A Nightmare from a Midday Nap Yesterday

The dream started with me watching an art movie in a dark theater. 

Timothee Chamalat was the star. He was playing a young Howard Stern in the movie, and unlike what I presume happened in real-life, he was playing him as a teenager obsessed with the rock band KISS. For much of the first scene he was in full KISS makeup. 

Then he took out a knife and without hesitation cut a deep path across his face, right to left, and through both his eyeballs. 

The film turned upside down, as if someone had flipped the camera, and text on the screen told the audience that it was the director's intent to screen the whole movie in this style. I was impressed by the director's commitment to his art - and very disappointed when it reverted to normal and more text said such a viewing was impractical for a feature length film. 

Then the opening credits started. It was a Magnolia production, if I remember right. 

The next scene was a bright sunny day, focused on a corner lot, the storefront made of brick. A man sat outside on an old lawn chair. A tan '70's station wagon pulled up too fast, screeching to a halt. A blonde curly haired woman in a denim suit - Howard's Mom - rushed out.  The man in the chair, his Dad, rushed to intercept her. 

"Where is he?" she said. "I want to see Howard."

"He's' ok," the Dad said. "The doctor's say he'll be ok."

Now she sees Howard, playing with his younger sibling just down the street, a bandage across his eyes (but still, somehow, able to see and walk and play as normal). 

"Oh my God," she said. "The blood! His eyes!"

"He'll be ok Helen," the Dad said. 

And I woke up.