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Brotherhood 2.0: February 9, 2007

2007-02-09 · John · watch on YouTube · Books & writing · announcement promotion

On laundry day John corrects Hank's banjo-concert death calculation with help from mathematician Daniel Biss, then answers commenters: his new novel is called Paper Towns, due September 2008, and its subject is given only as a string of comic lies.

What is said

00:00:00 — Greeting; laundry day in 'the world's smallest washing machine'; The Naked and the Dead found 'in my pants'

  • ★ It is laundry day, and John shows what he calls the world's smallest washer-dryer, 'designed exclusively for Lilliputians'; a few clothes overstuff it. (playful) — 00:00:03
  • ★ While loading the washer John pulls out The Naked and the Dead, announcing it as 'the naked and the dead in my pants'. (joke) — 00:00:33 · in your pants

00:00:33 — Via Daniel Biss, the flaw in Hank's banjo-concert death theorem: most 70-year-olds die closer to 82; go to longer concerts

  • ★★★ Citing mathematician Daniel Biss, John says Hank's theorem is flawed: a 70-year-old may live on average to 83, but most people die closer to 82 than to 70. — 00:00:33 · Daniel Biss
  • ★★ John concludes that to see someone die at a banjo concert, what matters is not an older audience but a longer concert, such as a 13-year-long one. (playful) — 00:01:09

00:01:09 — Commenters' questions answered: the new novel is Paper Towns, out September 2008; what it's about as a series of lies; Monday from Washington, D.C.; sign-off

  • ★★★ Answering commenters' questions about his new book, John says it is called Paper Towns and will be published in September 2008. — 00:01:09 · Paper Towns
  • ★★ John declines to say what Paper Towns is about, answering with a declared 'long series of lies': a 17th-century Japanese orphanage, an origami championship, Hamlet, teenage Emily Dickinson and more. (playful) — 00:01:09
  • ★ John says he will watch Hank's Monday video from Washington, D.C. — 00:01:52

Humor (significant)

  • Loading the tiny washing machine, John finds a Norman Mailer novel among his clothes. — 00:00:33 > «Oh, it's the naked and the dead in my pants»
  • After correcting Hank's death math, John gives the real key to seeing someone die at a banjo concert. — 00:01:09 > «The key is to go to longer banjo concerts, like 13-year-long banjo concerts.»
  • Among the lies about what Paper Towns is about, John lists a lesson about eating your diet points. — 00:01:52 > «even though sometimes you eat the exact number of points you're supposed to eat, you still don't get less fat»

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