dream_animal e_o_i I'm walking past a lake in Pointe-Claire. At least, my dream mind tells me it's Pointe-Claire, though it doesn't resemble any spot I've seen there. All of a sudden, a large octopus with tusks rears out of the lake. It's twice the size of a person. What do I do? Catch it on video on my crappy-camera'd phone, yes, but sometimes I have to back up or move the phone away because it's shaking its tusks, acting chaotic though not angry. I'm okay with getting splashed by little drops, but I don't want to get gored or stomped on. When I get home, I tell my brother, "Hey, there's an octopus in the lake that looks like Cthulhu. It's weird! It has tusks!" He's on the computer, but he doesn't even have to look it up. "Oh, that's the [something] sea squid. Not an octopus." Then Mom comes in and shows a printed photo of my brother's encounter with a wild animal. I think it's going to be an elephant. But no, lions. He's a child, sitting on a swing chair and grinning at two lion cubs. The mother is looking from behind the chair, not threatening, just supervising. 240203 ... epitome of incomprehensibility I think it was the "St. Laurent sea squid" (St. Laurent pronounced the French way). You know, the local mammoth sea squid, a common sight in Montreal suburbs. Also, I thought I started a blathe called "dream animal" already, but maybe that was just dream_dog. Yes? No? 240203 ... raze i was with a few grade school friends. we were standing in the middle of the field behind the church we came to know so well. it was one of those cinematic nights. my dreams tend to have pretty good lighting most of the time. the others noticed the corpse of some small creature on the ground. some of them cried. some threw up. it wasn't a normal animal. it was the most disturbing thing any of them had ever seen. i imagined something perfectly formed and stillborn. an alien child curled into the fetal position. eyes closed. hairless and serene. imagination was as far as i got. i don't know how many years ago that was now, but there's a part of me that still wishes i'd made myself brave enough to look at what the rest of them were seeing, if_only to know what it was that left them so shaken. 240204 ... e_o_i The bird that looks like a miniature plucked chicken lets me pick it up. I place it on the kitchen counter and ask my mother what it is. "A cross between a chicken and...?" She wrinkles her nose. "Looks like a cross between a mouse and a bat" - as if those are the two most disgusting animals she can think of. 240702 what's it to you? who go blather from