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New Tour! New Book! (Remember Books?) Your Q's A'ed!

2010-03-10 · Q&A · John · 3:15 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Projects, Books & writing, Personal life) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: self promotion, community lore, self correction, on location

On a spring walk in suburban Indianapolis John answers viewer questions: Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan) is out in 28 days, with tour dates and five advance copies to give away; he says he is losing weight out of love for Henry, not shaming, and apologizes for the muddled 'John Green Is Fat' video; VidCon proceeds go to charity.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Spring walk; viewer questions: how to know if you love him, 'Who the F is Hank?', beard-growing tips

  • ★★ Asked how to know if you love him, John says that you don't generally find yourself asking that question. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★ Asked 'Who the F is Hank?', John answers that Hank is a small, remote, uninhabited coral atoll south of the equator. (joke) — 00:00:00 · Who the Eff Is Hank

00:00:29 — Arrival at nature in suburban Indianapolis; Will Grayson, Will Grayson out in 28 days; tour dates

00:01:07 — Advance copies for Nerdfighters; the diet: not losing weight because of shaming; apology for the 'John Green Is Fat' video

  • ★★ John says he has five advance reader copies of Will Grayson, Will Grayson at home and will give all of them away to random commenters here or on the Ning. — 00:01:07 · Will Grayson, Will Grayson, Nerdfighter Ning, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says his diet is still going well. — 00:01:07
  • ★★★ John says he is not losing weight because people shamed him; he thinks shaming is always inappropriate and a particularly bad motivator. (hedged) — 00:01:07
  • ★★★ John says the 'John Green Is Fat' video was meant to discuss why making fun at other people's expense is so enjoyable, but it got muddled and confusing, and he apologizes. — 00:01:07

00:01:36 — Losing weight because of Henry (love as motivator); band names; the raven and writing desk riddle

  • ★★★ John says he is losing weight because of his son Henry: looking at him, he guesses the only real motivator is love; an aside adds wanting ex-girlfriends to regret dumping you. (hedged) — 00:01:36 · Henry Green
  • ★ Asked what he would call a band, John says he would still call it Moe and the Lawns, or the Moby Moby Dicktones. (joke) — 00:01:36
  • ★ Asked how a raven is like a writing desk, John says Lewis Carroll intended the riddle to have no answer, then offers that Edgar Allan Poe wrote on both. (playful) — 00:01:36

00:02:05 — Poe answer to the riddle; what John looks forward to at VidCon; 'are you trying to get rich from VidCon?'

  • ★★ At VidCon John most looks forward to Ze Frank, the ball pit, Charlie McDonnell biting his finger, and the concerts at night. — 00:02:05 · VidCon

00:02:35 — VidCon proceeds to charity and refunds until June 15; 'homosexual agenda' question about Will Grayson, Will Grayson; why no more challenges

  • ★★★ Asked whether he and Hank are trying to get rich from VidCon, John jokes about it, then says any proceeds from VidCon will go to charity. — 00:02:35 · VidCon, Hank Green
  • ★★ John says VidCon tickets can be fully refunded until June 15 for anyone who can't go. — 00:02:35 · VidCon

  • ★★★ Asked whether Will Grayson, Will Grayson will make readers sympathetic to 'the homosexual agenda', John says as a writer he aspires to tell good and true stories, not to sympathize with agendas. — 00:02:35 · Will Grayson, Will Grayson

    “I aspire to be in the telling good and true stories business.”

  • ★★ Asked why the brothers no longer do challenges, John says he doesn't know and proposes to Hank that they do some challenges. — 00:02:35 · Hank Green

00:03:05 — Sign-off: John cut himself on nature

Humor (significant)

  • A viewer asks 'Who the F is Hank?' — 00:00:00

    “Hank is a small coral atoll 703 nautical miles south of the equator.”

  • John realizes his book comes out in 28 days. — 00:00:29

    “I have a book coming out in 28 days? French the Llama!”

  • John says Carroll's raven and writing-desk riddle has no answer, then thinks of one. — 00:02:05

    “Ah, I got it. Edgar Allan Poe wrote on both.”

  • Asked whether he and Hank are trying to get rich from VidCon. — 00:02:05

    “how could we get rich? Maybe a YouTube conference.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: VidCon · Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Also: People: Charlie McDonnell (“Charlie McDonald”) · Edgar Allan Poe · Henry Green · Lewis Carroll · Ze Frank

Projects: Nerdfighter Ning

Works: Charlie Bit My Finger (“Charlie McDonald biting my finger”) · Moby-Dick (“the Moby Moby Dicktones”)

Terms: doobly-doo · French the llama · Who the Eff Is Hank

Places: Austin, Texas · Boulder, Colorado · Chicago (city) · Indianapolis · Los Angeles · Madison, Connecticut · New York City · San Francisco

Only in the description or credits: David Levithan

Replies to

  • corrects · JOHN GREEN IS FAT. — “The whole idea of the John Green is Fat video was to talk about why it's so enjoyable to have fun at other people's expense, but then it just got muddled and confusing.”

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