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October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair

2007-10-29 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Personal life · comedy performance

Wrapping up a family trip in Asheville, Hank says his song day falls on Halloween, reports he could not find John's childhood box at their parents' house, and instead reads aloud 'It Just Isn't Fair', a book John wrote at eight, calling him a Nerdfighter from birth.

What is said

00:00:00 — Greeting; Mount Craggy with family and friends; end of the Asheville stay; a concert where a Nerdfighter recognizes Hank in public for the first time; song day falls on Halloween

  • ★★ Hank, their mom and dad, Katherine, Jessalyn and Brian went up a mountain Hank calls 'Mount Craggy'; it was windy but beautiful, and their time in Asheville is ending. (hedged) — 00:00:03 · Katherine Green
  • ★ Unplanned, the group went to see another concert (band name unclear in the audio). — 00:00:03
  • ★★ At the concert Hank met the first Nerdfighter ever to recognize him in public; he feels better, since John had already been recognized and he had not. (playful) — 00:00:03 · Nerdfighteria, John Green
  • ★★ Hank realizes his song day falls on Halloween; his song is not about Halloween and he doesn't know if he can write a Halloween song in time. (hedged) — 00:00:03 · Song Wednesday, Halloween

00:00:51 — No Halloween song but a Halloween surprise; parents won't reveal John's box; Hank finds a snippet of John's childhood instead

  • ★★ Hank says there will certainly be a Halloween surprise, though it may not be his song. (hedged) — 00:00:51 · Halloween
  • ★★ Their parents said John has a box like Hank's but would not reveal where it is; after they went to sleep Hank searched for it and could not find it. (playful) — 00:00:51 · John Green
  • ★★★ Hank instead found a snippet of John's childhood to share with Nerdfighters, of special interest to readers of Looking for Alaska: 'John Green's fifth book', It Just Isn't Fair. — 00:00:51 · Looking for Alaska, Nerdfighteria, John Green

00:01:22 — Hank reads John's childhood book 'It Just Isn't Fair' with comic asides, the author bio, 'Nerdfighter from birth!'; sign-off with Vern the dog

  • ★★★ In the book, narrator Alvin, a smart 'total nerd' nicknamed Wimp, spends money on clothes to be cool, which fails; he befriends Rick, whose father is dead, and both end up popular. (fiction) — 00:01:22
  • ★★ The book's author note says John Green, born in Indianapolis, is eight, has written five books, hopes to finish his latest by the end of the school year, and much of the story isn't true. (hedged) — 00:02:44 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank concludes from the book that John was a Nerdfighter from birth. (playful) — 00:02:44 · nerdfighter, John Green
  • ★ Hank signs off by introducing Vern, a dog. (playful) — 00:02:44

Humor (significant)

  • Hank is finally recognized in public by a Nerdfighter. — 00:00:03 > «I feel better now because John had been recognized before and I hadn't.»
  • Eight-year-old John describes the cool kid Rick. — 00:01:48 > «At first, he looked completely vice versa from me. He was cool, but looked pretty nice.»
  • Alvin expects Rick to cry about his dead father. — 00:02:18 > «Instead, he just said, My mourn days are over.»
  • After the author note admits much of the story isn't true, Hank sums up John. — 00:02:44 > «Nerdfighter from birth!»

Threads in this video

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