The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be one of the classic depictions of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic visitation.

Normally I wouldn’t post on this kind of thing, if not for the fact that it happened to me this morning. Probably one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I’m telling my story because if I had known about this phenomenon, I probably wouldn’t have been so frightened.

Just after 9am this morning when I lay down to watch the news, I apparently fell asleep. Not long after, I woke (or at least I thought I had) to find myself paralyzed. My eyes could move and I could see in front of me. I even looked for details, like which of my husbands shirts was hanging on the rocking chair. I could hear the Fox 10 morning newscast playing on the TV. I tried to move my head and move my body but nothing was happening. I could not speak and I could not scream. At this point I panicked and tried to focus on moving my hand toward my phone to call 911 and hope that someone would discover me and help me.

Soon after that I felt a presence in my living room and began to hear and see things/people out of the corner of my eye. I won’t get into detail since I did eventually fully awake, regaining movement and realizing everything was ok. I immediately went to google and searched paralyzed dream and came across a phenomenon called sleep paralysis, which I had never heard of. I found an abundance of recorded accounts that either matched or went above and beyond what I experienced.

I guess what I wondered most is “If this is common and happens to around 30% of people, why had I never heard of it before?”

From Wikipedia: “Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious but unable to move. The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes by which the individual may experience panic symptoms. As the correlation with REM sleep suggests, the paralysis is not entirely complete; eye movement is still possible during such episodes.

In addition, the paralysis may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations and an acute sense of danger. Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual because of the vividness of such hallucinations. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since dream-like objects may appear in the room alongside one’s normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as an explanation for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.”

From Another Site: “Statistics report that 20% to 40% of people report having had some or other version of sleep paralysis. For a third of them the experience is nothing more than a momentary fear of the possibility of paralysis followed by a swift return to normal. A substantial two thirds of those who report having experienced sleep paralysis describe episodes of hallucinations of varying degrees. In simple language the hallucinations are similar in nature, distinguished only by their association with those experienced at sleep onset and those upon waking.

Features of the hallucinations have often been postulated as an explanation for the proliferation of reports of alien abduction and demon visitation. The reason for this is the characteristic nature of the hallucination. There tends to be certain uniformly experienced features that include the “sense of a presence” that is felt to be malevolent in nature.

People who suffer from sleep paralysis often report the sense of there being someone in the room with them. They speak of a pressure or weight felt on the body, often in the vicinity of the chest area. Whatever the particular configuration of symptoms, all report a vivid level of fear. This is shared by all, even those who, on some level, recognize that the experience is not altogether real.

This vivid and horrific experience of sleep paralysis is not culture specific. It affects people across the world and literature and mythology are full of references to it. In Canada it is called “a visit from the old hag”, in Japan it is being “bound and fastened in metal”. The Mexicans use a phrase that means ” the dead getting on top” and in the southern United States it is known as “the witch riding your back”. “

EDIT: Western Culture refuses to acknowledge these occurrences and they are put off as psychotic episodes. No wonder people don’t speak openly about this. It makes me sad that this happens to people and they are made to believe they are crazy, when all along there are countless recorded accounts and there is a legit scientific explanation!

All I know is I hope it never happens to me again, but if it does I may be more relaxed knowing that it will eventually come to an end. Has this ever happened to any of you?

Artist Jessica Harrison plucks the legs off of dead flies and glues them onto her lashline.

Peep Miss & Lady hyping up the furr look. Intended as a joke, they have a few pieces playing with the idea of hair in those taboo places. Cute or Cray Cray? Had to share, it made me LOL.

Don’t know what it is, and its strangely out of character…but honestly, happy couples make me want to violently regurgitate. Not sure what I can attribute my recent emo phase to, but I’m in a funk. and it’s not that I don’t like happy people, or happy people together. It’s just that I’m usually a proud solo rider and recently I’ve been in a serious slump. Being the happy sideline cheerleader for everyone else and their relationships is growing old. I literally want to slap people who are hand in hand and tap dance on their happy bubble. Someone save me before I crash a wedding. sincerely, Single Sally.

Just being honest. Please don’t take it personal, that’s why i’ve been keep my crazy self outta sight.

MAC’s Naked Liner Lip Pencil SANS gloss (notice the crackhead effect??) JUST WRONG!!

Along with the rest of the world, I was ECSTATIC when I saw that MAC was introducing 2 new pale shades of lipliner. I’ve always thought their selection was sparse (a bit dark and sometimes a touch too red for me)…so when Naked Liner and In Synch dropped with the Too Fabulous Collection, I was sure to hop on the bandwagon. BUT wearing nude shades is something you should be cautious with. When too opaque you get the crackhead/powdered doughnut effect and how’s that cute? Be sure to follow up with a similar hued gloss (with a touch of sheen) on top, OR if you are in fact going for a matte look, apply lipstick with a brush-it makes ALL the difference. *TIP: exfoliating the lips regularly will cut down on flaking and cracking, enhancing your nude look. You can’t tell from my picture up there, but typically I use a toothbrush or terry wash cloth at night, followed by a thick layer of lip balm.

The original nude- Twiggy circa 1960-something. This mod look consisted of a geometric dark eye and pale lip. A FAVORITE of today.

The most sought after nude-According to industry insiders, Kim K is rumored to wear Nars Turkish Delight lipgloss over MAC Angel lipstick. Whatever it is, we ALL want it.

The UNDESIRABLE nudes-Don’t let Tyrone Biggums and Magda be your inspirations. Although a nude lip looks gorgeous with a tan, be SUBTLE. Please??

to address an issue that’s been plaguing the girls and I since the inception of FF. Although we support any and EVERYONE’S creative endeavors, we have our own agenda. That being said, FF is NOT the group to call on if you want your start-up MEN’S line “exploited”. Let me explain a bit. I get countless emails asking if we’ll simply, “throw on a hat and tee and make it look sexy”. We don’t do that. We don’t parade around in oversized tee shirts and believe that to be photo worthy. I’m not bagging on anyone who has gone that route for an ad/look book. If it works for you, by all means have at it! But LADIES: remember that you’re more than some forgettable broad in a baggy tee. SPEAK UP! Sleeping in your man’s shirt is one thing, promoting it (especially half naked with no creative story line) is another thing. And it’s definitely not OUR thing. See how we flipped it HERE.

DON’T DO IT

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, an American classic.  I remember the first time I watched this film with my mother. I also remember parts of the film not making me feel very good, and I don’t think I knew why at the time.

Not a pretty sight, right?

I was very interested to find out that the Centennial Collection’s version of this film actually contains a feature that discusses the problem with this character, Mr. Yunioshi.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s is such an iconic film and it just had this mistake right in the middle of it, this character, and here we are in a more contemporary era—it just begs to be addressed and discussed.”

“Despite the beauty and iconicity of the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, there was one thing that stuck out as being a terrible mistake, particularly to Asian Americans—the character of Mr.Yunioshi. Played by Mickey Rooney, the role called for using makeup and prosthetics to transform the White actor into a caricature of a Japanese man. This practice, called “yellowface,” was unfortunately fairly common in early cinema, but Rooney took the act to new lows by affecting a hideous accent and generally making the character an embarrassing buffoon.”

I understand that this movie was made in a different time. I’m impressed that Paramount would include a feature on the DVD that actually criticizes the film. Shit like this has plagued Asian Americans for years and for some reason it just wont go away.

Why is it still acceptable to make a mockery of Asians?