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Cute OVERLOAD: The Ultimate Concern Edition

2010-03-16 · John · watch on YouTube · Philosophy & meaning · reflection essay

John, with seven-week-old a child of the brothers, says parenthood made him weirdly insular, then sets the week's theme: do you have an 'ultimate concern' (what you would die or kill for), what is it, and should you?

What is said

00:00:00 — a child of the brothers on camera: bite my finger, space pajamas, 'Vlog Adorable Baby'

  • ★ John's description says he has a new camcorder and thanks a viewer for helping him get the video up. — 00:00:00

00:00:32 — Seven weeks with a newborn: babies are self-centered (robot need filler), but John doesn't care; poopy time

  • ★★ John has now spent seven weeks with newborn a child of the brothers and jokes that this makes him something of an expert on babies. (playful) (hedged) — 00:00:32
  • ★★ John says babies, though adorable, are a tiny bit self-centered: infants cannot apprehend that other people also have needs. (playful) — 00:00:39
  • ★★★ John says he doesn't mind a child of the brothers's self-centeredness: something weird, base and nurturing happened to him at a child of the brothers's birth that makes him want to change diapers. — 00:01:09

00:01:36 — Parenthood is insular; John forgot to mention Will Grayson, Will Grayson, out in about 25 days, pre-order

  • ★★★ John says being a parent turns you weirdly insular, caring mainly about your kid's needs, which is why he forgot to mention his upcoming book. — 00:01:36
  • ★★ John's book Will Grayson, Will Grayson comes out in about 25 days and is available for pre-order, which John announces in a child of the brothers's voice. (playful) — 00:01:42 · Will Grayson, Will Grayson

00:01:52 — Ultimate concern defined; the week's theme and John's non-rhetorical questions

  • ★★★ John introduces 'ultimate concern', a phrase from the study of religion: the thing or value you prize above all others, would die for or kill for. — 00:01:52 > «Your ultimate concern is the thing or value that you prize above all others»
  • ★ John says it is easy to go through life without an ultimate concern; he doesn't think a child of the brothers has one, being still in the business of self-preservation. (hedged) — 00:02:01
  • ★★★ John makes ultimate concern the week's theme, asking Hank and Nerdfighters whether they have one, what it is, and whether they should have one. — 00:02:09 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ John's ultimate concern right now certainly involves making sure a child of the brothers is happy and healthy, but he doesn't know whether it should be limited to that. (hedged) — 00:02:15
  • ★★ John asks whether an ultimate concern should be limited to family, extend to politics, community, nation or species, weigh other species equally, or yield to self-preservation. — 00:02:24

Humor (significant)

  • a child of the brothers is better lit than John and is stealing his light. — 00:00:26 > «this YouTube channel is called 'vlogbrothers' not 'vlog-adorable-baby'»
  • a child of the brothers treats John not as a person but as a kind of machine; John plays the part. — 00:01:02 > «I am your robot-need-filler. What are your needs? Do you need to be nomed?»
  • There is always a nanosecond between the old and new diaper when the bottom is diaperless. — 00:01:32 > «and to a child of the brothers, that moment is known as poopy-time»
  • John lists a child of the brothers's favorite rap songs as baby versions of hip-hop titles. — 00:03:02 > «dad's down with opp' you know, other peoples poop»

Threads in this video

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