Times pushes new Conan fluff

Just got a few emails observing with raised eyebrows that the top of the L.A. Times web home right now is devoted to a fluff piece on Conan O'Brien's second night on the air in L.A. What raised my eyebrow is that the blog item runs under the byline of the Managing Editor, Davan Maharaj, the #3 (or #2, depending on who's counting) senior editor on the entire staff. The ME has some light-hearted advice for the new Tonight Show host.

Since we natives want to help O'Brien assimilate more easily, we at L.A. Now want to offer him a few suggestion to continue to get a true flavor of Southern California:

1. See what’s brewing at the coffee shops in Little Saigon, where servers show more skin than Victoria Secret models.
2. Lather up and get a glow at any tanning salon in the O.C., preferably Newport Beach.
3. Pump iron and maybe limbo at Muscle Beach in Venice.
4. Ride the rails to compare the subways of New York and L.A.
5. Hit the Coliseum dressed in ancient Trojan attire and ride USC’s mascot Traveler.

Tell us where you think O'Brien should go to get a true flavor of SoCal.

-- Davan Maharaj