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Viewer questions, 2021

41 viewer questions, requests and challenges answered in 10 videos uploaded in 2021, grouped by topic (the domain of the part of the video the answer is in), in upload order within a topic. Each question is followed by the answer as summarised, with the speaker and timestamp. Question Tuesday marks the Q&A series. Back to the overview.

Topics: Books & writing (13) · Nerdfighteria (11) · Internet & YouTube (7) · Health (3) · Projects (3) · Science & nature (2) · Personal life (1) · Pop culture (1)

Books & writing

  • Q: “What's the difference between the physical book and the audiobook?” (00:00:00) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: John says the physical book is an eye experience and the audiobook an ear experience; each contains things the other lacks, such as a review of half title pages in the print book. (00:00:29)
  • Q: “What's the strangest thing someone has ever recognized you for?” (00:00:29) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: In an airport store with his best friend Chris Waters, a clerk asked John how he knows Vince Vaughn, so he was once recognized for being Vince Vaughn's best friend. (00:00:47)
  • Q: “How do you manage to push through your severe anxiety and function as a human being?” (00:00:58) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: John says he sometimes doesn't function well; he doesn't push through his anxiety but tries to treat it and, when necessary, accommodate it like any other chronic health problem. (00:01:08)
  • Q: “I know you have an email for Anthropocene Reviewed listeners to write in. What's an email that resonated with you?” (00:00:58) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: Many emails from Anthropocene Reviewed listeners resonate with John, but he won't discuss them: people write with such raw emotion that he wants to protect it. (00:01:27)
  • Q: “Are there parts of the book that wouldn't have worked on the podcast?” (00:02:26) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: Parts of the book that wouldn't have worked on the podcast: most notably the picture parts, and also the wintry mix parts. (00:02:28)
  • Q: “Did you include the word deadpan exactly once in the Anthropocene Reviewed as you have for every book you’ve written since an Abundance of Katherine’s?” (00:02:26) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: John confirms he used the word 'deadpan' exactly once in The Anthropocene Reviewed, as in every book since An Abundance of Katherines, another 14-year-old joke he enjoys. (00:02:36)
  • Q [request]: “Could you please pronounce some foreign language titles of the book?” (00:02:26) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: Asked to pronounce foreign titles of the book, John attempts the Dutch and German titles, raising his voice for the German question mark. (00:02:45)
  • Q: “Wait, what is this book about exactly?” (00:03:24) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: Asked what the book is about, John says he still doesn't know; perhaps awe, connectedness, or how weird it is that temporary beings can conceive of permanence. (00:03:25)
  • Q: “And lastly, what's on your vision board this week?” (00:03:24) — I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. · Question Tuesday
    • John: Asked what is on his vision board this week (week of 10 May 2021), John answers that he really hopes viewers like The Anthropocene Reviewed book. (00:03:33)
  • Q: “What is your opinion on seagulls?” (00:00:00) — Feelings, Little Tunnels, and Oprah: It's Question Tuesday with Ashley C. Ford · Question Tuesday
    • Ashley C. Ford: Ashley is not a fan of seagulls (nor is John): one chased her husband down a beach. (00:00:15)
  • Q: “How does it feel to have Oprah love your book?” (00:00:00) — Feelings, Little Tunnels, and Oprah: It's Question Tuesday with Ashley C. Ford · Question Tuesday
    • Ashley C. Ford: Having Oprah love her book feels like stripping off wet, soggy clothes after a whole cold day outside and getting into the perfect hot shower. (00:00:29)
  • Q: “Wait, what is Somebody's Daughter about?” — asked by John (00:00:52) — Feelings, Little Tunnels, and Oprah: It's Question Tuesday with Ashley C. Ford · Question Tuesday
    • Ashley C. Ford: Somebody's Daughter is about Ashley's girlhood in a difficult parental situation: her mom had emotional issues and hard interactions with her, while her father was incarcerated the whole time. (00:00:58)
  • Q: “What is your favorite essay in the Anthropocene reviewed book?” (00:00:00) — VLOGBROTHERS REUNITED!!!! · Question Tuesday
    • Hank: Hank says his favorite essay in The Anthropocene Reviewed is the first that made him cry: the Liverpool one, You'll Never Walk Alone. (00:00:00)

Nerdfighteria

Internet & YouTube

  • Q: “And people ask me this question sometimes” (00:01:20) — A Crisis of Branding
    • Hank: Asked whether it is weird to be a different person in different places, Hank says no: everyone is a different person to parents, friends, spouses and kids. (00:01:20)
  • Q [challenge]: “I get told sometimes by people, like, we aren't gonna fix Twitter.” (00:00:29) — Is Twitter Redeemable?
    • Hank: To those who say Twitter can't be fixed without leaving it, Hank answers that it doesn't work, because Twitter remains a tremendously important cultural force with or without him. (00:00:56)
  • Q: “Who was your favorite OG YouTuber back in the real early days?” (00:00:00) — What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) · Question Tuesday
    • John: John's favourite OG YouTuber from the early days is Natalie Tran of Community Channel. (00:00:00)
  • Q: “when did you realize this was gonna be your job” (00:00:27) — What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) · Question Tuesday
    • John: Asked when he realized this would be his job, John says it is still not his job: he doesn't get paid to do this. (00:00:27)
  • Q: “what do you think are the best and worst site functionality changes YouTube has made over its existence?” (00:00:56) — What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) · Question Tuesday
    • Hank: Hank says the best change is that the site works now, unlike in 2007; the player is excellent, and its hotkeys, like going back a frame or 10 seconds, are his favourite UX feature. (00:00:56)
  • Q: “Was there any time, Jason asks, during Brotherhood 2.0 that you wanted to stop?” (00:01:25) — What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) · Question Tuesday
    • John: John wanted to stop Brotherhood 2.0 around March, when it still felt long; imagining the future is always the hard, overwhelming part for him, while the present was always fun. (00:01:25)
  • Q: “Jeremiah asks, when is the next X Jokes in 4 Minutes coming?” (00:01:55) — What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John) · Question Tuesday
    • Hank: Asked when the next jokes-in-four-minutes video is coming, Hank says the first minute of Dear Hank and John is where he does that now. (00:01:55)

Health

Projects

  • Q: “how do you get ideas? How do you start things?” (00:00:29) — A Thought is Not an Idea
    • Hank: Asked how he gets ideas, Hank says he can't teach having an idea but can say what one is, which many get wrong; intentional creation has three stages: the thought, the idea and the thing. (00:00:29)
  • Q: “What kind of inconsequential brotherly arguments do you get into?” (00:02:27) — VLOGBROTHERS REUNITED!!!! · Question Tuesday
    • John: Asked about inconsequential brotherly arguments, John admits he stole the money Hank rolled up inside his trophies and bought all kinds of things with it. (00:02:27)
  • Q: “Favorite Pizzamas merch?” (00:00:00) — Pizza Sized Johns or John Sized Pizza? It's Question Thursday · Question Tuesday
    • John: John's favorite Pizzamas merch is the Pizza John zine in which people drew Pizza John from memory: it's magic. He also loves the blanket. (00:00:00)

Science & nature

  • Q: “is there actually any hope here?” (00:01:41) — How We Fix the Climate
    • Hank: Asked if there is hope, Hank says yes, depending on what you mean: there is no hope of escaping negative impacts, which we are already experiencing. (00:01:39)
  • Q: “And 2.) what should I do?” (00:01:45) — How We Fix the Climate
    • Hank: Asked what to do, Hank says viewers should do a lot, around their other duties, because climate change is the most important and difficult issue humanity faces. (00:02:26)

Personal life

  • Q: “Did you get emotional when you saw each other in person?” (00:03:25) — VLOGBROTHERS REUNITED!!!! · Question Tuesday
    • John: Asked if they got emotional on seeing each other, John says yes: during the pandemic he has struggled to feel emotion in the moment and lets himself feel it later. (00:03:25)

Pop culture