Free Frank Warner

Fred and Ginger, ‘Night and Day,’ miraculous together

Three years ago, we took apart “Never Gonna Dance,” the song and dance by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the 1936 movie “Swing Time.” I think we pretty well figured out its meaning.

Now The New York Times’ Alastair Macaulay critiques admiringly what Astaire and Rogers did with “Night and Day” in the film “The Gay Divorcee.” He also goes on to review the most notable books about Fred and Ginger’s miracles of choreography and grace.

Macaulay remembers Rogers in “Swing Time,” too:

Two years after the “Gay Divorcee” Rogers reached her apogee in “Swing Time” .... By now she has a dancer’s body as beautiful as any the screen has ever seen. The glimpses of her legs in their “Pick Yourself Up” number (her calf-length skirts fly as they tap) are enough to make you gasp. Her spine can now arch and bend in many ways, all apparently full of feeling; the slenderness of her waist is always ravishing.

Great choice of words, Alastair. The whole piece is worth reading.

Frank Warner

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Note: I looked on YouTube at "Night and Day" and "Waltz in Swing Time," which Macaulay says are tops. They are impressive, but I don't think they come close in power to "Never Gonna Dance." Unfortunately, because of a copyright claim, you can't see "Never Gonna Dance" on YouTube.

No, Peter Max did not do ‘Yellow Submarine’

In David Edelstein’s NPR review today of the new Japanese animated movie “Ponyo,” he said the artwork is reminiscent of “Peter Max’s ‘Yellow Submarine.” Arghhhh!

For the millionth time, “Yellow Submarine” was not the work of 1960s artist Peter Max. The Beatles musical cartoon was primarily the vision of Heinz Edelmann, whose psychedelic art preceded Max’s.

I thought the reason we kept all those baby boomer Democrats on NPR, and they never leave, was to be sure we never forgot anything good about the radical ’60s. Apparently not.

Frank Warner

20 years later, Tiananmen without the Goddess: The translation

As soon as I posted today's observations on the Goddess of Democracy, the TypePad blog hit counter indicated that someone had translated it into Chinese.

Just in case, let me save someone else the trouble. -- FW

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20 years after Tiananmen Square, the Goddess of Democracy speaks

When Chinese art students designed the Goddess of Democracy for Tiananmen Square back in 1989, they said they wanted her to look different from the Statue of Liberty. They wanted the statue to represent China, not America.

France presented the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886 to recognize America’s place as a beacon of freedom to the world. One hundred and three years later, obviously, even the Chinese didn’t see China as a champion of liberty. Their Goddess had to say something else.

In New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty looks to the east, her right hand holding the torch of enlightenment high over her head. The flame is far from her eyes, and yet she knows what she carries -- freedom -- and she’s telling the world of its protective, creative and healing power. She is stepping ahead, crushing shackles in her path.

In tyranny’s face. In Tiananmen Square, the Goddess of Democracy faced north. She clasped her torch in two hands, not one. She held it out slightly forward, just above eye level and to her right. Her eyes looked ahead, the flame not far from her line of vision. Like the Statue of Liberty, the Goddess was stepping forward.

In Beijing, perhaps accidentally, the Goddess of Democracy faced the traditional photograph of Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate. It was as if freedom were confronting the tyrant. The Goddess held out the light of liberty as if to say, “Behold what we have been denied these many centuries.”

The Statue of Liberty celebrates the freedom the United States already has. The Goddess of Democracy celebrated freedom only as an ideal, a right yet to be claimed.

A lasting message. Today, the Goddess of Democracy has been gone from Tiananmen Square exactly 20 years. Yet the symbol represents the same ideal. All over the world, replicas of the original statue honor China’s most courageous democrats of June 4, 1989.

When she returns in grand form to a permanent place in Beijing, the Goddess of Democracy will say something different from what she said in 1989.

Towering above the Tiananmen Gate, that future Goddess will say, “We have our freedom at last, and we will never let it out of our sight. Until the end of time, each one of us will hold on to our liberty with both hands.”

Frank Warner

Frankie Manning, king of swing dance, is dead

Five years ago, I saw Frankie Manning at the Commodore Barry Club in Philadelphia. It was his 90th birthday party, and he was dancing Lindy Hop like he was 20.

The crowd sang happy birthday as Manning listened with a smile. It was the usual “Happy birthday, dear Frankie” drone, no swing at all to it.

“That sounded like a funeral,” Manning told the partiers, everyone from University of Pennsylvania jitterbuggers to a few veterans of the Big Band era. “You can do better than that.”

Then he led us through the same words, same notes, with a syncopated hand clap.

“Happy birthday … to you …

“Happy birthday … to you …”

Suddenly we had a new beat. Everyone was bouncing. Everyone was smiling. We all felt 20 years old, even the 20-year-olds.

Frankie Manning, one of the inventors of the great American dance, died yesterday. He was a month shy of his 95th birthday, and still dancing.

Frank Warner

Martha Washington was a babe

George Washington was 26 and Martha Dandridge Custis was 27 when they married in 1759. And according to a new forensic study of Martha, she was quite a beauty as a bride.

The conclusion comes from “forensic anthropologists” who looked at her bone structure as revealed in old-age portraits, who read through contemporaneous descriptions of her and who examined historical records of her dress size. With all the evidence, the experts worked with an artist to come up with the closest thing to a snapshot of her in her mid-20s.

The Washington Post has the snapshot. Click here.

First first lady. Historians say Martha was short, about 5 feet tall, which wasn’t that short in the 18th century. But she must have looked much shorter next to George, who was a towering 6 foot 2. A few notable historians have described her as plump when George met her, but that claim lacks weight.

The father of his country apparently married himself a Virginia belle. And heck, there’s nothing wrong with a little plump anyway.

Frank Warner

What to look for in Barack Obama’s inaugural address

President Bush’s second inaugural speech was excellent, but I’m not sure history will judge it memorable. Most inaugural addresses are long forgotten.

Tomorrow, Barack Obama will take the presidential oath of office and deliver an inaugural address. He’ll sound good delivering it. He’ll make history just for being there.

But how might the speech be judged memorable? What would make it a classic? Well, as you listen to the speech, here’s what to look for.

* The words have to express vividly what Obama understands to be America’s problems and its promise. He can’t say simply that “this is our moment.” He has to describe what specifically this moment is about. He can’t say simply that change is here or yes, we can. He has to spell out what the change should be. And yes, we can what?

* The words should be prose that might be mistaken for poetry, or poetry skillfully applied to prose. Obama has to present a wise new way of looking at America that keeps the audience thinking long after the speech is over.

* He should describe what to expect of the United States as the world’s beacon of democracy and freedom, and what he believes are the obligations of America as the land of the free and the home of the brave.

* He should outline a unifying philosophy that would appeal to Democrats, Republicans and independents. If he has to talk about his stand on a proposal that divides Americans, he should acknowledge that not everyone agrees with him, and then respectfully explain the democratic principles that guided him to his position.

* He should use humor, especially to make his most important points.

* He should avoid trivial details and pointlessly distracting thoughts.

* He should be brief.

That’s it. Now take notes.

Frank Warner

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Note: Obama's Baltimore speech two days ago met many of these specifications, except that he failed to mention the virtue and power of democracy and freedom. He mentioned "liberty" only once, but never democracy or freedom. He seemed to claim our Founding Fathers were more interested in a "more perfect union" than in freedom, and that rubbed me wrong. Again he said we have to "end" the Iraq war, but won't say democracy must survive there.

I also have to confess that I rolled my eyes when he claimed the Earth is warming because of our dependence on oil. The warming debate is not settled. And isn't coal a bigger problem than oil? A leader has to handle moot points better.

Andrew Wyeth is dead at 91

Andrew Wyeth died today in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. He was a wonderful artist, as was his father, N.C. Wyeth, as is son Jamie Wyeth. The Wyeth family has made a huge contribution to American culture.

Frank Warner

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See also: Christmas card politics and the art of the Wyeths.

John McCain photos by Jill Greenberg

I don't know about you, but I think Jill Greenberg took some good pictures of John McCain. OK, there is that spooky one:

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But then there is the one below. Same lighting, and it's not bad. (Who's that little guy on McCain's right shoulder?)

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Frank Warner

‘South Pacific’ makes huge comeback, wins 7 Tonys

The beautiful, if slightly enigmatic musical “South Pacific,” which first appeared on Broadway in 1949, is back bigtime. Tonight, its revival show won seven Tony Awards.

Faithful readers know I have questions about what motivates the principal characters in “South Pacific,” but they are political questions, not theatrical, and they pale in importance to the power of the music. I can forget my questions for a while. In any case, love explains most of the plot.

Tonight, “South Pacific” won Tonys for:

Best Revival Musical: “South Pacific”

Best Actor in a Musical: Paulo Szot

Direction of a Musical: Bartlett Sher

Scenic Design for a Musical: Michael Yeargen

Costume Design for a Musical: Catherine Zuber

Lighting Design for a Musical: Donald Holder

Sound Design for a Musical: Scott Lehrer

That’s some enchanted evening.

Frank Warner

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My questions:

1. In the ‘South Pacific’ musical, why doesn’t the Navy know they’re fighting for freedom?

2. In ‘South Pacific,’ why does Emile de Becque finally agree to the dangerous mission?