Dreamways

"Antonia Shapovalova, ‘a commissar in the pro-Kremlin movement Nashi’, has designed lingerie with a view to persuading the young ladies of Russia to have more babies.” This sounds like quite the titillating daydream in post-Soviet Russia. What does the lingerie look like? How does it work? Of all things, the dainties address (hoping to undress?) and appeal of solidarity to Russia’s political Big Boss Man, Vladimir Putin (whose nickname is Vova.) "Vova, I'm with you," is printed (stitched? branded?) across the front of the tiny briefs. Imagine

"The War Endures, But Where’s the Media?“ asks the headline atop Richard Perez-Pena’s The New York Times article (24 Mar 08). His question initiates an exploration of a disturbing waking nightmare connected to the ongoing nightmare that is the war in Iraq. Five years after the invasion, "the United States remains at war in Iraq, but there are days when it would be hard to tell from a quick look at television news, newspapers and the Internet.“

"Results of a grand jury investigation released Monday show that an Orange County [CA] sheriff’s deputy watched the TV show 'Cops' and sent 22 personal text messages while jail inmates beat a fellow prisoner to death.“ This darkly humorous waking dream was reported in The Denver Post ("Probe finds staff laziness, but no misconduct, in jail death,“ 08 Apr 08).

"The cornerstone of a middle-class life in America (and that means the cornerstone of the American dream) is a good job. The American dream is on life support because men and women by the millions who want very much to work - who still have in their heads the ideal of a thriving family in a nice home with maybe a picket fence – are unable to find a decent job.“ So writes Bob Herbert in looking at the waves of economic distress washing over the U.S. of late ("Sharing the Pain,“ The New York Times, 11 Mar 08).

"Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain. This was the opening of an article … summarizing research presented last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As the article explained, neuroscientists have found that many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.

"The language was soaring, the racial elements muted, the mood upbeat even though the road ahead remained unclear. But the end of the speech was all about the political power of belief – belief that the cynics would not triumph, that dreams can come true, that the human spirit is indomitable. Through war, he said, they believed. Through depression and segregation, they believed.

"Sad People Willing to Spend More.“ So reads the gloomy headline. The brief article that follows warns us: "If you’re sad and shopping, watch your wallet: A new study shows people’s spending judgment goes out the window then they’re down, especially if they’re a bit self-absorbed.“ (The Rocky Mountain News, 09 Feb 08) This is the moral.

"5 YEARS OF WAR.“ Thus is the dark anniversary noted on the front page of The Denver Post (19 Mar 08). These bold-lettered words are superimposed over a dream-like photo of a masked and helmeted (presumably U.S.) soldier. The picture is sectioned into four horizontal bands of color. In the first, at the top of the photo, "5 YEARS“ stands on a field of red (the color of blood?). Then comes a strip of "real“ color. On the third band down, "OF WAR“ stands on white (purity?

We are in a dark bedroom in this installment of the comic strip “Opus” (Berkeley Breathed, Sunday, 04 Nov 07). We see Opus the penguin in profile, asleep in his bed, his red necktie hanging from the bed post. On the bed, resting on Opus's feet is a white-with-brown-markings pooch. The caption reads: “You read it here first in the serious, trusted newspaper: OUR SNEAKY DOGS WANT THE PLANET BACK FOR THEMSELVES. For generations, they’ve secretly inspired our most inexplicable, lamebrained, self-destructve paths.”

The headline reads: “Ex-Commander Says Iraq Effort Is ‘a Nightmare’ “ (David S. Cloud, The New York Times, October 13, 2007). The newspaper article goes on to report: “In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top commander of American forces there called the Bush administration’s handling of the war ‘incompetent’ and said the result was ‘a nightmare with no end in sight.’ “ It is noteworthy that a military person of high rank invokes the world of dreams.