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Doing Things, On the Importance of

2013-02-19 · list · John · 3:40 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Projects (also: Personal life, Books & writing, Sports) · mode: Announcements · tags: self promotion, community lore

After a big week John feels the familiar anxious pull to crawl into bed, so he updates Hank on twelve projects instead, thanking him for the ideas that pull him out of the quicksand of himself.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — A big week (TFIOS back at No. 1, second child on the way, the President on pennies) and John's urge to crawl into bed; he will update Hank on twelve things

  • ★★ John's novel The Fault in Our Stars returned to number one on the New York Times bestseller list, 56 weeks after it came out. — 00:00:00 · The Fault in Our Stars, The New York Times
  • ★★ John and his wife are expecting their second child, whom the President told not to forget to be awesome. — 00:00:05 · Sarah Urist Green, Barack Obama, DFTBA
  • ★★ Most importantly, John says, for the first time in American history a sitting President acknowledged that pennies are a terrible idea and a metaphor for what's wrong with government. (playful) — 00:00:14 · Barack Obama, United States
  • ★★★ After incredible weeks John has always been overwhelmed with anxiety and wanted to crawl into bed for good; calling that a bad life strategy, he updates Hank on twelve things instead. — 00:00:24

00:00:40 — Thing 1: Mental Floss, where John got his first writing gig, is coming to YouTube with the brothers

  • ★★ John's advice to people starting as writers is to find others who are also starting out and work with them; his own first writing gig was with Mental Floss. — 00:00:40
  • ★★★ Mental Floss, now an educational and trivia empire, has never had a YouTube channel; John and Hank are working on bringing it to YouTube, with list videos, quizzes and a cool intro. — 00:00:49 · YouTube, Hank Green

00:01:05 — Things 2-3: P4A charities not yet announced; the TFIOS movie may really happen - don't believe Los Angeles gossip

00:01:39 — Things 4-5: DFTBA Records moves into an abandoned nursery school and sells creators' merch; John's writing ('I'm trying')

  • ★★ DFTBA Records has taken over an abandoned nursery school in Missoula and is bigger than ever; it aims to sell cool stuff that supports people you like, from CGP Grey and Wheezy Waiter merch to a poster partly designed by a 16-year-old Norwegian girl. — 00:01:39 · DFTBA Records, Missoula, Montana, Craig Benzine
  • ★ On his own writing, John says only that he is trying. — 00:02:01

00:02:05 — Thing 6: the last FIFA 11 Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers video; John offers to manage the real Swindon Town

  • ★★ The last FIFA 11 Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers video goes up tomorrow, deciding whether they win the Premier League and complete the miracle of Swindon Town. — 00:02:07

00:02:25 — Things 7-8: Crash Course Chemistry and US History; VidCon 2013 tickets nearly gone

  • ★★ Hank has just started teaching chemistry on Crash Course; it sounded unpromising but has been entertaining and interesting, and John is learning. — 00:02:25 · Crash Course, Hank Green
  • ★★ John is three episodes into teaching the history of the United States, which he jokingly calls Canada's pants. (playful) — 00:02:34 · Crash Course, United States
  • ★★ Most VidCon 2013 tickets are gone, so people who want one should get one now; John expects it to be really fun. — 00:02:39 · VidCon
  • ★ VidCon will be the first time John leaves the house after the baby's birth; by 'party' he means sleeping eight hours in a row. (playful) — 00:02:45 · VidCon

00:02:56 — Things 9-12: credit for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the Kiva Nerdfighters near $2 million, parenting, the 2D glasses empire; Hank's ideas pull John out of the quicksand; sign-off

  • ★★ John gets several emails a day praising his work on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which he is not involved with at all, though he is happy to take credit. (playful) — 00:02:56
  • ★★ The Nerdfighters of Kiva are approaching two million dollars in loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. — 00:03:06 · Bank of Nerdfighteria
  • ★ Parenting is still John's biggest job at the moment. — 00:03:14
  • ★★ Hank's 2D glasses, which render 3D movies in two dimensions, were an idea John thought terrible that turned out brilliant; the 2D glasses empire grows by the day. (playful) — 00:03:14 · Hank Green

  • ★★★ Hank has way too many ideas, but John thanks him for them because they pull him out of the quicksand of himself and force him to get to work. — 00:03:28 · Hank Green

    “they pull me out of the quicksand of myself, and force me to get to work.”

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In the description John asks viewers to subscribe to the Mental Floss YouTube channel, which he says the brothers host. — video description · YouTube

Humor (significant)

  • After TFIOS returning to No. 1 and a second child on the way, John says 'but most importantly' a sitting President... — 00:00:17

    “acknowledged that pennies are a terrible idea.”

  • Noting that the real Swindon Town Football Club needs a manager, John makes a formal offer. — 00:02:22

    “and I just wanna state for the record - I am available!”

  • VidCon will be John's first outing since the baby's birth, so he'll be ready to party. — 00:02:51

    “And by party, I mean sleep for 8 hours in a row. You know what I'm talking about, parents!”

  • John gets daily emails praising his work on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which he has nothing to do with. — 00:03:02

    “However, I am happy to take credit for it!”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Mental Floss

Also: People: Ashild · Barack Obama · CGP Grey · Craig Benzine · Sarah Urist Green

Projects: Bank of Nerdfighteria · Crash Course · DFTBA Records · Project for Awesome · The Miracle of Swindon Town · VidCon

Works: 2D Glasses · FIFA 11 · Our Little Infinity poster · The Fault in Our Stars · The Fault in Our Stars (film) · The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Organizations: Kiva · PayPal · Premier League · Swindon Town FC · The New York Times · YouTube

Terms: DFTBA

Places: Hollywood · Los Angeles · Missoula, Montana · United States

Characters: Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers

Policies: Abolish the US penny

Also centred on Mental Floss: The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour

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