Lifestyle
Seth Rogen has a 567-piece vintage ashtray collection. It started with a hedgehog
![Seth Rogen has a 567-piece vintage ashtray collection. It started with a hedgehog Seth Rogen has a 567-piece vintage ashtray collection. It started with a hedgehog](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b351f33/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3302x1734+0+1046/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8a%2F47%2Ff0a62c604958840329f44301dac1%2F1466201-wk-seth-rogan-ashtrays-lj-36.jpg)
If your perception of Seth Rogen begins and ends with his scruffy stoner/schlubby Everyman persona, you might be surprised to find out that the actor, producer, comedian and cannabis-brand entrepreneur is also an ashtray aesthete of the highest caliber and owner of a massive, museum-worthy collection of seriously stylish ashtrays from days gone by.
Seth Rogen and some favorite ashtrays from his extensive collection.
Rogen’s collection was amassed over the last two and a half decades and is heavy on colorful Midcentury Modern ashtrays. He thinks his approximately 567 pieces might possibly be the world’s largest collection of vintage ashtrays. (The arbiter of such things — the Guinness Book of Records — doesn’t distinguish between vintage or nonvintage in recognizing an Australian man’s 1,560 pieces as the world’s largest ashtray collection.) But even without that superlative, it’s an impressive collection, comprised of pieces from the Golden Age of ashtrays, the period from the 1920s through the late 1970s during which exceptional craftsmanship was focused on what’s essentially a miniature fireproof trash can.
Although most of Rogen’s collection has been meticulously cataloged and placed in storage, a few dozen pieces, including lantern-like ceramic ashtrays designed to hang from tree branches and stackable mini-ashtray sets in a rainbow of colors, are on display at the Hollywood offices of Houseplant, the cannabis and housewares brand launched by Rogen and longtime friend Evan Goldberg in 2021. At those offices is where, a few years back, I first became aware of the massive cache of ash catchers.
And it’s at that cottage-style space, part showroom and part Midcentury Modern VIP party pad, with a turntable near the fireplace and Houseplant accouterments and ashtrays dotting every available surface, that Rogen met me on a recent summer afternoon to highlight a handful of his favorite pieces and talk about how to share the collection more widely with the world. (An interactive ashtray exhibition, anyone?)
![A metal ashtray that looks like a hedgehog, on a glass table](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/10c8196/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2769x4154+306+0/resize/800x1200!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F84%2Ffa6bbc034c4089da234eb0ef1405%2F1466201-wk-seth-rogan-ashtrays-lj-15.jpg)
The Walter Bosse stacking hedgehog ashtray, stacked …
![An ashtray that looks like a hedgehog, deconstructed into smaller hedgehog ashtrays, on a glass table.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9edd201/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2769x4154+306+0/resize/800x1200!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F77%2Fff%2Fa0b3dd054d5f90182e563c6f5a30%2F1466201-wk-seth-rogan-ashtrays-lj-16.jpg)
… and unstacked.
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Lifestyle
Young Afghan musicians are rebuilding their art together, in Portugal
![Young Afghan musicians are rebuilding their art together, in Portugal Young Afghan musicians are rebuilding their art together, in Portugal](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5093x2864+250+441/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F75%2F8a%2Fd4eeac684d93a4e58c881e4c5409%2Fayo-with-dr-sarmast-co-anim.jpeg)
The Afghan Youth Orchestra with its founder, Ahmad Sarmast.
Courtesy of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
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Courtesy of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
Three years ago, nearly 300 young Afghan musicians, their teachers, and staff from their music school fled Afghanistan in fear for their lives after their country fell again to the Taliban. NPR followed them on their journey from Kabul to a new life.
Since then, they’ve been permanently rebuilding their community as refugees in northern Portugal. NPR visited them as they began to put down roots and recently caught up with them again, just before they tour the U.S. as the Afghan Youth Orchestra.
The Afghanistan National Institute of Music represented an exciting vision of Afghanistan. It brought together kids from all over the country, boys and girls alike, from vastly different socioeconomic circumstances, ethnicities, and language groups, says Ahmad Sarmast, the school’s director. He founded the school in 2010.
“I think one thing that connects us is not just our nationality or language or religion, but playing music,” Sarmast observes. “Making music together also plays a significant role in keeping our identity as a community.”
That shared love of music is what binds them together.
![Afghan music students escaped the Taliban and are beginning their new lives abroad](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/12/17/ap21347653233679-edit_sq-6d72b828d8969ccf9d0c09554fd7c5f20ab66b21.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
“The group is very diverse, like Afghanistan itself,” he says. “The community of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music is a mosaic, a smaller mosaic of the beautiful, diverse Afghanistan.”
The school quickly gained international prominence; its musicians even toured the U.S. in 2013, including a performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. It seemed like a new era was dawning.
But even before the Taliban seized power again in 2021, everyone at the school knew that they were still at serious risk. The danger became very real: A suicide bomber attacked one of their concerts and severely injured Sarmast, who was sitting just a few seats from the attacker.
“Our school was in the high hit list of the Taliban. They attacked one of our performances in 2014, where two people were killed, and I was injured,” he says.
Sarmast was nearly killed in that attack – with 11 pieces of shrapnel lodged in his skull – and his hearing was severely damaged. Over the next few years, there were several more planned attacks on the school and Sarmast himself, all of which were foiled.
Once the Taliban reseized control of Afghanistan in 2021, however, he felt there was no other choice. Once again, schooling for girls past the sixth grade has been banned. So has playing and listening to music — and the Taliban have seized and burned instruments.
![Afghan orchestra musicians, music students and teachers have escaped the Taliban](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/10/04/anim-photo-2021-10-03-10-50-05_sq-bc1741e2236b27dd7fd244e81a8fc9d54103096f.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
“We knew when the Taliban was going to come [back],” Sarmast says, “our school will be the first target, and it will be the beginning of another cultural genocide.”
So in the fall of 2021, with the assistance of the governments of Qatar and Portugal, students, faculty, staff, and some family members – were airlifted out of Kabul and resettled together as a community. They were going to recreate the musical heart of Afghanistan — in northern Portugal, near Braga.
I visited them in Portugal in the fall of 2022, not long after they had been moved from temporary quarters in Lisbon to Braga, a quieter area not far from the border with Spain.
They were still settling in, enrolling in local schools and getting used to the food. I ate lunch with some of the teenage students at a local Catholic charitable organization, where most of them politely pushed plainly cooked fish and overboiled Brussels sprouts around their plates. It was a world away from the spiced meats and pilafs of their homeland.
![15-year-old trumpet player Zohra Ahmadi, a member of the Afghan Youth Orchestra.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x6000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fca%2Fc661f8b8486da31a57701c0154a1%2Fzohra-pc-emilie-charransol.jpg)
15-year-old trumpet player Zohra Ahmadi, a member of the Afghan Youth Orchestra.
Emilie Charransol
/Courtesy of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
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Emilie Charransol
/Courtesy of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
But the taste of home came when they pulled out their instruments — such as the sitar, santoor, rubab and harmonium — and began rehearsing traditional Afghan music.
They love playing and are fulfilling their lifetime dreams of being musicians. But also, they understand their responsibilities, says 15-year-old Zohra Ahmadi, who plays trumpet.
“We are the voice of a country that has no music,” she says. “It’s a bit sad to think about it, that we are the only ones playing.”
Sarmast, the school’s director, says the school’s mission has expanded and become even more urgent. He says his students must be the ones to preserve their country’s music from more than 4,000 miles away. He says it’s not just a mission: It’s a duty to the country they had to flee.
“Now, we are responsible for safeguarding Afghan music,” Sarmast says firmly. “Advocating for the music rights and cultural rights of the Afghan people, and for freedom of expression, through music in all its forms and freedom. And also actively advocating for stopping gender apartheid in Afghanistan.”
While they are learning so much material that celebrates rich, ancient and deep musical traditions from across Afghanistan, they are also solidly becoming part of a new country.
YouTube
17-year-old Elham Asefi plays guitar. He says the Portuguese locals have been very welcoming and friendly, and are patient in helping them master yet another language. “The Portugal people are very kind,” he says fondly. “Like, they help us.”
And at long last, many of the students are looking forward to being reunited with family members in Portugal – hopefully very soon, Sarmast says.
“We are all waiting for the arrival of the families from Afghanistan to Portugal,” he notes. “We have the approval of the government of Portugal – 368 people to reunite with their families.”
![Afghanistan's Music School Falls Silent, Its Future Is Uncertain Under The Taliban](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/08/20/gettyimages-104460509_sq-c2037c796111f847a11ae8ce8b9ad157cb5b6cc9.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
In the meantime, these young Afghan musicians are finally back to touring internationally, bringing their music and message to new audiences. Recent appearances have included performances across the U.K. and at the 2023 United Nations Human Rights Conference in Switzerland.
They will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Wednesday evening and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
Both trumpeter Zohra Ahmadi and guitarist Elham Asefi are thrilled to be visiting the U.S. — particularly to perform at Carnegie.
“Really excited!” Ahmadi exclaims, giggling.
“We’re really excited,” Asefi chimes in. “It’s a big stage, the stage we play at Carnegie Hall. Every musician has a dream to play there.”
They say that no matter what, they will continue to be a voice for Afghanistan across the world – a voice that refuses to be silenced.
Lifestyle
Lucille Ball’s hometown is a comedy destination. No joke
![Lucille Ball’s hometown is a comedy destination. No joke Lucille Ball’s hometown is a comedy destination. No joke](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5472x3076+0+112/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fcb%2Ffc343c8d4141a22bf56f7fd06786%2Fbuilding-front-8-copy.jpg)
Acts range from family-friendly slapstick to edgy stand-up at the four-day comedy festival put on by The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. — that’s the birthplace of I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball, who was born Aug. 6, 1911.
Brendan Halbohm/National Comedy Center
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Brendan Halbohm/National Comedy Center
Before she died in 1989, Jamestown, N.Y., officials approached Lucille Ball with the idea for a museum. But she told them: “Don’t just celebrate me — don’t just put my stuff in glass cases,” said Journey Gunderson, executive director of The National Comedy Center, “make my hometown a destination for the celebration of all comedy and its artists.”
So that’s what they did.
There’s certainly a lot that celebrates Lucy in Jamestown: In addition to the National Comedy Center,there’s the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum that displays costumes, memorabilia and replicas of the original I Love Lucy set and Ricky Ricardo’s Tropicana club.
Visitors can take a “Lucytown” bus tour to see the homes where she was born and raised, her gravesite, and one of the buildings where she performed as a teen.
But Jamestown does far more than celebrate just Lucy. The National Comedy Center, a few blocks away from the Lucy and Desi museum, showcases everything from black-and-white cinema slapstick to the bluest standup comedy. There are dozens of interactive exhibits, like a stand-up lounge where visitors can get on stage, take the mic and see what it’s like to try to make an audience laugh.
During the annual festival, which takes place around Ball’s August birthday, you can see a number of attendees dressed in her trademark polka dot dress.
![Fans dressed up as Lucille Ball at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown, N.Y., in 2024.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6224x3522+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F88%2Fa7%2F2a473a484d9a9839d53150dcac8b%2Fball-3.jpg)
Fans dressed up as Lucille Ball at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown, N.Y., in 2024.
From left, Elizabeth Blair/NPR; Lena McBean/National Comedy Center; Elizabeth Blair/NPR
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From left, Elizabeth Blair/NPR; Lena McBean/National Comedy Center; Elizabeth Blair/NPR
This year’s headliners were Nate Bargatze, who’s been called “The nicest guy in stand-up” and Nicole Byer, the comedian/actor who’s currently hosting Netflix’s reality baking show Nailed It! The festival also brought in a number of rising stars who performed standup at the Tropicana.
Jamie Bogert came to the festival from Philadelphia with her mother. She said all of the different activities showed them how Ball helped “pave the way in so many ways for comedy.”
“I think having the Lucy museum part of Jamestown and then having this new comedy center is just such a perfect combination,” said Bogert. “We were saying, it was so great to see comedians last night and like, maybe it’s their start and they’re trying to get their name out or whatever else.”
Respect for comedy
Even when the festival is not in town, the center is more than a collection of artifacts. The tour begins with visitors creating their personal comedy profiles by selecting their favorite comedians, TV shows and movies. Once created, your wristband allows you to tailor some of the exhibits to your personal preferences.
![Lucille Ball circa 1955.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2112x2940+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F78%2Fd3%2Fc376960c4c1bbfa291647f51be01%2Fgettyimages-3293554.jpg)
Lucille Ball circa 1955.
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
There are interactive exhibits, like comedy karaoke, and a green screen where you can try to perform the iconic chocolate candy conveyor belt scene from I Love Lucy or Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on First” bit.
Extensive exhibits are dedicated to comedy idols like Johnny Carson, Carl Reiner and George Carlin.
Byer said she’d heard about the museum, but “didn’t realize the depth of it.”
One of her favorite comedians is Rodney Dangerfield, known for starring in Back to School and Caddyshack and for his “I don’t get no respect” standup routine.
Byer loved seeing the duffle bag that he took from gig to gig, his handwritten jokes and his trademark suit and red tie.
“I didn’t know he was so trim,” she laughed.
It’s fitting that Dangerfield joked about getting no respect, because comedians often don’t, said the National Comedy Center’s Gunderson. Too many people don’t understand that comedy is its own art form.
That’s why one of the goals of the museum is to show visitors “the intensity and the rigor of the process,” Gunderson said. Something Lucille Ball knew well.
The audio version of this story was edited by Jennifer Vanasco; the digital story was edited by Vanasco and Beth Novey.
![Nicole Kidman knew she would be judged on playing Lucille Ball. So she got to work](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/12/14/2021_12_14_kidmanlucy-2_sq-1b70f1217fd14a03bf67fa9106f6f075bf1ce991.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Lifestyle
Janet Jackson Finalizing Deal With Resorts World For Las Vegas Residency
![Janet Jackson Finalizing Deal With Resorts World For Las Vegas Residency Janet Jackson Finalizing Deal With Resorts World For Las Vegas Residency](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/e5/16by9/2024/08/05/e5b9bf90c63d4cfa95529967c9a4ecb3_xl.jpg)
Janet Jackson fans, get ready … ’cause she’s gearing up for a Las Vegas return with a new residency, TMZ has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge tell us … Janet’s in the final stages of signing a residency deal with Resorts World. We’re told the plan is for the show to kick off in December. Our sources say she’s also set to ring in the New Year with a special NYE performance at the famous venue.
We’re hearing Janet’s residency at the Resorts World Theatre will be a relatively short stint … but the final details and dates are still being hammered out.
Our sources say Janet was recently offered a residency in London and passed on the offer because the Vegas deal was more lucrative.
TMZ broke the story … Celine Dion‘s also about to finalize her residency deal at the same venue, likely kicking off in late 2024 or early 2025. Sources tell us there’s no new update on her deal, so it’ll be interesting to see how everything shakes out with both residencies.
But, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue as Vegas theaters usually like to have a few residencies running simultaneously. Katy Perry’s just wrapped up, and Carrie Underwood‘s on her way out … after she performs her final 6 shows in 2025.
Janet previously had a Vegas residency, “Metamorphosis,” at Park MGM in 2019 … and looks like she’s ready to take “Control” of Vegas a second time around!
We reached out to a rep for Janet … so far no word back.
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