May 22: Brotherhood 2.0 in Amsterdam

2007-05-22 · letter vlog · John · 2:30 · watch on YouTube

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

From Amsterdam, John does his happy dance, shows a contemporary art museum, and says the city he expected to be a den of iniquity is one of the cleanest, most beautiful and sustainable he has visited, like great cities 50 years from now.

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 from Amsterdam; John's happy dance; the natives laugh

• ★★ John is in Amsterdam having a good time; he likes it so much he does his happy dance, and the locals laugh. (playful) — 00:00:09 · Amsterdam, Happy dance (practice)

00:00:35 — Visit to a contemporary art museum: video of a spaceman and the Buddha; more dancing

• ★★ One of the most fun things they did was a contemporary art museum, where a video shows a spaceman and the Buddha looking at each other. — 00:00:35

00:01:11 — Amsterdam is not a den of iniquity but clean, green and friendly; moving there vs Indianapolis; cities of the future 'mostly underwater'; sign-off

• ★★★ John expected Amsterdam to be a drug-addled den of iniquity, 'Las Vegas, but with legal weed', but finds it one of the cleanest, most beautiful cities he has visited. — 00:01:11 · Amsterdam
• ★★ John lists what he likes in Amsterdam: green space, everyone biking, small efficient cars, eco-friendly toilets, fresh flowers and beautiful buildings, some items delivered as gags. (playful) — 00:01:11 · Amsterdam
• ★★ John says he and the Yeti keep talking about moving to Amsterdam, though he insists Indianapolis is the Amsterdam of central Indiana. (playful) — 00:01:49 · Sarah Urist Green, Indianapolis, Amsterdam
• ★★ John sums up that Amsterdam is what many great cities will be like in 50 years: efficient, sustainable and mostly underwater. (playful) — 00:01:49 · Amsterdam
• ★ John has very limited internet access but hopes to see Hank tomorrow. (hedged) — 00:01:49

Humor (significant)

• Locals laughed at John's happy dance, apparently ashamed rather than amused. — 00:00:35

  “Just ashamed that their city would attract someone like me.”

• John sums up Amsterdam as the model of great cities 50 years from now: efficient, sustainable... — 00:01:49

  “It's efficient, sustainable, and mostly underwater.”

• John and the Yeti talk constantly about moving to Amsterdam, but John keeps defending home. — 00:01:49

  “Indianapolis is truly the Amsterdam of central Indiana”

Threads in this video

• update · John and Sarah's trip to the Netherlands for An Abundance of Katherines (2007) — John reports from Amsterdam: museum visit, happy dances, and a city cleaner and more beautiful than he expected. (00:00:09)
• callback · John's wife Sarah as 'the Yeti' (2007) — John again calls Sarah 'the Yeti'. (00:01:49)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• John and Sarah's trip to the Netherlands for An Abundance of Katherines (2007) — followed over 4 videos (2007); last: update, 2007-05-24

Mentioned

Central: Amsterdam

Also: contemporary art museum in Amsterdam · Happy dance (practice) · Indianapolis · Las Vegas · Sarah Urist Green

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