John Green's Blog, page 53

The Education Continuum WARNER CHILCOTTED

Thanks to Karen Kavett for the graphics: http://youtube.com/xperpetualmotion

In which John explains the education continuum and why math and literature both help us understand the universe in surprisingly similar ways.

Grab It By The Testicle

A poem for the college and high school graduates of the year 2011 (and future years as well...I believe it all applies.) Also, past years, if we can ever figure out how make YouTube videos go back in time.

Also, I would like to offer this video to graduates of schools (or whatever it is they have) on other planets.

So...to all of you...get ready to...KEEP LEARNING! With less structure and fewer metrics for success.

Lyrics??

Good Morning John, and all of the rest of you
I come to you now from this familiar vestibule
with advice for the graduates of college and high school
A familiar format, the well meaning nice tool
who'll grant you this, a afternoon's savor
for cash or a favor, food with no flavor
inspring advice for the next few days
You'll do well, have some of this koolaid.

It's time, you must bite of the cherry of life
It'll taste like fear and hope and diet coke and rainbows
But don't be surprised when the pain grows
this is kinda gonna suck, you can't abstain though

There is no "do not"
There's no effin try
There's no "I don't wanna"
It's life...If you don't like it then die

Wait no, I'm not condoning suicide
Just trying to be motivational
overly sensational
You get it, I'm sure
So I abjure

Oh, you don't know what Abjure means?
Ehhhh..maybe you're not as prepared as you seem
It's like rejecting an error but with a bit extra care
I'm pretty sure they should have taught you that
I'm making a point, you don't know jack
The best of you can hope to have been taught to learn
To yearn for more that you'll still have to earn

You're not ending learning, you're ending this one structure
And OK, I'm starting to sound like a schmuck, sure
But you're gonna keep learning, one way or the other
Whether it's how to make change or be someone's mother
Or make music or toffee or coffee or spread sheets
Or hotels or laws or web sites or bed sheets.

And don't think "but I majored in lit I won't do that $#*%"
I majored in chemistry, what did I do with it?
I make videos for nerds, an entrepreneur
I taught myself 90% of what I've learned

And that's normal, average, boring, but true
And for most hearing this it's be true of you too
It should be, if it's not, that life's hardly real
And that's scary, sure, be wary but deal
Insecurity is something you will always feel

The deep dark yawning pit of the next step of your life
Might look like a fall but it could be a flight
And who knows, that pit might be filled with ice cream
maybe you're lactose intollerant, but you get what I mean

Or maybe pain and failure is all that's awaiting you
I'm just baiting you.
Whether your facing hell or a festival
My point here, right now, is grab it by the testicle.

Make it your bitch! This is all you've got!
Your one shot, it's short, it's actually probably not
But while you grab life by the balls be careful with people
Don't be a creep or you might find a deep hole
Success might be however you define it
But if you define it wrong, you're never gonna find it.

Or even if you do, it'll suck to know
that you got there at the expense of those
who you love, or would have, if you'd ever even tried
Because it's not he-who-has-the most toys when he died
It's just life, and if you're not at least trying to be happy then why?

So ONE you don't know jack, TWO be nice to others.
Whether you become executives, or barristas or stay-at-home mothers
And lastly, have fun, OK that's all, I think I'm done

And, that was a pretty good denoumont
So uhhhh...I'll see you on wednesday John.

Winkels to the Left, Winkels to the Right: Thoughts from Places, Antwerp

In which John takes the slow train to Antwerp, Belgium in order to spend a day with no Internet working on the revision of his new novel (which comes out in March). During his brief time in Antwerp, he visits the zoo.

1990's Sim Games. SO GOOD!

In which Hank talks about the lessons he learned growing up playing simulation games (and does a very good job of not complaining about how mindless gaming has become.)

Sim Games taught me a huge amount about my world and also about who I am. From SImCity I learned that as much as a third of a city is taken up by its roads. From SimEarth I learned what that crustaceans existed before fish. From SimTower I learned that things are never as simple as they seem. From Civilizaiton I learned that peace is orders of magnitude more difficult and less glamorous than war. From Tycoon games I learned the value of opportunity and also how to be careful not to squander the value you have.

It seems a little silly, but there it is. You can get a lot of these games for free (all you need is DOS BOX and a good google search if you'd like to try them out.

http://www.abandonia.com/

Trading Underwear for Rice Crispy Treats: Queens Day in Amsterdam (Thoughts from Places)

In which John takes the thoughts from places video series back to Amsterdam for the massive party / garage sale / birthday celebration known here in the Netherlands as koninginnedag.

In Bruges: Saturday May 21st at 3:30 PM, I'll be reading and signing at The Bookstore Reyghere, Markt 12, 8000 Bruges (t + 32 50 33 34 03)
For directions: http://www.dereyghere.be/contact.html

If you want to go to the KJV event in Bruges at the Concertgebouw the next day, you need to RSVP to kjv@stichtinglezen.be I'll be reading from 2:10 to 2:40 PM and signing from 4:00 to 5:00 PM.

There are also gatherings/signings around the Netherlands; you can learn more at my publisher lemniscaat: http://www.lemniscaat.nl/Young%20Adult

Happy Birthday To Me!

In which Hank has a happy day after his birthday.

Yes...Helen Hunt saw the video, so you get to punish both of us...and JOHN AN EXTRA TIME! So that's three punishments y'all.

Also, the IRS sent me a present...a fine! And nerdfighters sent me presents that were WAAY better than that, like my Jayne Cobb hat and:

Anglerfish Hat by: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pheartheninja

Humpy Hank Card AND Jayne Hat by http://www.etsy.com/shop/noxy

IT'S HANKO DE MAYO!!

Send Hank (belated) Birthday Greetings in the mail P. O. Box 807 Elyria, OH 44036-0807 (No money or anything. Thanks.) or upload your birthday videos as a response to this one.

ALSO: Hank and I just got tumblrs! Hank is at http://edwardspoonhands.tumblr.com/ and I'm at http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/

In which John talks about Hanko de Mayo 2011 (Hank Green's 31st birthday), and his astoundingly productive 30th year, which included creating VidCon, 2-d glasses, publishing EcoGeek, co-running DFTBA Records, Truth or Fail, the Project for Awesome, traveling to Haiti, and so much more. Thanks, Hank, for all the awesome you bring into our lives!

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

In which Hank talks about how great his Sunday was...and how America killed its top priority military target.

Shirts and CDs
http://dftba.com/artist/15/Hank-Green

Peanut Butter Face Question Tuesday

In which John and his peanut butter face answer questions about romance, books, living (temporarily) in Amsterdam, speaking Dutch, his fancy new iphone that doesn't work, pirates, and who the eff Hank is, among other things.

Hanko de Mayo: http://yourpants.org/showthread.php?7...

DFTBA t-shirts: http://dft.ba/shirts

NASA: Increasing Awesome

In which Hank talks about the 0.45% of the federal budget devoted to space education, and what NASA is doing with that money.

Just an aside, my friends often say that we shouldn't be spending money on space when we have so many problems here on Earth. And I understand that argument. But I think that mentality is flawed. We can't wait until all of our problems are solved (which they will never be) before doing amazing, inspiring, ambitious things.

If we have nothing great to aspire to, nothing great to fight for, then what do we have? Will we spend the time and energy necessary to make the world a better place if we don't have great things to aspire to?

I know it's a complicated issue, it's almost like talking about the psychology of an entire planet. But I know what drives me to make the world better, and it isn't knowing how horrible it is. The greatness of the world is what makes me want to make it better, and NASA has done more to uncover and create awesome than any other government agency.

That's just how I feel.

Thanks to NASA for their help with this video, it was really amazing to work with them.