Will He Kiss You? Am I a Muggle? It's Question Friday.
2011-08-26 · Q&A · John · 3:46 · watch on YouTube
Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Books & writing, Everyday life, Pop culture) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, self promotion, community lore
In a rapid-fire Question Friday John answers viewers: kissing happens with you, not to you; a TFIOS signing update (all pre-orders will be signed); Sarah's input into his books, Looking for Alaska's earlier titles, and many comic one-liners.
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; John checks the date on his calendar and thanks; Question Friday intro
- ★ John checks the date on his calendar and thanks someone for it (apparently the Nerdfighters' birthday calendar). (playful) — 00:00:00
00:00:11 — Muggle question, favourite essay (The Crack-Up), advice to a girl whose boyfriend hasn't kissed her
- ★★ John names his favourite essay: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Crack-Up. — 00:00:14
- ★★★ John tells a young Twitter user whose boyfriend hasn't kissed her in almost five months of going out that kissing happens with you, not to you, so she should talk honestly with him. — 00:00:27 · Twitter
00:00:40 — TFIOS signing progress (about 35,000) and pre-orders: all will be signed, wherever ordered
- ★★ Asked how the TFIOS signing goes, John says he is at about 35,000, is temporarily out of red Sharpies and has a long way to go. — 00:00:40 · The Fault in Our Stars, Sharpie
-
★★★ John says all pre-orders of The Fault in Our Stars will be signed, wherever ordered (Amazon UK, England, Canada); the whole first printing is being signed, but only pre-orders are guaranteed. — 00:00:56 · The Fault in Our Stars, Amazon, England, Canada
“All pre-orders of The Fault in Our Stars will be signed.”
00:01:31 — Rapid-fire: Hogwarts house, hat, kittens, bacon or cake, anime and manga, Zeno's paradox, his Tumblr, peanut butter face
- ★ In rapid-fire answers John calls himself 'kind of a Ravenpuff', names his 'people-hunting hat', says he is not a big kitten person and loves anime and manga. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:34
- ★★ John explains Zeno's paradox (to reach a door you must first go halfway, and halfway to that, so you must traverse infinity) and says it is very important to him. (playful) — 00:02:02
- ★★ John gives his Tumblr address, fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com, with a link in the doobly-doo. — 00:02:19 · Tumblr
- ★★ Asked to do Question Tuesday with peanut butter face, John does it briefly and says he is proud of his career as a man who puts peanut butter on his face. (playful) — 00:02:23 · Peanut Butter Face, Question Tuesday
00:02:31 — Interrobang; Elmo or Grover via a song stuck in his head; Scotland's national animal
00:03:05 — Sarah's input into his novels; Looking for Alaska's earlier titles
- ★★★ John says Sarah has contributed tons to his writing: the line 'imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia' in Looking for Alaska, the pranks in Paper Towns, and hugely to The Fault in Our Stars. — 00:03:05 · Sarah Urist Green, Looking for Alaska (novel), Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars
- ★★ John says Looking for Alaska had many working titles, including Misremembering Alaska, The Great Perhaps and, for a long time, Warm Malt Liquor: A Novel. — 00:03:18 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
00:03:26 — Hufflepuff in Pottermore; his childhood diary; sign-off
- ★★ To a viewer sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore, John says he will congratulate rather than console them on joining the house of Helga Hufflepuff and Tonks. (playful) — 00:03:26
Humor (significant)
-
Asked which of his works he is most proud of, John answers with peanut butter on his face — 00:02:26
“I'm fairly proud of my career as a professional person who puts peanut butter on his face.”
-
Asked Elmo or Grover, John says the same song has been stuck in his head every morning and sings it — 00:02:34
“Elmo has two ducks. Quack. Quack. Two birds of a ... ahh! Grover.”
-
John insists Scotland's national animal is the bagpipes, argues it is an animal, then googles the real answer — 00:02:47
“Unicorns?! I hate them!”
-
John says he kept a diary from 1984 to 1988 and quotes a memorable entry — 00:03:35
“Today was a good day. My brother got sick.”
Threads in this video
- thanks · Hank asks viewers to sign up at nerdfighters.com for the secret August 24 project (2011) — John checks the date on 'my calendar' and says 'Thank you so much!', apparently thanking the Nerdfighters who made his birthday calendar. (00:00:00)
- progress update · John: sign every copy of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — John reports about 35,000 signed with a long way to go, and restates that all pre-orders of The Fault in Our Stars will be signed, wherever ordered. (00:00:58)
- callback · Peanut Butter Face: John discusses world news with peanut butter on his face (2008) — At a viewer's request John answers questions briefly with peanut butter on his face. (00:02:23)
- restate · What do editors do, and is a book one person's work? — John says Sarah contributed tons of ideas to his novels, from Looking for Alaska to Paper Towns, and hugely to The Fault in Our Stars. (00:03:05)
- reminder · John invites viewers to follow Hank's and John's new Tumblrs (2011) — John gives his Tumblr address, fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com, with a link in the doobly-doo. (00:02:19)
- retold · John takes the line 'Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia' from Sarah on their first date for Looking for Alaska (told 2016) — John says Sarah has contributed tons to his writing, from imagining the future as a kind of nostalgia in Looking for Alaska to the pranks in Paper Towns. (00:03:09)
Where the stories that moved here went next
- John: sign every copy of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — kept; last: recalled, 2024-12-31
Mentioned
Central: Looking for Alaska (novel) · Sarah Urist Green · The Fault in Our Stars
Also: Works: Nerdfighteria's 367-day calendar for John · Paper Towns · The Crack-Up
Organizations: Amazon · Pottermore · Tumblr · Twitter
Groups: The Mountain Goats
Rituals: Question Tuesday
Terms: Peanut Butter Face
Concepts: Zeno's paradoxes
Places: Canada · England · Luxembourg · Scotland
Characters: Elmo · Grover · Helga Hufflepuff · Hogwarts · Hufflepuff (“Ravenpuff”) · Muggle · Nymphadora Tonks · Ravenclaw (“Ravenpuff”)
Products: Sharpie
Myths: unicorn
Only in the description or credits: F. Scott Fitzgerald
← Previous: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN! · Next → A Letter to the Aliens