Procrasti-Nation

We went to the beach last Sunday (you can read about it here in TravelingBoy.com). You’d think that I would take in that ocean air more often considering the Pacific Ocean is less than 20 miles away from me; but no. I always think I would do it next week and next week never comes. Similarly, I regret I didn’t visit the Smithsonian Museums more often when I lived near Washington, DC. Yup! I admit it. I’m part of the Procrasti-Nation. If you’re honest, you’re part of it too.

We Southern Californians procrastinate going to nearby places which global tourists visit in droves. And we return the favor and visit their touristy spots which they (the locals) rarely visit. Explain that to a visiting alien from space.

I wondered if there’s a term for this. Couldn’t think of any and so I asked AI to write a song about this. I was impressed. So let’s all rise and sing our AI-inspired Procrasti-National Anthem:

(Verse 1)
Welcome to the land of procrasti-nation,
Where tasks disappear without hesitation.
I’ll get to it later, I swear I will,
But for now, let’s chill and just Netflix and chill.

(Chorus)
Pro-cras-ti-nation, the art of delay,
In this realm, productivity fades away.
With every excuse, I justify my hesitation,
Lost in the twisted path of procrasti-nation.

(Bridge)
One more cat video, one more quick scroll,
Oh look, an email, I’ll just read it all.
Time slips away, how quickly it goes,
In procrasti-nation, even minutes are foes.

(Chorus)
Pro-cras-ti-nation, the procrastinator’s dream,
Avoiding work has become my daily regime.
The to-do list grows, but motivation is weak,
In the vast land of procrasti-nation, I seek refuge and peace.

(Outro)
Oh procrasti-nation, my constant companion,
I’ll conquer you someday, with fierce determination.
But for now, let me bask in your sweet embrace,
As I procrastinate, leaving tasks in disgrace.

(Yes, Chat GPT AI actually wrote that song)

But more than procrastinating on work and chores, I think the things I procrastinate and feel guilty about the most are:

• Spiritual health: Not meditating on scripture as much as I should.
• Physical health: Not exercising. Not eating healthy.
• Other Stuff: Not learning more computer skills to catch up. Not painting or creating art as much as I could. Not learning to play the piano. Not reading more. Not converting my VHS family tapes into digital format.

During my Dad’s last days here on earth I wish I had told him I loved him more. I didn’t expect him to lose his cognitive abilities so quickly. So I’ll add one more item to my list:

• Not saying “I love you” more often.

How about you? Name 3 things you know you ought to do more often. How about it? Let’s call it our mid-year resolution! Let’s start now … okay, let’s start tomorrow … Aw c’mon! … really?!

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Warren of Orange County, CA

Video of the Week

Have you ever wondered how the Chinese type on a keyboard? I have wondered for years. This video is not a joke. It’s pretty long. But I found it very interesting.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena. CA

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre. CA

I found these

The Traveling Boy

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with these.

The post Wookie Jar appeared first on Traveling Archive.

They were figuratively today’s K-pop BTS group or the Backstreet Boys, but of the late1920s and early ’30s in Europe. No, the world.  This German sensation, the Comedian Harmonists, performed at Carnegie Hall on December 16, 1933, and it is with a recreation of that night’s Gotham gala that this musical—Harmony: A New Musical, the story of their rise and demise, both personal and professional—opens; it is the retelling of their history. After the Carnegie Hall opening sequence, the musical then zips into flashbacks, as their lives unfurl in music and dance. While they were headliners in their own right, the group was also a much-in-demand, popular opening act for the likes of Josephine Baker and Marlene Dietrich. They sold millions of records and made more than a half-dozen films.

In a word: They were something, with a capital S. A combo of flashy, euphonic harmonies and comedic antics that catapulted them to fame, not only in their native Eastern European environs, but internationally, as well. And because of their celebrity status—at least for a while—they were allowed to skirt the restrictive Nuremberg Laws that stripped Jews of many “privileges.” (Two of the six members were Jewish, one had married a Jewish woman, and a fourth had somewhat secreted, but nonetheless, Jewish bloodlines, as defined by Hitler’s standards.) But not for that long.  As the louche and anything-goes salad days of the Weimar Republic dimmed, only to collide with the suffocating laws of the Third Reich, their performance days were, in a word, kaput.

The tales of their lives and short-lived career has been the subject of documentaries, a film, a play, and a book, as well as other tributes.  But, they get the royal treatment here in Harmony, thanks to Barry Manilow (music), his longstanding collaborator, Charles Sussman (book and lyrics), and Warren Carlyle, the Tony Award-winning director and choreographer. The show is presented by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), the folks who brought us the amazing and highly acclaimed Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. For the record, the Folksbiene is now in its 107th season, making it the longest consecutively-producing theater in the States, and not insignificantly, the world’s oldest continuously-operating Yiddish theater company.  Harmony is being presented in the same location as Fiddler, in downtown Manhattan’s Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, staged in the intimate Edmond J. Safra Hall. So, if you are going to be in Manhattan any time in the next month or so, snag a pair of tickets, as the show is selling out quickly.

I had seen a documentary about the Comedian Harmonists many moons ago, and so I was quite eager to experience this show, with its tuneful music that retells such a fascinating, albeit slender, slice of history. Manilow and Sussman had been kicking this story around for nearly three decades and had opened a version of this show some 25 years ago at the La Jolla Playhouse, and then the team took it out of mothballs in 2014 for runs in Los Angeles and in Atlanta. You might just say that for the creative team, this was, and still is, a passion project.

And your seeing it may just be an act of passion, too, as you’ll likely fall in love with the six Comedian Harmonists:  Playing the “boys” is a qualified cadre of youthful theater veterans, with diverse credits in their bios: The group’s de facto leader is tenor buffo Zal Owen, playing Harry Fromermann, whose bright idea it is to try to put together such a group; portraying the role of Roman Cycowski, aka  “Rabbi,” (who was, in actuality, a trained cantor, hailing from Poland), is the group’s pivot personality, a relative newcomer, Danny Kornfeld; the first tenor, from Bulgaria, was Ari “Lesh” Leschnikoff, embodied by Steven Telsey; the second tenor and a medical school dropout (and the closeted Jew) is Erich Collin, played by Eric Peter; Sean Bell takes on the role of bass Robert Biberti; cozily taking on the role of the group’s pianist, Erwin Bootz, is Blake Roman. Bootz had been playing piano in a seedy burlesque hall, it would appear, and because of his nimble fingers on the ivories, he was affectionately dubbed “Chopin” by his fellow performers.

Key female roles include the alluring Sierra Bogess, as Rabbi’s girlfriend, then wife, Mary; talented Jessie Davidson, as Ruth, Harry’s wife; and Ana Hoffman in a dishy portrayal of Josephine Baker. The glue to the entire show is celebrated Broadway veteran Chip Zien, who plays the older incarnation of Rabbi, looking back on their enmeshed lives and the group’s career.  He takes on other wacky and wise roles in the show….slipping into and out of wigs and outfits that have him tricked out as, among several cameos, Albert Einstein and—wait for it—Marlene Dietrich.

The gifted Manilow has created a lovely songbook within this show, and the opening salvo, not surprisingly entitled “Harmony” (and it’s a long kick-off number), will be a melodic ear worm in your brain for weeks.  Several ballads will leave you wanting to hear their mellifluous strains again and again. The waker-upper, “We’re Going Loco!”, is a Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 extravaganza, just as the “Come to the Fatherland” is a clever (the “boys” are decked out as marionettes) non-traditional B’way number, and the “How Can I Serve You, Madame?” is a riotous group tune, with the Harmonists attired as waiters, sans pants, but with trays and garters, holding up their socks.

The production runs now through May 15th (it’s been extended once, and I would not be surprised, if, after this downtown run, the musical finds itself a worthy theater uptown), in the newly renovated Edmond J. Safra Hall at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, located at Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place in Battery Park City, Manhattan. For tickets to Harmony, visit NYTF.org or call 855-449-4658. Contact 212-655-7653 for all other inquiries.

©  2022 Ruth J. Katz  All Rights Reserved

The post The Comedian Harmonists:  The Most Famous Singing Group You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on Traveling Archive.

There’s a Train Coming

Where does your security rest? On your career? On your insurance? On your retirement benefit? Your savings? I’ve been following the news lately and I’ve been concerned how quickly the godless global value system seems to be spreading. A Japanese animator went “postal” and burned an anime studio. There’s a Hollywood movie where the kids are exploited to be already sexually aware — they think it’s comedy. As usual, politicians spew ridiculous declarations and believe their own lies. Technology is advancing so rapidly that the laws that safeguard our security and privacy are non-existent. Somebody opened “Pandora’s box,” now every year we move closer to self destruction. It’s easy to drown in fear and worry.

Fortunately, I’ve found comfort studying the book of Daniel. He’s the guy who interpreted dreams and who was rescued from a den of hungry lions. Many who study the book dig into the details of his prophecies but I stepped back and looked at the big picture. And I saw a Daniel who was distraught by the visions of calamity but he calmed down when he understood God’s big agenda. Daniel never compromised his faith and he never deviated from his role as a steward of God. He not only survived several kingdom take-overs but also retained his top political position no matter who was in power. We can complain all we want, start wars and save the environment — but the bottom line is — God’s plan will carry through. There may be a delay due to prayers but the dreaded apocalypse is inevitable. It will be swift and it can happen within our lifetime. It can happen tomorrow. Where is our security then?

This reminds me of a provoking song written by Curtis Mayfield called “People get Ready.”  CLICK HERE for the complete lyrics.

People get ready, there’s a train coming.
You don’t need no baggage,  you just get on board.
All you need is faith to hear the diesels humming.
You don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.

If you’ve never heard it, there are a lot of musicians who have played it. Here’s one I just discovered by Matt Anderson where I thought the lyrics were clear. CLICK HERE.

Listening to the lyrics you could easily come away with a defeatist attitude — “the world’s coming to an end so I might as well drink and be merry.” But that’s not the intent of the song. Neither is it the intent of Daniel’s prophecy. Instead, look at it as a warning. God’s train is inevitably coming. You have a choice. You can be stubborn and demand your way and refuse to get on board just because the train doesn’t conform to your agenda. Or you can humble yourself, admit there is something bigger than you, and get on that train.

Life may get worse and unpredictable but as long as you hope in the Lord’s provision and ride that train you will be secure. You don’t need no ticket … you just get on board.

TGIF people!

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of South Pasadena, CA for sending this joke.

Video of the Week

Tom Rush: The Remember Song
Sent by Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Don’s Puns

From Don’s collection of puns

Parting Shot

Thanks to Ed of Studio City, CA  who shared this.

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