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With Esther

2010-07-05 · letter vlog · John, Esther Earl · 3:31 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Global development) · mode: Advocacy & fundraising · tags: civic or action cta, community lore, guest or collab, on location

After a day in Boston with Nerdfighter Esther Earl and her friends, John celebrates the online-born friendships of Nerdfighteria and asks viewers to vote for the Harry Potter Alliance in a $250,000 contest, 'with Esther'.

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 by Nerdfighters incl. Esther; who Esther is (Eff Yeah Nerdfighters, cancer); John's day with her friends in Boston; online relationships meaningful IRL

  • ★★ Esther, known online as crazycrayon, helps run Eff Yeah Nerdfighters, which John calls a constantly updating spew of awesome. — 00:00:09 · Esther Earl
  • ★★ Esther has cancer, which John says sucks. — 00:00:14 · Esther Earl, cancer
  • ★★★ This weekend a group of Esther's friends visited her in Boston, and John spent a day with them: 'an amazing day of amazing'. — 00:00:14 · Esther Earl
  • ★★★ Seeing relationships that began online in Nerdfighteria be so sustaining and meaningful in real life made John proud to be a Nerdfighter. — 00:00:24 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:31 — What they did: volleyball questions (underwear colour), which Harry Potter character Esther would be, a puff fight, an espresso-and-gelato hunt

  • ★★ They wrote silly questions on a volleyball to throw and answer, picked a Harry Potter character for Esther, had a puff fight, and hunted Boston for espresso and gelato. (playful) — 00:00:31 · Harry Potter (book series), Esther Earl
  • ★ Esther Earl: Esther doesn't know which Harry Potter character she'd be, maybe a mix of Luna and someone else; she agrees half Luna, half Dumbledore would be very beautiful. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:00 · Esther Earl, Harry Potter (book series)

00:01:34 — Gratitude for an internet-based cross-generational friendship; LeakyCon; without Harry Potter no Esther and no Nerdfighteria; Esther and the HPA; the $123,000 for Haiti

00:02:13 — The HPA's $250,000 contest: what the money would do; vote, 'with Esther' not 'for Esther'

  • ★★★ The HPA is in a big contest to potentially win $250,000 to decrease world suck, and is currently in third place. — 00:02:13 · world suck
  • ★★★ John asks viewers to vote for the Harry Potter Alliance via the link in the description and to get their friends to vote. — 00:02:22 · doobly-doo, Harry Potter (book series)
  • ★★ The prize would let the HPA continue getting books to kids from the Mississippi Delta to Rwanda and grow its human-rights advocacy. — 00:02:31

  • ★★★ Winning would be a small way to thank Esther; John won't say 'for Esther', since she would hate that, but says they should win 'with Esther'. (hedged) — 00:02:41 · Esther Earl

    “I think we should win this contest with Esther.”

00:03:07 — Thanks to everyone in Boston; people wearing your face at VidCon; sign-off; bank-robber outtake

  • ★ John tells Hank he will find out at VidCon how pleasant it is to spend time with people wearing your face on their chest. (playful) — 00:03:11 · VidCon

In the description and comments

Humor (significant)

  • John reads the volleyball question asking his underwear colour, with 'PANTIES!' written underneath. — 00:00:38

    “I guess in case you don't know what underwear is.”

  • The group tried to have a puff fight (with John's puff of hair), but it turned into a head-butting contest, — 00:01:10

    “as puff fights so often do.”

  • John explains why he won't say they should win the contest 'for Esther'. — 00:02:46

    “she will throw up in the back of her mouth and hate me.”

  • In the outtake John, with a hood up, says he looks like a bank robber and imagines a witness description. — 00:03:25

    “Mmm, about six foot one, pretty nerdy, fair bit of puff.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Esther Earl · The Harry Potter Alliance

Also: Projects: Eff Yeah Nerdfighters · VidCon

Works: Harry Potter (book series)

Terms: doobly-doo · the Puff · world suck

Concepts: cancer

Places: Boston · Haiti · Mississippi Delta · Rwanda

Events: LeakyCon

Characters: Albus Dumbledore · Luna Lovegood

Also centred on The Harry Potter Alliance: Win The Awesomest Prizes EVAR! · Peeing, Pooping, Prescription Drugs, and Ramen Noodle Fires · I Like Balls

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