the universe that has shaped itself in the next room

the plastic princess tames the dinosaur, a ceratosaurus not to be trifles with, with an incantation and the promise of popcorn. all around, smurfs are dancing insulting ethnic spoofs of native american rituals, and a tree monitor the size of ten busses pleads to be allowed to eat one, just one, because he is so hungry for blue flesh. buildings collapse, pigs balance on the back of the Overdino, a plateosaurus who rules this world with a stern tempermant, and all over plastic dinosaurs and ficher price blue collar vacationers gather to witness the spectacle of a hot air ballon trip to the moon, where apparently, there is cake. this world creates and re-creates itself with such regularity that is assuming some of the attributes of a real place. it has rules. there must be a circus. The MONSTER BALL and the OVERDINO compete for rulership, though only the latter wins, interspecific love affaris are commonplace, as the monarch of the real leans he is the scion of a triceratops, and babies here, as everywhere, must be tucked into bed. A few feet away, a perpetual birthday party is in full swing, invisible cake half-eaten on plastic plates as stuffed monkeys stare at the ceiling and think of something resembling stuffed heaven.