Jessica's New Bunny

Hello Everybunny...I mean, Everybody!

Thanks for continuing to watch my blog. I know I don't update as much as I used to, but I guess that's a good thing...since my lack of updating is because I've been keeping busy out here.

I have a lot of exciting stories that I'll be sharing on here over the next few days. The big one today is that Jessica adopted a bunny. We played with her in the hallway tonight and had some fun. (I predict a bunny mini-movie in the near future...) You can see a picture below, and if you click on the link, you can see even more.

Enjoy! More updates to come soon...and there are some good ones comin'!


http://ppshollywood.com/Jessica%20Bunny/

"I'm with Coco" Rally

On Monday, I had the chance to head over to Universal Studios with my roommate Jessica to support Conan O’Brien at a rally that was held in his honor. It was POURING rain at the event, and the wind was incredibly strong. In my time in Los Angeles, I’ve never quite seen it as bad as it was that day.

The rally was very exciting and full of lively spirits. Everybody was so nice and full of energy – it was fun to see and be a part of. It was also fun to read everyone’s creative signs that were at the rally. It’s hard to imagine, but after seeing numerous rallies and protests (writers strike, etc) in Hollywood; this strike, without question, was the most energetic and upbeat crowd of them all.

After being there for an hour or so, we received word (via rumors) that Conan O’Brien himself might be making an appearance. We were all told to gather on ONE side of the street and continue our support protest there. Everyone moved to the other side as we were told, and what happened next was truly unbelievable.

As some of you may have seen on “The Tonight Show”, Conan sent out his band member – LaBamba – in a pope-mobile like vehicle to wave and serenade the crowd with his trombone. It was hilarious and put everyone in a very energetic mood. Everybody was feeling pretty confident that we would be seeing Conan after seeing LaBamba make an appearance.

About 30 minutes after LaBamba came strolling by, something CRAZY happened. Conan O’Brien came out of nowhere from the Universal City entrance hill and started running down the street. As he ran, he greeted fans and supporters with high fives and hugs. He had no security, no camera guys, NOTHING. He was running down Lankershim Blvd all by himself.

As he continued to run down Lankershim Blvd, the crowd began to follow (because Conan encouraged us to). So, imagine this: A crowd of 500 people running frantically down Lankershim Blvd at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Monday following Conan O’Brien. Can you imagine being a car on the other side of the road and seeing this play out before your very eyes? It was pretty cool and it was clear everyone’s adrenaline was rushing. As we ran down the street, almost as if by magic, the rain suddenly stopped and the sun began to shine down on the streets below.

Conan lead his group of supporters to the main gates at Universal Studios, where his interns greeted us with pizzas for EVERYONE. Usually, celebs like to say “we have pizza for everyone”, but in reality, only the first few hungry fans get a slice. For this event, that was NOT the case – EVERYONE got pizza…and lots of it! As we began to munch on the pizza, Conan O’Brein, Andy Richter, Max Weinberg, and the rest of ‘The Tonight Show’ staff went on the roof of their studio complex to wave and drop an “I’m with Coco” banner. It was quite an incredible moment, and everyone could tell Conan was truly touched by the incredible amount of support that came to take on the rain.

While a lot of people wonder why most of these events didn’t air on ‘The Tonight Show’, I think it’s quite classy of Conan that they didn’t. Conan didn’t run down the street and buy pizzas and stand on the rooftops of building for his show or good ratings…he did it because he wanted to thank his fans, and THAT, is something that is rare to find in celebrities in Hollywood.

Check out the video I made from the event:

The Late Night Fiasco

This whole ordeal with NBC and the ‘tug of war’ fight between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno is getting insane. Let’s look at the facts, people!

History
NBC’s history has shown that ratings and strong support come with time. Jay Leno didn’t walk in with the strongest ratings ever when he started ‘The Tonight Show’, and most shows (not just on NBC) that end up being successful, start off just as slow as all the rest.

Investing Short Term / Long Term for the Future
There’s no question that Conan O’Brien is an investment in NBC’s ‘long term’ future. He’s going to be around in the business for a while, and he is building his fan base with older viewers. Granted, there are quite a few viewers who aren’t the biggest fans of Conan – but Jay didn’t have the biggest fan base when he started ‘The Tonight Show’, either. As he continues to host and make a presence in late night, Conan and NBC will find that those older viewers will be like his younger viewers, and show a ton of loyalty and support to the show; which, in return, will result in stronger ratings, happier affiliates, and proud NBC executives. If NBC decides to move Leno back to 11:35, they are investing in a ‘short term’ future. Leno won’t be along for more than another 5 years or so – if that. Remember, he wanted to RETIRE, but NBC begged him to stay. Leno agreed to stay on, assuming ‘the experiment’ would work. However, the experiment failed.

The Experiment Failed – MOVE ON.
The “Jay Leno Experiment”, which involved putting Jay Leno into primetime, failed for NBC. The idea of putting Leno back in the 11:35 timeslot is silly…if the ratings aren’t doing well at 10:00, then clearly Jay has lost his support. NBC hasn’t realized that Jay DOES NOT have the support he had when he was on ‘The Tonight Show’. Why? Jay’s primetime show was attempting to do the exact opposite thing that Conan’s current version of ‘The Tonight Show’ is doing – become a ‘cool’ and ‘entertaining’ show with the younger audiences. While Leno may found some sketches and bits that younger audiences enjoy, in doing so, he has lost his older and dedicated crowd from ‘The Tonight Show’. Most of the sketches featured on “The Jay Leno Show’ were way over the older crowd’s head, and thus, Leno didn’t have his ‘old spark and charm’ that he had on ‘The Tonight Show’.

Jay isn't keeping his word
When Jay Leno left ‘The Tonight Show’, he talked about leaving a legacy behind. He said he was proud to know that a close-knit family had been created from his 17 years of working on the show. He also asked everyone to give Conan their full support as he took over ‘The Tonight Show’. Furthermore, before ‘The Jay Leno Show’ even began, Leno was asked what would happen if the show ‘received poor reviews and wasn’t funny’. Leno’s response was clear – ‘if the show isn’t funny or successful, I wouldn’t want the show to stay on the air’. Now, in the midst of all this drama and talk, nobody sees Leno stepping down…he isn’t holding his word about maintaining the legacy of ‘The Tonight Show’, and he isn’t showing that he is willing to ‘take one for the team’, so the network can start to rebuild.

This isn’t fair to Conan and his crew
Not that television has ever been concerned with what’s fair, but when you consider that Conan O’Brien and his entire crew put quite a bit on the line for the new ‘Tonight Show’, you can’t help but feel bad. Everybody came with Conan when he moved to L.A. – the crew, the producers, the band, and everyone else in-between. Now, all of these families are likely sitting on pins and needles to hear the result of what could potentially be a huge, life-changing experience for them all.

If the show was doing bad because of ridiculous ratings, families would understand – its part of living and working in the business of television. But for a show to be kicked off the air because NBC wants to try and ‘play it safe’ and attempt to gain ratings with an old dog that can’t pull off any new (or even old!) tricks, that’s just wrong. And yes, people can say, “well, that’s the business of television, too”, and they would be right – but sometimes, people like to see the networks “do the right thing”, even if it isn’t what NBC really wants to do. NBC is hurting as it is…I think the last thing they wish to be viewed as is a company with no integrity, class, brains, or follow-through.

Happy New Year :)

Happy 2010, everybody!

I know it's been a while since I've posted...I've been bad at keeping up with the blog lately, but I am making a push to get back into the swing of posting more often again.

Make sure you continue to check out the 'tweets' I post -- I try and make sure there's at least a few up each day, if possible!

Enjoy some pictures below from my trip back home! I cannot thank everyone back in Wisconsin enough for an incredible time during my visit back to the dairyland. I miss you all!