Shrove Tuesday

I’ve never been to a pre-Lenten Carnival, and I’m not planning to attend one next week. However, being the arm-chair traveler that I am (I occasionally go) I thought to rank my Top 15 pre-Lenten Carnivals in the order of which I’d most like to attend.

A special honor goes out to the gang at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, whose bash is so good I’m afraid to go at the moment.

1. Recife, Brazil
2. Cadiz, Spain
3. Mamoiada, Italy
4. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
5. Barranquilla, Colombia
6. Salvador, Brazil
7. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
8. Ivrea, Italy
9. Mazatlan, Mexico
10. Rethymno, Crete
11. Veracruz, Mexico
12. Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain
13. Oruro, Bolivia
14. Aalborg, Denmark
15. Ovar, Portugal

The Barn

Dream journey: Someone tipped me off to a chapel with unique murals that was going to be destroyed in the Great Plains. I drove into town and it was explained to me that the town elders had thought the murals to be profane and were going to paint over them. I said I would buy the church (I had the money to do so in this dream, which apparently was saved up from all the sleep I got while recovering from flu symptoms), and someone approached me and said ‘take the barn too, while you’re at it, they’re going to destroy that.’ I entered the barn and it too was filled with the recently deceased artist's paintings.

The International Bridge

Dream journey: I was crossing the International Bridge by car, someone, I don’t remember who, this was two or three nights ago, sitting in the back seat handed me my mail. It included a package from Anselm Kiefer that came in response to questions I had apparently sent him, with six or seven boxes inside. I opened the big box and it contained a realist trilogy by a novelist name Jose’ Cardenas. I believe that was the name; were it Alejo Carpentier or Ernesto Cardenal it would have changed the dream considerably. I don’t know what was in the other boxes, and was apprehensive about whether they would attract the attention of the officials working the International Bridge.

Yesterday I got my New Jersey Drivers License, after putting it off for a while: maybe that affected my dream. I drove to the van Ruisdael show, the Hong Kong Supermarket, Steve’s Prince of Steaks. If I have any questions for Anselm Kiefer I will post them.

MALLaRME'

Dream Journey: Someone panned a new Mallarme' translation by calling it: "A Throw of the Dice Does Not Eliminate Chance Starring Erik Estrada" and I set out to look for an old VHS copy.

The Twelve

What I find most disagreeable about last night's nightmare was that it was predicated on my yearning for justice. Justice?! That cottage industry, like plastic surgery, golf carts, and pet grooming!

I appealed to a small room of Twelve Passive Agressive Men With Foot Wide Spotches of White Glow-in-the-Dark Paint on their Faces.

Museum of Modern Art

The warden was gone from the prison, which had been converted from its previous use as the Museum of Modern Art. A mob functionary entered in a suit and murdered an inmate, and a prisoner realized he could escape. He ran out the front door, and ran towards a field in his stockinged feet. Then a feeling of laziness and futility came over him, and he realized that there was a chance he could strike a deal by testifying about this and other murders. He returned hoping he would not be charged for escaping. The warden has just returned with his wife and daughter with department store bags and a take-out lunch. He told the warden that he had just gone out to get them both coffee and donuts but the place was closed. The warden nodded his head.

Anonymous

When I go somewhere I always forget to learn the word for 'anonymous.' Then at the 1:33 mark at the Old Masters Gallery I say 'this guy with the funny one word name is sure prolific!' It is only when his work begins to span five centuries that I come to a realization.