Optimism and Spider People: Question Tuesday from the Looking for Alaska Set

2019-03-26 · Q&A · John · 2:46 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Philosophy & meaning) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, on location, community lore

In a Question Tuesday from the Looking for Alaska set, John answers quick questions: he gets angry and discouraged by bad news but won't reduce vast human life to one narrative; he also covers a Rosalind Franklin biography, quitting smoking, peas, Corita Kent and memoir.

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 from the Looking for Alaska set: overrated fruit, a Rosalind Franklin biography

• ★★ Asked for book recommendations, John recommends a biography of Rosalind Franklin he enjoyed, currently propping up his tripod setup. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — How John stays happy when the news is bad

• ★★★ Asked how he stays happy given bad news, John says he doesn't: he gets angry and discouraged, but doesn't want to be merely that, since it doesn't reflect the whole human story. — 00:00:29 · optimism
• ★★★ John says lots of people married, had babies and made their best memories today; human life is vast, contains multitudes, and shouldn't be essentialized into one narrative. — 00:00:29 · optimism

00:00:58 — Myers-Briggs, and the best thing this week: the Alaska set, Vulture, peas

• ★★ John says he doesn't really believe in personality tests, but the questioner impressively guessed his Myers-Briggs result, INFP. — 00:00:58
• ★★ John says meeting all the actors and seeing all the sets for the Looking for Alaska show has been really amazing. — 00:00:58
• ★★ John says Vulture named The Anthropocene Reviewed one of its favorite podcasts. — 00:00:58 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (podcast)
• ★★ John says the best thing that happened to him this week (week of 25 March 2019) was planting peas in the garden with his kids. — 00:00:58

00:01:27 — Smoking, a Mountain Goats song, spiders, favourite word, Avengers, saints, a new book, memoir; sign-off

• ★★ Asked how he quit smoking, John says with nicotine gum; the hard part was quitting the gum. — 00:01:27
• ★ John says he sometimes cries listening to the Mountain Goats' 'The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton'. — 00:01:27
• ★★ John's favorite Catholic saint is probably St. Francis, but Sister Corita Kent would be his favorite if canonized, as a recent Art Assignment video explains. (hedged) — 00:01:57 · The Art Assignment
• ★★ Asked whether he'll ever write a new book, John says he hopes so. (hedged) — 00:02:26
• ★★ Asked about writing a memoir, John says he sort of does, monthly, in The Anthropocene Reviewed. — 00:02:26 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (podcast)
• ★ Asked 'over, under, or in between?', John answers 'through', citing Robert Frost: the only way out is through. (playful) — 00:02:26
• ★★ John signs off to go back to watching things he imagined 15 years ago become visible. — 00:02:26

Humor (significant)

• Asked for the most overrated fruit, John names a brand. — 00:00:00

  “For me, it's definitely Of the Loom. I just think massively overrated.”

• A viewer's parents have no sympathy for the spiders in their room. — 00:01:27

  “So I think the most likely underlying issue here is that your parents may be human-shaped conglomerations of spiders.”

• Asked which Avenger's superpower he'd want, John wants one who can think of roughly what an email should say. — 00:01:57

  “and then have a fully formed email appear in the compose box? Because that one.”

Threads in this video

• milestone · Looking for Alaska limited series on Hulu (2018) — John films Question Tuesday on the set where the Looking for Alaska Hulu show is being filmed, and has met the actors and seen the sets. (00:00:00)
• restate · Is it reasonable to be hopeful about the future? — Asked how he stays happy given bad news, John says he doesn't: he gets angry and discouraged, but doesn't want to be merely that, since it doesn't reflect the whole human story. (00:00:29)
• milestone · The Anthropocene Reviewed: John's podcast reviewing facets of the human-centered planet (2017) — John says Vulture named The Anthropocene Reviewed one of its favorite podcasts. (00:00:58)
• retold · John's teenage mistreatment of his body and later quitting smoking and running (c. 1993-2005) — Asked how he quit smoking, John says with nicotine gum; the hard part was quitting the gum. (00:01:27)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• Looking for Alaska limited series on Hulu (2018) — completed; last: looked back, 2024-02-06
• The Anthropocene Reviewed: John's podcast reviewing facets of the human-centered planet (2017) — completed; last: looked back, 2026-10-13

Mentioned

People: Corita Kent · Francis of Assisi · Robert Frost · Rosalind Franklin

Projects: The Anthropocene Reviewed (podcast) · The Art Assignment

Works: Avengers (film series) · Looking for Alaska (miniseries) · Myers–Briggs Type Indicator · The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton

Organizations: Fruit of the Loom (“Of the Loom”) · Hulu

Groups: The Mountain Goats

Rituals: Question Tuesday

Concepts: hermeneutics · memoir · personality test · tobacco smoking

Only in the description or credits: optimism · Vulture (organization)

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