QUESTION TUESDAYS (On Friday)

2008-02-08 · Q&A · John · 4:01 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Books & writing) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, community lore, self promotion

On a Friday Question Tuesday, John answers viewer questions left on Hank's last video: a Chicago event, the Depew school board meeting on Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns' October 16 release date, and many joke questions, plus a brief sincere answer on questions of faith.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Friday Question Tuesday intro; Chicago Hideout event; Depew school board update; Paper Towns release date

★ John notes that among the many vitriolic, poorly spelled, obscene and un-nerdfighterly comments on Hank's last video there were also many excellent questions. (playful) — 00:00:00
★★ John says he will perform that night (21 and over) at the Hideout in Chicago with his friend Mark Bazer (name as heard). — 00:00:00 · Chicago (city)
★★★ John reports many people attended Tuesday's (5 February 2008) Depew school board meeting on his book, which he appreciates, but procedure let none of them speak. — 00:00:00 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
★★ John says the five people who did speak all opposed the book, and several of them had not read it. — 00:00:36 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
★★★ John quotes one objector's claim that he needn't read the book to judge it, and says the analogy shows why good English literature education is needed. — 00:00:36 · Looking for Alaska (novel)

“you don't have to have cancer to diagnose cancer”
★★ John says there is another Depew board meeting on March 4th, with more information to come. — 00:00:36
★★★ John gives Paper Towns' official release date as October 16th, joking that he had been lying when he said September. — 00:00:36 · Paper Towns

00:01:05 — Joke answers: Who the F is Hank, Queen Ranavalona vs Elizabeth Bathory, nerdfighting cows

★★ Asked 'Who the F is Hank?', John answers with a mock spy dossier: CIA veteran, Navy SEAL, operative of a clandestine NSA division. (joke) — 00:01:05 · Who the Eff Is Hank
★ After struggling to pronounce her full name, John judges Queen Ranavalona more of an evil lady than Elizabeth Bathory. (playful) — 00:01:35

00:02:06 — Brownies, Looking for Alaska, Lost or Heroes, puppy-sized animals, Alaska's origin, 'Ness', anagrams, the God-burrito question

★★ John says Looking for Alaska is neither a great book nor the greatest book, but hopes it is good. (playful, hedged) — 00:02:06 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
★★ John says the character Alaska is not simply based on a real person: in some ways she is based on him, in other ways on other people. — 00:02:36 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
★★★ John calls the God-burrito omnipotence question 'a question wrongly put'; omnipotence questions interest him, but he thinks the question for believers is how and whether God works in the world and we can join that work. (hedged) — 00:02:36

00:03:12 — Faith answer ends; Daniel Biss on nerdfighter babies; DFTBA tattoo; Black Santa; four-minute rule

★★ John introduces Daniel Biss as Brotherhood 2.0's resident mathematician and future state congressperson, asks whether his new baby looked awesome on the ultrasound, and concludes babies are born awesome. (playful) — 00:03:12 · Daniel Biss, Nerdfighteria, Brotherhood 2.0
★★ If forced to get a tattoo, John would probably get DFTBA on his hand, to remind himself he is supposed to be awesome. (playful, hedged) — 00:03:36 · DFTBA
★ John says the figure on his bookshelf is his Black Santa, which will make sense when viewers read Paper Towns. — 00:03:36 · Paper Towns
★★ John confirms he is still sticking to the four-minute time limit. — 00:03:36 · Four-minute rule

Humor (significant)

Asked 'Who the F is Hank?', John recites a special-forces spy biography for his brother. — 00:01:05

“When in the field, Hank prefers to work alone.”
John admits he earlier said Paper Towns would come out in September. — 00:01:05

“September, but I was lying. God, I love lying.”
John repeatedly fails to pronounce the full name of Queen Ranavalona before getting it out. — 00:01:35

“Yes, I did it! I finally did it!”
Asked for animals better than puppy-sized elephants. — 00:02:06

“it's no secret that I'm awfully fond of puppy-sized humans.”
After wishing English had a word meaning both yes and no, 'Ness', John is asked his favorite video game console. — 00:02:36

“Strangely, the answer to that question is also Ness.”

Threads in this video

result reported · Hank asks viewers to leave questions for John's Question Tuesday (2008) — John answers questions viewers left in the comments to Hank's last video. (00:00:00) → refers to Obama Says Subscribe
result reported · John asks Nerdfighters near Depew to attend the school board meeting on Looking for Alaska (2008) — John reports that a ton of people went to the Depew school board meeting on Tuesday, though none was allowed to speak. (00:00:00)
update · Effort to ban Looking for Alaska in Depew, New York schools (2008) — John reports the five speakers at the Depew board meeting all opposed Looking for Alaska, several without reading it; another meeting is set for March 4th. (00:00:36)
variation · 'Who the F is Hank?': John's joke answers (2008) — John answers 'Who the F is Hank?' again, this time with a mock special-ops spy biography. (00:01:05)
callback · John's puppy-sized elephant (2008) — Asked about animals better than puppy-sized elephants, John names puppy-sized humans. (00:02:06)
told · Daniel Biss and his wife have a baby (2008) — John introduces Daniel Biss as Brotherhood 2.0's resident mathematician and future state congressperson, asks whether his new baby looked awesome on the ultrasound, and concludes babies are born awesome. (00:03:12)