Sharpie Face Question Tuesday

2012-03-20 · Q&A · John · 3:39 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Books & writing) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, community lore, self promotion

With Sharpie on his face, John answers rapid-fire Nerdfighter questions: Fox 2000 has optioned The Fault in Our Stars, the book is number 2 on the bestseller list, he's off to Amsterdam, the Kiva group hit $500,000, and Crash Course lets him live his teacher dream.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Spelled-out Question Tuesday greeting

00:00:03 — Sharpie Face; John's involvement in the TFIOS movie; Fox 2000 has optioned the film rights

★★ Asked whether he will do Sharpie Face, John agrees, but only for the answers. (playful) — 00:00:03 · Sharpie Face
★★ John says he will be involved in the TFIOS movie in any way he can be helpful, but he is not a movie person. — 00:00:10 · The Fault in Our Stars (film)
★★★ John says Fox 2000 optioned the movie rights to The Fault in Our Stars; hopefully they will make it, but it is too soon to get excited. (hedged) — 00:00:16 · Fox 2000 Pictures, The Fault in Our Stars, The Fault in Our Stars (film)

00:00:24 — Netherlands trip and Amsterdam gathering; ever been drunk (Mardi Gras); champagne poppers retired, then popped for the Kiva group's $500,000

★★ John says he is going to the Netherlands this week (week of 19 March 2012); there will be a Nerdfighter gathering in Amsterdam on Friday night, with info in the description. — 00:00:26 · Amsterdam, Nerdfighteria
★★ John says he stopped doing champagne poppers because, as a grown man making video blogs meant to be taken seriously, they aren't part of his brand. (playful) — 00:00:40
★★★ John announces that the Nerdfighter Kiva group has hit $500,000, and celebrates with a champagne popper. (playful) — 00:00:44 · Bank of Nerdfighteria

00:00:53 — Drugs (antibiotics); grammar corrections and humiliation in YouTube comments; feeling old

★★★ John says he only gets annoyed when people use grammar to humiliate others in YouTube comments, rather than for its purpose: making language as clear and intelligible as possible. — 00:01:06 · YouTube

00:01:25 — Who should play Hazel and Augustus; TFIOS at number 2 on the New York Times list behind Hugo Cabret

★★ Asked who should play Hazel and Augustus, John says he knows nothing of contemporary actors (Drew Barrymore is still 17 in his mind) and asks who viewers would want. (playful) — 00:01:28 · Hazel Grace Lancaster, Augustus Waters, The Fault in Our Stars (film)
★★★ John says The Fault in Our Stars is currently number 2 on the New York Times bestseller list, behind only Hugo Cabret, a book he really liked. — 00:01:41 · The Fault in Our Stars, The New York Times

00:01:52 — Rapid fire: Toronto librarians' strike, writing, Hamlet, fishing boat proceeds, next book vs zombie story, Zeno, Batman, drawing, Swedish hip-hop, Who the eff is Hank, the pending punishment

★★ Told 2,300 librarians are on strike in Toronto, John says he stands with the librarians, or will quietly support them from a distance if they don't want a guy with Sharpie face. (playful) — 00:01:55 · Sharpie Face
★★ John says he is not working on a new book yet: he has to finish his 'stupid bad zombie story' first. — 00:02:11
★ John names Zeno as his all-time favorite Greek philosopher, maybe obvious to readers of The Fault in Our Stars. — 00:02:15 · The Fault in Our Stars
★★ John recommends the Swedish hip-hop of Afasi och Filthy, best enjoyed if you don't speak Swedish, and Snook. — 00:02:29
★ Asked 'Who the eff is Hank?', John answers that Hank is a cat running for the US Senate from Virginia. (joke) — 00:02:33 · Who the Eff Is Hank
★★ John says that on tour Hank told him his punishment would strike when he least expects it; it still hasn't happened, so maybe Hank has forgotten. (playful, hedged) — 00:02:39 · Hank Green, Punishment

00:02:47 — Why Hazel is called Hazel; geeks vs nerds; living his teacher dream through Crash Course

★★★ John explains Hazel's name: hazel is an in-between color and she has an in-between life, between health and sickness, adolescence and adulthood, swimming and drowning. — 00:02:49 · Hazel Grace Lancaster, The Fault in Our Stars
★★ On geeks vs nerds, John says the fact that both are so fascinated with the question suggests they have a lot in common. (hedged) — 00:02:59
★★ John says he always wanted to be a teacher, and thanks to Crash Course he kind of can be: he is living his teacher dream. (hedged) — 00:03:08 · Crash Course

00:03:17 — Sharpie headache; Crash Course theme plays out; check out the show; friend-zone thanks to Hank; sign-off

★★ John lets the Crash Course theme play the video out and asks Nerdfighters who haven't checked out the show to do so. — 00:03:20 · Crash Course, Nerdfighteria
★ John thanks Hank for helping him out of the friend zone, 'as if' he was ever friend-zoned. (playful) — 00:03:24 · Hank Green, Friend zone

Humor (significant)

John explains champagne poppers no longer fit his serious grown-man brand, then learns the Kiva group's total. — 00:00:44

“What, the nerdfighter Kiva group hit $500,000? Shibam! Ow.”
Asked if he has had any experience with drugs, John says yes, quite a lot. — 00:00:55

“this class of drugs called Antibiotics did an amazing job of helping me to not be dead.”
Asked what Batman and sixteen sodiums have in common. — 00:02:21

“Na na na na na na na na na na”
Asked the old question 'Who the eff is Hank?', John gives another joke answer. — 00:02:34

“Hank is a cat running for the United States Senate from the great state of Virginia.”

Threads in this video

milestone · John's Nerdfighter gathering in Amsterdam (2012) — John's description says the tickets for his Friday-evening Amsterdam event are sold out. (video description)
callback · John's Sharpie Face: answering questions with Sharpie drawn on his face (2012) — Asked to do Sharpie Face, John answers this Question Tuesday with Sharpie drawn on his face, complaining that it burns, smells toxic and makes his head hurt. (00:00:03)
milestone · The Fault in Our Stars film adaptation (2012) — John reports that Fox 2000 has optioned the movie rights to The Fault in Our Stars; hopefully the film will be made. (00:00:16)
announced · John's Nerdfighter gathering in Amsterdam (2012) — John announces a Nerdfighter gathering in Amsterdam on Friday night (23 March 2012) during his trip to the Netherlands this week (week of 19 March 2012), with details in the description. (00:00:26)
retired · John's champagne-popper celebrations (2012) — Asked why he no longer does champagne poppers, John says they don't fit his serious brand, then pops one at the Kiva news ('Shibam! Ow.'). (00:00:38)
milestone · Bank of Nerdfighteria: the Nerdfighters' Kiva lending team — John announces the Nerdfighter Kiva group has hit $500,000. (00:00:44)
restate · Should language follow fixed rules of correct usage? — John says grammar's purpose is to make language as clear and intelligible as possible; using it to humiliate people in YouTube comments annoys him. (00:01:06)
milestone · The Fault in Our Stars: writing, title and publication (2011) — John says The Fault in Our Stars is currently number 2 on the New York Times bestseller list, behind only Hugo Cabret. (00:01:41)
variation · 'Who the F is Hank?': John's joke answers (2008) — Answering 'Who the eff is Hank?', John says Hank is a cat running for the United States Senate from Virginia. (00:02:33)
set · John: surprise punishment from Hank that will 'strike when he least expects it' (2012) — John recalls that on tour Hank told him his punishment would strike at the moment he least expects; it has not happened yet, and maybe Hank forgot. (00:02:39)
reminder · John asks viewers to subscribe to Crash Course and SciShow (2011) — John asks Nerdfighters who haven't checked out Crash Course to do so. (00:03:20)