MPJ

Cosmologically speaking, humans and all other animal forms of life (here on Earth) don't live very long. We can thank this fact for the evolutionary design of life based on the organic chemistry we are all made of. We came a long way from the point in history when evolution started to boost our development from hunter-gatherers into today's dominant species. But do we live longer today than before? Despite common belief and compared to our ancestors who lived in the past dozen millennia, the life span of humans today, enhanced by miracles of modern ways of living, which, in short, include improved health care and nutrition, better sanitation, access to clean running water, and immunization, is not dramatically extended, if at all. Yes, the life expectancy (average life span of the entire population) of ancient times was way shorter than today, but this statistical data was misleading for the fact of the vast number of people in the distant past who died very young due to high c...

I loved her. I still do. With everything I've got. Ever since that cloudy day four years ago when we met in the park. Ever since I realized she was the one I was looking for my whole life. Ever since she shared her heart and her entire life with me. Ever since I moved into her place a week after we accidentally jogged into each other. And look at me now under this eerie rain... Standing on her grave. Alone and wet. I don't know what to do. She would be alive if it wasn't for me. It was all my fault. That day I was returning from my afternoon walk and saw Garry, the mailman, from across the street just leaving our building. I hurried back. When I entered our apartment, she already opened the envelope and a bottle of red wine. With the glass half empty, she saw me, gave me a tired smile, and pointed the letter on the floor. "It's another rejection. Oh, Husk.. I am not sure I can handle them anymore". She made one of those heavy sighs she started with i...

While the short tale about famous actor is itself a small historical record especially for him and one little Serbian village half an hour away from my current location, I have to say that this post is a little bit mistitled even though De Niro's story has several connected points with what I want to write today. Instead, it will be about my grandfather and his war stories I listened yesterday for the first time. Actually, my mother told me all this before, but yesterday, during our annual dinner, he was in a great mood to tell them himself and this is my attempt to write them down while they are still fresh in my memory. But, for a moment, let's get back to the title story. Not too long ago, I read in a newspaper article* about Robert De Niro and his European travels he did about 40 years ago, more or less in the time where I was about to be born. Back then, these kind of tourist destinations were extremely popular among young Americans - if you were young and adventurou...

Couple of days ago, on a very last September's day, a very unusual and bright sunshine beamed through the open window directly toward our bed and my still not completely awakened face. It was incredibly beautiful Sunday morning and with half-opened right eye I tried to glimpse our small digital clock and like usual I needed to turn on my extra-powered vision in order to see the time. After couple of seconds of adjusting, grimacing and winking, the very last morning dream finally faded away and I saw that I overslept again, like in almost established tradition for couple of dozens of Sundays in the past. It was perfectly fine, my wife and son, who again moved to our bed at some point of the night, were still sleeping under the amber-colored sunlight enjoying their night adventures in their morning dreams. I got up out of bed and during my morning routine performed in slow motion, including checking for new messages and emails, I saw weather prognosis for the day of 35 degrees (95F)...

Well, it is inevitable and I mean both the real doomsday and me writing about it and the time is just right - we entered deeply the year of 2012, the one and only with major doomsday prophecy, maybe the biggest and the most talked about than any 'end of the world' fairytales in the history. But first I need to create a big firewall around my thoughts about this topic - I simply want to say that I am 100% positive that there will be no end of the world on December 21st and yet my mission is not to do any debunking of the internet hysteria about Mayan prophecy, it is just another humble opinion based on the scientific facts and my skeptical point of view to the world that surrounds me. That said I only need to add here that prophecies simply belong to the pseudo-science and effective sociological tools for spreading delusional stories typically created in order for someone to gain something, like money and fortune. Mayan calendar But what is it really all about? Let...