Best Wishes!

2008-02-26 · letter vlog · John · 3:57 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Books & writing, Personal life) · mode: Announcements · tags: community lore, self promotion, civic or action cta

John tells how he ended an important phone call with 'Best wishes!', shows his drastic haircut, postpones the world-record Question Tuesday, and runs through housekeeping: a Spartanburg library event, the Depew meeting on Looking for Alaska, Blurbing Book Club rules and next book, and Nerdfighter romances.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — The important phone call John ended with 'Best wishes!'; self-consciousness never goes away

• ★★ A couple of days ago (February 2008) John had an important phone call he can't name the other party of; nervous as always on the phone, he ended it by saying 'Best wishes!'. (playful) — 00:00:00 · best wishes
• ★★ John tells teenage Nerdfighters wondering whether self-consciousness ever goes away that it doesn't. (playful) — 00:00:31 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:37 — Puff levels down: the barber leaves John nearly bald

• ★★ Puff levels are way down: John asked the barber for a little off the top, took his glasses off, and came out with very short hair. (playful) — 00:00:37 · the Puff

00:01:07 — World-record Question Tuesday postponed: more than 2,000 questions

• ★★★ The world-record Question Tuesday planned for today is moved to next Tuesday (4 March 2008) because John hasn't finished going through more than 2,000 questions. — 00:01:08 · Question Tuesday

00:01:24 — Housekeeping 1: John speaks and signs at the Spartanburg Public Library Jambo Read on Saturday

• ★★★ This Saturday (1 March 2008) John will sign books in the morning and afternoon and speak at 2 o'clock at the Spartanburg Public Library's Jambo Read in Spartanburg, South Carolina. — 00:01:24
• ★ John calls 'Jambo Read' a nice pun: all the fun of a party, but with books. (playful) — 00:01:41

00:01:43 — Housekeeping 2: attend the March 4 Depew meeting on keeping Looking for Alaska in the curriculum

• ★★★ John asks Nerdfighters in or near Depew, New York to attend the Tuesday, March 4th meeting on whether to keep Looking for Alaska in the Depew High School curriculum. — 00:01:43 · Looking for Alaska (novel)

00:01:58 — Housekeeping 3: Blurbing Book Club blurbs for 13 Little Blue Envelopes, deadline, next book Slaughterhouse-Five

• ★★★ To take part in the Blurbing Book Club and maybe win prizes, Nerdfighters must write a blurb of 13 Little Blue Envelopes in 10 words or less and post it as a Ning blog post by Sunday (2 March 2008) midnight. — 00:02:12 · Maureen Johnson, Nerdfighter Ning
• ★★ John promises they will read all the blurbs. — 00:02:26
• ★★★ The next Blurbing Book Club book is Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, chosen because it's really good, John hasn't read it in a long time, and it's published worldwide so international Nerdfighters can join. — 00:02:32

00:02:44 — Housekeeping 4: nerdfighter-like, the Ning, and the Vloglovers channel returns

• ★★ John loves Nerdfighter babies and Nerdfighters falling in 'nerdfighter-like', which makes him feel there is more 'like' in the world because of the community. — 00:02:47 · nerdfighterlike (coinage), Nerdfighteria
• ★★ John says there has been lots of nerdfighter-like lately, partly thanks to the Ning, where Nerdfighters meet and see each other's interests, blog posts and pictures. — 00:03:08 · Nerdfighter Ning, nerdfighterlike (coinage)
• ★★ The Vloglovers YouTube channel is back, and the two 'secret siblings' behind it are in nerdfighter-like. — 00:03:20 · secret sibling, nerdfighterlike (coinage)

00:03:38 — Sign-off: see you in Spartanburg, Hank singing later this week, 'Best wishes!'

• ★★ John says he'll see Hank singing later this week (week of 25 February 2008) but won't reveal what about. — 00:03:41

Humor (significant)

• John's memo to teenage Nerdfighters wondering if their self-consciousness will ever go away. — 00:00:31

  “Yeah, no, it won't. Best wishes.”

• After the barber leaves him nearly bald and asks if that's short enough, John explains what 'a little off the top, long and messy' meant. — 00:01:03

  “what I meant was: I'm joining the marines.”

• John says he really likes saying the word 'blurbing'. — 00:02:02

  “it sounds like your voice is turning into a robot voice.”

• John announces that secret siblings Abbey and Todd are in nerdfighter-like. — 00:03:33

  “They're touching and hugging and nothing else.”

Threads in this video

• first use · John's 'Best wishes!' phone-call sign-off (2008) — John ends an important phone call with 'Best wishes!' and mocks himself for it; he signs off the video with it too. (00:00:14)
• callback · John's 'the puff' stress habit (2007) — Puff levels have gone down considerably after a barber leaves John nearly bald. (00:00:37)
• postponed · John: attempt a world record for most questions answered in four minutes on the next Question Tuesday (2008) — John postpones the world-record Question Tuesday to next Tuesday (4 March 2008) because he hasn't finished going through the questions. (00:01:08)
• result reported · John asks Nerdfighters for questions for his world-record Question Tuesday (2008) — John reports more than 2,000 questions came in for the world-record Question Tuesday. (00:01:19)
• announced · John's talk and signing at the Spartanburg Public Library Jambo Read (2008) — John announces he will sign books and speak at 2 o'clock this Saturday (1 March 2008) at the Spartanburg Public Library's Jambo Read. (00:01:24)
• asked · John asks Nerdfighters near Spartanburg, South Carolina to come to his library talk and signing (2008) — John asks Nerdfighters in or near Spartanburg, South Carolina to come see him speak and sign. (00:01:24)
• update · Effort to ban Looking for Alaska in Depew, New York schools (2008) — A meeting on Tuesday, March 4th will discuss whether to keep Looking for Alaska in the Depew High School curriculum. (00:01:43)
• asked · John asks Nerdfighters near Depew to attend the March 4 meeting on Looking for Alaska (2008) — John asks Nerdfighters in or near Depew to attend the March 4th meeting on keeping Looking for Alaska in the curriculum. (00:01:43)
• reminder · Hank asks Nerdfighters to write and send blurbs of 13 Little Blue Envelopes for a vote (2008) — John reminds Nerdfighters to write a blurb of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, 10 words or less, to take part and potentially win prizes. (00:02:12)
• rule change · Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club (2008) — John sets the blurb rules: post it as a blog post in your Ning profile; the deadline is Sunday at midnight. (00:02:22)
• promised · John: read all the 13 Little Blue Envelopes blurbs (2008) — John promises that they will read all the blurbs. (00:02:26)
• milestone · Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club (2008) — John names the next Blurbing Book Club book: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (00:02:32)
• callback · John's giraffe-love bit ('people love giraffes who love giraffes') — John contrasts nerdfighter-like with people who say they want to see giraffes doing it. (00:03:03)
• callback · John's coinage 'nerdfighter-like' for Nerdfighter romance (2007) — John loves Nerdfighter babies and Nerdfighters falling in 'nerdfighter-like', which makes him feel there is more 'like' in the world because of the community. (00:02:47)
• setback · Question Tuesday: weekly Tuesday question days for nerdfighters (2007) — The world-record Question Tuesday planned for today is moved to next Tuesday (4 March 2008) because John hasn't finished going through more than 2,000 questions. (00:01:08)
• reminder · John asks Nerdfighters near Depew to attend the school board meeting on Looking for Alaska (2008) — John asks Nerdfighters in or near Depew, New York to attend the Tuesday, March 4th meeting on whether to keep Looking for Alaska in the Depew High School curriculum. (00:01:43)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club (2008) — last documented in 2011; last: milestone, 2008-10-28 (said on 2008-10-27, implied)
• John asks Nerdfighters for questions for his world-record Question Tuesday (2008) — reported back; last: result reported, 2008-03-04
• John asks Nerdfighters near Spartanburg, South Carolina to come to his library talk and signing (2008) — invitation (not a request); last: thanks, 2008-03-04
• John asks Nerdfighters near Depew to attend the March 4 meeting on Looking for Alaska (2008) — reported back; last: result reported, 2008-04-21
• John's 'Best wishes!' phone-call sign-off (2008) — running joke (last seen 2009); last: callback, 2009-06-30
• John: attempt a world record for most questions answered in four minutes on the next Question Tuesday (2008) — kept
• John: read all the 13 Little Blue Envelopes blurbs (2008) — open (updates through 2008, not reported done); last: progress update, 2008-03-07 (said on 2008-03-08, implied)
• Question Tuesday: weekly Tuesday question days for nerdfighters (2007) — last documented in 2020; last: restarted, 2020-07-21

Mentioned

Central: best wishes · Blurbing Book Club · Looking for Alaska (novel) · nerdfighterlike (coinage) · Question Tuesday

Also: Projects: Nerdfighter Ning

Works: 13 Little Blue Envelopes · Slaughterhouse-Five

Organizations: Depew High School · Spartanburg Public Library

Groups: Vloglovers

Terms: secret sibling · the Puff

Concepts: book censorship · giraffe

Places: Depew, New York · Spartanburg, South Carolina

Events: Jambo Read

Only in the description or credits: Kurt Vonnegut · Maureen Johnson

Also centred on Blurbing Book Club: Nerdfighters Blurbing Book Club! · Shawty Got Low, Tritube and Blurbing · Ruins, LOLBooks, and the Blurbing Book Club · Don't Suck on That Bone · OMFG CATCHER IN THE RYE!!! · Early Voting with Hank

Also centred on nerdfighterlike (coinage): Tales of Nerd Love!

Later videos replying to this one

• 2008-02-27 · People Who Love Giraffes Who Love Giraffes (The Song) (Hank) — continues — “John, I don't know exactly what you're talking about.” (00:02:58)