May 3rd: Yetis, TMBG, Weeds and MoJo
2007-05-03 · letter vlog · Hank · 2:33 · watch on YouTube
Topic: Books & writing (also: Personal life, Pop culture) · mode: Personal update · tags: community lore
Hank catches up on leftovers: Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things and the meaning of 'yeti', They Might Be Giants scoring the Coraline film, and Katherine's invasive-plant job; he calls the ban of Maureen Johnson's book not cool and thanks viewers for standing up for librarians and Maureen.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — Greeting (Thursday, May 3rd); happy birthday to Dad; leftovers from Hank's last video
- ★ Hank wishes their dad a happy birthday (May 3). — 00:00:10 · Mike Green
00:00:30 — Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things, read aloud with Katherine; 'yeti' apparently means 'that thing over there', with a Himalayan-guide skit
- ★★ Hank shows Neil Gaiman's latest book, Fragile Things, a collection of short stories he calls excellent; he and Katherine have been reading them to each other at night. — 00:00:10 · Katherine Green · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
- ★★ Hank is happy to learn that the word 'yeti', literally translated, apparently means 'that thing over there'. (hedged) — 00:00:10 · Yeti · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
00:01:15 — They Might Be Giants reportedly doing the soundtrack to the Coraline movie
- ★★ Hank reports that They Might Be Giants are apparently doing the soundtrack for the Coraline movie. (hedged) — 00:01:12 · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
- ★★ Hank is thrilled by the news; it makes Neil Gaiman 'way, way cooler' in his book and shows how much he likes They Might Be Giants. — 00:01:12 · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
00:01:32 — Katherine's 'weed research' job explained: invasive plants, not marijuana
- ★★★ Clearing up confusion, Hank says Katherine's 'weed research' is not about marijuana: she researches plant communities and how to eliminate invasive species such as spotted knapweed. (playful) — 00:01:12 · Katherine Green · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
- ★★ Katherine's job starts in a couple of weeks, and Hank says it will be really weird not to have her around all the time. — 00:01:12 · Katherine Green · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
00:01:55 — Maureen Johnson's banned book: Hank's reaction, record comments on John's video, thanks to viewers; sign-off
- ★★★ On Maureen Johnson's now-banned book The Bermudez Triangle, Hank says: what the f*, it's not cool. — 00:01:53 · Maureen Johnson · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
- ★★ Hank thinks John's book-banning video has drawn more comments than any other Brotherhood 2.0 video; people care more about book banning than his Helen Hunt obsession, which he calls a good thing. (hedged) — 00:01:53 · Brotherhood 2.0 · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
- ★★ Hank thanks viewers for standing up for the librarians and for Maureen: great work. — 00:02:17 · Maureen Johnson · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
- ★ Hank thinks he may buy The Bermudez Triangle to see what all the fuss is about. (hedged) — 00:02:17 · also in: May 3rd Extended Edition
Humor (significant)
-
After the 'yeti' etymology, Hank acts out a brave Himalayan guide being asked what that thing over there is. — 00:01:12
“What's that thing over there? Uh, Yeti? I see.”
-
Clearing up confusion about his wife's new job doing 'weed research'. — 00:01:12
“Catherine is not researching marijuana.”
-
John's book-banning video drew more comments than any other Brotherhood 2.0 video. — 00:01:53
“So apparently people care more about book banning than they do about my obsession with Helen Hunt.”
Threads in this video
- update · Katherine gets a job doing weed research (2007) — Hank clarifies Katherine's weed-research job: plant communities and eliminating invasive species like spotted knapweed, not marijuana; it starts in a couple of weeks. (00:01:12)
- restate · Should schools and libraries restrict books? — Hank calls the banning of Maureen Johnson's book not cool. (00:01:53)
- callback · Hank's crush on Helen Hunt (2007) — Hank jokes that people care more about book banning than about his obsession with Helen Hunt. (00:01:53)
- thanks · Letters asking a school to return Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle to its shelves (2007) — Hank thanks viewers for standing up for the librarians and for Maureen after John's book-banning video, which he thinks drew record comments. (00:02:17) → refers to Brotherhood 2.0: May 2: Book Banning
Mentioned
Central: Neil Gaiman
Also: People: Helen Hunt (actor) · Katherine Green · Maureen Johnson · Mike Green
Projects: Brotherhood 2.0
Works: Coraline (film) · Fragile Things · The Bermudez Triangle
Groups: They Might Be Giants
Concepts: book censorship · invasive species
Myths: Yeti
Also centred on Neil Gaiman: May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena · May 3rd Extended Edition · May 7th: Birthday Extravaganza · An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall
Replies to
- continues · May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena — “There were a few things I didn't want to talk about last video”
- answers · Brotherhood 2.0: May 2: Book Banning — “your video yesterday”
Later videos replying to this one
- 2007-05-03 · May 3rd Extended Edition (Hank) — continues — “an updated version of a Brotherhood 2.0 video” (00:02:17)