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10 Years after September 11th, and Diablo III

2011-09-09 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:56 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society (also: Pop culture, Nerdfighteria) · mode: Announcements · tags: timely hook, heavy topic, self promotion, fundraising ask, community lore

Hank opens on the tenth anniversary of September 11th, arguing that a war on terror can never be won and that terror was never much of a danger, then rounds up posters, his Diablo III beta play, Ze Frank's star.me, a Mink Car tribute album for charity and Nerdfighters on Tumblr.

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; news coverage of ten years after September 11th; part one: Hank is ten years older and some viewers weren't alive then

  • ★★ Hank says the news is bombarding everyone with stories about the world ten years after September 11, 2001; he didn't want a whole video on it but starts there. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says he is ten years older and can't believe some people watching weren't alive when the attacks happened. — 00:00:17

00:00:29 — No one will win a war on terror, a policy against a noun; terror is not as dangerous as it sounds (lightning, drunk drivers)

  • ★★★ Hank says no one will ever win a war on terror: it is a policy, not a war; wars are won against armies, governments and countries, not nouns like terror. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank says that whenever a news show explains what we must do to win the war on terror, he wants to vomit. (playful) — 00:00:46
  • ★★★ Hank says that over twenty years worldwide, September 11th included, lightning killed more people than terrorists, and he is thousands of times likelier to die from a drunk driver. — 00:01:02
  • ★★★ Hank says terror is not nearly as scary as it sounds: not that you'll never be safe from terror, but that you always will be, because you always were. — 00:01:17

00:01:29 — Posters out of stock: back-order at DFTBA.com, restock hopefully by Monday

  • ★★ Hank says the posters are out of stock but should be back hopefully by Monday (12 September 2011); viewers can back-order them at DFTBA.com and they will ship when they arrive. (hedged) — 00:01:29 · DFTBA Records

00:01:42 — Part three: a Diablo III beta key; Hank starts playing on his gaming channel; gameplay snippet

  • ★★ Hank says a friend at Blizzard got him a Diablo III beta key, so he is starting to play Diablo III now on his gaming channel, and shows a snippet. — 00:01:42 · HankGames
  • ★ Hank warns that Diablo III is bloody, violent and scary. — 00:01:52

00:02:20 — Part four: Ze Frank's star.me mission of the day, making music from Hank's mouth sounds

  • ★★ Hank says Ze Frank's new website star.me has a mission of the day: create music on a clickable grid of sounds Hank made with his mouth. — 00:02:20

00:02:40 — Part five: They Might Be Giants' Mink Car (released September 11, 2001) and the nerdy-musician tribute album with Hank's 'Bangs'; proceeds to the FDNY Foundation

  • ★★ Hank notes that They Might Be Giants released their album Mink Car on September 11, 2001. — 00:02:40
  • ★★ Hank says he covered 'Bangs' for a tribute album of nerdy musicians covering all of Mink Car; it is the first track, which makes him nervous. — 00:02:43
  • ★★★ Hank says the tribute album, with Tom Milsom, Molly Lewis, MC Frontalot, Driftless Pony Club and Mike Lombardo, is on CD at minkcarcover.com, iTunes or Bandcamp, benefiting the FDNY Foundation. — 00:03:04

00:03:11 — Nerdfighters on Tumblr: Eff Yeah Nerdfighters, Sharkeye Jones's Pizza John art, anything with DFTBA can make someone's day; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says there are many great Nerdfighters on Tumblr, which amazes him as a place that encourages creation in a new, interesting, fun and fascinating way. — 00:03:11 · Tumblr, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Hank asks viewers to follow Eff Yeah Nerdfighters on Tumblr, which finds the best things in Nerdfighteria, such as Sharkeye Jones's laser-eyed Pizza John art. — 00:03:26 · Pizza John, Tumblr
  • ★★ Hank says anything anyone does with the letters DFTBA, however impermanent, might be seen by another Nerdfighter and make their day. — 00:03:36 · DFTBA, Nerdfighteria, DFTBA Records

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In the description Hank apologises to anyone upset or put off by his treatment of the September 11th anniversary and points to a blog post. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Whenever a news show says what we need to do to win the war on terror, Hank knows what he wants — 00:00:51

    “I want to vomit... onto their face.”

  • Hank's third lesson since September 11th — 00:00:57

    “not nearly as scary as it sounds, and that's probably why they call it "terror."”

  • Hank holds up one of the sold-out posters — 00:01:29

    “I have a poster, and you don't. Sorry about that.”

  • Hank narrates his Diablo III loot: superior chest armor, magic gloves — 00:02:01

    “And I got inferior pants!?”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Diablo III · Mink Car Cover · September 11 attacks · terrorism · War on terror

Also: Projects: DFTBA Records · Eff Yeah Nerdfighters · HankGames

Works: Bangs · Mink Car

Organizations: Bandcamp · Blizzard Entertainment · FDNY Foundation · star.me · Tumblr

Terms: DFTBA · Pizza John

Concepts: drunk driving · lightning

Products: iTunes

Only in the description or credits: Driftless Pony Club · MC Frontalot · Mike Lombardo · Molly Lewis · SharkeyeJones · They Might Be Giants · Tom Milsom · Ze Frank

Also centred on September 11 attacks: September 11th: Floorcats, Recycling Bins and Memories

Also centred on terrorism: Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration

Later videos replying to this one

Part of an exchange of 3 videos, 2011-09-07 – 2011-09-12.