How many people who’ve seen Walk the Line (the movie about Johnny Cash) would be amazed by these pictures of his first wife, Vivian?

I can’t get over how dismayed I am by the choice to portray Vivian Cash as a white Italian woman, given the truth.

I know that at the time, it was illegal to marry a person of another race. In the South, it must have been pretty risky. And if you wanted to be a famous country performer, it would cause way too much controversy. In fact, after the photo above was printed in a newspaper, the couple were threatened by the Klan, and there was a movement to boycott Cash’s records.

So his manager or someone produced records that “proved” Vivian was white. She was described as Italian or Sicilian. Now, everyone was happy.

But not me. Cash had four daughters with his first wife. None of them seem eager to discuss their ethnicity, and it’s nobody’s business anyway. Still, as a fan of Johnny Cash and a gullible moviegoer, I don’t want to be fed some bullshit about his life story. Whether it’s more palatable to the public to forget about Vivian and just think about Johnny and June instead, or because the movie business still can’t stand to portray women of color, it’s dismaying.

2018 is beginning to feel like 1953 in America, before civil rights and before racism was identified as something to be condemned. What the fuck! When can we go back to correcting wrongs instead of perpetuating new ones?

I guess black people are accustomed to being whitewashed by Hollywood. I feel bad about being so ignorant.

People argue about Vivian’s ethnicity and see what they want to see. I’m not a genealogist but I’m not blind either.  I see a cover-up and I’ll never think of Johnny and June without a sense of betrayal. Fuck them.

Thoughts?

Today’s poets could find inspiration in this denim playsuit by Faith Connexion. What a force of nature, or maybe cynicism, is this contraption! The long plaid thing is attached, not merely an afterthought. Nothing could be more chic.

See how it drags behind you like the train of a wedding gown! Or is it a peacock tail? Notice the versatility: You can tie the sleeves around your wait or just let them hang helplessly at your side.

And when you make your exit, all eyes will be glued to the plaid thing, regal yet casual, like the grunge queen you are.

Don’t just take my word for it, here’s the editor:

This blue denim playsuit from Faith Connexion is elevated from youthful staple into edgy statement with a floor-skimming black and white plaid shirt attached to the waist. The long sleeves anchor the impact while a small pointed collar keeps it sharp.

At just $1,755 plus shipping, it is selling out fast.

If you don’t love this, I want to know why. Leave your complaints in the form of a sonnet.

Why did god let this happen? I don’t even care about the $3,400 price. I wouldn’t buy it for fifty bucks.

I really feel I deserve some kind of explanation.

Who can finish this sentence?

A bag that looks like a jacket is good because _____.

Okay, you are all too young to know the reference to this title but I’m paraphrasing a joke by Lenny Bruce who was making fun of – oh never mind. The important element is Kanye, as he is all too eager to point out.

So, Kanye is mad, for a change, and he’s making a big fuss. Some crap about Annie Leibovitz and a wedding picture she didn’t take.

Okay, so Kanye rants,

“Can you imagine telling someone who wants to just Instagram a photo, who’s the No. 1 person on Instagram, ‘We need to work on the color of the flower wall,’ or the idea that it’s a Givenchy dress, and it’s not about the name Givenchy, it’s about the talent that is  Riccardo Tisci — and how important Kim is to the Internet.”

My god, it’s like heaven when that idiot opens his mouth.

But here’s the part that needs translating:

“And the fact the No. 1 most-liked photo [on Instagram] has a kind of aesthetic was a win for what the mission is, which is raising the palette.” [my italics]

For the Buick (i.e., the edification of mankind, in this instance) What does Kanye think he means by “raising the pallette?”

Here are the results of Mom’s hard work redecorating the family crib.   Follow directions CAREFULLY.

1. Click on photos to expand to full size.
2. Don’t scream if you’re at work.
3. Find one item you would like to see in your own living room.
4. Explain the concept without using the word “jungle.”