Lady Sings the American Blues

While we’re talking about righteous justice, here’s something else we can very much look forward to. We’re slowly working our way through some long-deserved biopics about the great women (who also happened to love other women) of the blues and soul. Dee Rees’s “Bessie” in 2015. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” in 2020. And now “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” The film chronicles the iconic singer’s long persecution by the American government (which, yeah, we’ve never been great). I can’t wait to see Andra Day as Billie Holiday with Natasha Lyonne as film star Tallulah Bankhead, obviously. Let’s hope the film does these great women justice.

Vacation Vixen: Billie Holiday

Yesterday was our one-year anniversary and so obviously we’re on a little trip to celebrate. But, fear not kittens, I may be an old married woman now but I still love you and want you to be happy. So I’ll leave you with a sweet song by perhaps the greatest singer of any generation. And, just to share how extra lesbian our wedding was, we had our first dance to “Easy Living.” You may recall, it is the song Therese played for Carol on the piano the first time she came to visit. May it bring you as much happiness as it has us this past year, and forever.

The Lady & The Mister

A lady and her dog. As much as I love Billie Holiday’s music, I never realized how much of a dog lover she was. That is until I stumbled upon a photo of her with her beloved boxer mix, Mister. And that led me to search for more photos and that led me to stories about the bond between Lady Day and her Mister. One of them is that when Bilie got out of federal prison in 1949 for narcotics possession, it was Mister who was waiting for her and greeted her so vigorously the press showed up to see what the commotion was. Heck, there's even a children’s book written about them.



So, as someone who has been worrying over a injured pup all weekend (and struggling mightily with how to get him to take his medication – “STOP RESISTING, IT’S GOOD FOR YOU!”) I can most certainly relate. Who is a good boy, who is, who is?

p.s. His medications are in liquid and I've tried putting it on wet food, dry food, bread with peanut butter, everything. But as soon as he smells it he won't touch the food. And he jerks too much to shoot it straight into his mouth (which is precisely what he shouldn't do because it is a spin injury). OMG, dog, I am trying to help you!

My Weekend Crush

Let's go back to basics for this weekend's crush: Billie Holiday. One note, and you knew you were in love. Happy weekend, all.