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Somebody Once Asked . . .

2020-07-21 · Q&A · John · 3:54 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Global development) · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: recurring series, community lore, fundraising ask, timely hook

Bringing back Question Tuesday, John gives quick answers to viewer questions (silver linings, owls, All Star, Wallet Island on Google Maps, worrying), updates the Partners In Health Sierra Leone project amid COVID-19, and says he is taking next week off.

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 rapid answers: favorite creatures, Hank's bestseller, silver linings and Clint Smith's poem, last hug, morning routine, All Star, owl overlords

  • ★ Asked his favorite creature of land, sea and sky, John answers humans, humans who are currently swimming, and owls. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John notes that Hank's A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a New York Times bestseller and congratulates him. — 00:00:00 · A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, The New York Times, Hank Green
  • ★★★ John thinks we need silver linings in hard times: joyful experiences should still be joyful, and good news should be sought, welcomed and celebrated. — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ What John is suspicious of is attempts to make silver linings out of suffering itself, especially other people's suffering. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John recommends Clint Smith's poem 'When People Say We Have Made It Through Worse Before', linked below, which opens on the graves of those who did not make it. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ The last time John hugged someone outside his immediate family was March 11th, and it was Hank. — 00:00:29 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John's morning routine: wake up, dress, brush his teeth and doomscroll through COVID news for 45 minutes; he wouldn't recommend it. (playful) — 00:00:29 · COVID-19 pandemic
  • ★ Asked his favorite line of All Star, John says it is weird that people keep asking him about this 19-year-old pop song, then names a favorite line. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:58
  • ★ Asked what owls are plotting, John says he will welcome owl overlords and be excited when they take over because they dislike how we have handled all this. (joke) — 00:00:58

00:01:28 — Partners In Health Sierra Leone update: COVID-19 at Koidu Government Hospital, contact tracing, baby care unit, mental health care

  • ★★★ John explains that the brothers are helping Partners In Health and Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health in a multi-year project to strengthen the healthcare system, focused on maternal mortality. — 00:01:28 · Partners In Health, Sierra Leone, maternal death
  • ★★★ The pandemic challenges health systems everywhere: Koidu Government Hospital's emergency department closed for a time after health workers caught the virus and others had to self-isolate, leaving no replacements. — 00:01:28 · COVID-19 pandemic, Koidu Government Hospital, Partners In Health, Sierra Leone
  • ★★★ The emergency department is running again; PIH has been deeply involved in contact tracing and screening across Sierra Leone, and cases are down 18% from their peak. — 00:01:56 · Partners In Health, Sierra Leone
  • ★★ PIH Sierra Leone's contact-tracing expertise has been vital worldwide; Partners In Health is heading up Massachusetts's contact tracing program. — 00:01:56 · Partners In Health, Sierra Leone
  • ★★ Later this month (July 2020) a special baby care unit opens at Koidu Government Hospital, which John calls a huge milestone for infant care. — 00:01:56 · Koidu Government Hospital
  • ★★ John has heard that health workers in PPE and the smell of chlorine can trigger people with PTSD after surviving the Ebola crisis. (hedged) — 00:02:26
  • ★★★ There is encouraging news but it is very difficult; any effective healthcare response must include mental health care and real listening and reassurance. — 00:02:26 · mental disorder
  • ★★ John cites Dr. Marta Patino's summary of the approach to care in this crisis: kindness, patience, information, empathy. — 00:02:26

00:02:52 — Donations thanks, Wallet Island on Google Maps, schools reopening, worrying, Hank on TikTok, a new book, online communities, vacation

  • ★★★ The community's response has been incredible: donations have kept going up every month despite everything; John thanks donors and points to pih.org/hankandjohn. — 00:02:52 · Nerdfighteria, Partners In Health
  • ★★ Wallet Island being on Google Maps feels lovely: it would be a wonderful coda to Paper Towns if a place that only exists sometimes became real by being named on a map. — 00:02:52 · Paper Towns
  • ★★ John is worried about schools reopening. — 00:02:52
  • ★ John's most common quarantine activity is worrying, with no close second. (playful) — 00:02:52
  • ★★ Having a TikTok-famous brother feels mostly good to John, but a little worrying. — 00:03:21 · Hank Green, TikTok
  • ★★★ John says he is writing another book. — 00:03:21
  • ★★ To make friends online, John recommends online Nerdfighter communities, linked in the doobly-doo. — 00:03:21 · Nerdfighteria, doobly-doo
  • ★★ Last year (2019) Nerdfighteria voted to give the brothers three weeks of vacation per year; John has not used much of it. — 00:03:21 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ John is taking next week (week of 27 July 2020) off because his brain requires it, and hopes that is okay. — 00:03:21

00:03:50 — Sign-off

In the description and comments

Humor (significant)

  • Asked what owls are plotting, John embraces their takeover. — 00:00:58

    “Oh, I for one will welcome our new owl overlords.”

  • John lists his morning routine, ending in 45 minutes of COVID doomscrolling. — 00:00:29

    “I wouldn't recommend it.”

  • After naming his favorite line of All Star, John jokes about the ten-hour loop. — 00:00:58

    “I could listen to that for like 10 hours, by which I mean I really could listen to that for 10 hours.”

  • Asked his most common quarantine activity. — 00:02:52

    “Oh, worrying. There's not even a close second.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Partners In Health

Also: People: Clint Smith · Marta Patino

Works: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor · All Star · Paper Towns · When People Say We Have Made It through Worse Before

Organizations: Koidu Government Hospital · Ministry of Health and Sanitation (Sierra Leone) · The New York Times · TikTok

Rituals: Question Tuesday

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: contact tracing · doomscrolling · maternal death · mental disorder · owl · post-traumatic stress disorder

Places: Massachusetts · Sierra Leone · Wallet Island

Events: COVID-19 pandemic · Western African Ebola virus epidemic

Products: Google Maps

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