Because confindence comes not from always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong. And it is the mix of stellar coolness and utter vulnerability that makes this dude so desirable. Although, if we would run into James, over a cup of grande drip coffee, we would suggest he loose that piece of man jewellery. And because we read some very good stories over at Random House. One, by Maria A. from New Jersey, with a few phenomena lines like;

1/02. Watch grandmother's funeral; realize you can only cry for boys who do not like you.

9/02. Start essays like this a;lkfdh;alsjdf;laksdahiosdf; then sigh, then backspace, then start again. Read cliffnotes for Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Because Johnny apparently orders the most expensive whiskey and just smells its smokey aroma, since he stopped drinking. And being firm belivers in hugs over drugs, further proof is provided by a Harvard study that found that when you hug a woman longer than thirty seconds, it increases her oxytocin levels and anticipation of sex.

Because we adore that you are the prefect mix of a rock star and academic, and comment on our new potential job with economic-philosophical arguments. Although, the three questions anyone needs to know is; Can you do the job?, Will you love the job? and Can we stand having you around? And because we are amused by the description of a person "as someone who wears normal-sized clothes" and that a jar can contain "honey from within the European Union and honey from outside the European Union". And that the husband of Zadie Smith say that "time is how you spend your love".

Because with that timeless beauty and sophistication, you look like a character out of the world of Scott F. Fitzgerald. And since we are fantastically successful in mastering our New Year's resolution of FOCUS, Tender is the night will provide the romance until we reap equal victories in the area of LOVE.

He seemed kind and charming - his voice promised that he would take care of her, and that a little later he would open up whole new worlds for her, unroll an endless succession of magnificent possibilities. /.../

"I was watching you," he said, and she knew he meant it. "we've grown very fond of you."
"I fell in love with you the first time I saw you," she said quietly. He pretended not to have heard, as if the compliment were purely formal. /.../

She did not know yet that splendor is something in the heart; at the moment when she realized that and melted into the passion of the universe he could take her without question or regret. /.../

When she saw him face to face their eyes met and brushed like birds' wings. After that everything was all right, everything was wonderful, she knew that he was beginning to fall in love with her. She felt wildly happy, felt the warm sap of emotion being pumped through her body. /.../

Yet think she must; she knew at last the number on the dreadful door of fantasy, the threshold to the escape that was no escape; she knew that for her the greatest sin now and in the future was to delude herself. It had been a long lesson but she had learned it. Either you think - or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipine your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you. /.../

Tangled with love in the moonlight she welcomed the anarchy of her lover.

Because it looks like you have a Holy Bible-shaped lighter, hanging out at Sundance and behind your hazel eyes is a mind that think thoughts rarely thought. And because your aura is all-over bad-ass.

Because our new favourite expression is blue-sky thinking.

The conclusion at last appears. I guess that, I over-reacted.
But, no. In our world, the term is: lover-reacted.

It is fascinating how an inadequate language still manages to explain a lot of things with a single tap on the key board.

Ah, because between boyfriends is the new single. And because dark, medium-length hair and nice guys are the best.

Because you look like a modern day, drummer hippie who gives us good vibrations. And because a Chinese girl who sat next to our brother on the plane and ended up celebrating Christmas with us gave mother a book: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Our mom disregarded it as mumbo jumbo and the paperback ended up in our loving hands. We are unsure of what to make of Tolle himself, but he does bring forward some worthy ideas:

Whatever you do, to ensure a positive "vibrational frequency of consciousness" you should make sure that you are in one of the following states: acceptance, enjoyment or enthusiasm. "If you can neither enjoy or bring acceptance to what you do - stop. Otherwise, you are not taking responsibility for, which also happens to be the one thing that really matters: your state of consciousness."

"Unlike stress, enthusiasm has a high frequency and so resonates with the creative power of the universe. This is why Ralph Waldo Emerson said that, "Nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiasm." The word enthusiasm comes from ancient Greek - en and theos, meaning God. And the related word enthousiazein means "to be possessed by a god."

The book is really about not minding what happens, acknowledging that the good that already is in your life is the foundation for all abundance, that you cannot lose something that you are and that our main purpose in life is to be and do whatever we are right now. There is no such thing as becoming successful. You can only be successful, by being one with life and being one with now. "You then realize that you don't live life, but life lives you. Life is the dancer, and you are the dance." Amen.

Let's dance.

Because we do have a thing for Russians. And it is fascinating to walk around the Met and find pretty boys from the late eighteen hundreds. This man is called Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin and apparently liked double figures, born in 1955 and died 33-years-old in 1888, by throwing himself down a stairwell. Before that this handsome author ("published approximately twenty stories, many of which powerfully express his pacifist beliefs, his love of beauty, and his aversion to evil") was turned into oil on canvas by Ilia Efimovich Repin.

And because this makes us think of fellow country man of his, a charming character from Philip Roth's My Life As A Man, who we most ceratainly would like to get to know better. "Agniashvily, an elderly Russian émigré who wrote original "Ribald Classics" (in Georgian, and translated into English for the class by his stepson, a restauranteur by trade) aimed at the Playboy "market"..."

The same book also includes a wonderful piece of advice:
"I wanted to hang a sign over my desk saying ANYONE IN THIS CLASS CAUGHT USING HIS IMAGINATION WILL BE SHOT. I would put it more gently when, in the parental sense, I lectured them. "You just cannot deliver up fantasies and call that 'fiction.' Ground your stories in what you know. Stick to that. Otherwise you tend, some of you, toward the pipe dream and the nightmare, toward the grandiose and the romantic - and that's no good."

Rosy cheeks, lovely locks and we've never seen John Lennon look so irresistible. Besides being a musical genius and an old soul, he said something very true about partner selection; "I'd never met a woman I considered as intelligent as me. That sounds bigheaded, but every woman I met was either a dolly-chick, or a sort of screwed-up intellectual chick. And of course, in the field I was in, I didn't meet many intellectual people anyway. I always had this dream of meeting an artist, an artist girl who would be like me. And I thought it was a myth, but then I met Yoko and that was it."

"He has curly black hair, pale-green eyes, and the relaxed demanor of someone who lives five minutes away from his favorite beach."

Sometimes, thanks to the talented writers at The New Yorker, we don't even need images.

First and foremost, guys with golden blazers will always get our vote. Secondly, wavy hair is gaining a substantial lead, bringing the men of manes way ahead of beards. And thirdly, we were recently advised to look at things in processes, not one time action points, and that life is all about creating good habits.

We are embracing a New Year that shall be characterized by Focus and Love. We've heard people wonder if they are ready for 2012. Our main concern is whether twelthie is ready for us.

In honor of our dear friend who left "Let's make better mistakes next year" notes in unknown offices, we would like to quote the slightly more famous Samuel Beckett: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

We're missing something that would resemble a spark in your eyes, but today's mood find something appealing about androgynous, heroin chic men.

It will all be good in the end, and if it's not good, it is not the end. But then again, we do know that it is not the end that is near, the future is.

Because your name is Texas, and because of the vast horizons that guarantee nothing.

Because Lady Gaga is our home girl. And little monsters should always stay strong.

* Three Months Later *

You are an engineering nerd, and I assume you work all the time
Yet your handsome stature, your boyish charm, is surely worth the climb

The reason I behave as I know you, is because I see
So much of me in you, or so much of you in me

That shadow of a smile, waiting to burst into laughter
Unruly curls, as extensions of thoughts of similar character

A sense of humor, unintentionally entertaining, not really witty
Sparkling eyes, striving still to replaced judgement with curiosity

Communicative, attemptingly pedagogical, we try to make sense
With a contagious enthusiasm, luring people to our side of the lens

Yes, intelligent eyes, the mirrors of a soul and widely seeing
Injecting in its spectator a sense of confidence, calm and well-being

Rich in knowledge, accumulating wisdom. Hard to impress
But lightly amused. Difficult to catch, but easy to undress

Likeable, from the relaxed way in which we move around the world
experiencing life on a different level, another spin, a smoother swirl

Learning from mistakes, and not really knowing what to believe
being happy for each day of health, and the developments we achieve

Yet, my heart beats louder than yours, words flow freely in abundance
A longer way for you to go, tracing unknown paths of emotional distance.

Because we should never underestimate the influence the Ocean has on our future plans. And because we've been in love one hundred and fifty times or more, but meeting you made us realize we'd never been in love before.

Because the reason cigarettes look so sexy and seductive in photos and film is because we can't smell or taste it. Or in the words of our western Yogi Richard Hittleman;

"Since we all know very well that smoking holds no value for the human organism, that is, the body certainy does not require nicotine and tar for its well-being, we can classify the habit as largely a nervous one. /.../ Coal tar and nicotine taste good after heavy, rich, devitalized, acid-forming foods. But cigarettes will hold little attraction following a meal that has been composed largey of life-force food."

And because you are still pretty handsome for someone being prone to nervous habits and a devitalized diet.

Because men who attempted to climb Mount Everest in 1924 apparently knew how to do so in style. Especially, top level far right and bottom row second from left.

And because it is much easier to remember that the world's highest mountain is nearly 9 kilometers high, rather than 8850 meters (2 meters more than first thought).

Because you are the person you take the time to become, and what most people seem to miss is that time is the only common nominator among us. And because you seem to know how to spend it, loosing yourself in a beautiful moment.

For the phrase; "... this love doesn't fear neither hate nor rage, it does not hide unarmed at home, but runs the streets and opens all closed doors."

Because you are obviously a cool guy and because personal integrity requires rebellion at some point. And because right moral over rules stupid laws, although society is (in general) sane and rational. We also picked-up that parrots are the only other species besides humans who enjoy moving rythmically to music and are able to speak, even if former Chairman of the Nobel Committee Prof. Wigzell did not go into the details of the neuro similarities that would explain this behaviour.

Because, wow. Because few things are as gorgeous as lusterous curls. Because your talent emerges out of working with other talented individuals. And because people talk about wanting a piece of the cake, failing to see that the cake is all over the place. And it seems like you see the importance in understanding what is going on, that the only two things you need to change the world is imagination and a smart phone, and in order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.

One of the more amusing incidents of this summer was when our leopard jumpsuit was out in the Brooklyn night. A guy at Daddy's comes up and says he has made a bet with his friends and wonders if we could change clothes. It sounded like fun and we go into the bathroom together where an exchange of jeans, t-shirt and a significantly more festive outfit is made. As we return, half the establishment is wondering what the hell just happend. The guy, Matt from Pennsylvania, has The Time of His Life and his friends are most impressed. After a while it becomes rather boring to stand around in a pair of Levi's while someone else is living it up with the leopard, so we go back the restroom. Undressing once more he then says, "I can't believe we haven't made out yet." We were very tempted to say that "That's our line", but sometimes words are unnecessary.

Because even if the image is blurry, your charm shines through. And at a lecture on Delivering Happiness we learnt that this wonderful feeling residing in our bodies comes from perceived control and perceived progress, connectedness, core values, a vision and a higher purpose.

Although clearly beautiful, we are slightly sceptical to the choice of sweater. Maybe you made a minor error in the closet, or as our old American man of choice, Russ Ackoff, would say:

One never learns from doing things right because, obviously, one already knows how to do it. What one derives from doing something right is confirmation of what one already knows. This has value, but it is not learning. One can only learn from mistakes, by identifying and correcting them. But all through school and in most places of employment we are taught that making mistakes is a bad thing. Therefore, we try to hide or deny those we make. To the extent we succeed, we preclude learning. Furthermore, there are two types of mistakes: errors of commission, doing something we should not have done; and errors of omission, not doing something we should have done.

Needless to say, a theory much applicable to the field of romance too.

Because classic beauty and beards always makes us happy. And because we could re-name this blog to I wanna make out with you (yes, you) all the time. And because substantial matters of the heart bring out the poets in us.

Oh hey, hi, it's me again,
just calling to see if things have changed in the land of men.

What have you been up to? How do you do?
Do you ever think about me, the way I do of you?

Meaning: do I appear at night when it is time for bed?
Do I greet you in the morning when natives of dreams from daylight have fled?

If all minds are connected, and they surely are,
we've already been travelling together wide and far.

I especially like when you go off exploring Paris on your own,
the strangeness of Kansas City or your gigabit excitement in the Tokyo hi-tech zone.

I hope you enjoy the smell of autumn in Stockholm town,
on adventures in my pocket as the coloured leaves fall down.

I want your inner world, I want your soul,
I want your arms, your heart, your age as it turns old.

But the future comes but a day at the time,
every hour sweeter, minutes are sublime
bringing me closer to an era when you'll be mine.

Because, like a Hugo Boss fragrance ad, "we don't expect sucess, we prepare for it". And whatever troubles may be on pretty Bo's mind, he ought to know that there is nothing left to worry about.

Because "again, all that one can hope for is an open market. Boredom has always played more of a role in human history than we are prepared to admit. And we should never underrate the boredom induced by empty ideas pretentiously paraded". Jerome Bruner wrote those wise words, very applicable to people who, much like ourselves, are in love with love. However, we do experience a conflict between empty ideas vs. gut feeling (there is no doubt in our mind where you belong). But, point taken.

Because Brazilians will always be the lovers of the world. And, "living successfully in a world of complex systems means expanding not only time horizons and though horizons; above all, it means expanding the horizons of caring", to quote, what is bound to be our new bible, Thinking in Systems. It is by our new favourite woman, Dana Meadows, who also writes:

Don't Erode the Goal of Goodness
/.../
And so expectations are lowered. The gap between desired behaviour and actual behaviour narrows. Fewer actions are taken to affirm and instill ideals. The public discourse is full of cynism. Public leaders are visibly, unrepentantly amoral or immoral and are not held account. Idealism is ridiculed. Statements of moral belief are suspect. It is much easier to talk about hate in public than to talk about love.

Because smiling, happy Swedes are rare, and we also believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. However, current research show that optimism, instead of being a virtue, it is a brain malfunction. Another term could be folk-psychologically insane.

Our thesis supervisor have given us a small stack of Jerome Bruner books on narratives and story-making and with titles like Actual minds, possible worlds, we are enjoying every page of it. In Acts of Meaning he pretty much, in his own meta-academic manner, sums up a lot of our feeling-driven behaviour;

But we also know that desire may lead us to find meanings in contexts where others might not. /.../ This reciprocal relation between perceived states of the world and one's desires, each affecting the other, creates a subtle dramatism about human action which also informs the narrative structure of folk psychology. When anybody is seen to believe or desire or act in a way that fails to take the state of the world into account, to commit a truly gratuitous act, he is judged to be folk-psychologically insane unless he as an agent can be narratively reconstructed as being in the grip of mitigating quandary or of crushing circumstances. It may take a searching judicial trial in real life or a whole novel in fiction to effect such a reconstrual. But folk psychology has room for such reconstruals: "truth is stranger than fiction."