new paintings!

Let me know what you think in the comments below! Thanks

Sleep Paralysis & Neon Crosses

I was riding the early morning bus to Seoul. There was no worldly reason I should've been awake. I was drifting in and out of consciousness as the rhythm of the motor gearing up lulled me to sleep. I reclined my chair and took off my shoes. No Korean Soap could keep me awake.

Green and red fantasies played through my head.

My eyelids opened slightly. The sight of the motionless passengers blurred across my eyes.

I tried to close my eyes, but couldn't. My arm's would not move. An intense noise began to grow around me. I drowned in the sound of a thousand buzzing bees. I was caught between the two worlds; the awake and dream.

I became the impotent spectator, peering through my own eyes and unable to do a thing.

Sleep Paralysis is one of the strangest phenomenas I've ever experienced. Having learnt from my first experience, I knew there was nothing I could do but calmly let the moment pass. But it can be a very unsettling experience. You have cognition of whats going on, but are left helpless. Completely disconnected from your body.

I'll quickly explain my understanding of what Sleep Paralysis is to anyone who may not know.

When we dream, our Pineal Gland secretes and very powerful hallucinogenic called DMT. It is what's responsible for our elaborate and fantastic dreams. It is also what makes us believe that what we are experiencing is real. So even though we might experience making actions in our dreams (like running) our mind disconnects us from our bodies so we don't actually run while sleeping. So Phenomena like Sleep Walking is rarely experienced. So I think Sleep Paralysis occurs when you come out of a dream before your mind connects you back to your waking body.

Odd, post I know. And here are some equally odd pictures to go along with it. These are pictures of the Neon Crosses around Jeonju. As mentioned last post, Korea has a very visible Christian population and they love to decorate their churches with these proverbial beacons of light.

Smullyan's Paradox (Answered)

I came across this interesting problem the other day and I thought I would share it.

At a desert oasis, A and B decide independently to murder C. A poisons C's canteen, and later B punches a hole in it. C dies of thirst. Who killed him?

A argues that C never drank the poison. B claims that he only deprived C of poisoned water. They're both right, but still C is dead. Who's guilty?

Now here is the answer that I came up with.

To answer the first question, B killed C. C died of thirst not of poison. Both A and B had malicous intentions but B's actions canceled out A's. I don't buy B's defense that he saved C's life for he didn't know that there was poison in the canteen. Remember that A and B acted independently of eachother.

Ethically, they are both guilty. Both acted on intentions to kill C and both, by themeselves would had been enough to kill C. Both acted on homicidal intentions and I think they should both be found equally guilty. Because it is the action that should be judged not the outcome.

Sound off and let me know what you think!

mental vacations

I guess I have been neglecting my blogging responsibilities! You all probably feel cheated that I havent updated a post in over a month. Well, to the few of you that might check this site out, I am sorry.

I've been busy getting ready to set off for Korea, so truthfully, there hasn't been much to talk about. Here are acouple of new paintings. Please let me know what you all think in the comments below.

Further down the spiral. . .

Ever since graduating in May, my interest in abstract observations have been ever growing. It started one day when I was reading in the park. I had my sketchbook with me so I began to do some ink studies of tree-plumes. Like a sudden strike of inspiration, I thought I found a fertile starting point for some abstracted colour studies.

I really wouldn't mind some feedback though. I don't have the conviction that I'd normally have. I'm not sure what I'm saying by making these abstract paintings. It has been interesting and tough; even rewarding at times. But now that I've made them, what do people think??

True Colour

Few nights ago I was in bed watching a BBC documentary "The Century of Self" when I had a sudden inspiration to make a colour field painting. As unlike me as this was, I just wrote down on a piece of paper the colours in order and amounts that I had in mind.

Today I finished the painting. My friend came over and the first thing he noticed were how "flag like" and "Romanian" the painting looked. I didn't even think about it, but then I checked. Turns out I inadvertently painted the Romanian and Iraqi colours. The subconsious is a strange thing.

Taking it easy!

To my friends that I've now alerted of my blog; check it out guys! This is excactly where I will be posting pics of my new work as I'm making it. I might also get into the habit of bantering on the odd thought, so check it out and check often.

mr alicoo