While You’re In: ‘Keep Going,’ check out COVID comics, see a social-justice ‘Star’

‘The Keep Going Song’

With all that’s happened in 2020 (and there are still nearly two months to go), you might need a little motivation to “keep going on,” as Abigail and Shaun Bengson sing over and over during “The Keep Going Song”. The video — which comes straight out of the couple’s current life, sheltering through the pandemic at Shaun’s parents’ home in Ohio — has gone, well, viral. The lyrics are thoughtful and wistful and sad and sometimes funny. (To wit: “I hope that you’ve watched a lot of really great television, like, a lot of it.”) The upshot: “We’re making this up as we go. We have to make it up as we go.” Also striking a chord on social media is a version in which Sarah Goeke and Travis Staton-Marrero add another layer of humor and drama with movement. If you find yourself listening repeatedly, you’ll be pleased to know that the six-minute song is part of a 55-minute made-for-streaming show by the same name. You can rent it (for $15-$50) through Broadway on Demand. You also can listen to the show’s songs on Spotify.

Coronavirus chronicle

Artist Chelsea Baker of Olympia has been creating a daily comic based on her life since Dec. 13, 2008. The four-panel comics document happenings from tiny to momentous — and since March, COVID-19 has been a major theme. Baker has drawn empty highways and nearly empty grocery-store shelves, mask-making, masked faces and the occasional mean-looking virus. “The exercise has become a form of catharsis and communication,” she wrote in an intro to the coronavirus series. “I find comfort in knowing that other people are experiencing the same emotions I’m going through.” You can see her work in the front window of KXXO Mixx 96.1 at 119 Washington St. NE in downtown Olympia or online. And check out more of her work on Facebook. Episodes featuring her cat, Biscuit, will provide a welcome distraction from current events.

‘Trek’s’ Takei talks

Best known as Mr. Sulu of “Star Trek: The Original Series,” George Takei is now a social-media sensation and a social-justice activist who was confined with his family to an internment camp during World War II and later spent years fighting for marriage equality. He’ll speak about all of that, and about current events, in an online chat with The Evergreen State College’s Greg Mullins, part of the college’s Cal Anderson Memorial Lecture Series. Audience members will get the chance to submit their own questions, too. The free conversation will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. Advance registration is a must.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore is writing this on Monday, Nov. 2, and wondering what the state of the world will be when you read it. She discusses local arts, entertainment and more with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 5:45 AM.