My sleep pattern is more than a little screwed at the moment and I woke up about an hour ago and there appeared to be a girl standing right by my bed, who then aged into an old woman and hovered over me. I was frozen and couldn't move. She may have been trying to talk but there was a strange crackling noise in my ears that meant I couldn't hear. Then she was gone. The whole thing probably lasted about 30 seconds or so. I would have dismissed it as just a nightmare (I've been having a few lately) but my eyes where definitely open. I just did a little research I think I had some sort of hypnagogic experience.

According to Wikipedia, that fount of all accurate knowledge:

"Hypnagogia describes vivid dreamlike auditory, visual, or tactile sensations, which are often accompanied by sleep paralysis (check) and experienced when falling asleep or waking up.(check)

The hypnagogic experience occurs between being awake and asleep, while the hypnopompic experience occurs as one is waking up; both experiences occur within the time period between sleep and waking (or vice versa). Experienced qualities vary, and include fear (check), awareness of a "presence," (check) chest or back pressure, and an inability to breathe (hence the folkloric notion of mara-like creatures tormenting sleepers), a falling sensation or a feeling of tripping, but sometimes also joy.

The hypnagogic state is sometimes proposed as an explanation of experiences such as alien abduction, apparitions, or visions."

Right. I've rationalised it now, but it scared the crap out of me. No more sleep for me tonight!

ETA: In the light of day this all sounds very over dramatic, but I swear it was what happened.

It's snowing out! In a slushy sort of way, but it's still snow! Time to finally break out the red wellies!

Another link post, with a city theme. I have a fascination with the way people interact with the city and public spaces, probably a hang over of my term studying Psychogeography at ECA.

The Untergunther, the restoration section of les UX (a secret French organisation the explores, uses and improves bits of hidden Paris) have restored the Panthéon clock. Their purpose is to restore the invisible parts of the heritage in secrecy. Brilliant. Considering the amount of underground spaces in Edinburgh it would be easy to set up a chapter here. Maybe there already is, I just don't know about it!

This is the No More Landmines: Dangerous Ground Project. Using Parkour and various objects, the idea is to get across central London without touching the ground to raise money for removing landmines.

This is a surreal creepy short film that is open to interpretation called Terminus.

Oh, and here's Insect Lab, an artist studio that customises real insects with antique watch parts and electronic components to make little steampunk insects.

What are you guys up to?

I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been stuck in a rut lately. I admit that I'm struggling a bit with this whole real life business.

Here. Have some funny stuff from Tom Gauld, some surreal drawings by Jen Corace and some thought provoking anatomy based art from Laura Splan, including the Blood Scarf.

Or maybe you're just wondering who's The Superest of them all.

Has anyone got a spare mattress they'd be willing to lend me for the first week of November?

So I did something quite stupid last night. I fell off a zip wire from about 1 1/2 m high and, well I don't think I hit my head because I have no bumps, but I landed badly. I think I may have whacked myself off the platform on the way down too. I was unable to form coherent words and my vision when funny, I got up, went into shock, and sunk back into the ground, at which point lovely andabusers called an ambulance.

Once in the ambulance I got given pure oxygen, and the wonderful guy in the ambulance (who was nearing the end of his 12 hour shift) decided to take me to the hospital as my heart was taking an unnaturally long time to come back up to speed. It was very slow, like Olympic athlete slow, and you guys may have noticed that I'm not particularly athletic.

There I was left in a hallway for a hour ('cause not exactly high priority), poked by various people, put into a sexy sexy hospital gown (mmm backless), x-rayed, and told that gap between the 3 bones in my shoulder has been pushed further apart which accounts for the excruciating pain in one particular point. I fell about 8:45pm and got home about 2am, so all in all it took about 5 hours and andabusers stayed with me the whole time because she's rather fantastic.

So my right arm is in a sling for 4 weeks, followed by physiotherapy, and I'm having trouble with my leg. Oh THAT's going to help me with the job hunting! I can't even do part time cleaning now. Time to sign on I think.

My left thumb also took a knock and is swollen and stiff. As my flat mate pointed out, now that I have lost the use of my opposable thumb, does that mean I have devolved?

Also saw Black Sheep yesterday, that mutant killer sheep film from New Zealand, and it is gross, funny and craptastic in the best possible way.

So I chucked in the awful awful hectic 9 hours a day one 20 minute break job. It was as bad as my gut instincts had told me it was going to be. I have gone back to job hunting and I'll probably end up doing seasonal work somewhere. I handed a CV to HMV, and picked up an application form for Waterstones. Their form has a slightly strangely worded question- describe a time when you completed a task that met expectations? How would you answer this question?

I think I need a gap year. One of those working ones to build up my skill base and just have a god damn break and figure out what I want to do with my life. Has anyone done one of these that they found particularly rewarding?

Hey Edinburgh people. Just letting you all know that it's Open Doors Day this Saturday, which luckily is one of my days off. I'm thinking of going up to the Carlton Hill buildings, the Royal Observatory, or Donaldson's school for the deaf. We should organise something.

Work comment of the day:

Small child looks up at me. Small child says: "Daddy, is that a girl?"