John Green's tumblr

Our office dog is cuter than your office dog. (Well, she’s...

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:06:04 -0400

Our office dog is cuter than your office dog.

(Well, she’s technically Mark’s, but hopefully she’ll be hanging out with all of us. Alexandra was abandoned and Mark has adopted her and she. is. adorable.)

"Why did they train Luke up and not Princess Leia who was cooler, and had more to fight for, and was..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:19:59 -0400

“Why did they train Luke up and not Princess Leia who was cooler, and had more to fight for, and was less screwed up? Patriarchy!”

- John Green in his newest Crash Course video (via kinuimani)

books: rachelfershleiser: Next Thursday, Tumblr will be...

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:59:40 -0400

books:

rachelfershleiser:

Next Thursday, Tumblr will be celebrating Book Expo America at our favorite bookstore with three of our favorite authors! This is a meet up for readers and writers of all ages, with drinks for the adults and swag and short, funny readings for everyone! Here for BEA? Work at a publisher? Love Tumblr? Love books? Love people? Any of the above — this party is for you!

Ruth wrote Defriended, a creepy mystery about murder and online romance. Eliot wrote Endangered, a National Book Award finalist about bonobos in The Congo. Rainbow wrote the NY Times bestseller Eleanor &Park, a Tumblr favorite about weird kids in love. They are all terrific, so don’t miss it!

Rainbow Rowell lives in Nebraska, and this is her only public event while she’s in New York for BEA. We’re so honored and excited!

Preparations for the Indy 500 have begun.

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:04:35 -0400

Preparations for the Indy 500 have begun.

awayed: my sister and i agreed to put “i love [insert...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:48:03 -0400

awayed:

my sister and i agreed to put “i love [insert eachothers names]” as our senior quotes but i wanted to make it real so

TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, misogyny, general horribleness I am asked...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:34:00 -0400

TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, misogyny, general horribleness

I am asked all the time why I think Professional Internet Types tend to be male more often than female. Is it because women aren’t as aggressive about building an audience and so struggle amid the media saturation? Is it because women aren’t as funny, or aren’t as talented, or blah blah blah?

Maybe we need to consider that one of the central reasons women artists/vloggers/musicians/etc. are less likely to rise to prominence online is that whenever women build an audience online, men threaten those women with rape and murder. And unlike traditional celebrities, most of these women do not have the resources to hire the kind of lawyers and bodyguards that one needs to stay safe.

Like all misogyny, and I want to emphasize this, this is bad not just for women but also for all human beings. We are better off as a species if everyone has a chance to be heard, and we are worse off if talented people like Kitty Pryde don’t have the basic safety and security that one needs in order to effectively make and share stuff.

But it’s not just these kinds of horrifying threats (which as pointed out above is “the most normal thing”).

I also want to say something to all those guys who are like I was as a teenager, the people who aren’t sick people trying to get someone’s attention by harming or threatening them but who do have weird relationships with the women who make stuff they like.* You think that if this person knew you, you could be friends…maybe more than friends. And so you want to get her attention, so you can get to know each other, because then you’ll definitely become friends or maybe—

Stop.

When you start falling down that rabbit hole, stop. I know it’s hard. But stop.

What we love—even if these people make highly personal and confessional vlogs or whatever—is the stuff they make, not the people themselves. And what we really want is for more of that stuff to exist in the world. So the only proper way to be a fan is to let them be, so that they can bring more good and useful stuff into the world for us to enjoy.

* EDIT: Many people are yelling at me for saying the person in the above ask is not a sick person harming or threatening people. That is not what I am saying here. I am speaking to the people out there who are NOT like this person, but whose excessive and sometimes romanticized attention can shut down discourse. I thought that was pretty obvious from the grammar, but I just want to underscore it.

Mind says 14 minutes. Clock says 2 years.

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:05:59 -0400

Mind says 14 minutes. Clock says 2 years.

edwardspoonhands: There was near universal support…you can...

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:45:10 -0400

edwardspoonhands:

There was near universal support…you can pre-order now for shipment in mid-june. You guys are weird…

And yes…I fixed the spelling of Aggressive.

This is a ridiculous t-shirt.

I predict it will be a huge hit. I’ve preordered mine.

poweredbyawesome: “The Fault in our Death Stars” So I had this...

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:09:41 -0400

poweredbyawesome:

“The Fault in our Death Stars”

So I had this idea ages ago, but I never really got started on it.
Earlier this month, I finally did and it turned out great! :D
So I’m saving this graphic for May 4th, but now I find out #thefaultinourdeathstars is already a thing?!?

Oh well. I guess there’s little point in keeping it from you, then…

Anyway, I was on a roll, so this also happened:

"Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences...."

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:25:08 -0400

““Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences. (Roy Ascott’s phrase.) That solves a lot of problems: we don’t have to argue whether photographs are art, or whether performances are art, or whether Carl Andre’s bricks or Andrew Serranos’s piss or Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’ are art, because we say, ‘Art is something that happens, a process, not a quality, and all sorts of things can make it happen.’ … [W]hat makes a work of art ‘good’ for you is not something that is already ‘inside’ it, but something that happens inside you — so the value of the work lies in the degree to which it can help you have the kind of experience that you call art.””

- Brian Eno (via jessiethatcher)

I could reblog/post this every day as a constant reminder.

(via notational)

bbc-bestbromancecompany: Nerdfighter Benedict? Or just failed...

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:30:00 -0400

bbc-bestbromancecompany:

Nerdfighter Benedict? Or just failed Vulcan?

As far as I can tell, there are eight possibilities here. (I’ve spent a fair bit of time thinking about this.)

1. Benedict Cumberbatch is a hardcore nerdfighter and when Martin Freeman threw up a gang sign, Cumberbatch was like, “I have one of those.”

2. Cumberbatch, who obviously has a relationship with Star Trek, just naturally changed the Vulcan sign (pulling in the thumbs, turning the palms inward, crossing the arms) in precisely the same way that I happened to change the Vulcan sign when I first made the nerdfighter sign in the halcyon days of 2007.

3. One of the interns on set who has gained the trust of Benedict Cumberbatch was like, “If you do your hands like this, the Internet will get really excited.” And so he did.

4. BBC, in their infinite wisdom, staged the entire photo and Cumberbatch was taught the nerdfighter sign (I MEAN LOOK AT THE PERFECTION OF HIS NERDFIGHTER SIGN! He seems so comfortable and confident in it, almost as if it is muscle memory, almost as if he has flashed it to his laptop screen on hundreds of occasions in the past, but I digress) and this photograph was staged to get people psyched for Sherlock, although what tiny segment of nerdfighteria is not already psyched for Sherlock? Also, if this is the case, who is Martin Freeman trying to advertise to? Residents of the West Side?

5. Benedict Cumberbatch has a relative or a friend who is a nerdfighter and so he is passingly familiar with nerdfighteria and liked what he has seen and wanted to make us all very happy.

6. The nerdfighter sign also happens to be the hand sign of some obscure English gang with which I am unfamiliar called like The East London Wanderers or The Slightly Intimidating Liverpudlians or whatever.

7. Nerdfighteria actually figures in the plot of the new season of Sherlock. Perhaps a nerdfighter has been (wrongly no doubt!) accused of a murder.

8. Benedict Cumberbatch was playing some kind of British version of Rock Paper Scissors against two invisible opponents, and he went double scissors (as any smart person would).

the-blog-of-anne-frank: I just realized that “pun intended” is a pun on “unintended” and I’m...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:29 -0400

the-blog-of-anne-frank:

I just realized that “pun intended” is a pun on “unintended” and I’m literally about to gouge my eyes out I’m so angry

This. Changes. Everything.

effyeahnerdfighters: Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:44:11 -0400

effyeahnerdfighters:

Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on Ai Weiwei from the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Sarah does not appear in vlogbrothers videos, but you can follow her on tumblr: http://absolumentmoderne.tumblr.com

In which John visits the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where his wife is a curator, and thinks about the work of the artist and dissident Ai Weiwei while walking through “According to What,” his first major retrospective in the United States. If you live in or near Indianapolis, you should really see the show. It’s very special, and will be here until July 21st.

thefrogman: I am a team player.

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:01:31 -0400

thefrogman:

I am a team player.

edwardspoonhands: ka-blamo: Is benedict cumberbatch...

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:27:13 -0400

edwardspoonhands:

ka-blamo:

Is benedict cumberbatch unintentionally doing the vlog brothers sign here?

What is happening…where is this from…people don’t just UNINTENTIONALLY do the Nerdfighter sign…either he was told to do this or…or…

OR HE IS A NERDFIGHTER, HANK. (Source.)

A little Tumblr history from Marco

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:07:20 -0400

A little Tumblr history from Marco:

david:

:’)

My life is much better now that I am following David Karp on the thing that he made. (And also my life is so much better because he made it.)

What Books Did You Read in School?

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:12:10 -0400

(Like, in say AP English or your freshman in college lit class.)

I am asking because we are thinking about the future of Crash Course and stuff. Okay thanks.

Photo

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:39:42 -0400

Will hankgames be affected by Nintendo's recent announcement claiming ad revenue generated by fanvids on youtube?

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:02:55 -0400

Probably, but I’m going to level with you:

Hankgames is not a significant source of revenue for the vlogbrothers. I wish it was, believe me. I want the Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers to be a wildly lucrative enterprise, and perhaps some day they will be. But for now….yeah. No. So we’ll probably keep playing whatever games we want to and uploading them to YouTube.

Nonetheless, Nintendo’s announcement (and YouTube’s acquiescence) is a disaster. It hurts Nintendo, and it hurts the independent creators who through their Let’s Play videos create a unique and valuable experience of a game. The idea that the Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers belong to EA Sports is just ridiculous. It’s my game, played my way, for your benefit. EA is lucky to have the free advertising (and unlike Nintendo, they seem to recognize the value).

Off-topic, but my dearest dream is for the Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers to become so financially successful that they fund the purchase of the ACTUAL SWINDON TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB. This is about 10 million dollars away from happening. But someday, friends. Some bright day…

David Foster Wallace was like, Art must be sincere! We must use...

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:14:07 -0400

David Foster Wallace was like, Art must be sincere! We must use every tool in the linguistic toolbox to cut through sentiment and dishonest cliche and build fresh ways to reveal the power and reality of unironized emotion.

And Mister Rogers was like, Basically the same thing, but without any shame or pretense or fear of sincerity.