An English Journey

Animated objects littered the deserted streets. Any living creature would have sensed the rarefield atmosphere that soured that night, but the city was lifeless of proper life. Humankind must accept its fate. A gloomy future, a hopeless existence, the dawn of things had arrived. An insomniac mattress awakened from its fated death. More than tired, exhausted is how it was feeling. Oppressed by countless sleepless nights trying to please the jaded couple, it could not help but escape. The scenery was beyond recognition. A teapot and a radio soon joined the mattress which was leading an improvised parade. The white noise delivered by the radio was felt by hundreds of objects as rhythmic beat. Dancing on the streets, making quirky and, at the same time, distinctive sounds, more and more of them stepped in. Beeping, clanking, clicking... a range of metallic dins filled the silence with music. A symphony under the baton of the mattress whose driving ambition to become a conductor

Life was transformed with the advent of smartphones. People from my age group, whose upbringing was highly influenced by the availability of the first personal computers, regard this invention as a metamorphosis of those cumbersome machines that used to entertain us every now and then. However, the social transformation that has taken place in the last decade is beyond our wildest dreams. We used to have play dates; we would spend a whole evening at the park playing soccer. The weekend was synonymous with going out and enjoying fresh air. Family gatherings and friends hanging out were a common sight. Married couples watched a film on TV to unwind from a stressed week at work. Now, it is highly improbable that we would stumble upon a group of children without a smartphone, or that we might see a couple just talking in a cafeteria. More and more elderly people use them every day to keep in touch with younger family members. A smartphone is more than just a combination of a comput

What's your earliest childhood memory? And your most bitter-sweet one? Can you rekindle your great and joyful past events clearly? Maybe you can answer those questions easily, but that says little about your ability to recall facts and events as they really happened. Apparently, a single long-term memory did not even exist as an entity. Our mind is not a library where a pile of books rests waiting for being loaned at will. Each life event is broken into several pieces that are stored in different places of our brain, sometimes redundantly. When we try to recall a memory, a process of reconstruction takes place. It often happens that we find ourselves unable to conjure up a particular event. Probably, it would come later, unexpectedly. Then, if it is still relevant, we will make an unconscious effort to store it again, reinforcing the chances of a future successful retrieval. But memories are volatile, shifting and unstable. The process of reconstruction can add irrelevant

Crying emotional tears is a strange quirk of humankind. Sometime during the early development of the species, our ancestors had to contrive ways to express emotions in response to new forms of social interaction. However, social traits have been widely and deeply observed among other animal species and yet shedding emotional tears is considered uniquely human, making it so far impossible to reveal the mystery over why others animals do not show emotions using their lacrimal gland. Apparently, this unique feature could be one of the answers to my dearest question: what makes us human. We are used to witnessing impressive emotional displays involving the act of crying. Despite being generally attached to sadness or sorrow, our ability to weep tears goes beyond these bounds. Angry tears can fill someone's eyes when an upsetting situation is confronted. Similarly, bitter tears are suitable for disappointments. We even have invented the glamorous happy tears, especially reserved

However hard you try, nothing seems to work. This is a situation which may sound all too familiar to most of people. When we find ourselves on the horns of a dilemma, especially when there are too many clouds on the horizon, it is challenging to make the right choice. A dilemma normally involves two equally undesirable alternatives. And still, if you look on the bright side, the fact of having the choice is by itself something good enough.   How we learn to make conscious decisions is probably the crucial question. In order to broaden your experience in the art of decision-making, take into account that fear is the worst enemy. Fear of change, particulary, has been broadly studied by psychologists and researchers all over the world. I would say that we normally tend to exaggerate the importance of our own dilemmas. Inwardly, it may seem the most important ones but, if you openly share your problem with, for example, a friend, a new point of view could melt your niggling worries.

I went to a library and asked for a copy of the newspapers that had been mentioning or examining any fact related to the crimes. I can still see legitimate fear in the face of the librarian when she saw me, it’s an image that I will never forget. I picked up the pile of papers and studied it carefully, taking notes in a little notebook: locations, names of the victims, times and dates. In short, I tried to gather as much information as I could, in an attempt to clear up my mind. My life was a real mess as I couldn't foresee what would be my next movement. I couldn't think clearly. When I handed out the material to the librarian I had a hunch that something didn't dovetail. For the next four weeks I visited the crime scenes and to my surprise, I couldn't recall any of those places. People would run away from me as though I was a plague-ridden dog. Maybe I wasn't doing myself any favours by wandering around like a madman. On one occasion, someone summoned the pol

After 15 years of prison, not only strangers, family or friends but also I despise myself for a series of brutal crimes I can barely remember. Leaving prison should have been the most exciting thing a convict could ever have dreamt. Ex-convicts used to say that it can also be terrifying. My exit wasn't either intoxicating or scary, though. I felt empty, hopeless, more than lost, strayed. I was mental and that also goes back to when I was arrested on suspicion of murdering five young women. I had been seeing a psychiatrist for years, since, at high school, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Until the trial took place I had been receiving a long-term psychiatric treatment that allowed me to live an almost normal life. For many years, I worked as a bellboy at a luxurious hotel in the city centre. After my morning shift, I even regularly attended classes of criminology at the Oxford University. My parents were well born and they encouraged me to study whatever I was keen on. It

The majestic St Pancras Railway Station is seething with people. Clara stands near the platform where the train to Paris is about to depart. Embracing a baby warmly, she shuffles her feet nervously. The sounds of trains rumble along, a feeling of growing anticipation runs through her. After a few minutes, Clara intently listens to the emotionless voice that utters the expected announcement: their train is getting into the station. She looks at the vanishing point as the Eurostar slows down and comes to a standstill. Five minutes and the journey will start. The train railway carriage smells of life as London is left behind. - Paul, darling. Please, wake up, I have something to tell you. - I hear you. - I'm very happy. - Me too. - All I wanted was to be with you, to have our own baby. You can't know how many times I have prayed to God for this moment. - I see. - If only things hadn't been so difficult. - I didn't want to hurt you. - I know. We cannot chan

In the sixteenth century Nicolaus Copernicus developed a theory in which he positioned the Sun near the centre of the Universe, with Earth and the rest of the planets, orbiting around. Despite being imprecise, his theory had laid the foundations for more accurate hypothesis that would be proved in the following two centuries. Now, we know full well that neither the Earth nor the Sun are at the centre of the Universe. In fact, we already know about the existence of exoplanets, which are planets beyond our solar system. As of today, 3475 of those have been confirmed. Kepler 150-f, an Ice Giant, is the latest discovery. How are exoplanets found? Being completely ignorant about this subject, I would never dare to give a detailed explanation. However, according to NASA's website, the vast majority of exoplanets are detected by using a technique named Transit. Stars dim when a planet passes directly between the observer and thus, studying the amount of light shed by a star, we can d

15th November 2000. Peter returned from work to find his house had burned down. Amanda’s body had vanished. No ashes to scatter on the waters of the Tamesis River. Peter ended up heartbroken, filled with grief, alone. 20th April 2017. Peter returns to find his house uninhabited, almost lifeless. 6,000 days, nights included, are supposed to be more than enough to get over a loss. But Amanda was special, too unforgettable. He might appear to endure the distress caused by Amanda's death but, in truth, he can barely foresee a glimmer of hope in his black reality. After many years of aimless wandering, he is exhausted. Because he is not living but dying, not walking but wandering. Death is a central part of life. It has always been that way. It just so happens that sometimes a loss is tantamount to a devastating drought. Suddenly, zest for life no longer exists and is replaced by a decaffeinated world, so dehydrated, desiccated, devoid of juice and energy a reality that seems u

I enjoy the solitude of life. There is only so much one can learn by itself. Do not get me wrong, sometimes I can be a good human companion too (ask my dog if you cannot believe me). Do not ask my wife though, she should be tagged as a limited edition human being because she is the only person that really understands my idiosyncrasy. I deeply adore Marta. I often ask myself big questions. At any moment, you could find me wandering about, listening to my preferred classical "hit", feeding my brains with some food for thought, aloof. I would like to say that I probably have nothing against you. My rudeness is involuntary, totally unintentional.  What makes us humans? I recently discovered a BBC Radio podcast in which the presenter, Jeremy Vine, and a guest, share half an hour trying to figure out the answer. At the very beginning of each programme, Jeremy asks the guest the question, which is answered as merely foreplay in the form of an essay. After that, Jeremy p

Imagine what things would be like if the human race were hovering on the brink of extinction. The "Voluntary Human Extinction Movement" has already done their homework. You might be thinking  "Oh Jesus, seriously? Somebody help! That bloke's barking mad!" You may well laugh but I am in deadly earnest, this movement exists and they also have their own pun: VHEMT must be pronounced "vehement".  According to an article published on the WWF website and entitled “How many species are we losing”, no less than 10,000 species are estimated to be dying out every year. Opportunistically, VHEMT presents an alternative to the human exploitation of nature. Only by taking part in their crusade against the human race should we restore the Earth's biosphere to its former glory. Seemingly, the voluntary extinction of one species, the Homo Sapiens, is all we need to amend the legacy of centuries of neglect. The plan is simple: to stop breeding. I utterl

Thursday night. Rachel is death to the world. Last night, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She has been busy with her wedding preparation. Yesterday, she took the dress to The Wedding Boutique at Harrods to have it altered. Despite being allergic to London, her recent weight loss and the forthcoming event deserves her presence. Fortunately, last month she stumbled upon the ad "Cottage with access to the silence, only the sounds of nature" when, at the dentist's, she skimmed the classified section in a housing magazine. Rachel and John threw caution to the winds and took out a £120,000 mortgage to buy the cottage and the surrounding plot of land. She finally achieved her ambition to own a cottage. John has just listened to Rachel's voicemail message: "John, I can't wait till tomorrow when you get back from your business trip. The weather forecast said a stormy night was expected there, in Dublin. Have a nice and safe trip. I'll

Human beings possess an extraordinary quality invisible to the naked eye: the ability to imagine how someone else feels in a difficult situation. The word that describes this quality is sympathy and we must not confuse it with empathy, which has a broader meaning and includes also understanding feelings of people who are in a better situation. When you have the power of understanding another person's feelings, you are also the owner of a fantastic quality intrinsically attached to humankind: the faculty of producing mental images of what has not been experienced. It is known as your mind's eye or imagination. Sympathy and empathy, both need this power to exist. In layman terms, sympathy is feeling sorrow and compassion, but also showing charity and humanity. Empathy, on the other hand, is purely and simply putting youself in another's shoes, whether those shoes were luxury or humble. But, why do humans feel sympathy? If evolution was supposed to favour those who a

Back on her desk, Beth wonders why the killer has changed his pattern. It is unusual for a serial killer to make the slightest change in the modus operandi. "We must've overlooked something, this case must've been a coincidence", she mumbles. David is sitting next to her, apparently aloof. He wonders why the death has been advanced in time. It does not make any sense. Confused and stumped, they rack their brains to find an explanation for the happenings. Beth and David make a thorough review of the events and after careful consideration they draw a conclusion: the 10th body does not belong to the case. It was sheer coincidence to find it in Walthamstow Central Station. They both know that there is little statistical evidence to support this "coincidence", however. Two printed sheets of paper rest on the workstation, showing a list of Underground lines and the Prime Numbers sequence. 01:00 p.m. Inspector May holds an online press conference. The news h

Friday, 21st of December, 2011. 7:00 a.m. in the morning. The news bulletin opens with the 10th death in a row . "London Metropolitan police are conducting an investigation after the body of a middle-aged woman was found fully clothed, lying prone on the ground of Walthamstow Central Station. At first, constable B.I., the first police officer arriving at the crime scene, speculated about the possibility of a natural death . She soon changed her mind after seeing the sheer terror in the woman's motionless face." Paul looks at his kettle. It definitely needs descaling. The sound of boiling water muffles the radio receiver, making the news bulletin unintelligible. The toaster is on. He is about to breakfast on tea and toasts, as usual. Suddenly, his mobile phone rings. "What the hell?", he murmurs. He is chief in command for the special operation launched on account of the series of killings that have been taking place recently. He warned the team

A strange threesome , arranged along the picture, as if it were an unsolved puzzle, except that it is not. A woman, dressed in blue and advanced in years, shows a scrawny physique . She tell us the story of a world marked by poverty and hunger, a world of social inequalities and gender disparities . She is not ill, she is a death-in-life symbol. The little sign that says "tourist" indicates the presence of foreigners, probably wealthy visitors. In a global world where the plight of the poor is also a business, where only a part plays God over the rest, we cannot shut the stable door after the horse has bolted . The blinkered animal next to the woman. It unveils another dismal reality. For want of willingness to help others, the vast majority of us are incapable of understanding the boundaries between a sense of guilt (or the lack of it) and our own ability to contribute to improving the quality of life of hundreds of human beings. A blinke

Is heaven in the sky? Who can say? What we really know is that heaven could be on earth. In fact, I think the reason why life is so exciting lies behind being mortal. It is only by knowing our days are literally numbered that we will do our utmost to live life to the fullest. Do not try to knock on heaven's door because no one has as yet ever answered. If you want to achieve happiness , remember that good things come in small packages . Who needs more than a handful of people that really care for them? In a world of rampant consumerism , it is easy to lose the plot and believe that money brings happiness. Do not allow yourself to live in a fool's paradise . Fortunately, time has a way of showing us what really matters as some people can be a bit slow on the uptake . From time to time; occasionally... Every so often I need  a laugh to stay sane.  Every so often I need  to catch just a plane. Seldom do I receive more money than I need. Lu

I do not believe in innate wisdom . Wisdom is the accumulation of experience and knowledge, which ironically can only be acquired by growing old , and yet the elderly is too often a burden on families and society. Human condition leaves a lot to be desired . This unfair treatment makes me feel an unutterable sadness . I cannot help but be filled with anger and rage against these parasitic leeches that sucked everything out of their elders. Aunt Lola lived an unconventional life. She was a maiden aunt until her seventy -somethings , except that she had no nieces or nephews . Her only brother died aged 18. Lola was married for five years and hers was not a marriage of convenience . She waited for 50 long years until Mariano turned up because he did not even consider going off with Lola. He patiently awaited his first wife's death. Then, he moved to Lola's town and called her. They met. They got married. Five years later, he died. No close relatives, no

Look around you. Things are objects, stuff , concepts, matters, affairs , facts, features, tasks, phobias, obsessions, remarks , possessions, equipment. People are people like your husband, your wife, your son, your grandmother, your archenemy , a stranger, yourself. And then there is your thing, your cup of tea , what floats your boat . Life is all about that but, what are the unique or essential components required to live a life? As of April 2017, we are 7.5 billion people in the world. If you could ask them all the same question, each one would give you a different answer. Maybe that is precisely one of the characteristics that make us human, our ability to think independently. Our planet Earth is suffering, struggling, fighting a losing battle . Our planet is finite and so are its resources. We must become aware that indefinite population growth is not an option. Experts have been raising concern about overpopulation for a long time. The reason is simple: it is the

One of the big questions of philosophy is whether free will is tantamount to free action or not. People’s perception of freedom blurs the distinction between will and action because, unless you have lived in a dictatorship or any other kind of system based on the deprivation of liberty , you may not have been confronted with any situation that could undermine your sense of being in control of your thoughts and actions. Free will is the power of acting without constraints . But will is not action. No matter how much effort you were willing to put in on sunbathing , it would be literally impossible in an overcast winter morning. Many distinguished scholars and renowned philosophers have been trying to unravel the secrets of freedom, and yet the discussion remains inconclusive . On the one hand, the theory of determinism speculates that everything that happens is predestined to happen in a particular way and nothing could be done to avoid the fate . Should deter

"Unfinished India" is a personal favorite of mine. Photography is a tricky discipline not only from the point of view of the photographer but also from the viewer's. When I took this one I had to carefully choose the framing. There were infinite options and I decided to include the minimum amount of information needed to leave it open to interpretation . Half a cow, half a man and a pool of... To make an interpretation (artistic or not) is always extremely difficult. The aim of philosophers is to try and work out the best way to think about things. For all intents and purposes , we all try and work out how to think about things. A simple picture but also an existential question demands something more than mere observation . In this example, the most important element is neither the framing nor any included visual clue . Interpretation is what really counts. This post is entitled "Keep calm and take life philosophically ", a message not intended to be

Beliefs, thoughts, words and silence. I would tell a downright lie if I denied that I often rack my brains . Today is not an exception. I do have beliefs. For example, I do believe in mankind. I really do.  Yesterday, I was criticised by a reader on account of my last blog  post . Criticism can be defined as the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes. The perceptions expressed in the message can be summed up as follow: I am deeply ignorant and condescending and my writing is grandiloquent . But it turns out that it is not strictly true . I am utterly ignorant about almost everything but saying that the rise of atheism resulted in " dictatorships , hunger and genocide " shows a deep flaw in the mind of this reader. New York 9/11, Madrid 14M, London 7/7. Terrorism, politics, fundamentalism and religion. The link is obvious to me. Luckily, people need to believe in something and I believe in people. Am I be

Had Darwin never been born, religion would be in better shape today. Well, this statement is not necessarily true, appearances can be deceptive and neither is atheism a spin-off of modern times, nor is religion even in decline . Despite the fact that Charles Darwin is widely regarded as the father of evolutionism and thus of atheism, the rise of disbelief in the modern world has ancient roots . In other words, it is as old as the hills. However, it is small wonder that atheism has not turned up trumps. Although there is no scientific evidence of the supernatural , mankind 's tendency to believe the unbelievable is an immemorial custom . This deeply ingrained behaviour has been, is and will be  an  inseparable part of human beings. Apparently, people need to believe in something, true or false. The paradoxical nature of any kind of religion is basically incontestable , and as yet neither the Greeks nor Science have been capable of convincing believers that liv

What do people need to forge their own identities ? Is there any method (scientific or not) to know if you are on the verge of  an identity crisis ? These are silly questions, perhaps? Identity is what makes a person (or a group) different from others. Our world is in dire need of finding common ground , and yet having your own identity might be more necessary than ever. Think about, for example, the political crisis that is facing the UK after the Brexit referendum. Are not the British struggling to understand their role in today’s world? However, I am far more interested in personal identity crisis. In my opinion, the only way we have to know who we are is by asking ourselves whether we are happy or not. Simple as this question seems, it is easier said than done . In fact, inquiring into yourself is one of the most difficult, repetitive and sometimes Herculean tasks you will ever have to undertake . It is an eternal referendum. In this referendum there are not win