Then I Took Off My Bra

2011-06-10 · letter vlog · John, Sydney Green · 3:19 · watch on YouTube

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

Near the end of his stay in Amsterdam, John lists what he will and won't miss, plugs This Star Won't Go Out bracelets, announces a US tour with Hank for his new book and asks Nerdfighters what should happen on it and whether he should read the audiobook.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — John's time in the Netherlands is ending: what he will miss about Amsterdam

• ★★ John says his time in the Netherlands is almost over; he will miss Amsterdam's elm trees, public transport, canal view, cafés, bicycles and his apartment older than his country. — 00:00:00 · Amsterdam

00:00:20 — Their mom, visiting John in Amsterdam, says hi; who is the favorite son

• ★ Their mom is visiting John in Amsterdam; John teases that she comes all that way to see him but rarely sees Hank in Montana. (playful) — 00:00:20 · Sydney Green, Montana, Amsterdam

00:00:31 — Notes on Hank's last video: mean punishments; the SexyBack ice cream truck

• ★★ John tells Hank the punishments in his last video are very mean and says he will talk more about that when he gets back to the States. — 00:00:31 · Punishment
• ★★ The one thing John won't miss about Amsterdam: shops play real music rather than muzak, including gangster rap with unedited lyrics, which Hank's SexyBack ice cream truck reminded him of. — 00:00:37 · Amsterdam

00:00:46 — What John won't miss: unedited gangster rap in Amsterdam shops, performed with British Romantic poets for curse words

00:01:19 — Thanks to Belgian and Dutch Nerdfighters and the Dutch Literature Foundation

• ★★ John thanks the Belgian and Dutch Nerdfighters who came out to his events and the Dutch Literature Foundation for making his stay possible. — 00:01:19 · Nerdfighteria

00:01:29 — A Nerdfighter's This Star Won't Go Out bracelet; bracelets at DFTBA.com; over $10,000 raised in the ten months since Esther died

• ★ On tour in Hoogeveen a Nerdfighter gave John a This Star Won't Go Out bracelet, which he has worn since; his own was broken by a small, unnamed member of his household. — 00:01:29 · This Star Won't Go Out (charity)
• ★★★ John reminds viewers This Star Won't Go Out bracelets are at DFTBA.com, with 100% of proceeds to the foundation set up in Esther Earl's memory to support families affected by cancer. — 00:01:44 · This Star Won't Go Out (charity), DFTBA Records, Esther Earl
• ★★★ John says that in the almost ten months since Esther died, more than $10,000 has been raised for This Star Won't Go Out, and thanks Nerdfighteria. — 00:02:02 · This Star Won't Go Out (charity), Esther Earl, Nerdfighteria

00:02:15 — US tour with Hank when the new book comes out; its probable title came from a Nerdfighter; what should happen on tour?

• ★★★ John says he and Hank will go on tour in the United States when his new, as-yet-untitled but soon-to-be-titled book comes out. — 00:02:15 · John's untitled novel (2011), United States, Hank Green
• ★★ John says the probable title of his new novel, and its central observation, were taken from a Nerdfighter, and thanks Nerdfighteria. (hedged) — 00:02:30 · John's untitled novel (2011), Nerdfighteria
• ★★★ Saying the brothers are not that creative, John asks Nerdfighteria what they would like to see happen and do on the tour (where to go is a separate conversation). — 00:02:39 · Nerdfighteria

00:02:51 — Should John read the audiobook of a book narrated by a young woman ('And then I took off my bra'); back to editing; sign-off

• ★★ John asks whether Nerdfighters would like him to read the audiobook, though it is a little weird because the book is narrated by a young woman. — 00:02:51 · John's untitled novel (2011), Nerdfighteria
• ★ John signs off to go back to editing. — 00:03:12

Humor (significant)

• Mom visits John in Amsterdam but rarely sees Hank in Montana. — 00:00:27

  “I don't know who the favorite son is!”

• To show shopping to unedited gangster rap, John replaces the curse words with the names of British Romantic poets. — 00:01:06

  “I'm a William Blake gangster, so of course you want my Samuel Taylor Coleridge”

• John's own This Star Won't Go Out bracelet was broken by a member of his household. — 00:01:41

  “who will remain nameless, although he is quite small.”

• John wonders whether to read the audiobook of a novel narrated by a young woman, in his own voice. — 00:03:00

  “And then I took off my bra.”

Threads in this video

• update · John's two-month move to the Netherlands (April 2011) — John's two months in the Netherlands are almost over; he lists what he will miss about Amsterdam. (00:00:00)
• promised · John: talk more about Hank's proposed punishments once back in the States (June 2011) — Calling Hank's proposed punishments very mean, John says he will talk more about them when he gets back to the States. (00:00:34) → refers to Punishments, Floods, and Pink Hitler Babies
• reminder · John asks Nerdfighters to buy This Star Won't Go Out bracelets at DFTBA.com/Esther (2010) — John reminds viewers that This Star Won't Go Out bracelets are available at DFTBA.com, with a link in the doobly-doo. (00:01:47)
• milestone · This Star Won't Go Out bracelets sold at DFTBA.com/Esther for the This Star Won't Go Out Foundation (2010) — Almost ten months after Esther Earl's death, more than $10,000 has been raised for This Star Won't Go Out. (00:01:56)
• thanks · John asks Nerdfighters to buy This Star Won't Go Out bracelets at DFTBA.com/Esther (2010) — John thanks Nerdfighteria for their support of This Star Won't Go Out through the bracelets. (00:02:10)
• proposed · Tour de Nerdfighting 2012 edition — John says he and Hank will go on tour in the United States when his new book comes out. (00:02:15)
• asked · John asks Nerdfighters what they would like to see happen on the brothers' tour for his new book (2011) — John asks Nerdfighteria what they would like to see happen and do on the brothers' US tour, not where it should go. (00:02:39)
• asked · John asks Nerdfighters whether he should read the audiobook of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — John asks Nerdfighteria whether they would like him to read the audiobook of his new novel, narrated by a young woman. (00:02:51)
• first use · John reading his new novel's audiobook in a young woman's voice: 'And then I took off my bra' (2011) — John imagines his own voice reading the young woman narrator: 'And then I took off my bra', though she doesn't in the book; the title bit. (00:03:00)
• retold · Death of Nerdfighter Esther Earl, John's friend (2010) — John says that in the almost ten months since Esther died, more than $10,000 has been raised for This Star Won't Go Out, and thanks Nerdfighteria. (00:02:02)
• result reported · John asks viewers to suggest titles for his untitled new novel in the comments (2011) — John says the probable title of his new novel, and its central observation, were taken from a Nerdfighter, and thanks Nerdfighteria. (00:02:30)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• John asks Nerdfighters whether he should read the audiobook of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-11-21
• John asks viewers to suggest titles for his untitled new novel in the comments (2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-06-10
• John reading his new novel's audiobook in a young woman's voice: 'And then I took off my bra' (2011) — running joke (last seen 2011); last: callback, 2011-11-21
• John: talk more about Hank's proposed punishments once back in the States (June 2011) — open (no report in 2011–2026); last: promised, 2011-06-10
• This Star Won't Go Out bracelets sold at DFTBA.com/Esther for the This Star Won't Go Out Foundation (2010) — last documented in 2011 (looked back on in 2012)
• Tour de Nerdfighting 2012 edition — completed; last: looked back, 2024-11-13
• John's two-month move to the Netherlands (April 2011) — told 2×, last update 2012; last: retold, 2012-03-27

Mentioned

Central: Amsterdam · John's untitled novel (2011) · This Star Won't Go Out (charity) · This Star Won't Go Out bracelet

Also: People: Esther Earl · Lord Byron · Percy Bysshe Shelley (“Percy Shelley”) · Samuel Taylor Coleridge · Sydney Green · William Blake · William Wordsworth

Projects: DFTBA Records

Works: SexyBack

Rituals: Punishment

Concepts: Gangsta rap

Places: Hoogeveen · Montana · Netherlands · United States

Only in the description or credits: Dutch Foundation for Literature

Also centred on This Star Won't Go Out bracelet: You Are Awesome

Replies to

• answers · Punishments, Floods, and Pink Hitler Babies — “a couple notes about your last video”

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