Skip to content

COMMIT TO THE BIT

2022-09-30 · letter vlog · John · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Personal life, Pop culture) · mode: Personal essay · tags: calendar ritual, self promotion, community lore

Answering Hank's video on simple solutions, John argues that committing to the bit is the one unambiguously good thing, citing Jonathan Mann's daily songs, the brothers' All Star titles and a college road trip to Graceland, and says he and Hank should commit to more bits.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — John tells his Edgar Allan Poe bust it is now his second favorite mustachioed bust

  • ★★ John tells the bust of Edgar Allan Poe he won for Paper Towns 14 years ago that it is now his second favorite mustachioed bust, after a new one. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Paper Towns
  • ★★ Echoing Hank's video, John says simple solutions to complex problems are almost always inadequate: we want to be one flipped switch from a better life, but life doesn't work that way. — 00:00:24

00:00:29 — Simple solutions fail, except committing to the bit: Jonathan Mann's song a day and the All Star titles

  • ★★★ John says one thing is truly and unambiguously good: committing to the bit, which can't solve all problems but can bring joy. (playful) — 00:00:35 · commit to the bit
  • ★★ John says YouTuber Jonathan Mann has written, recorded and released a song every day for the last 5,019 days, an astonishing quality of bit commitment. — 00:00:54 · commit to the bit
  • ★★ John calls the brothers' decision to use every word of All Star's lyrics as video titles stupid, but says requiring commitment to the bit made it kind of beautiful. (playful) — 00:01:10

00:01:35 — College road trip from a diner in Mount Vernon, Ohio straight to Graceland

  • ★★ In college, at a diner in Mount Vernon, Ohio, a friend proposed seeing Graceland right now, and they paid and drove 11 hours straight there. — 00:01:35
  • ★★ John remembers the Graceland trip fondly not for Graceland but because they committed to the bit; going back for toothbrushes would have ruined it. — 00:01:55

00:02:04 — More bit commitment: Dolly Smith, Marina Abramovic and Ulay, a nine-year Reddit joke

  • ★★ John cites Dolly Smith, who for 70 years did not miss a single match of her beloved Derby County. — 00:02:04
  • ★★ John cites Marina Abramovic and her partner Ulay, who agreed to meet in the middle of the Great Wall of China and each walked over 2,000 kilometers. — 00:02:15
  • ★★ John cites a Reddit user who began a 'your mama' joke in 2012 and returned in 2021 to finish it, nine years later. — 00:02:28 · Reddit

00:02:33 — The Pizza John floor rug as proof of commitment

  • ★★ John says buying the Pizza John floor rug shows utter commitment to the bit; no one will question your commitment with it on your floor. (playful) — 00:02:36 · Pizza John

00:03:02 — The brothers should commit to existing and new bits; the Dear Hank and John fiddle listener; the proverb; sign-off

  • ★★★ John says he and Hank need a hard look in the mirror: are they doing everything they can to commit to existing bits and discover new ones? — 00:03:06 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John recalls a Dear Hank and John listener who planned to secretly learn the fiddle and surprise their family with a concert; he doesn't know if they did, but enough time has passed. (unsure) — 00:03:17 · Dear Hank and John
  • ★★ John closes by bending a proverb: the best time to commit to a bit was 20 years ago; the second best time is today. (playful) — 00:03:44 · The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago

In the description and comments

  • ★ In a comment, John admits he got the day of the week wrong in the video, as he has since 2007. (playful) — creator comment
  • ★★ In a comment, John asks viewers what bit they want the brothers to commit to. — creator comment

Humor (significant)

  • John greets his Edgar Award bust of Poe as an old friend and breaks bad news to it. — 00:00:00

    “You are now my second favorite mustachioed bust.”

  • John lists a Reddit user who left a 'your mama' joke unfinished in 2012. — 00:02:04

    “she took nine years to finish this joke”

  • John explains he keeps moving his Pizza John rug to new rooms, waiting for Sarah to walk in. — 00:03:02

    “I wait for Sarah to come in and be like, "Gah!"”

  • John invokes 'the ancient proverb' about when to plant a tree. — 00:03:32

    “the best time to commit to a bit was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: commit to the bit

Also: People: Dolly Smith · Edgar Allan Poe · Elvis Presley · Jonathan Mann · Marina Abramovic · Sarah Urist Green · Ulay

Projects: Dear Hank and John

Works: All Star · Paper Towns

Organizations: Derby County F.C. · Reddit

Terms: Pizza John

Places: Graceland · Great Wall of China · Mount Vernon, Ohio

Memes: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago (“the ancient proverb”)

Only in the description or credits: Pizzamas

Also centred on commit to the bit: Pretend You Don't Know This · The Point of Life

Replies to

← Previous: The Kony 2012 of Roads - Solar Freakin' Roadways · Next → Let's Play Trombone Champ!