Another nightmare.

January 31, 2006 | 2 Comments

I’m still having more than the usual amount of nightmares lately. This last one was particularly strange, but I think I am getting some clues now. But who the hell knows with dreams, right?

In this dream I was working in a house that was set up to look like the house that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered in. It was like a tourist attraction or something. Only it wasn’t located in California, the tourist attraction was located on the same block where I grew up in Sioux City, and it was the house of one of my childhood friends, Susie. (Don’t ask me. I told you this was weird.) And trust me, the houses in question bear absolutely no resemblance to each other, yet all of the gawkers who paid to go through this “fake” Simpson house didn’t care. There was a staged scene of blood and gore and that’s all that mattered.

So, ok. I’m working as a tour guide, I guess. There is a supervisor there (a man) who takes the money from the customers. My job is to open the door at the appointed time and let the crowd in. I’m supposed to watch them so they don’t take or touch anything and I’m there to answer questions.

The doors open and people start pouring in. They are all oooh-ing and aaah-ing and taking pictures of the two slain “bodies” – which are actually just wax figures, posed and covered with fake blood.

Some of the people start asking stupid questions about the murders even though they all have fact sheets and have probably researched the crime for years.

“OJ was convicted wasn’t he?”

I say “No, he wasn’t. He was acquitted of the murders.”

“He’ll probably die in prison, won’t he?”

I reply “Maybe if he’s convicted of another murder, he might. But not for these murders.”

Just as I say that, I see OJ’s face in the crowd and he is smiling at me. I blink, and suddenly he’s not there anymore.

Next, the people start wandering all through the house and some of them begin sitting on the furniture, opening cupboards, and picking up little framed pictures of Nicole and tucking them in their purses. I tell them they can’t do that, but they don’t pay any attention to me.

The supervisor lets in another group of people and I have to try and talk to them and keep my eye on the misbehaving first group as well.

Group Two starts playing in the fake blood that’s pooled around the bodies. One guy kicks at the head of the Nicole figure.

I shout at them to knock it off and tell them they are going to have to leave. That same guy kicks the head again, this time harder. Then they all ignore me and push beyond me, into the house, smearing bloody handprints all along the walls as they go.

I look up and suddenly there is blood everywhere.

I have to clean this up! I can’t have it looking like this. It’s not true to the “crime scene” and everything must be factually correct or the tourist attraction will be closed down.

I’m freaking out, trying to wipe the blood off of everything with a damp cloth. It smears and stains and soaks in even more. I feel queasy. It wasn’t fake blood. I look around, and Groups One and Two have disappeared; they’ve gone to the second floor of the house. I run to the staircase to try and catch up with them and notice things are in total chaos, items are missing, and furniture is knocked over. There are bloody swipes and fingerprints, bloody footprints, and I am trying my best to wash them away.

It’s not my fault but I’m responsible for it all.

I stand at the bottom of the stairs and listen closely. OJ is up there with those people and telling them what really happened and who he thinks the real killers are.

And that’s when I wake up.

(I’ll just stop this post here because I’m not sure what else to write.)

Posted by Christine | Filed Under Uncategorized

Monday Music Mambo, #84

January 30, 2006 | 3 Comments

That Mememeister is at it again! This just in from the home office in Mamboville…

Hey, all you cool mamboing cats and mamas out there in blogland! I got a swingin’ new mambo for you to groove on today. See, today’s Jazz Day, so let’s strike up the band and play.

1. Who are some of your favorite jazz musicians? If you don’t have any, then just name five jazz musicians that you’ve heard of.

My favorites include:

Miles Davis – Jeru

John Coltrane – Body and Soul

Charlie Parker – Parker’s Mood

Duke Ellington – Rhapsody in Blue

Billie Holiday ~ I’m Yours

Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong ~ Dream a Little Dream of Me

2. Do you own any jazz albums? Any kind of jazz will do, even swing.

Not very many; I usually just download single selections. But I know I have these somewhere in the collection:

The Very Best of John Coltrane
The Essential Miles Davis
Billie Holiday “Billie’s Best”

3. Sax, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, guitar, drums – what’s your favorite jazz instrument?

Well, we all know I strip and run naked for a hot saxophone riff… but I also love the piano, especially the way Thelonious does it.

Thelonious Monk – Blue Monk

Thelonious Monk ~ I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You)

Thelonious Monk – Well, You Needn’t

4. If you had a jazz band of your own, what would you call it?

Hmm. The first 3 things that come to mind are…

Sweet Plush Illusions
Divine Pink
Tangy Plum

***

That be it, kittens! Download some jazziness if you like… as always, the links are hot until next week.

Have a great Monday!

Posted by Christine | Filed Under Monday Music Mambo

Artist Trading Cards

January 28, 2006 | 3 Comments

“Acacia”
Photoshop 7 Digital Collage
2 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in.
01.28.06

I’ve been fooling around this week and making Artist Trading Cards (also known as ATCs) — they are small pieces of artwork the same size as standard baseball cards, etc. They’ve become quite popular these days, and I really like making them. Small formats intrigue me because it requires an intimacy between the work and the viewer; usually only one person can see them at a time.

Well, unless you publish it on your blog.

Then a whole bunch of people can see it at once, which blows that precious intimacy theory. Isn’t the web great for warping reality?!

Posted by Christine | Filed Under Uncategorized

It’s Friday and you know what that means…

January 27, 2006 | 4 Comments

Appetizer:
Choose one: Popcorn, Pizza, Pretzels, Peanuts, or Pasta.

Pizza! With hot Italian sausage and fresh mushrooms, please.

Soup:
Describe your personality in terms of a particular vehicle.

My personality is like one of those Beat Generation hippie buses: well-rounded, absurd, colorful, wild, mellow, a little goofy, and comfortable.

Salad:
If you won a shopping spree, from which store would you want it to be?

Sticks. It’s the furniture and art store of the Iowa artist Sarah Grant-Hutchinson. I would decorate our entire house with her stuff (if Jer agreed to it) – it’s so funky and eclectic! Click the pic to go to the website…

Main Course:
Which television show re-runs do you enjoy watching?

I think I could watch Seinfeld re-runs until my eyeballs fell out. I still see funny connections in the stories even years later. (For instance, tonight Elaine described her manicure by the Korean nail stylists as “The best, Jerry… the BEST!” — which is the exact same way that Kenny Banya described the soup at Mendy’s restaurant.) Silly, I know, but I just love all of the obscure connections.

Dessert:
If you could look into the future, how far down the road would you like to see? 10 years? 100 years? A million?

I think 10 years ahead would be quite enough. Any more than that would probably scare the hell out of me. Heh.

***

Have an excellent Friday, my friends. Do something nice for yourself and someone you love, k?

Posted by Christine | Filed Under Uncategorized

The Telltale Donut

January 25, 2006 | 1 Comment

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.
But on the inside, you’re a total pushover and completely soft.
You’re a traditionalist, and you don’t change easily.
You’re likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it’s sold out.

What Donut Are You?

These things are so accurate sometimes that it’s scary.