DREAMS

I am a dreamer. Day dreams, light dreams, and thankfully few nightmares. But my dreaming is unlike others, I feel. Because I am a serial dreamer, and this includes long-term serial dreams (that can last years) and even finales. Yes, for some reason my brain likes to tie up loose ends in dreams, finish story lines. Not that dreaming is a seamless series of stories presented like a television show, because sometimes my character goes to a similar place and recreates some scenario, at times with changes, or within the parameters of that dream scenario he will, perhaps, carry out some other task. And I seem to have several different series running in my brain at any one time, that I seem to tap into whenever I wish, or my brain does, as if I were clicking through cable selections. I also have one-off, mini-dream movies that I experience only once, I think. And do I remember my dreams? Why, yes, I do. I can sometimes recall (and often dramatize for my office mates) a dream I had the previous night, and they marvel at the depth of detail and even plot. I don't always remember dreams (it is said you often have several during your sleep), but I recall enough that it is a regular occurrence. In some dreams I am heroic, in others deal with family issues. Not too much fantasy, but often a heroic bent. I often return to a long-running serial dream in which I am dealing with a post-apocalyptic world, largely serving as a scavenger of supplies who provides needed and wanted goodies to a large settlement nearby. Zombies! Yes, I've got them too. And many of the dreams seem relaxing, not really tense or difficult.

SPARTACUS

Last night I finished viewing the three-season SPARTACUS series. Although at times it seemed little more than a vehicle to present soft porn and sling globs of blood about, as beautiful in-shape actors brawled with ancient weapons and acrobatic UFC moves, not to mention saucy language designed to give any censor pause, it was still an interesting show. Ok, I'll admit it. . .I did like seeing all the gorgeous women. Beyond that, however, I also liked many of the characters. The first year was awesome, and I missed Andy Whitfield (and mourned his passing), although Liam McIntyre did a credible job replacing him in the title roll. I loved Lucy Lawless as the scheming Lucretia, enjoyed the manic gladiator Crixus (Manu Bennett) and pretty-boy fighter Gannicus (Dustin Clare). A whole host of good actors participated (many for only short arcs): Daniel Feuerriegel as Agron, Peter Mensah as Doctore, Ellen Hollman as the fiesty bisexual warrior Saxa, Pana Hema Taylor as Nasir, and the whole Benneton of characters. Even the scheming bad guys were a joy to follow: John Hannah as Batiatus, Nick Tarabay as Ashur, and Christian Antidormi as Tiberius. A fanciful and entertaining retelling of the slave revolt against Rome, I enjoyed the fighting, the costumes, the story. It did seem silly to me how often they portrayed Roman soldiers as inept and clumsy. And the producers reveled in the slow-motion fight scene, the never-ending pools and spools of blood. They would do anything to titillate, that was certain. I will miss this lusty, violent gang. I think ROME was more stylishly done, but in many ways, SPARTACUS was more fun.

WHITE OUT

Tiny ice pellets
crackle on the frozen ground
stopping all traffic.

MUSING

The house is quiet, no chorus of us,
kids are gone camping, no reason to fuss,
another lone birthday passed into time,
and all that is left is this silly rhyme.

Thought of her hands, just an odd notion,
small and light brown, and soft as a lotion,
curve of her back and silky black hair,
an illness that destroyed my life unfair.

Yet I got two boys, the loves of my life,
it would have helped if I’d had a wife,
but fate sometimes has a different spin,
some hurdles you lose, others you win.

Wonder sometimes how she’s getting on,
while taking a break or hearing a song,
friends say I’m blessed without her around,
but that doesn’t help this silent surround.