman John. He was a guest and judge at the studio listening to the people calling to scat. I was one of them. And guess what? I won 2 tickets to see him! And guess what again? Someone else won too and he's a fellow Indonesian friend. We both were living in Bangkok back then. Fun times.

Oh my gracious goodness...!!!! There are just sooo many bands or singers I haven't mentioned because there are just sooo many of them. I honestly love brit bands and if there is ever a tribute to any of these bands, I will sooo be there. Ok, that's it for now... Will be posting more shizzpah soon!!

Laters,

K.P Bex

Things to Do in Bangkok

Oh my God.. I don't want to miss the food that should be eaten when I'm in Bangkok, so I would like to put in on this blog and make sure I remember what I should be eating then. Here goes *salivating*:
-Chicken with sticky rice (khai yang) khao niao(sticky rice) som tam - the three tenors
-Grilled squid and catfish
-Chicken in gravy sauce and rice
-Duck wrapped in crepes with gravy sauce (sold at my school)
-Crepe with minced chicken
-The complete set of fried vegetables (the famous pete leaves) and fish along with the chili sauce
-Khanom Jeen sao nam
-Sticky rice drizzled with coconut sauce and mangoes (Khao niao mamuang)
-kway teow lad na
-Khao phad khai
-rice noodle soup (Kuai tiao nam)
-phad siao (fried glass noodle)pad Kee Mao (spicy)
-yam pla dook foo
-yam woon sen
-cha yen (ice tea) cha ron (hot tea)
-Nam (water)


Will buy:
the fan salted fish
fried fish in a box (robinson)
snacky snacks!!
and of course... MAMA tom yam noodle!! Slurp!

Ok.. if I do remember more, I will add again.
-

Conan O'Brien: The legacy wounded

Friday, 22 January 2010. Conan O'Brien bids farewell to his unfortunate viewers and fans as that day it was the last episode of his so-called Tonight Show that was on for 7 months on NBC. Haven't seen it on Tv in Asia as MSNBC will air the last show tomorrow on Sunday, 24 January 2010 (or today, since I'm writing this blog at almost 2 am).

I came to know what Late Night Show was in 1997, when Dad thought it would be great for us to get international channels by buying a satellite dish and then putting the tv in my room. Wow! That was surely a great idea and next thing I knew, I was clicking on different channels from all over the world and then one night, I found Jay Leno.

Yes, Jay Leno.. The guy I now came to resent because of all that's been happening between NBC and Conan. Yes, the guy who I thought was pretty nice and then now thinking he's just this pathetic old dude who just couldn't leave and just retire already. Pretty selfish, I would think.

Anyway, at the time he was a breath of fresh air, and I knew him from this feud that went on between him and Letterman, something to do with who's going to be number 1 and become the King of Tonight show. At the time, I lived in Bangkok and the channels there didn't show any talk shows (except for Oprah, Sally Jessy Raphael and Phil Donahue)so I couldn't fully understand what was going on. Back in Jakarta, here I was, watching the Tonight Show and Jay Leno delivered pretty funny stories. He talked to the audience at first, kinda like a stand up comedy for 10 minutes and then guests came to talk to him about anything, from personal stories to talking about movies they've made for that month.

Well, he was indeed getting me to like this Tonight Show thing. I watched him for a full hour thinking, "Yeah, this I like, I will get the hang of it", and then continued watching until he said, "Stay tune to Conan O'Brien after this", then the commercial break started to roll in. I was already tired of watching the show and almost changed the channel when this Late Night Show intro showed up and then Conan O'Brien appeared. He is tall, skinny and unlike Jay, he didn't greet the audience, instead, he did a funny dance, which I thought at the time, "What is this grown man doing, silly dancing like a nerd" but kept on watching, curious on what was coming next. He delivered jokes too but different. It was strange hearing it coz his humor was more cynical but funny, maybe I would say, raw and edgier than Jay Leno. My eyes widened, my ears got more attention, and then from then on ... I fell in love with Conan's humor (no, not him as a person.. I thought he was a bit too freckly for my taste, took me a couple of months to realize he's attractive, in a weird, kinda way). He had me at 'Good Evening'.

Briefly stating,7 years passed -this time in 2004- I heard that Conan was going to get Jay Leno's job as a Tonight Show host in 2009. Wow! That's great, but a bit peculiar that NBC was announcing it so quickly since it was after all, still 5 more years to go before it would happened. Johnny Carson was going to be so proud.

2009 came, Conan showed up on Jay Leno's last day on the Tonight Show. At this point, everyone knows that Conan will be replacing Jay in July and so there were talks about how Conan brought his whole New York crew to Los Angeles and how NBC built him his own studio to his liking for the years to come he was going to host the Tonight Show. You know, to make it more homey for Conan. Everything looked so bright and beautiful for everyone involved.

What I'm going to write next feels hurtful and sad.
Early 2010, sometimes on the first week of January, a big blow came up in the news and it made my heart stopped, my brain froze for like a second. NBC was thinking of pushing Conan's Tonight Show back in the Late Night time and have Jay Leno back on the Tonight Show time. Jay has had another show sometimes after Conan started the Tonight Show and somehow his failed show (called the Jay Leno Show)is held on, sacrificing Conan's. What is the point having the Tonight Show when you're thinking on airing it at midnight when it's really not 'tonight' anymore. What the string dance is going on?? Even Conan himself didn't know what's happening.
It was at this point that I realized how Tv is no fun game at all when you're involved in the business. Certainly it felt unprofessional coming from a big network like NBC, and already at the bottom comparing to the other Tv networks. How in the world they would think that putting Leno back on his old time slot will help out anything at all, especially, helping Conan getting a better rating or even pride? Certainly, those media eggheads didn't think about Conan's feelings coz I definitely feel insulted if anyone ever downgraded me after a big promotion, which actually lasted only 7 months.
Conan didn't deliver good ratings but what can be done in 7 months? It is a very short time to tell how well you can deliver a good show, just because it fell from 1st rank, knocked down by ultimate #2, David Letterman. Jay Leno had a very tough time being on top when he first did the Tonight Show, took him 9 months or so to adjust and finally get the #1 spot but anyway, David Letterman has been #2 in his network and no one said anything about 'adjusting' him.

I was proud that Conan refused to be played like that, but at the end someone had to go and Conan did decide to leave the Tonight Show. Everyone who had been watching him since Late Night went absolutely furious and went on to make a strong community in Facebook calling it 'I'm with Coco', 'Team Conan' or 'Support Team Conan' defending the rights for Conan as a True King of Late night Show Host. I am one of those people who went ballistic when I heard he was mistreated like that, went on Twitter, and just poured out all my feelings regarding the matter. I was so mad that I'd even thought about making a group to support Conan, but others had the idea first and so I decided to join them instead.

What happens next for Conan? Well, he got a great deal of money from NBC plus more for his staff. He's not allowed to get on tv on another network for about 8 months and is not allowed to talk bad about his previous place of work. Whatever, you have damaged his reputation, NBC,I'm sure you can't buy money off easily like that!
The future of Conan O'Brien lies in Conan's hand himself, and I'm sure he will be able to survive this wounded path. I am so glad that I got to know him way back then and able to blog about this story as if it were of my own good friend. This has yet to be another beginning of a different chapter for Conan. I love my Coco and I look forward for his comeback on any media very soon.

I'm with Coco.
K.P Bex
24 January 2010