#THE LOUVRE CALLED AND SAID THEY WANTED TO REPLACE THE MONA LISA

[goldenclosetkook]

I look like a foot lmao

[witch-chester]

Where Mischief Lies Pt. 3

The air was sweet and the sound of the ocean below was oddly comforting, considering her current situation. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was burning with every shade of pink and orange. Kit had a small twinge of a wish for her sketch book and oil pencils.

Her annoying, while be it kind, host gave a heavy sigh from behind her. “I’m sorry. Am I bothering you?” Kit growled over her shoulder. Loki was leaning against the frame of the double French doors looking bored. He’d unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and had left the jacket open. She unfortunately was still in her dress but had kicked off the heels and removed the earrings. From the outside it looked like the set up in one of the silly novels Mariah read. Even the twist of her being a prisoner fit.

“No,” he replied. “I’m just waiting for more questions.”

Kit had asked all she really wanted to know. The necklace had been a gift to a mortal he had once known for protection. It had been stolen by another powerful being and the mortal killed. From the text of the charm etched in the gem, Kit could guess that the Loki had loved the mortal. That was a question she didn’t feel the need to ask. There honestly wasn’t much left to discuss. Well there was one last question, but she needed time to work through her embarrassment to ask it.

“I’m still thinking.”

He chuckled. “I’m starting to get nervous at the thought you are putting into your questions.”

She ignored him and went back to looking at the scenery. Mariah was probably in a full blown panic by now. She prayed her sister wouldn’t get desperate and call for help from home. It was a possibility. If it meant saving her, Mariah would give up her freedom. Kit worried her bottom lip. She needed to get back.

“So how long are we going to play this game?” She asked.

Loki slowly walked forward. “As soon as you get all your answers.”

“Well, I don’t have anymore questions and the ones I do you won’t give me a straight answer on. So take me back.”

Loki shook his head. “You haven’t asked all your questions.”

Kit raised an eyebrow. “Yeah I have.” She turned and he was right behind her. She took an instinctual step back but bumped into the rail. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears. Her brain fuzzed out like a bad satellite connection and she blurted out, “Why did you kiss me?”

Loki smirked and leaned closer. “Do you want me to do it again?”

A flash of anger and Kit swung with all her strength. Her fist never made contact. He was gone and she was falling face first. Before she hit the trough however, strong arms grabbed her waist and pulled her upright.

“Falling for me already?”

Furious and embarrassed, Kit shoved away from the smirking trickster and stormed back inside. Loki was sitting on the edge of the table when she entered the dinning hall. He held up his hands before she could start yelling at him. “I’m sorry. Don’t be angry.” He was still smiling but Kit knew it was the best apology she would get.

“Let me make it up to you.”

“How?”

His fingers snapped and a silver dagger was in his hand. Her silver dagger. “You stole my dagger?” The night of the auction, Kit hadn’t noticed its absence till they all had returned to the house and had just accepted that it was gone for good. But no, the dammed trickster had taken it.

He shrugged. “You stole my necklace. Seemed fair.” He held the blade handle out towards her. “You can have it back. A sign of good faith.”

Kit hesitated, then walked over and took the dagger. “Thank you.” She stroked the familiar leather braided handle and the line of the blood groove. Mariah had given it to her the Yule before they had left home. It had truly broken her heart to think of it been lost to her. She hadn’t even had the nerve to tell Mariah she’d lost it.

Loki’s voice was soft when he said, “I can tell it means a lot to you. I’m sorry if it’s absence has caused you grief.”

Kit met his eyes. No more laughter or mocking. Genuine sincerity. She quickly looked away and grumbled, “I still don’t forgive you.”

He chuckled. “Understood. Why don’t I try something else then?”

She looked at him with suspicion. “Like?”

“First. You need a wardrobe change.” With another snap, the silk gown was gone and the comforting feel of denim and cotton replaced it. The clothes weren’t hers, but they were more her style than the dress. She fingered the silver buttons of the maroon leather jacket.

“I approve.”

“Thought you might. Now, let’s go.” He wrapped his arms once more around her waist and pulled her up against him.

There was no time to complain. The air was spinning around them and Kit buried her head in the crook of his neck. Her stomach rolled and she felt like she was being dropped from the tallest peak of a roller coaster. Even when she felt solid ground under her feet, she didn’t let go.

“We are here,” he whispered in her ear.

Kit shoved away and tried to breath through the dizziness. Lights flashed in front of her eye and that’s why it took her a few seconds to notice where he had taken her. “The Louvre?”

He shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea. Don’t you like art?”

“Yes, but I’m confused as to how you know that.”

“Lucky guess.” He turned away but not before she saw a shadow pass over his eyes. She wanted to ask but he was already walking off into a gallery. She looked around at the grand entrance she had only seen in books and on websites. Since the lights were off is was had to make out every detail. Lights off? Kit turned and looked out the glass window of the front door. The sky was pitch black.

Kit chased after Loki. “This place is closed! Do you want to get arrested?”

“Why would we get arrested?”

“We are in one of the most famous museums in the world after hours!” Kit growled. “This place must be crawling with guards.”

Loki gave her a withering look. “Between the two of us, I’m pretty sure we won’t be caught.”

Kit wanted to argue but Loki kept walking. He looked at her over his shoulder. “You can stay here if you want. I’m going to enjoy the beauty of the art world.”

She hesitated moment, the jogged to catch up with him. Even in the poor lightning, everything was breath taking to behold. Pieces Kit had never believed she would see were right in front of her. For that short time she wasn’t a hunter or a witch without a coven. She didn’t even flinch when Loki grabbed her hand.

“And of course,” he was now saying. “The beautiful Mona Lisa.”

Kit rolled her eyes. “Next.” She tried to walk away but he pulled her back. “What’s wrong with the Mona Lisa? I thought girls loved this painting.”

“A. I’m not most girls. B. I don’t want to get into the hype of a glorified selfie.”

Loki grinned. “You really don’t like that painting.”

“No!” Kit went into a rant over how there were much better and skilled pieces of art in the world. That then started another about Leonardo Di Vinci and how he was a horrible human being to begin with. She caught the warm smile on his face and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

He moved slowly, his hand cupping her face. The other gripping her waist and pulling her close. But she still didn’t understand, or maybe didn’t want to understand, what he was doing till his mouth was on hers.

She kissed him back. Her hands wrapped around her neck, keeping him in place while her lips parted and her tongue swept in to taste him. She felt the earth shift around her and her head spill. He pulled back. Gave one last peck. Then was gone.

The sound of a door opening had Kit’s eyes shooting open.

“Kit! What the hell? Where did you come from?” Sam Winchester was standing in the doorway of her and Mariah’s motel room. She was back.

Her dazed mind quickly cleared and pure rage took over. “That son of a bitch! Every fucking time! The next time I see his stupid face I’m going to bash it in!”

Sam held up his hands. He recognized the look she had in her eyes" he had seen it the night of the auction and hadn’t understood the amount of hate behind it. “Kit, are you hurt?”

She ignored him. “If the tricky bastard thinks he can just... UGH!” Sam had just enough time to duck before the thick book one of the girls must have left out came flying at his head. He continued to tried and talk her down but quickly gave up and retreated outside to call his brother and her friend for back up.

[todaynewsstories]

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb resigns | News | DW

French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation of his interior minister on Tuesday, after initially refusing to less than 24 hours earlier.

Gerard Collomb, one of Macron’s earliest and staunchest backers, had expressed two weeks ago that he intended to step down next year and run for his old job as mayor of the city of Lyon in southeastern France.

But Collomb came under increasing pressure to step down as critics complained that his priorities had already shifted towards the campaign trail, and he made an initial attempt to resign Monday, only to be denied by Macron.

Read more: Emmanuel Macron’s cultural policies

Macron’s office on Monday said the president had vetoed Collomb’s resignation attempt because of “his confidence” in the 71-year-old. But Collomb on Tuesday had said he still intended to quit.

“The French people and the people of Lyon need clarity, so I maintain my offer to resign,” Collomb responded when asked if he would stay on as interior minister after Macron initially turned down his resignation.

“Considering the rumors and the pressure, I don’t want the fact I will be a candidate somewhere tomorrow to affect the way forward for the interior ministry,” he said.

Collomb previously served as Lyon mayor for 16 years until Macron poached him for his Interior Ministry.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who reportedly cancelled a trip to South Africa, will take over Collomb’s responsibilities until a replacement is found.

A soured relationship

Collomb has previously compared his relationship with Macron, 31 years his junior, as being akin to a father and son. He cried during Macron’s inauguration in May 2017.

Their relationship is reported to have taken a turn this summer over a scandal surrounding one of Macron’s former security aides, Alexandre Benalla.

The former bodyguard was filmed roughing up protesters while wearing a police helmet, in a scandal that gained momentum once it was revealed that senior officials knew about the incident.

Read more: French President Emmanuel Macron’s popularity hits record low

During a parliamentary inquiry, Collomb had put the blame on Macron’s office, saying that it was their responsibility to report the incident to prosecutors.

Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen tweeted about the stability of Macron’s government following the acceptance of Collomb’s resignation.

“Gerard Collomb has resigned again. How long is this sketch going to last?” Le Pen wrote.

Collomb’s resignation adds to a series of unfortunate events for Macron, whose approval ratings are at around 34 percent.

It comes after Macron’s popular Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot, a TV star, quit live on air without giving the president warning.

That was followed by another popular member of the cabinet, former Olympic fencing champion Laura Flessel, who resigned as sports minister for “personal reasons.”

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

Honored for his European vision

On May 10, French President Emmanuel Macron received the Charlemagne Prize for European Unity in the German city of Aachen. The prize’s board of directors said they chose to honor Macron “in recognition of his vision of a new Europe” and his “decisive stance” against nationalism and isolationism. Since entering office one year ago, Macron has unabashedly pushed for European cohesion and EU reform.

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

Charlemagne, father of Europe

The city of Aachen’s Charlemagne Prize is named after the important medieval ruler who became the first Holy Roman Emperor (747-814). Under his leadership the Frankish Empire expanded to become a great power, abosrbing parts of present-day Germany. France and Germany are not the only entities to claim him as a forefather; during his lifetime, he was known as “Pater Europae,” or “Father of Europe.”

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

Keynote speech at the Sorbonne

Macron delivered his message to the perfect audience when he spoke to students at the Sorbonne University in Paris in September 2017. In a speech focused on the EU, he emphasized the advantages of Europe’s many different languages. Macron, who speaks English fluently, also said he would like to see every European master at least two European languages by the age of 24.

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

Supporting cultural education

It was one of Macron’s central campaign promises: after turning 18, French youths will receive a one-off payment of €500 ($594) from the French state. Known as a “Culture Pass,” the money is supposed to help the teens take advantage of cultural offerings according to their own preferences — whether this means a Spotify subscription, a trip to Barcelona or season tickets to the theater.

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

Honored by the literary world

The president was the guest of honor at the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2017, which focused on French culture, literature and language. In his speech, Macron underlined the very positive literary relations between his home nation and Germany. Both countries would benefit from one another’s literary output for centuries, he said.

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

Mona Lisa on tour?

Leonardo da Vinci’s famous oil painting may get lent out to a Louvre branch in Lens, northern France, as part of Macron’s push to decentralize French culture. If that actually happens, the Paris Louvre would lose its daily horde of visitors seeking to get a glimpse of the famous mysteriously smiling woman. In addition, simply transporting the painting would cost some €35 million ($41.6 million).

Emmanuel Macron: A man of culture

African cultural heritage

In November 2017 Macron gave a speech in Burkina Faso in which he called for European nations to return cultural heritage pieces that had been obtained during the colonial era. His words unleashed heated debate in Paris and Berlin. Despite his urging, the Berlin Humboldt Forum cultural center (above), set to open in 2019, said it would still include some 75,000 African exhibits in its collection.

Author: Myriel Desgranges (cmb)

law/aw (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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[georgegoestoparis]

DAY FIVE AND SIX: I Didn't Steal the Mona Lisa, and Also the Louvre Sucks

I’m really, really sorry for not posting yesterday; I don’t like falling back on plans and I know I said that I’d be posting a blog every day so I feel really guilty about it, but I had a really good reason, I was just super involved in something else a lot more important and I completely lost track of all time and then I passed out in bed.

There’s a lot I could bore you with in terms of things that I did these past few days, but I feel like they could just be summarized by saying that I continued doing very touristy things; of special note though, was just how much I disliked the Louvre. Like, it was seriously one of the most disappointing little ventures of my life; the entire place was crammed full of people, and, though there were some amazing pieces of art, the entire museum is set up such that there are a few major arteries that funnel their way towards a handful of extremely infamous or famous pieces, and, so, these arteries just get entirely jammed up with people, and these really famous pieces, like the Mona Lisa, or Vénus de Milo, are almost unseeable at all, with everyone just clumped together trying to get as close as possible to them. It seems so strange that the museum doesn’t just put up some barriers, like at airports even, so that people file up to see these amazing works in a single file, and spend a set amount of time in front of them, instead of just mobbing up. Security was literally called because the guards already in front of the Mona Lisa couldn’t hold back everyone just shoving each other forward. People continue to confuse me a lot, I guess.

Here’s the view at the top of L'Arc de Triomphe. I went up just fifteen minutes before closing, because I wanted to see the city with as many lights lit up as possible, but because the sun doesn’t set until around 10pm here, not much was actually illuminated. There was a lot of climbing stairs these past few days, actually; I also went up the Eiffel Tower. Instead of opting to wait in line for a couple of hours, the line for the stairs route was significantly shorter.

There’s a lot more “travel” things I did, but even I feel that they’re really uninteresting. To be honest, more than ever right now, I’m excited to return to Montreal. Paris is an amazing city, and one that I want to spend more time in, but at this very specific point in my life, I’m just burnt out from all of it. I know I’ve only spent six days here, and tomorrow, I’m going to visit Versailles, but I’m so, so, so thankful that the day after tomorrow I’m going to be flying back to Boston. I’ll spend a few days where I spent most of my childhood before taking a bus back to Montreal, and I’ll use those days to write some fiction and practice a lot of piano, which will be nice. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that, for me, traveling, along with literally every single activity that isn’t either me alone in a music practice room, or me alone in front of a computer/notebook/book, just doesn’t work out unless I’m either entirely alone or with people I really care about. I feel like, if I was the only person climbing up the Eiffel Tower, that I would have enjoyed it immensely, but that, because I was routinely shuffled between other pedestrians, that, for some reason, I was more earnestly focused on whether or not I was being a nuisance than actually enjoying the view. I really don’t know why this is, I think it’s just who I am, or something, but if I’m ever out in public without people I love, unless I’m blaring music through headphones, I’m really concerned with if I’m negatively affecting the wellbeing of those around me, and that makes it really hard to not just feel anxious/stressed/miserable/etc. all of the time.

But now I’m just complaining, and I really don’t want to do that. Here’s a picture of a little dog that I made friends with over my morning cappuccino (read: calvarino)--

I have absolutely no idea what their real name is, but I gave them the honorary name “Winston.”

Here’s a photograph of a lilium regale from the Jardin des Plantes that I visited today:

One day I really hope that I’ll put together an amazing garden; it’s always been a dream of mine to have a great plot of land with a lot of plants and also a controlled desert-climate greenhouse. Currently, I lack the discipline of doing such a thing, which my best-friend-next-door-neighbour Poppy can attest to, as I struggle to even maintain her plants when she’s out of town (I’m so sorry). 

One thing that did make me really sad yesterday was going to Pont des Arts, that bridge that’s famous for having those metal grate sides that everyone clips locks to, to represent their love and devotion to their partner; Paris, a few years back, decided to remove all these locks, over a million locks, weighing over 45 tons. They did this for practical reasons, which goes against every single ethos in my being. Now, the bridge’s metal grates have been replaced with plasticey glass shields, impossible to clip locks to, but still, people have found a way:

That we are still maneuvering around things like this makes me feel really good and warm inside. I really wanted to see the bridge with all those locks on it, and all those initials, and all those hearts engraved or drawn on.

So, tomorrow, Versailles, and then, I fly out. It has been a really necessary trip, I feel. A lot of things have been prioritized in my life, maybe, that I already and always knew were of primary importance, but are now more solidified with the distane between me and them, and the emphasis of the lack of proximity. A lot of my family situation is clearer than ever now, too, and I don’t think I’m at all afraid to take steps that I know I should have taken a long time ago. I think life, maybe, makes a little more sense right now.

This is the view from my window now. Unwinding from every day here is my favourite part of every day, I think, when I’m able to think about everything that happened in the whirlwind of activity from when I wake, until when I get back to the apartment. I’m glad there’s a tree in front of my window.

[ismael37olson]

You're Cellophane!

Not too long ago, I created a Music Man glossary, since that show is so chock-full of period slang and euphemisms. Now, working on Anything Goes, I find the same thing is true. It's part of what make both shows so good -- they create a very real, full world in which these characters exist. And contrary to what a lot of directors and actors think, it is not important for the audience to get every reference; but it is important that the actors get them, so that they can live fully and honestly in this world. That sense of reality is the real value of period references. On the other hand.. In the original Anything Goes, several the lyrics were full of references to people and things that were popular in 1934, many of which we haven't even heard of today. So a lot of the original lyric for "You're the Top" and "Anything Goes" would just be baffling to audiences; and instead of listening to the song, they'd be feeling left behind and confused. Those lyrics had to be revised for the revivals. All that said, for actors and directors working on Anything Goes, and for all musical theatre fangirls and fanboys (of which I am one) who just love the show, here is my Anything Goes glossary. Take a look particularly at the juxtaposition of these pop culture references against each other, in their context. Porter is doing some really subtle, sophisticated social commentary in many of these lyrics. From the original 1934 script: "Manhattan" -- a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskeys include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey, invented in in the early 1870s at the Manhattan Club. "Grosvenor House" -- one of the largest private homes in London, torn down during World War I, and replaced with the luxury Grosvenor House Hotel

"Tommy gun" -- the Thompson submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1918, and became infamous during the Prohibition era. "rote shot" -- a section of the newspaper with society photographs, called the "rotogravure," after the printing process "Evelyn" -- a then common British man's name pronounced EVE-lin. "Snake Eyes Johnson" and Moonface Martin" -- jokes on 1930s gangster nicknames, like Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bugsy Siegel, Machine Gun Kelly, Lucky Luciano... "dicks"  -- law enforcement; a slang term for detectives, originally coined in Canada and brought south by rumrunners during Prohibition. The comic strip character Dick Tracy was named for this term. "a wireless" -- a telegram "Mater" -- British for Mother, from the Latin, an intentionally old-fashioned term "Eight Bells Strike" -- the striking of eight bells on a ship says a four-hour watch shift is over (it's not connected to a specific time on the clock) "my sea legs..." -- a person's ability to keep their balance and not feel seasick when on board a moving ship. "Nicholas Murray Butler" -- a famous American philosopher, diplomat, and educator; president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. "Damn white of him" -- originally used under British colonialism, an expression of appreciation for honorable or gracious behavior, under the assumption that white people were inherently more virtuous. "The Social Register" -- according to Wikipedia, "The social elite was a small closed group. The leadership was well known to the readers of society pages, but in larger cities it was impossible to remember everyone, or to keep track of the new debutantes, the marriages, and the obituaries. The solution was the Social Register, which listed the names and addresses of the families who mingled in the same private clubs, attended the right teas and cotillions, worshipped together at prestige churches, funded the proper charities, lived in exclusive neighborhoods, and sent their daughters to finishing schools and their sons away to prep schools" "Beefeater" -- actually a ceremonial guard at the Tower of London, but here just referring to a British person, possibly also implying that Evelyn is stiff...? "Coliseum" -- the famous amphitheater in Rome, built in 70-80 AD "Louvre Museum" -- the world's largest museum, in Paris, holding some of our great works of art, including the "Mona Lisa." "Symphony by Strauss" -- German composer Richard Strauss was still actively writing operas and concert works when Anything Goes opened.

"Bendel bonnet" -- a ladies' hat from Henri Bendel, the upscale women's specialty store still today based in New York City, selling handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts "Shakespeare Sonnet" -- Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, fourteen-line poems Mickey Mouse -- you have to remember that for these characters living in 1934, Steamboat Willie premiered only six years ago, and Mickey was still only in black and white... "Vincent Youmans" -- Broadway composer of many musicals, including No, No, Nanette, Hit the Deck, and several Hollywood films "Mahatma Gandhi" -- still in the middle of his historic fight for independence for colonial India from Great Britain at this moment "Napoleon Brandy" -- an "extra old" blend of brandy in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least six years "The National Gallery": Famous art gallery in Washington, D.C. "Garbo's salary" - according to an article on Slate.com, "After the success of Flesh and the Devil (1927), Greta Garbo demanded that MGM raise her salary from $600 per week to $5,000 per week. Louis B. Mayer hemmed and hawed, so Garbo sailed to Sweden. Eventually Mayer gave in and Garbo sailed back. $5,000 per week comes to $260,000 per year, or the equivalent in today's dollars of $4.6 million per year." "cellophane" -- according to Wikipedia, "Whitman's candy company initiated use of cellophane for candy wrapping in the United States in 1912 for their Whitman's Sampler. They remained the largest user of imported cellophane from France until nearly 1924, when DuPont built the first cellophane manufacturing plant in the US. Cellophane saw limited sales in the US at first since while it was waterproof, it was not moisture proof—it held water but was permeable to water vapor. This meant that it was unsuited to packaging products that required moisture proofing. DuPont hired chemist William Hale Charch, who spent three years developing a nitrocellulose lacquer that, when applied to Cellophane, made it moisture proof. Following the introduction of moisture-proof Cellophane in 1927, the material's sales tripled between 1928 and 1930." Our story is set in 1934. "Derby winner" -- the 1934 running of the Kentucky Derby was its 60th! "You're a Brewster body" -- the frame for a Bentley or Rolls Royce luxury car "A Ritz hot toddy" -- a specialty drink of the Ritz Hotel bar in Paris "the sleepy Zuder Zee" -- The Zuiderzee was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. The characters in Anything Goes know this because in 1928, sailing events for the Amsterdam Summer Olympics were held on the Zuiderzee. "Bishop Manning" -- Episcopal Bishop of St. John the Divine Cathedral in Manhattan. "A Nathan panning" -- a bad review from New York drama critic George Jean Nathan "broccoli" -- something of a novelty in 1934, having been farmed commercially in the US only since the 1920s, and the first advertising campaign on its behalf didn't occur until 1929. So in 1934, broccoli was the culinary cutting edge "a night at Coney" -- Coney Island "Irene Bordoni" -- French actress who starred on Broadway in Cole Porter's 1928 musical Paris, introducing the song "Let's Do It" (which had replaced "Let's Misbehave") "a fol-de-rol" -- a useless ornament or accessory, nonsense

"Arrow collar" -- the famous "Sanforized" collar on Arrow Shirts. The Arrow Collar Man became an advertising symbol in the 1920s for rugged masculinity. "Coolidge dollar" -- the very sound, very strong American dollar, under President Calvin Coolidge, before the Depression "Fred Astaire" -- Broadway and film star of musical comedies "(Eugene) O'Neill" -- Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright of powerful dramas, including Anna Christie (1920), The Emperor Jones (1920), The Hairy Ape (1922), Desire Under the Elms (1924), Strange Interlude (1928), Mourning Becomes Electra (1931), and others "Whistler's Mama" -- the famous painting actually called Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, best known as Whistler's Mother, painted by the American painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871 "Camembert" -- A mellow, soft cheese with a creamy center first marketed in Normandy, France. "Inferno's Dante" -- Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) author of The Divine Comedy, the third part of which deals with Inferno (Hell). "the great Durante" -- comedian/actor Jimmy Durante. His first film was in 1930, but he had made 19 films by 1934 "de trop" -- a mispronunciation of the French phrase de trop, meaning too much, not wanted, unwelcome "A Waldorf Salad" -- a salad of apples, walnuts, raisins, celery, and mayonnaise, originated at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. "Berlin ballad" -- A romantic song by American songwriter Irvin Berlin, who by 1934 had already written standards like "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "What'll I Do?", "Blue Skies," and "Puttin' on the Ritz." A few years later, in 1938, Berlin would write "God Bless America." "an Old Dutch master" -- a Dutch master painter like Rembrandt, but ALSO a brand of cigars "Mrs. Astor" (changed to "Lady Astor" in 1962) -- Mrs. John Jacob Astor, leading New York socialite. "Pepsodent" -- toothpaste introduced in the USA in 1915 by the Pepsodent Company of Chicago. The original formula for the paste contained pepsin, a digestive agent designed to break down and digest food deposits on the teeth, hence the brand and company name. From 1930 to late 1933 a massive animated neon advertising sign for the toothpaste, featuring a young girl on a swing, hung on West 47th Street in Times Square in New York City.

"the steppes of Russia" -- a region of grasslands joining Europe and Asia -- Around 1930 the Soviet Union wanted to attract foreign tourists to bring in currency and improve its external image. On Stalin's and the Party's initiative a national tourist agency was founded. Intourist was responsible for attracting, accommodating and escorting all foreign guests.Western advertising styles were applied to appeal to the target audience. Intourist posters pictured a tourist paradise, not a country of laborers and peasants. Trains were no icons of progress but a comfortable way of transport. Intourist women were not working hard in a factory but were either fashionable or exotic. "Pants on a Roxy usher" -- the famous Roxy Theatre in Manhattan ("the Cathedral of motion pictures") had a squad of ushers who were trained like an army platoon and wore very tight pants. "G.O.P." -- Grand Old Party, i.e. Republicans. "Tower of Babel" -- Biblical tower in the land of Shinar, the building of which ceased when a confusion of languages took place. "Whitney stable" -- the socially prominent Whitney family bred famous horses "Mrs. Baer's son, Max" (also referred to as "Maxie Bauer") -- Max Baer, World Heavyweight Champion in the 1930s (his son, Max Baer Jr. played Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies) "Rudy Vallee" --  1920s/1930s crooner, who often sang through a megaphone and later starred in the original production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. "Phenolax" -- a  pink flavored wafer laxative, first introduced in 1908

"Drumstick Lipstick" -- brand of makeup manufactured by Charbert, a French cosmetics firm. "brig" -- military prison "in irons" -- shackled "The Dean boys" -- baseball players and brothers Dizzy and Daffy, members of the famed "Gashouse Gang," the 1934 St. Louis Cardinal baseball team, which won 95 games, the National League pennant, and the 1934 World Series -- just months before Anything Goes opened! "Max Gordon" -- Broadway producer from the 1920s through the 1950, famous for extravagant productions "Jitneys" -- independent taxi cabs or small buses. The joke here is that the middle-class folks who can still afford to take a cab, here in the middle of the Depression, would be shocked to find out that some of the richest Americans (in this case, the Vanderbilt and Whitney families) had lost nearly everything. "Vanderbilts and Whitneys" -- two prominent rich families in New York "Sam Goldwyn" -- movie studio head "Lady Mendl" -- an American actress, interior decorator, author of the influential 1913 book The House in Good Taste, and a prominent figure in New York, Paris, and London society. Her morning exercises were famous, including yoga, standing on her head, and walking on her hands. "Missus R." and "Franklin" -- Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt

"broadcast a bed from Simmons" -- Eleanor Roosevelt did weekly radio broadcasts sponsored by Simmons mattresses "Mrs. Ned McLean" -- a socialite who was the last private owner of the Hope Diamond "Anna Sten" -- Ukrainian movie star "Swannee River" -- a reference to Stephen Foster's famous song "Old Folks at Home" and to the Gerhwin song "Swanee "goose's liver" -- pate "Russian Ballet" -- reference to the 1934–1935 world tour by the Dandré-Levitoff Russian Ballet "the Oxford movement" -- a 19th-century movement of High Church members of the Church of England which eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism, arguing for the reinstatement of some older Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy and theology. Presumably, Mrs. Wentworth is confusing the Oxford Movement with The Oxford Group was a Christian organization founded in 1931 by the American Christian missionary Frank Buchman. [For the references in "Anything Goes," see my earlier post on that song.] [For the references in "Blow Gabriel, Blow" see my earlier post about that song.] "Sing Sing" and "Joliet" -- famous maximum security prisons [For an explanation of the intro to "Be Like the Bluebird," see my earlier post about that.] Additional Things from the 1962 version: "The Globe American" -- a generic fictitious name for a newspaper "Hymsie Brown, the fighter" -- a fictitious nicknamed boxer "you know the New Deal" -- reference to government red tape, bureaucracy "Toscanini" -- Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini. The New York Philharmonic under Toscanini, in 1931, became the first orchestra to offer regular live coast-to-coast radio broadcasts of its concerts, gaining Toscanini unprecedented fame and a remarkable salary of $110,000 per year. "Milton Berle" -- already a successful stand-up comedian in the 1930s, patterning himself after one of Vaudeville's top comics, Ted Healy (the inspiration for Billy Flynn in Chicago). A year before Anything Goes opened, Berle starred in the short musical film Poppin' the Cork, a topical musical comedy about the repealing of Prohibition. "tomato ketchup" -- During the 1930s Heinz increased their sales force and advertising, to battle the drop in sales due to the Depression. Heinz salesmen were expected to be at least 6ft tall, impeccably dressed and particularly eloquent at promoting Heinz products. Their equipment ­ which included chrome vacuum flasks, pickle forks and olive spears ­ weighed about 30lbs. "Chippendale" -- various styles of furniture fashionable in the late 18th century and named after the English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale

"Fourth Dimension" -- according to Project Muse, "During the first three decades of the twentieth century, the fourth dimension was a concern common to artists in nearly every major modern movement: Analytical and Synthetic Cubists, Italian Futurists, Russian Futurists, Suprematists, and Constructivists, American modernists in the Stieglitz and Arensberg circles, Dadaists, and members of De Stijl. Kandinsky’s own awareness of the idea, and the growing interest in Germany in the space-time world of Einstein. Although by the end of the 1920s the temporal fourth dimension of Einsteinian Relativity Theory had largely displaced the popular fourth dimension of space in the public mind, one further movement was to explore a fourth spatial dimension: French Surrealism." "George Bernard Shaw" -- British playwright (Pygmalion, Major Barbara, Man and Superman, Saint Joan, etc.) "verse" -- Today, we call the first section of a song the intro, which sets up the topic, before we get to the first verse and main melody (though many songs today don't have one). Then we get the first verse, which introduces the main melody, and then in most pop songs, we get the chorus. Sometimes there's a contrasting section called the bridge. But in Porter's time, the first section was the verse, and what we call the verse and chorus were together called the refrain. "Tinpantithesis" -- an invented joke word, meaning the Tin Pan Alley (common) antithesis (opposite) of good music Gullery -- Billy's joke on Mrs. Harcourt "un peu d'amour" -- French for a little love "DAR, PTA, and WPA" -- The Daughters of the Revolution, the Parents-Teachers Association, and the Works Progress Administrtion -- three things that do not belong together, but Mooney doesn't know that... Every day, I find new richness in Anything Goes, new craft, new surprises. It's such diving this deep into a show I've always loved but never thought about that much... Hope you enjoy learning about all this stuff as much as I do! The adventure continues! Long Live the Musical! Scott from The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2018/02/youre-cellophane.html