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The Return of Question Tuesdays

2008-01-09 · John · watch on YouTube · Nerdfighteria · conversation qa

John answers viewers' questions on Question Tuesday, mostly with jokes (a puppy-sized elephant, 'Who the F is Hank', George Lucas's robot), plus sincere answers: at least one video a week with the Ning in between, a Paper Towns tour in September, his dislike of the word 'celebrity', and why studying English helps writers.

What is said

00:00:00 — Question Tuesday opens: puppy-sized elephant, pirates vs ninjas, Hank's songs, 'Who the F is Hank', the book on the shelf

  • ★★ Asked whether he'd rather have an elephant-sized puppy or a puppy-sized elephant, John picks the puppy-sized elephant and writes a letter asking Evolution to make him one. (joke) — 00:00:00 · puppy sized elephant
  • ★ Asked who would win American Gladiators, pirates or ninjas, John picks ninjas over scurvy-ridden pirates. (joke) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Asked whether Hank will write more songs, John passes the question to Hank. — 00:00:36 · Hank Green
  • ★★ Asked 'Who the F is Hank?', John answers in the style of an astronomy entry: Hank is a ball of ice and rock once considered the ninth planet. (joke) — 00:00:36 · Who the Eff Is Hank, Hank Green

00:01:06 — Posting schedule and the Ning, Paper Towns touring, the word 'celebrity'

  • ★★★ John says one of the brothers will post at least one video per week, and on other days there will be pictures and videos from Nerdfighteria on the Ning. — 00:01:06 · Nerdfighter Ning, Nerdfighteria, Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ John expects to tour a lot when Paper Towns comes out in September and says he will let viewers know about signings. (hedged) — 00:01:06 · Paper Towns
  • ★★★ Asked what word he hates saying, John names 'celebrity': he thinks the world would be better if the word and the idea behind it ceased to exist. (hedged) — 00:01:06 · celebrity

00:01:35 — Would-you-rather (George Lucas joke), the Russian ska song, narrators vs adolescent self

  • ★ Offered Game Boy, Teletubby, Harry Potter or George Lucas, John picks Harry Potter as the only 'real human', joking that a robot killed Lucas and made episodes 1-3. (joke) — 00:01:35 · Star Wars
  • ★★ John says the Russian ska song in the Happy Dance video was called 'Think'. — 00:01:35 · Nerdfighter Happy Dance Project
  • ★★ Asked whether his two narrators combined would make his adolescent self, John says 'kinda', but notes differences: for one, he wasn't a good student in high school. (hedged) — 00:02:04 · Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines

00:02:04 — Diet, why English-class analysis helps writers (Huck Finn), pi

  • ★★ Asked about his diet and Weight Watchers, John protests that it isn't going well and the questions are mean. (playful) — 00:02:04
  • ★★★ John argues that writing about symbolism and other 'English stuff' really does help you become a writer, because it shows how good stories work. — 00:02:04 · close reading
  • ★★★ John's example: Huck says of Tom 'he had a dream and it shot him'; analysis lets you read it against the Civil War and other dreams that 'shot us'. — 00:02:33 · close reading

00:03:02 — Nerd joke and rapid-fire answers (song, Looking for Alaska film, Ikea, Rousseau); sign-off

  • ★★ John names 'New Partner' by the Palace Brothers as his all-time favourite song. — 00:03:02
  • ★★ Asked when the Looking for Alaska movie will come out, John says he doesn't know; it's not in his hands. — 00:03:02 · Looking for Alaska
  • ★ Rapid-fire answers: cookie dough over cake batter, supermodels 'all tied for last place', and a bookcase from 'a small family-owned' store called Ikea. (joke) — 00:03:02
  • ★★ John's most useless trivia: the political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau really liked mooning people. (playful) — 00:03:32

Humor (significant)

  • Choosing a puppy-sized elephant, John writes a letter to Evolution. — 00:00:00 > «Dear Evolution, I have always believed in you, and I have always defended you. Now make me a puppy-sized elephant!»
  • Asked 'Who the F is Hank?', John describes Hank like Pluto in an encyclopedia entry, once the ninth planet. — 00:00:36 > «Hank is in fact just something orbiting out there in the distance.»
  • Picking Harry Potter as the only real human among Game Boy, Teletubby, Harry Potter and George Lucas. — 00:01:35 > «everybody knows that episodes 1 through 3 were written and directed by the robot who killed George Lucas and invaded his body.»
  • Asked his favourite type of pie, John picks pi. — 00:02:33 > «Definitely the kind that helps us to calculate the circumference of circles.»

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