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Signing Psychosis Takes Over

2011-10-24 · letter vlog · John · 3:16 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Nerdfighteria, History & curiosities, Health) · mode: Personal update · tags: community lore, self promotion, civic or action cta, on location

John, comically 'mad' from signing The Fault in Our Stars (25,000 copies left before November 3), asks Nerdfighteria to research the fake ruins in an Indianapolis park, plugs a reading and the final Beckoning of Lovely event, and says he means to mock himself, not mental illness.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Signing psychosis: a suit made of signatures, crazy eyes, thanks to Nerdfighteria for dressing badly too, a sanity test with Willy

  • ★★ John, in the grip of 'signing psychosis', wears a suit made of signatures he cannot remember the reason for and asks viewers to ignore his crazy eyes. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John thanks everyone for joining in Signing Psychosis: Nerdfighteria's fashion sense is getting worse along with his, which makes him feel better. (playful) — 00:00:09 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:41 — The TFiOS-o-meter: 25,000 copies left, 5,300 signed in 14 hours yesterday, pace needed until November 3; anxiety and a barbaric yawp

  • ★★★ John is under stress from signing The Fault in Our Stars: 25,000 copies remain and he has few non-travel days left, so he is freaking out. — 00:00:41 · The Fault in Our Stars
  • ★★★ John signed 5,300 books yesterday in about 14 hours and must keep that pace every non-travel day until November 3 to finish. — 00:01:13 · The Fault in Our Stars
  • ★★ John hopes he finishes, because otherwise some viewers will get unsigned books and be mad at him, and he at himself. (hedged) — 00:01:25

00:01:59 — At Holiday Park in a zombie unicorn hat: John asks Nerdfighteria to research the fake ruins in the park, using the Ning or YouTube comments since Your Pants is broken

  • ★★★ At Holiday Park in Indianapolis, John asks Nerdfighters to explain the park's weird fake ruins, hoping their combined research powers can figure them out. — 00:02:07 · Nerdfighteria, Indianapolis
  • ★★ John recalls that Nerdfighters uncovered the story of Ivan the Terrible's library and found the truth about Gussie Manlove. — 00:02:11 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says the ruins in the Indianapolis park were built as fake ruins but have kind of become real ruins through decades of neglect. (hedged) — 00:02:16 · Indianapolis
  • ★★ Your Pants, which would suit this research, is still broken, so John suggests a forum on the Ning or the YouTube comments instead. (playful) — 00:02:30 · Nerdfighter Ning, YouTube

00:02:44 — Sign-off; P.S.: TFiOS reading in Indianapolis on November 1 and the final Beckoning of Lovely event at the Bean in Chicago on November 11

00:03:01 — P.P.S.: John, who has struggled with mental illness, means to make fun of himself, not of mental illness; muddled sign-off

  • ★★★ John says he knows many Nerdfighters, himself included, have struggled or are struggling with mental illness. — 00:03:04 · mental disorder, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ Though he is using words like 'crazy' and 'psychosis', John says he does not want to make fun of mental illness but of himself. — 00:03:09 · mental disorder

In the description and comments

  • ★★ John notes there will be no signing or reading at the Beckoning of Lovely event: it is not about him, and he will be just one of many people trying to beckon lovely into the world. — video description · The Beckoning of Lovely

Humor (significant)

  • John wonders whether the Sharpie chemicals are making him crazy and asks whether he is the sanest person in the room. — 00:00:25

    “I'm the only person in the room.”

  • To test his sanity John 'acquires another person': his dog Willy. — 00:00:35

    “There's no such thing as a mog, which are you?!”

  • John thanks Nerdfighteria for the stress of signing every pre-ordered copy of his book. — 00:01:13

    “the world's first-est first-world problem”

  • In a suit and a zombie unicorn hat, filming himself in Holiday Park, John wonders why people look at him funny. — 00:02:02

    “What else do you expect to see in a public park on a Monday morning?”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: mental disorder · ruins in Holiday Park (placeholder) · The Fault in Our Stars

Also: People: Gussie

Projects: Nerdfighter Ning · Your Pants

Works: Library of Ivan the Terrible · Song of Myself · The Beckoning of Lovely

Organizations: YouTube

Terms: doobly-doo

Places: Chicago (city) · Cloud Gate · Holiday Park · Indianapolis

Products: Sharpie

Memes: First World problem (“first-world problem”)

animal: Willy

Only in the description or credits: Butler University · Clowes Memorial Hall

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