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September 24: Airports and M. T. Anderson

2007-09-24 · letter vlog · John, M. T. Anderson · 2:37 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life · mode: Personal update · tags: on location, guest or collab

John records a miserable 5 a.m. start at the Indianapolis airport, after accidentally taking Sarah's car key, then a happier day in Boston working with M. T. Anderson, who gives a comic tour of his art, and a nerdy MIT hotel.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — 5 a.m. at the Indianapolis airport, no pretzels; Sarah's car key in his pocket; Atlanta; Boston to work with M. T. Anderson

  • ★★ At 5 a.m. on Monday John is miserable in the Indianapolis airport; he arrived too early and the pretzel stand he likes is not open yet. (playful) — 00:00:03 · Indianapolis
  • ★★★ John accidentally pocketed Sarah's car key while packing at 4 a.m., leaving her in Indianapolis without a car, which he calls a terrible thing to do to someone you love. — 00:00:43 · Sarah Urist Green, Indianapolis
  • ★★★ Via Atlanta, John flew to Boston to hang out with M. T. Anderson and work with him on a small joint project; it made his day. — 00:00:43

00:01:29 — M. T. Anderson's guide to the art in his living room: lovers, parasites, nervous system; arrival at the hotel

  • ★★ M. T. Anderson gives viewers a guide to the art on his apartment wall: young lovers, young body parasites and the central nervous system. (playful) — 00:01:29
  • ★★ M. T. Anderson says the art reminds you that while nestled with loved ones, parasites still live on you; love is found in your mouth and eyebrows too. (playful) — 00:01:55
  • ★★ John's hotel on the MIT campus delights him after a long day: comforters with mathematical equations and chairs that seem made of atoms. — 00:01:55

00:02:24 — The MIT campus hotel's math comforters and atom chairs; They Might Be Giants sign-off

  • ★ John hopes Hank's They Might Be Giants outing was 'They Might Be Awesome'. (playful) — 00:02:24

Humor (significant)

  • At 5 a.m. with the pretzel stand closed, John addresses the hour itself. — 00:00:03

    “I'm a cranky Frankie. I hate you, five o'clock Monday morning.”

  • M. T. Anderson explains his art: the young lovers hang beside body parasites. — 00:01:55

    “love may be found within you, but it is also found very much in your mouth, in your eyebrows.”

  • John admires the MIT hotel's chairs that appear to be made of atoms. — 00:02:24

    “one could argue that all chairs are made out of atoms.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: M. T. Anderson

Also: Atlanta · Boston · Indianapolis · Indianapolis International Airport · Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Sarah Urist Green · They Might Be Giants

Only in the description or credits: National Book Award

Also centred on M. T. Anderson: Brotherhood 2.0: March 19th: Urban Exploration

← Previous: September 21: Court and Apples · Next → September 25th: TMBG and NYT