Question Tuesday! Paula Deen Riding Me (and critical reading)

2011-06-15 (said on 2011-06-14 — implied: date said in the video; uploaded 1 day later) · Q&A · John · 3:53 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Pop culture, Personal life, US politics & society, Nerdfighteria, Internet & YouTube, World affairs) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, self promotion, community lore, punishment or challenge, civic or action cta, guest or collab, on location, self correction

In a Question Tuesday from Amsterdam John corrects Hank on Data, reports the Let It Snow film-rights sale, restarts the Blurbing Book Club with The Great Gatsby, sets Hank's punishment (Humpy Hank All Over Town), and argues that what authors mean matters less than reading critically as a way into our own lives.

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 gag: 'Hank' as the sentient android who had a daughter; Hank's Monday video got its Star Trek facts wrong

★★ John corrects Hank's Star Trek facts: the Next Generation's sentient android (Data) can reproduce, as any true fan knows, because he had a daughter. (playful) — 00:00:02
★★ John calls Hank's Monday video one of his favourite Vlogbrothers videos ever. — 00:00:10

00:00:17 — It's Tuesday, uploading tomorrow after flying with a baby; Question Tuesday intro

★ Recording on Tuesday, John will upload tomorrow after spending all day flying across the world with a baby. — 00:00:17

00:00:25 — Vegetable garden; shoes and feet on foreign editions; Let It Snow film rights sold to Paramount, which also holds Looking for Alaska

★ Asked about them, John finds there are indeed a lot of shoes and feet on the foreign editions of his books, and doesn't know why. (playful) — 00:00:35
★★★ The movie rights to Let It Snow have just sold to Paramount, a large Hollywood studio. — 00:00:47 · Let It Snow
★★ Paramount also owns the movie rights to Looking for Alaska, not yet made; John says maybe they'll make one of them someday. (hedged) — 00:00:51 · Looking for Alaska (novel)

00:00:58 — Henry appears briefly; learning Dutch

00:01:02 — US vs Europe: medical bankruptcies in the US and the Netherlands

★★★ Asked about US–Europe differences, John says the biggest is that 60% of US bankruptcies are caused by medical costs, against 0% in the Netherlands. — 00:01:05 · United States, Europe

00:01:13 — The new book's title is not decided yet

★★ The title of John's new book is still not totally decided, so he can't say yet, but soon. — 00:01:14 · John's untitled novel (2011)

00:01:20 — The Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club returns for summer with The Great Gatsby

★★★ Since summer in Nerdfighteria means SPF 30 and classic American literature, John announces The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the new Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club book. — 00:01:22 · United States
★★★ John points to a purchase link (outside the US the book is probably public domain and free) and asks readers, first-time or returning, even past haters, to read Gatsby with him. — 00:01:32 · Nerdfighteria, United States

00:01:52 — Pizza John shirts back in all sizes at DFTBA.com

★★ Pizza John shirts are back in all sizes at DFTBA.com/pizza. — 00:01:54 · Pizza John, DFTBA Records

00:02:00 — Joke answers: nihilism, the identity thief, the Yeti and the Pizza John shirt, never eat pizza again

★ The Yeti wears DFTBA shirts but refuses the Pizza John shirt because she finds it creepy. (playful) — 00:02:12 · Sarah Urist Green, Pizza John, DFTBA Records

00:02:21 — Hank's punishment: Humpy Hank All Over Town

★★★ John sets Hank's punishment as the one most popular in Nerdfighteria, Humpy Hank All Over Town: Hank must hump the town. (playful) — 00:02:23 · Punishment, Hank Green, Nerdfighteria

“Humpy Hank All Over Town!”

00:02:32 — Tumblr: images of Paula Deen riding John

★★ Asked about Tumblr, John calls it the internet's number one destination for images of Paula Deen riding him — the title bit. (joke) — 00:02:34 · Tumblr

00:02:40 — Benign dictatorship is an oxymoron

★★ Asked whether benign dictatorships are a good form of government, John says 'benign dictatorship' is a bit of an oxymoron. — 00:02:42

00:02:45 — John's biggest inspiration is Nerdfighters: stories that help, as books helped him

★★★ John's biggest inspiration is Nerdfighters: he writes books and makes videos to tell them interesting, hopefully helpful stories, as books changed his own life. — 00:02:47 · Nerdfighteria

00:03:02 — What authors mean doesn't matter; critical reading as a way into real lives (Moby-Dick), how they will read Gatsby; sign-off

★★★ Asked if he means what teachers say 'the author means', John says probably, but teachers shouldn't say it: they can't read authors' minds, and what authors mean doesn't really matter. — 00:03:06
★★★ What matters is critical reading as a concrete way into hard questions — e.g. nature's indifference, expressed by white in Moby-Dick, lest you end up like Ahab — using story to think about our lives; that's how they'll read Gatsby. — 00:03:15

“using story as a way into thinking about our actual lives”

Humor (significant)

John's greeting turns into a fan's definition of 'Hank', the android Hank wrongly said cannot reproduce. — 00:00:02

“true fan would know, is capable of reproduction because he had a daughter!”
Asked about a vegetable garden, John shows his Amsterdam backyard. — 00:00:29

“are cigarette butts vegetables? Because if so, yes.”
John reads the question 'What is the name of the hospital you were born in?' — 00:02:06

“...asked the identity thief.”
Asked his thoughts on Tumblr. — 00:02:34

“the number one destination on the internet for images of Paula Dean riding”

Threads in this video

tension · What is life, and what kinds of systems count as alive? — John disputes Hank's claim that Data doesn't reproduce: the android had a daughter, so Hank got his Star Trek facts wrong. (00:00:02) → refers to Google Is Alive!
update · John's two-month move to the Netherlands (April 2011) — John will spend tomorrow flying across the world with a baby, ending his stay in the Netherlands. (00:00:17)
milestone · Let It Snow film adaptation (2011) — The movie rights to Let It Snow have sold to Paramount. (00:00:47)
restate · Should everyone be guaranteed health care? — John contrasts the US, where he says 60% of bankruptcies come from medical costs, with the Netherlands' 0%. (00:01:05)
launched · Blurbing Book Club 2011: group reading of The Great Gatsby — John restarts the Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club for summer with The Great Gatsby, with a purchase link in the doobly-doo. (00:01:30)
asked · John asks Nerdfighters to read The Great Gatsby with him for the Blurbing Book Club (summer 2011) — John asks readers, whether first-timers or rereaders who hated it, to read The Great Gatsby with him: 'Let's read it!' (00:01:45)
reminder · John asks Nerdfighters to buy the pizza shirt, back in stock at DFTBA.com/pizza (November 2010) — Pizza John shirts are back in every size at DFTBA.com/pizza. (00:01:54)
result reported · Nerdfighters asked to suggest punishments for John's skipped Wednesday video and the Helen Hunt punishments (May 2011) — John picks Hank's punishment as the one most popular in Nerdfighteria. (00:02:23)
set · Hank: punishment earned by Nerdfighters getting Helen Hunt to see his Helen Hunt video (2011) — John sets Hank's punishment: Humpy Hank All Over Town — Hank must hump the town. (00:02:23)
callback · Humpy Hank: Nerdfighter animations of Hank humping things (2011) — The Humpy Hank bit returns as Hank's punishment, 'Humpy Hank All Over Town'. (00:02:26)
first use · John: Tumblr is the top destination for images of Paula Deen riding him (2011) — John calls Tumblr the number one destination on the internet for images of Paula Deen riding him; the title bit. (00:02:34)
restate · Can a dictatorship be benign? — John says 'benign dictatorship' is a bit of an oxymoron. (00:02:42)
restate · Why make things? — John says he writes books and makes videos because Nerdfighters inspire him to tell them interesting, hopefully helpful stories, as books changed his life. (00:02:47)
restate · Does the author's intent matter to what a work means? — John says what authors mean doesn't really matter; critical reading matters as a way into thinking about our actual lives. (00:03:06)

Where the stories that moved here went next

John asks Nerdfighters to read The Great Gatsby with him for the Blurbing Book Club (summer 2011) — asked in 2011; no response reported; last: reminder, 2011-07-13
Nerdfighters asked to suggest punishments for John's skipped Wednesday video and the Helen Hunt punishments (May 2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-06-15 (said on 2011-06-14, implied)
John: Tumblr is the top destination for images of Paula Deen riding him (2011) — short bit (2011); last: callback, 2011-06-20
Hank: punishment earned by Nerdfighters getting Helen Hunt to see his Helen Hunt video (2011) — performed
Blurbing Book Club 2011: group reading of The Great Gatsby — past edition (2011); last: milestone, 2011-09-07
Let It Snow film adaptation (2011) — last documented in 2019; last: milestone, 2019-11-05
John's two-month move to the Netherlands (April 2011) — told 2×, last update 2012; last: retold, 2012-03-27

Mentioned

Central: authorial intent · Benevolent dictatorship · Blurbing Book Club · close reading · health care prices in the United States · Let It Snow · Punishment · The Great Gatsby

Also: People: Henry Green · Paula Deen · Sarah Urist Green

Projects: DFTBA Records

Works: John's untitled novel (2011) · Looking for Alaska (novel) · Moby-Dick · Star Trek: The Next Generation

Organizations: Paramount Pictures · Tumblr

Rituals: Question Tuesday

Terms: Pizza John

Places: Europe · Hollywood · Netherlands · United States

Events: Queen's Day

Characters: Captain Ahab · Data (character, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”)

Only in the description or credits: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Also centred on authorial intent: Dec 18th: The Project for Awesome and Question Tuesday!!! · The Education Continuum WARNER CHILCOTTED · On the Movies · On the Death of the Author

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