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My Hollywood Star, Brexit Pears, and Hank's Book: It's QUESTION TUESDAY

2018-01-16 · Q&A · John · 3:41 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Pop culture, Books & writing, World affairs, Projects, Science & nature, Philosophy & meaning) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, self promotion, community lore

In a Question Tuesday, John praises Hank's first novel and his song This Isn't Hogwarts, likens Brexit to regretted pears, defends Daisy's claim that Attack of the Clones is the most underrated Star Wars film, announces his HankGames series John Green Solves Your Problem, reports 25 P4A grant charities, ranks disease first among likely causes of human extinction and argues, with Eudora Welty, that a quiet life can be as daring as a full one.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Question Tuesday: reading Hank's first novel and An Introduction to Global Health Delivery; the kids' love of This Isn't Hogwarts

  • ★★★ John has just read an amazing, properly brilliant book by first novelist Hank Green, but won't say more until it is available for pre-order. — 00:00:06 · Hank Green, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
  • ★★ John is now reading An Introduction to Global Health Delivery, quite different from Hank's book but also excellent. — 00:00:14 · global health
  • ★★ John's kids have discovered that their Uncle Hank is a musician on Spotify and won't stop listening to him. — 00:00:22 · Hank Green
  • ★★ Having heard This Isn't Hogwarts countless times in two weeks, John has to say it is pretty darn good. (playful) — 00:00:31

00:00:37 — Brexit and pears; apples over pears

  • ★★ Asked about Brexit and pears, John likens it to buying a ton of pears for future you, then regretting it and finding you cannot return them. (playful) — 00:00:48
  • ★ John prefers apples to pears. — 00:01:03

00:01:07 — Daisy is right: Attack of the Clones is the most underrated Star Wars movie

  • ★★ Answering a hostile question, John says Daisy in Turtles All the Way Down is wrong about a lot but right that Attack of the Clones is the most underrated Star Wars movie. (playful) — 00:01:16 · Turtles All the Way Down
  • ★★ John ranks the films: Empire best and A New Hope excellent (correctly rated), Jedi slightly overrated, Rogue One and Force Awakens right, Phantom Menace worst, Sith best prequel, so Attack of the Clones is most underrated. (playful) — 00:01:20

00:01:44 — New HankGames series John Green Solves Your Problem; the 25 P4A grant charities

  • ★★★ John has a new series on HankGames, John Green Solves Your Problem, in which he plays FIFA while solving people's problems. — 00:01:45 · HankGames
  • ★★ So far John has solved an unreachable back itch and a taste too expensive for someone's budget; over many episodes he hopes to solve all of the problems. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:51
  • ★★★ Twenty-five charities will get grants from this year's (2018) Project for Awesome; John congratulates them and thanks everyone who donated. — 00:02:03 · Project for Awesome

00:02:11 — Rapid answers: stress, Heathers, midlife crisis, nature, TATWD merch, Hulk, Paul Manafort, the other John Green's Hollywood star

  • ★★ Asked how he deals with stress, John answers: poorly. — 00:02:12
  • ★ John's favourite Winona Ryder movie is Heathers. — 00:02:14
  • ★★ Asked whether he is having a midlife crisis yet, John says maybe a little bit. (hedged) — 00:02:16
  • ★★★ Nature is very important to John: we are nature just as much as birds and trees are. (hedged) — 00:02:19
  • ★★ There is Turtles All the Way Down merch at DFTBA.com: posters and a pencil set with quotes from the book. — 00:02:28 · Turtles All the Way Down, DFTBA Records
  • ★ John's favourite Marvel character is probably the Hulk. (hedged) — 00:02:33
  • ★★ Asked his favourite DC character, John names Paul Manafort: he cannot look away from the Manafort storyline. (playful, hedged) — 00:02:37
  • ★★ Asked whether he is upset 'about this' (referent unclear), John says no, he is just glad his books can be useful. — 00:02:42
  • ★★ John has no star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; that star belongs to the John Green who won five Oscars. — 00:02:47
  • ★★ John once won an MTV Movie Award. (playful) — 00:02:49

00:02:53 — Most likely ways for humans to go extinct: disease, AI, war

  • ★★★ John, who thinks about it a fair amount, ranks disease as the most likely way for humans to go extinct, then AI or a post-human species, then an extinction-level war. (hedged) — 00:02:57
  • ★★ John still thinks microorganisms are most likely to be our undoing, but sees a growing possibility that we will be our own undoing. (hedged) — 00:03:09

00:03:14 — 'Living your life to the fullest' is flawed; Eudora Welty on the sheltered life; sign-off

  • ★★★ John doesn't know how to stop worrying but thinks 'living your life to the fullest' is flawed: jumping out of a plane isn't better than reading, nor an Instagram-worthy life more meaningful than a quiet one. (hedged) — 00:03:17 · Instagram

  • ★★ Eudora Welty (quoted): Quoting Eudora Welty, John says a sheltered life can be a daring life as well, since all serious daring starts from within; so live your life. — 00:03:32

    “A sheltered life can be a daring life as well, for all serious daring starts from within.”

Humor (significant)

  • Asked about Brexit and pears, John describes buying a ton of pears for future him and regretting it — 00:00:41

    “But you can't return pears.”

  • After two answers about Hank, John catches himself — 00:00:33

    “Is this becoming a Hank Green appreciation vlog?! No more Hank for the rest of the video.”

  • Asked for his favourite DC character, John names a real political figure — 00:02:35

    “Right now, probably Paul Manafort.”

  • Asked when he got his Hollywood star, John says it belongs to the namesake who won five Oscars — 00:02:44

    “not me who once won an MTV movie award.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Human extinction · Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

Also: People: Eudora Welty · John Green (oscar winner) · Paul Manafort · Winona Ryder

Projects: DFTBA Records · HankGames · Project for Awesome

Works: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing · An Introduction to Global Health Delivery · FIFA (video game series) · Heathers · Return of the Jedi · Rogue One · Star Wars · Star Wars (film) · Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace · Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith · Star Wars: The Force Awakens · The Empire Strikes Back · This Isn't Hogwarts · Turtles All the Way Down

Organizations: DC Comics · Instagram · Marvel Entertainment · Spotify

Rituals: Question Tuesday

Concepts: artificial intelligence · infectious disease

Places: Hollywood Walk of Fame

Events: Academy Awards · Brexit · MTV Movie & TV Awards

Characters: Daisy Ramirez · Hulk

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