Recent Ancestors

I fondly cherish my ancestry from the following peoples: Bulgarians (four times as much as any other) from eastern Macedonia, Sofia field, western Bulgaria, Ohrid and Pirin, ancient Croats from Montenegro and Herzegovina, Serbs from Hungary, Romanians from Mures and Kladovo, Greek-Aromanians from Ohrid, Cossacks from Zaporozhye and Germans from Banat.

I present my grandparents and paternal great-grandfather here. I will probably include more in the near future.

Just as we regard our parents and their care we ought to be aware that from generation to generation all of our ancestors parented the unbroken line that we currently end, and that their cumulative effort to make a better life for their children and consequently ourselves must drive us to never stop seeking the same for our own children. That is the one single source of honor and commitment that binds us for the common good. We should always have a picture of ourselves in mind as it would be seen by our descendants and make sure we provide reasons for them to look upon us with the same dignity we look upon our forefathers.

Dragutin Damjanovic 1902-1980

Paternal grandfather
1902 born in Negotin
1915 retreated over Albania on foot during WWI, with his family.
1916 sailed into Marseilles with his brother Milutin
1916-1920 attended a high school in Villefranche, France
1920-1929 studied construction engineering in France and Belgrade and sang in the Academic Choir "Obilic" where he met his future wife Jelena Zivic
1936 married Jelena Zivic, whom he knew for over ten years by that time
1938 May 25th had a son, my father Milutin
1940s worked in the Ministry of Traffic and on several key railroad lines as a chief engineer
1947 one of the co-founders of the Yugoslav Direction for the Development of Railways
1950s chief projecting engineer in numerous railway projects awarded several high state medals for his knowledge and dedication
1962 chosen as a professor at Faculty for Mining and Geology of the University of Belgrade despite no previous academic career
1962-1976 regular professor at the University of Belgrade
1980 Dec 19th died in Belgrade

Jelena Zivic 1901-1997

Paternal grandmother
1901 Sept 17th born in Belgrade
1918 survived the Spanish Flu
1920 began studying medicine, but soon dropped out in favor of Architecture
1922-1930 studied architecture and sang in the Academic Choir "Obilic" where she met her future husband Dragutin Damjanovic and toured Europe for numerous concerts
1932 completed her post graduate studies with specialization in Byzantine sacral architecture and acquired her advanced degree
1930-1941 worked in the Ministry of Construction of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1935-1941 worked in the team that designed and laid out plans for the erection of the largest orthodox temple in Europe, the church of St. Sava, brought to life over half a century later after 1986 and only recently completed.
Also contributed to a designing team for construction of the second largest church in Belgrade, the church of St. Mark
1936 married Dragutin Damjanovic
1938 May 25th had a son, my father Milutin
1945- stayed at home, since her skills were not prized in Tito's Yugoslavia
1997 May 4th died in Belgrade

Stojadin Mladenovic 1920-2006

Maternal grandfather
1920 Sept 21st born in Vranje
1939 began studies of law
1938-1941 extensively active in the underground communist movement. Imprisoned for a year
1941 July arrested by the occupying authorities following the raid he organized and led during which a railway and telegraph lines were blown up in southern Serbia at the beginning of the revolt against nazi occupation
1941-1944 spent time in the Bulgarian prison camp
1944-1945 took part in the final battles of WWII in Yugoslavia after being released by the Red Army
1945 married Jelica Trajkovic
1945-1948 director of the communist party school in Belgrade
1948 came into conflict with the communist party over the split between Tito and Stalin
1948-1953 spent time in prisons in Belgrade and on Goli Otok
1955-1975 employed in the Statistical Institute of Serbia. Reached the position of Deputy Director. Developed great interest in collecting books gathering around 5000 books, which were my greatest interest during the early years of my life
1974-1990 together with his wife Jelica toured 58 countries worldwide
1975-2005 regularly went to a small ranch outside Belgrade where he actively engaged in gardening and raising cats
2006 January 9th died in Belgrade

Jelica Trajkovic 1920-2004

Maternal grandmother
1920 April 27th born in Vranje
1939 began studies of Medicine
1940 married her colleague, Milivoje Jokanovic
1942 Oct 6th had a son, Jokan Jokanovic
1942-1945 her husband Milivoje went missing in WWII
1942 lost a sister Olivera-Verica Djordjevic in WWII
1945 married her second husband Stojadin Mladenovic
1947 June 7th has a daughter, my mother Verica
1949 married her 3rd husband, Petar
1952 completes graduate studies of law
1955 re-marries 2nd husband Stojadin Mladenovic
1952-1978 worked in several courts as a barrister and in the Ministry of Health of Republic of Serbia where she was charged with preparing laws regulating health services
1974-1990 toured 58 countries worldwide with her husband Stojadin
1975-2003 going to a small ranch off Belgrade regularly and enjoying gardening and reading
2004 February 11th died in Belgrade

Prokopije Damjanovic 1871-1943

Paternal great-grandfather
1871 born in Krs, Sinjajevina
1878 migrates with his parents Dragutin and Radmila from Montenegro to Serbia where he begins elementary education
1893 completes higher education and becomes a Professor of language and literature
1894 sent to teach in schools in the newly acquired eastern Serbian provinces populated by Romanians and Bulgarians.
1896 married Teodora Dumitresku, a Romanian
1897-1900 had two daughters Danica and Desanka and a son Milutin born
1902 has a son Dragutin, my grandfather
1915-1918 retreates on foot over Albania with his sons and sees them off to France while he continues to push the Thessaloniki front as a sergeant in the Serbian Army. Both daughters were lost to poor life conditions during WWI
1919-1934 settled in Belgrade with the rest of his family and became a school and teaching process inspector
1943 died in Belgrade

Damjanovic Family Origin

Origin of Damjanovic family is discussed and researched in several books listed below as part of broader studies of genealogy and ethnology of Herzegovina and Montenegro. There are several Damjanovic families of different origin.

Damjanovic family of my paternal ancestors originates from the Ozrinic tribe in Cevo, Montenegro, from where it resettled to the region of mountain Sinjajevina together with the Ostojic family in 1756-1759. The region and its population were hotbed of Slavic Catholic kingdom in the Early and High Middle Ages. Population remained Catholic until gradual and slow conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy during the late 16th to late 17th century. Presence of Croat identity is recorded over a span of thousand years right until the 19th century in dozens of primary historical sources. It was widespread during the first eight centuries, and significantly diminished in the 200 years that followed imposed religious conversion.

Researches published in and based on the books listed below link direct patrilineal descent of Damjanovic and other Ozrinic families, to the Serbian medieval Nemanjic dynasty and to the older Croatian Trpimirovic dynasty. Consequently, descent extends through matrilineal lines to most European dynasties of the medieval time, including, but not limited to the Rurikids, Capets, Merovingians, Byzantine families of Doukas, Angelus and Komnenus, as well as the pre-Norman houses of Anglo-Saxon England and the first Viking kings of Norway from the house of Yngling.

It should be noted, that there is little exclusivity in these findings as they equally apply to hundreds of thousands of people descended from the same region, even if through matrilineal lines only, as well as to millions worldwide as proven by studies of genealogy and genetic genealogy.

Literature

Poetry

I have written about 70 poems in the period between 1995 and 2002, and several more since 2002. Even though I have received some high aclaims, they still remain unpublished.

A Few Selected Poems

The poems are in Serbian and can thus be read only by Serbian speaking people. They can be accessed from the menu to the right.

I may add a couple more given a sufficient interest.

Хришћанство

Усред ноћи пусте на олтару храма
Достојно и мирно стоји Христа Распеће
Свуда наоколо влада густа тама
Само покрај Њега да завлада неће.

Ноћ је зимска, хладна, мраз се леден хвата
И ван и унутра прамен њен се креће,
Смрзава се ваздух тих уснулих сата
Само око Њега смрзнути се неће.

Сред студи и таме, свег заспалог света
Једна само светлост тиха, мирна блиста
Пружа се лагано са Распећа Христа.

Наговештај јутра свету она носи
Острво топлине и сјаја сред зиме
Светлости с Распећа Спасење је име.

7. новембар 1995.

Највеће благо

Сачувао сам ружину латицу
Коју су љубиле твоје усне
И једну траку
Коју су дирали твоји прсти
Ставио сам их заједно
У тесну кутију
Да им не буде лакше
Него љубави која се гуши
Сама и неизмерна
У малом смртном телу
Онда сам једног дана
Док си седела за мојим столом
Видео твоју влас
Која је пала на њега
Додирнуо сам те
Али било је касно
И ми смо кренули
Када сам се вратио
Нашао сам твоју влас
Била је усамљена
И била је тужна
Подигао сам је и пољубио
А затим
Сам је ставио у исту малу кутију
И заплакао уместо ње

октобар 1996.

Поклон

Прими ову песму као букет ружа,
Или бонбоњеру, ил боцу парфема,
Свеједно јер рука која ти је пружа
До да грли тебе друге среће нема.

Прими ову песму као што се прима
Поклон што је могућ једино из срца
Кога плаве радост, крв и страсна плима,
А све само зато што крај тебе куца.

Почуј ове речи које кажу свашта
У китњастом реду, ватрено и течно,
А заправо уста, као испод плашта,
Само крију жељу да те љубе вечно.

И све што у поклон није могло стати
Познаћеш и стећи у тренима свима,
Јер ни ја сам нећу никад тачно знати
Колко још лепоте у љубави има...

3. септембар 1997.

Пустиња

Колико сам пута прошао градом
Као пустињом
У којој се гласови људи губе
Пред истином да те нема.
Нема места где није стигла
Моја нада да ћу те срести
Ни лика
У коме нисам очекивао твој лик
Не идем тамо где знам да јеси
Јер то је тврђава која те крије
Зидови од камена
Под којима бих вечито остао
Не, већ те тражим да те сретнем
Тумарајући улицама
Које су налик на моју душу
Јер их походиш и остављаш пусте
Да се у њима сретнем са собом.

15. март 2001.

Данас

Ти си сенка срца, мада драга души
Једна болна стварност далека од снова,
Пуко привиђење што стеже и гуши,
А већ корак даље ти си жена нова.

Твој осмех је моје лудо сновиђење
И очи ти сјаје, тек у дну мог ока,
Звали ми то љубав, пре је понижење
Ма колико јака, ма како дубока.

Ти си моја машта и до овог трена
Срећа што се руши од часа до часа,
Или боље рећи илузија њена
Нестварна и лажна без даха и гласа.

Ниси више она што изгледаш да си
Него призор препун лажи и обмана
Пред којим се коначно и мој привид гаси
И остајеш болна успомена дана.

20. март 1999.

Без разлога

И тако док си ишла на другу страну,
Јер је постојао хиљаду и један разлог
Да кренеш у супротном смеру,
Помислих како су разлози
Најгора људска коб.
Разлоге свако смишља
Како год сам себи жели.
За сваку ствар
Постоји бар један који је могуће наћи
Толико да када нешто чиниш са разлогом
То је тако
Само јер не чиниш оно што извесно хоћеш.
Када је човек заиста сигуран,
Он не мари да смишља зашто
И зна да свакако јесте.

Никада нећеш имати
Баш сваки могући разлог
Само на својој страни.
То значи да можеш да будеш
Једино упркос њима,
А не ради неког од њих.
Разлози не постоје.
Они су наше лажи
И мале илузије о сопственој контроли,
Којима је сопствена срећа
Углавном једина цена.
Без сумње знам да постоји
Хиљаду и један разлог
Да одем и не јавим се више,
А ипак, идем за тобом

фебруар 2009.

Пре одласка

Када одеш без мене
Па пружиш руку да дохватиш ме
Ја нећу више бити ту.

Можда је такав био план?
Да све што буде, као да није,
Када одеш да остане све
На своме месту као пре.
Да кришом, крадом волимо се
Као што и до тад волесмо се?

Па, тако и волим те!
Сада као некад, заувек и пре,
Али где?

Кад одеш, остане све,
Само нестане то место где
И волимо се,
А нема тебе и нема ме
И нема нас и немамо се.

Society Memberships

Sr. Research Fellow
International Society for Philosophical Enquiry

Member
Sinapsa (168+ IQ sd16) - highest 70k in 7 billion
Epimetheus (164+ IQ sd16) - card
Prometheus (164+ IQ sd16 - (s))
Grand Elite (164+ IQ sd16)
Ultranet (164+ IQ sd16)
Camp Archimedes (164+ IQ sd16)
Helliq (164+ IQ sd16)
Vertex (160+ IQ sd16)
Triple Nine Society (150+ IQ sd16)
Cerebrals (144+ IQ sd16)
MENSA (132+ IQ sd16)

Having taken five standardized, psychometric intelligence tests (WISC-R at age 7, RAPM II and EPC (N-VCPE-R) at age 24, Cattell CFIT-3A at age 25 and JCTI at age 30), the obtained results allowed me to become a member in the above listed IQ societies: (in order of decreasing minimum IQ required for membership)

Interests

I actively engage in pursuing all of the following: philosophy, astronomy, history (classical, medieval, modern), writing, genealogy, psychometrics, politics and social concepts, economy, theology, movies, photography.

I speak, read and write English, French, Russian and Serbian, read and moderately speak and write Bulgarian (maternal language), and read-only Italian, Spanish, Latin, Slovenian, Czech, Slovakian, Polish, Ukrainian and slightly Greek.

I enjoy developing web pages and surfing the Internet as well as walking through the city, especially in cold winter air, swimming (I don't swim well, but I enjoy it nevertheless), sometimes cooking, going through books, sorting out knowledge.