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May 7th: Birthday Extravaganza

2007-05-07 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life (also: Pop culture, Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal update · tags: on location, community lore

Hank recounts the two days around his 27th birthday (the Nerdfighters' surprise greeting, a John Kerry interview invitation, Neil Gaiman linking Brotherhood 2.0, a party at a fun center) and thanks everyone.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Last day of being 26: the Nerdfighters' birthday greeting; an invitation to interview John Kerry

  • ★★★ Hank says on his last day of being 26 (4 May 2007) he woke up to about a hundred Nerdfighters giving him his best birthday greeting ever. — 00:00:12 · Nerdfighteria, Top Secret Project
  • ★★ Hank says an assistant of John Kerry emailed asking whether he would like to interview Kerry; he would, and calls it a nice birthday present. (playful) — 00:00:12

00:00:44 — Katherine takes Hank to Spider-Man 3, which he found bad

  • ★★ Hank found Spider-Man 3 really bad: it lacked depth, as if the makers skipped the writing and spent on special effects; he concedes audiences went anyway. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:44 · Katherine Green

00:01:10 — John calls: Neil Gaiman linked Brotherhood 2.0 on his blog

  • ★★★ Hank says John phoned before the film to tell them Neil Gaiman had posted a link to Brotherhood 2.0 on his blog. — 00:01:10 · Brotherhood 2.0, John Green
  • ★★ Hank says few things beat having someone you are a big fan of become a fan of what you do, and thanks Neil Gaiman. — 00:01:10

00:01:37 — Birthday presents; eating an anatomical gummy heart on camera

  • ★ Hank shows birthday presents: Mountain Dew, Pop-Tarts and chocolate from Katherine, a Cowboy Bebop action figure from his dad, whiskey, an anatomical gummy heart and a Nerdfighter shirt. — 00:01:37 · Katherine Green, Mike Green

00:02:12 — The birthday itself: a combined party with a friend (Mexican food, a family fun center with go-karts, mini golf, laser tag)

  • ★★ Hank's actual birthday (5 May 2007) was a combined party with a friend turning 30: Mexican food, a family fun center (go-karts, obstacle course, mini golf won by Katherine with a hole-in-one, laser tag), then bars in Missoula. — 00:02:12 · Katherine Green, Missoula, Montana

00:03:11 — Bars in Missoula; thanks to everyone for the birthday messages; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank thanks everyone around the world for their birthday messages and says it was one of the happiest birthdays of his life. — 00:03:11 · Nerdfighteria

Humor (significant)

  • Hank says his people got a call from John Kerry's people, then deflates the boast. — 00:00:12

    “I mean one of his assistants sent me an email asking if I would like to interview him”

  • Explaining his taste in films before panning Spider-Man 3. — 00:00:44

    “I like any movie that's loud enough that I can fart during and no one will hear it”

  • Part three of the birthday: drinking at bars in Missoula. — 00:03:11

    “Surrounded by guys with sombreros on because it's always like that on my birthday.”

  • Claiming no one in history has had a birthday like his. — 00:03:11

    “Certainly no one has eaten half of an anatomical gummy heart, washed it down with some Mountain Dew”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Neil Gaiman · Spider-Man 3

Also: People: John Kerry · Katherine Green · Mike Green

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0 · Top Secret Project

Works: Cowboy Bebop

Organizations: family fun center in Missoula (name unclear)

Places: Missoula, Montana

Products: Jim Beam Black · Mountain Dew · Pop-Tarts

Also centred on Neil Gaiman: May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena · May 3rd: Yetis, TMBG, Weeds and MoJo · May 3rd Extended Edition · An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall

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