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Defying Wadsworth!

2011-10-14 · letter vlog · John · 3:57 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Projects (also: Internet & YouTube, Books & writing) · mode: Announcements · tags: song or performance, self promotion, community lore

John defies the 'Wadsworth constant' (the first 30% of a YouTube video is skippable) with joke tips on cheaper pumpkins and faking having read Ulysses, reports he has signed over 100,000 times for The Fault in Our Stars, and plugs Nerd Factor winner Laurena Segura's EP on DFTBA Records, playing her song 'Fireflies of Montreal'.

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 ('it's Wednesday'); defying the Wadsworth constant with an entertaining first 30%: pumpkin-juice pro tip, three Ulysses quotations to fake having read it, 'insert arguably'

  • ★★ John vows to defy the Wadsworth constant, which holds that the first 30% of a YouTube video is always skippable, by filling his first 30% with entertaining, informative tips. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Wadsworth constant, YouTube
  • ★ Joke pro tip: since pumpkins are sold by the pound, bring a screwdriver and a straw to the pumpkin farm and suck out the pumpkin juice for a cheaper pumpkin. (joke) — 00:00:06
  • ★★ To seem to have read James Joyce's Ulysses without reading it, John says to memorise three quotations, the last 'arguably the first eight words of postmodernism', then jokes that adding 'arguably' to any claim makes it true. (playful) — 00:00:21

00:00:47 — Signed his name over 100,000 times for the TFIOS first printing; not cheating or using a stamp; shown signing

  • ★★★ John has now signed his name over 100,000 times in his mission to sign every copy of the first printing of The Fault in Our Stars; to those who think he cheats or uses a stamp, he shows himself signing. — 00:00:47 · The Fault in Our Stars

00:01:01 — Nerd Factor winner Laurena Segura's EP out on iTunes through DFTBA Records; her song 'Fireflies of Montreal' plays

  • ★★★ Laurena Segura, Nerd Factor winner for her song 'Permafrost', has an EP out on iTunes through DFTBA Records by popular demand, with 'Permafrost', a song in French and 'Fireflies of Montreal', which John plays. — 00:01:01 · DFTBA Records

00:03:32 — Laurena replacing Hank as third favorite band; iTunes link; Hank still favorite video blogger; 'video on Wednesday... it was on Monday', bad at days; sign-off; gesticulation

  • ★ John jokes that Laurena is fast replacing Hank as his third favorite band, but Hank is still his favorite video blogger. (playful) — 00:03:32
  • ★★ John points viewers to the iTunes link for Laurena Segura's EP in the doobly-doo. — 00:03:37 · doobly-doo
  • ★ John mixes up days: he praises Hank's "video on Wednesday", corrects himself ("it was on Monday") and says he is so bad at days. (playful) — 00:03:41

Humor (significant)

  • Pro tip: pumpkins are sold by the pound, so bring a screwdriver and a straw to the pumpkin farm. — 00:00:15

    “suck out some pumpkin juice, and bam! Cheaper pumpkin!”

  • John calls a Ulysses line 'arguably the first eight words of postmodernism'. — 00:00:39

    “Pro tip: insert 'arguably' into a sentence, and it becomes true!”

  • After playing Laurena Segura's song, John addresses Hank. — 00:03:32

    “Laurena is fast replacing you as my third favorite band.”

  • John praises Hank's 'video on Wednesday' and starts to look forward to the next one. — 00:03:41

    “Gah! I'm so bad at days!”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Fireflies of Montreal · Laurena Segura

Also: Projects: DFTBA Records · Nerd Factor

Works: Harry Potter (book series) · Permafrost · The Fault in Our Stars · Ulysses

Organizations: YouTube

Terms: doobly-doo

Products: iTunes

Memes: Wadsworth constant

Only in the description or credits: Halloween (holiday) · James Joyce

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