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Things I Can Do

2012-02-14 · John · watch on YouTube · Internet & YouTube · reflection essay

On Valentine's Day John lists things he knows how to do and loves, from book recommendations, Swindon Town and CGP Grey to a spoiler blog for TFIOS readers, and argues that Kickstarter and Gumroad, by directly connecting makers and fans, might make the internet an artistic utopia.

What is said

00:00:00 — Valentine's Day; a Swamp People line prompts a list of six things John knows how to do; 1: disc golf with Willy

  • ★ John says a character on Swamp People said 'I like knowing how to do things', prompting him to list six things he knows how to do, is proud of and loves. — 00:00:00
  • ★ John says he knows how to play disc golf with Willy, who is very good at it. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Willy

00:00:29 — 2: reading 50 books in 2012; recommends The Art of Fielding and Jennifer Smith's The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

  • ★★ John says he is trying to read 50 books in 2012 and has so far read two great ones. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John recommends Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding: a book for so-called grown-ups, but he can't remember enjoying a story more; it is beautiful and made him feel all the things. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John recommends The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by longtime Nerdfighter Jennifer Smith: beautifully written, super romantic and extremely thoughtful. — 00:00:29 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:58 — 3: watching soccer: the FIFA Swoodilypoopers' FA Cup and the real Swindon Town's season (League 2, Wembley final)

  • ★★ John reminds Hank that the FIFA Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers won the 2011 FA Cup. (playful) — 00:00:58 · Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers
  • ★★ John says the real Swindon Town FC is having an amazing season: a good chance of winning League 2, the fourth league of English soccer, and a place in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final at Wembley. — 00:00:58

00:01:27 — Fitz Hall's real team adopts the brothers' 'One Size Fitz Hall' chant; 4: watching YouTube: John's obsession with CGP Grey

  • ★★ John says Fitz Hall, one of the brothers' Swoodilypoopers players, is a real player, and his actual team (not Swindon Town) has apparently adopted the 'One Size Fitz Hall' cheer the brothers made up for him. (playful) (hedged) — 00:01:27 · Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers
  • ★★ John says he has become obsessed with the brilliant YouTuber CGP Grey, who hates pennies and loves Britain, 'just like me except smarter', and tells viewers to watch him. — 00:01:27 · YouTube, United Kingdom

00:01:57 — 5: answering questions: a password-protected blog for readers who have finished The Fault in Our Stars

  • ★★★ For readers who have finished The Fault in Our Stars, and only for them, John has created a password-protected blog with his answers to questions, where they can comment and discuss the book. — 00:01:57 · The Fault in Our Stars

00:02:26 — 6: disrupting content delivery: piracy is not cool, but Kickstarter (Thought Bubble documentary), the FTDWS and Gumroad connect makers and fans directly; the internet as artistic utopia; preposition joke; sign-off

  • ★★★ John says he is not a fan of illegal disruptions of content delivery systems: stealing has been around a long time and there is nothing revolutionary or cool about it. (hedged) — 00:02:26 · copyright
  • ★★★ John is a huge fan of ways to connect people directly with the stuff they like, like Kickstarter: Julia Nunes no longer needs venture capitalists or record companies to fund an album, a very big revolution. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ John says Thought Bubble, who animate Crash Course, are kickstarting a documentary; if enough Nerdfighters help fund it, Nerdfighteria will be its executive producers. Link in the description. — 00:02:55 · Crash Course, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says what he loves about Kickstarter, as about the Foundation to Decrease World Suck, is that it is 'about us': the money is raised and spent together. — 00:02:55 · Foundation to Decrease World Suck
  • ★★ John says both brothers are obsessed with the new website Gumroad, which connects makers directly to fans without PayPal, Amazon or iTunes, taking a smaller cut than PayPal; he invites viewers to upload and sell their stuff. — 00:02:55 · Amazon, iTunes
  • ★ John says Gumroad was created by an amazing 19-year-old. — 00:03:24
  • ★★★ John says projects like Gumroad and Kickstarter make him think the internet might someday become the artistic utopia: a place to make a living making things you care about with and for people you care about. (hedged) — 00:03:24

Humor (significant)

  • Having recalled his FIFA team's FA Cup win, John says he doesn't want to take credit for the real club's form. — 00:00:58 > «the actual Swindon Town Football Club, perhaps inspired by my success, is having an amazing season.»
  • John gushes that Jennifer Smith's novel left him 'very blown away', repeating the phrase. — 00:00:58 > «Very blown away. I'm a novelist.»
  • John urges viewers to watch the YouTuber CGP Grey. — 00:01:57 > «So watch CGP Grey, which is not my nickname for my pants.»
  • After describing the internet as a place to make things with and for people you care about, John turns to grammar. — 00:03:24 > «Unfortunately, due to overeager grammarians, the internet will never be a place where it is okay to end a sentence with a preposition»

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