#Nerdfigher

[seven-saffodils]

@solobutnothan​ @quintin​ and everyone who donated or spread the word, thanks so much!! the original campaign passed the goal i set, which means we relieved about $14,000 of medical debt!!! how beautiful is that??? i’ve made another one to see how far we can take this. medical debt is one of the pressing issues today that we can make a real impact on through donations! and ripmedicaldebt has a good track record for effectiveness. congrats to everyone so far who has been part of this positive change!

i didn’t see a nerdfighter campaign in ripmedicaldebt (the site that buys medical debt and then forgives it!) so i made one for anyone who wants to donate together! :D (https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaign/saffodils-42958/)

[shouldering-worlds]

wtf is a nerdfigher

a nerdfighter is someone who is in John and Hank Green's community

[projectforawesome]

The 2022 Project for Awesome is just around the corner!! (February 25-27, 2022)! ✨ Nerdfighter Art submissions are now open! If you want to contribute some artwork, email us at nerdfighterart@gmail.com by November 29th 2021.

In your email, let us know what you have/will be creating, the quantity (15 is ideal!), and include a photo if you can. We will let you know if it looks like a good fit for P4A and provide additional information as soon as we can, giving you a good amount of time to create your pieces. We’d like you to ship them to us no later than January 15th.

A few things to keep in mind:

*Ideally you’ll be making 15+ items and shipping them to Missoula, MT for distribution. 

*We’re looking for small, easily shipped items. This can include knitwear, small plushies, small drawings and paintings, digital art prints, etc. Nothing super big or super fragile.

*The estimated worth of the art should be $25-30 because the perk will be sold for $40.

*Be mindful about avoiding common allergens in your artwork (limiting contact with animal hair/fur, etc) 

*The art does not need to be Nerdfighter themed, but it is highly encouraged!

DFTBA! 

[minimarker]

The Talllle of Glennnn and Daaaale

(and Gaiiiil and Marrrrsha)

(Note: some of the footage of the 2017 P4A was lost. This compilation was the best I could do from my memory and the footage available. If I made any mistakes or forgot any parts I apologize.) 

In the 2017 Project for Awesome the Missoula crew were hanging out the first night when Brit Garner brought a bunch of props from a local theatre. As Hank said, “Brit is here and she brought… something terrifying.” That terrifying thing was Glennnn the sheep. From one angle Glennnn looks like he smoked a bunch of weed and then killed someone. From another angle Glennnn looks like he’s very tired and knows a lot about you. From yet another angle Glennnn looks proud, like a spiritual teacher. Like a gentler Rafiki mentor. Apparently, Victoria looks at Hank like Glennnn a lot, especially when he has “ideas.” Glennnn reminds Hank of Undertale. At one point Glennnn was called the Merlin to Hank’s King Arthur. Hank quickly became so attached to Glennnn that he promised to work Glennnn into the sequel to his book.

Glennnn came to the stream with two hats: a green visor and a gold crown. When wearing the green visor, it seemed like he will do your shady taxes and launder your money for you. Or maybe play poker with his friends. Does he have a gambling problem? No, he’s just a CPA. When wearing the crown, he is King Glennnn. We will get to that later.

Soon a consensus was made on the spelling of Glennnn. Glennnn must have 4 n’s, three of which are silent. It does not matter which three are silent. Later we learned that Glennnn is pronounced “Glen” if the last three n’s are silent and “Gle-n” if one of the later n’s is the audible one. At this point chat was overtaken with sheep emojis, all from Glennnn the Sheep Father. Some chatters went overboard and were informed that Glennnn can’t have five n’s, we must keep it reasonable!

Quickly we learned more about Glennnn: he is a hollow shell full of wisdom … and MURDER. Hank claimed that NASA is hiding the fact that for years they have observed Glennnn through a powerful telescope. Someone claimed that Deadpool wishes he didn’t wear such a skin-tight suit and instead wore Glennnn’s hat… and nothing else. 

Meanwhile, the nerdfighters quickly made social media accounts for him. Glennnn The Sheep soon had an Instagram with a screenshot of the P4A stream as the profile picture. The bio read “Hi, my name is Glennnn, the last three n’s are silent. My favorite people are the Nerdfighters that are currently watching the livestream of the Project for Awesome!” A twitter account was also made for Glennnn, @GlennTheSheep. Later, when describing the discrepancy in n’s on social media, we were advised to type as many n’s as your heart tells you to find Glennnn on social media. 

Soon Matthew Gaydos joined the stream and was introduced to Glennnn. Matt found his legs “interesting” and when chat asked him how to buy the sheep Matt said “You can’t! Glennnn is a human! No, he’s not!” Hank questioned if Glennnn is 100% sheep and Matt clarified that he is 4% wood and 96% sheep. When Matt had to step away he left Glennnn in charge of the stream.

Somehow Glennnn lost his hat. Matt gave him the crown and declared him King Glennnn. King Glennnn of the Glen, Hank added. It is Glennnn’s Glen, he is not king of the forest. Daaaale is his brother, King of the Dale. And Marrrrsha, of the Marsh, is their sister. Clearly glens were named for Glennnn. As Hank said “If Glennnn can see you, you are in his Glen. You are turning into a sheep. Can you feel it?” 

Hank invented a new version of Instagram for Glennnn: Glennnnstagram. All pictures on it are of sheep and glens, except the one picture of a dale from when Glennnn visited Daaaale. Chat suggested a Glennnn theme park and Matt seemed confused about what that would entail. Hank suggested making a hat with Glennnn on it as a perk for P4A 2018 (as of the posting of this it has not been announced as a perk but Glennnn and Daaaale plushies are totally a thing!). Much of this conversation happened while Hank’s face was being painted to look like Pizza John. Hank then declared that Hank-Pizza John Green of the Glen is a subject of King Glennnn. Chat requested that someone kiss Glennnn and Matt promised that someone would at 1.4 million dollars. Hank offered to kiss Glennnn, although I am not sure if he ever did. 

Soon talk turned to a major event in Glennnn’s past. Apparently, a sheep’s hair is only shorn when he loses in battle. Glennnn’s hair is the longest in the Glen. Daaaale’s hair is slightly longer. Glennnn of the Glen is the hero of the Battle of Glen-Dale. The elves know him. Songs have been dedicated to Glennnn. It is proposed that Lin-Manuel Miranda or Al Roker should write a musical of the battle of Glen-Dale. 

Then Rodney appeared and it was confirmed that Glennnn has Rodney’s back because, of course he does. Rodney said, “the sheep is everything” and as Glennnn was passed from person to person we learned that holding Glennnn feels so right that you forget he’s there. For a time Glennnn wore the frog hat instead of his crown. We also learned that Glennnn plays the banjo just like Ed Helms and Ryan is his middle name. Maia and Valerie drew Glennnn eating corn in a timed competition.

The next day we learned that Glennnn is everyone’s baby. He belongs to the world. Unknowingly, Destin was encouraging donations by offering to write donors’ names on magnets and one was a sheep. The chat insisted that the sheep was Glennnn. Soon a donation came in from Glennnn but Destin rejected his name because he “is not a real person.” The chat declared that while other magnets were worth a certain donation amount the sheep should cost $1000 in honor of Glennnn. Ben donated $1000 and Destin insisted “but does he want the sheep?” He then offered that Ben could name the sheep whatever he wanted. When Destin wrote on the sheep he could feel how much it mattered to chat. “This is the most important thing I’m gonna write on a sheep, probably in my life.” Destin writes “Ben (Glenn)” and chat quickly corrected: Glennnn has four n’s. 

Back with the Missoula crew we learned that Glennnn is Tuna’s favorite quadruped. Since we had last seen the Missoula crew, Ashe had made a painting of Glennnn. The donations reached a milestone and Brit brought in a surprise. DAAAALE HAD ARRIVED! Daaaale bowed to Glennnn, for he was the hero of the Battle of Glen-Dale. 

“All hail Daaaale!” someone declared. “Disagree!” countered Hank. Soon it was questioned where Marrrrsha is and Brit clarified “I drive a Honda Civic, I can only do so much.” After a brief debate, it is confirmed that Daaaale has four a’s and can be pronounced as “Dale” or with a bleating sound in the middle (like a sheep). Soon the battle between Glennnn and Daaaale was sparking again, they began to tally a donation battle between the brothers. “Is the vote just a tally? I’ve made a spreadsheet!” someone said, proving how nerdy we all are. The spreadsheet was put to use as the tally was called the “popular vote” and the spreadsheet was used to count the amount donated to each sheep. Suddenly most of the Missoula crew was on Daaaale’s side. “We’re just excited by the new thing” said Caitlin (and seconded by Hank). 

The following was determined about the First Battle of Glen-Dale: 

-It took place in 1994 (Possibly 640? Possibly yesterday? It couldn’t have been yesterday!) 

-Different spellings are all accepted: Glen-Dale, Glennnndale, Glennnn-Daaaale 

-Hank’s recap of the Battle: “This is Glennnn, king of the Glen. This is Daaaale, king (queen?) of the Dale. The Dale and Glen were once one land until the Battle of Glennnndaaaale. Very sad for Gaiiiil, their mom. Their sister, Marrrrsha, inherited the Marsh that no one wanted, so it is a peaceful land.”

Now we are in the Second Battle of GlennnnDale! Accusations were thrown at the brothers and slogans were created: 

-Glennnn had cow pox and did not tell his lady-friends about it 

-A vote for Glennnn is a vote for cow pox for the entire flock 

-Tip the scale for Daaaale 

-Justice for Daaaale 

-A win for Glennnn is a fail for Daaaale

-Daaaale has kind eyes (contrasting the discussion of Glennnn’s eyes from the first day) 

-“If Daaaale fails I will wail”- Julie 

-Glennnn is such a good friend! 

-RiverDAAAALE! 

-What do we know about Daaaale? Nothing! 

-Daaaale is against Net Neutrality 

-We are feeling sheepish about Glennnn 

-Daaaale will prevail 

-Tip the scale for Daaaale 

-Glennnn and Daaaale have beef with each other 

-A vote for Daaaale is a vote for a world of snacks

The Battle paused to introduce and catch up the new guests. Brit explained everything as “Brit brings props from community theatre but they are now their own things and stories.” At this point Daaaale was wearing Shrek ears because Shrek lives in a swamp. (I’m still confused on this one since a dale is not a swamp.) The new guests were happy to jump into the Battle and insisted that cow pox gave us vaccines. As their connection to the stream went in and out it was commented that the Battle is causing wooly connections and shear brilliance of puns. I’m not sure you herd me. Chat declared the puns to be flocking awesome. 

As the Battle waged on and the donations continued to pour in Brit called for peace: “I need to take them back in the same vehicle.” Hank agreed, adding that Glennnn and Daaaale need to go sit in the same basement together. Soon donations were submitted for peace and were tallied under the joint ticket of Gaiiiil and Marrrrrsha. Unfortunately, this peace was short-lived as the debate was reignited by the question of if Glennnn or Daaaale is older. Eventually it was decided that they are twins but Glennnn is older. 

As is to be expected, Harry Potter was soon pulled into the battle. In the heat of anger Glennnn was declared a Slytherin but it was soon walked back. He is a Gryffindor. Daaaale is definitely a Hufflepuff. Both Glennnn and Daaaale love Harry Potter. The discussion of Harry Potter brought us back to Nerdfighteria and Brotherherd 2.0 was born, as were its fans the Herdfighters of Herdfighteria. Quietly Brit lamented, “Why do I feel like they are never going to be returned?”

“I’m for Daaaale, but when I look into Glennnn’s eyes I feel the need to vote for him” commented Hank. There is definitely something about Glennnn’s eyes. Ben (possibly the same Ben from before) made a big donation in Glennnn’s name. He was declared Glennnn’s SuperPAC which was soon replaced with SuperHERD (or SuperFLOCK). Since Glennnn was given larger donations than Daaaale, Glennnn was declared a puppet for Big Sheep. Soon the Second Battle of GlennnnDaaaale was ended due to the $5154 donation that did not vote for either sheep. The votes were tallied and Glennnn won the Second Battle of GlennnnDaaaale. 

As they were finishing up for the night Brit went to wash dishes and found a picture of Reed hugging a different sheep from the theatre… and also a large goat (which Brit did not bring to the stream because it was too big). 

You would think that would be the end of Glennnn and Daaaale for the evening BUT NO! They traveled to Synema Studios to visit that crew into the wee hours of the morning. Michael Aranda questioned why Glennnn gets to be the lord and savior (and wear the crown). He was then given a quick recap of the story. Soon it was discovered that Glennnn and Daaaale were in marching band together as drummers. As the stream continued the Synema crew gave Daaaale a lot more attention than Glennnn because Glennnn is a king and “Daaaale just lives in a swamp” (Note: a dale is not a swamp). At the end of their shift Michael declared that it was more of an honor to be in Daaaale’s presence than Glennnn’s and chat was offended. 

As the 2017 Project for Awesome came to a close Hank thanked Glennnn and Daaaale for their efforts. Glennnn appeared to celebrate the end of the livestream. After John and Hank said goodbye the last shot of the stream was Glennnn.

(Here’s a link to my Butfartman Lore Compliation.)

[uncrcow]

Why are my suitemates such nerds?

Because they are probably awesome!

Nerds

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a nerd as “an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.” While this definition is hurtful, it is also seriously out of date! In the last couple of years the term “nerd” has come to define a diverse and passionate community of people. Regardless of what you like, there is probably a group of people who feel the same way.

Fandoms

It’s no secret that nerds love their hobbies. Whether Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or Dr. Who, fans of popular “nerdy” topics love to express their joy and enjoyment of said topic. Star Trek saw the first public beginning of a fandom. Fans, mostly women, began to create their own Star Trek themed stories and zines. This wasn’t the first time that fans had produced their own work. However, this was a time when a group that didn’t typically see themselves in the work, began to create counter-narratives and extensions of the universe.

Some of the biggest fandoms to date include: Dr. Who, Sherlock (BBC), Harry Potter (duh), Supernatural, The Walking Dead...and many more! In earlier years, nerds and fandoms had to join regional and local groups to create, collaborate and express their love for their fandom. But now, the internet allows for 24 hour collaborate and creative expression. While there are many ways for people to connect with their fandoms of choice, Tumblr has been a popular place for fandom collaboration.

Nerd communities!

One of the most interesting nerd communities today is the Nerdfighter community. This community was inspired by John and Hank Green’s video blog on Youtube. You might recognize the name John Green - you know the New York Times best selling author? John and his brother Hank interact with the Nerdfighter community to create and publish a wide-range of content. While they maintain their original channel, stilling posting silly and nerdy content, they also advocate for open-access education content. From their original Vlogbrother channel they have established “Crash Course,” Sci-Show,” and more - all freely accessible educational content! Hank Green even established VidCon, a convention for all things nerdy and YouTube!

The Vlogbrothers have created a great nerd community, but we have to ask about who has been traditionally left out of these fandom spaces? Jamie Broadnax thought the same question and went on to establish the website Black Girl Nerds. In an interview, Broadnax recounted her experience of searching the internet for “black girl nerds,” only to get no results. Realizing that there was a void in the internet she decided to fix that and create her own community. While the creation of Black Girl Nerds hasn’t erased racism and misogyny from the nerd community, social media has helped to connect other black girls with a community of nerds catered to them!

While many might not understand that nerd isn’t necessarily an insult anymore, the internet and the conversations in the nerd community are continually working to create an inclusive and diverse community for ALL nerds to participate. Here is an article on a black cosplayer who bends the racial boundaries to create characters and costumes for everyone!

Written by Brittany Soder

References

Edwards, E. (2014). The Secret Fight of the Black-Girl Nerds. Retrieved from https://www.theroot.com/the-secret-fight-of-the-black-girl-nerds-1790876687

Fan Cultures (n.d.) In Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412952606.n165

Fan, Fandoms, and Fan Studies. (n.d.) In Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412959384.n143

Moreau, E. (2017). 10 Entertainment Fandoms that are Huge on Tumblr. Retrieved from https://www.lifewire.com/entertainment-fandoms-on-tumblr-3486068

Nerd. (2017). In The Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nerd

Romano, A. (2012). Behind the Vlogbrothers’ Nerdfighter Movement. Retrieved from https://www.dailydot.com/society/hank-john-green-vlogborthers-nerdfighters/

Wanshel, E. (2017). This Woman is Stepping up her Badass Cosplay Game for Black History Month. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kiera-please-black-history-month-cosplay_us_58ada806e4b03d80af710869

Images

Bill Potts [Digital Image] Retrieved from https://theultimateguidetothefashionofdoctorwho.wordpress.com/2017/05/07/bill-potts-knock-knock-the-tee-and-cake-tank-edition/

It Crowd Moss [Digital Image] Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/reaction-moss-it-crowd-yqtpq8rqqXBh6

John Green [Digital Image] Retrieved from http://emilianadarling.tumblr.com/post/21501556244/john-green-in-harry-potter-nerds-win-at-life-x

Parks and Recreation Nerd [Digital Image] Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/parks-and-recreation-rec-adam-scott-10IFZtWLY6LIli

[the-chronicles-of-reading]

🐢 #turtlesallthewaydown #booktour2017 (at Decatur, Georgia)

[road2nf]

to continue to pursue my passions no matter what

I have learned so much from watching John and Hank.

They have opened my eyes to so many issues in the world and helped me appreciate the positives in my life. For example, my friends and my family.

Hank and John inspired me to continue to pursue my passions no matter what. Whenever I hit a writer’s block, I would turn to John’s work or Hank’s music.

Watching them get excited about things made me feel like it was okay to be excited about the things I like. John and Hank Green are truly inspirational people.

-Chantal (chantally.tumblr)

[microminutes]

Dr Warhol’s Periodic Table of Microbes

The Small Guide to Small Things

81.  Tl.  Tsukamurella

Microbes can be found pretty much everywhere, and Tsukamurella is no exception. The type species, Tsukamurella paurometabola, was initially isolated from bedbugs.  There are currently around a dozen species. About half are environmental organisms, isolated from soil, sewage sludge, and a deep water (220 meters down) marine sponge. The other half are primarily opportunistic pathogens, most often associated with bloodstream infections and indwelling medical devices, as well as pulmonary infections.

A noteworthy feature of the Tsukamurella is that they have seriously long-chain carbon molecules in their cell walls (mycolic acids), ranging from 64 to 78 carbons, which are highly unsaturated with 2 to 7 double bonds. (That’s almost as long as the Mycobacterium, with up to 90 carbons.) The Tsukamurella are related to other organisms with mycolic acids in their cell walls such as Corynebacteria, Mycobacteria, and Nocardia. They form branching hyphae-like structures in culture.

This is a relatively new genus, established in 1988, which may not seem new to many people, but its 100 years “younger” than organisms like Staph and Strep. The microbes were named in honor of Dr Michio Tsukamura.

Tsukamurella cells are Gram positive straight to slightly curved rods that measure 0.5 to 0.8 microns wide by 1 to 5 microns long.

Get a beautiful science poster of The Periodic Table of Microbes at https://www.etsy.com/no-en/shop/WarholScience

[vezitos]

NEW VIDEOOOOOO! This one features special guest Gaby Dunn! Go check out her stuff and Hank’s if you haven’t done so already! Also check out my last video where I talk about my win/fail Slenderman costume. https://youtu.be/YLbE-tp33hs

Don’t forget to subscribe to me on Youtube! :) 

[theshortpoems]

I go down to the shore in the morning and depending on the hour the waves are rolling in or moving out, and I say, oh, I am miserable, what shall– what should I do? And the sea says in its lovely voice: Excuse me, I have work to do.

Mary Oliver, I Go Down to the Shore

Featured on Dear Hank & John Episode  003 - Pain Demands to be Felt.

[albrassard]

The return of #pizzaJohn #dftba #nerdfigher #nerdfighteria

[a-marvellous-miscellany]

Nerdfigher PSA: Their last show is being livestreamed on John’s facebook soon! 

[effyeahnerdfighters]

A new game is in the works! Rolf is a quick and simple-to-learn party game designed by Robert Burke and co-published with DFTBA Games. The point of the game is to be quicker, wittier, and funnier than the other people playing.

Check out the kickstarter!

[mrhairybrit]

THANK YOU... YES YOU!

I would like to thank everyone who has helped the Mr Hairy Brit​ YouTube channel grow in 2016.

We gained approx 2700 new subscribers this year, we are at 8800 at the moment and we are accelerating toward 10,000, hopefully in early 2017!

THANK YOU, I couldn't do it without your support!

Are you subbed? - https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrHairyBrit

[popcornnroses]

FILM SCHOOL 101: @JohnGreen explains why "book to movie" is never exact #eCInemaOne #eCinemaBoston YouTube icon, internet guru, best-selling author, and the King of the Nerdfighers John Green has some choice words of wisdom for both book fans and film fans in his latest weekly…

[road2nf]

sometimes I get a glimpse of love for myself

I discovered vlogbrothers videos a bit late after a long journey. You see, I grew up in a very poor Mexican-American family. Our house was made of dirt, bricks laid on the bare ground, and was door-less until I was eight (i’m still very comfortable going to the bathroom in front of just about anyone).

I’m the oldest of 4 kids, but like many Latino families i often lived with many cousins. Food supply was often patchy (but thank god for commodities, am I right?) and lights/water/heat would often get turned off. My dad was a mostly absent alcoholic and my mother was a particularly brutal woman who had untreated bipolar disorder; these are some of the reasons i was abused in every way a kiddo can be (but don’t feel bad for me! The miracle of therapy has helped).

Most of my life i didn’t really go to school; no one cared if I went. I was often picked on for being poor and i had a lot of responsibilities that other kids just couldn’t relate to. I wont lie about the fact that i wasn’t perfect. Stealing makeup, clothes, and other things to make myself feel “normal” was how I spent a good amount of my time. The rest was spent drinking alcohol and hiding food from my cousins and siblings (which I’m not particularly proud of).

In the 10th grade I got a steady boyfriend who flipped a switch in me. I started going to school every day and stopped ignoring the teachers who told me I was gifted. I went to college, unlike all my cousins and parents (I was homeless some of this time which is why I missed out on the first few years of VlogBrothers!)

After my undergrad I was accepted into a dual PhD program; I was awarded the most prestigious fellowship at the university. I loved being there, despite some culture clashing. I married my college sweetheart and then 1.5 years into my program I had a psychotic break. I tried to get on psych meds quickly but the ones they tried were ineffective and i had to leave my program.

Since then, (4 years ago) I’ve tried lots of medications and therapies but my bipolar disorder has been hard to treat. One symptom I’m affected by is the inability to focus and comprehend things like i used to. This really challenged my identity–I thought my “smartness” was the best part of me. Even though it sometimes made me feel lonely, it also sort of made me feel like i was better than where I came from.

Now I can’t do a lot of things I used to love: science experiments, complete recreational novels, comprehend scientific journals, or hold down a job. But a few months ago I discovered Crash Course. The short lessons and educational content that I was finally understanding made me feel like my nerdiness was still in here.

John and Hank are helping me to slowly accept that being a nerdfigher isn’t about being super smart; it’s about valuing intellectualism and reducing world suck in your own way. And even though I still feel like a burden to my husband and a let down to my little sisters, you guys are providing me with laughs and a new medium to learn.

In Kurt Vonnegut’s Hocus Pocus the protagonist is married to a “crazy” woman, and the one thing I remember most about the novel is the moment when he looks up at her in the window– he sees a moment of clarity in her eyes�� and yells: I love you! I love you! The Green brothers have allowed me to believe people still love me and sometimes I get a glimpse of love for myself. I will keep trying medications and I ask that you two keep making awesome videos.

DFTBA,

Felycia “flea” Desiree Sylvia Gutierrez Kolar ( yes, Mexicans have long names)

P.S. I am jealous that John knows Francesca Lia Block. She, along with Lord Byron, was my favorite author as a kid #goatgirl.