Mid-Morning Existential Crisis: The Format Returns 

I said Barbara Dudek instead of Barbara Duden, which is why I should've scripted this. Two more things: 1. The p4a starts next Friday! Support a charity you care about by making an excellent project for awesome video explaining what the charity does and why our community should support it; then upload the video to RU-vid and submit it: projectforawesome.com/submit 2. Join the matching fund if you can donate $500 or more to help encourage donations during the p4a: projectforawesome.com/matching Thanks for being here with us. -John

I feel like we’ve really come back around to the silliness of the 2011/2012 Vlogbrothers but with the earnestness of the 2020 Vlogbrothers?? And I’m loving it.

"I don't know if I've mentioned this..." is one of my favorite ways John starts a new topic that is actually a continuation of the same topic that he's been talking about for weeks and/or months.

My brain still has a weird time comprehending how the volume is the same when John is both close to and far away from the camera in The Format and I love it

The look my wife gave me when I told her I wish I could pre-listen to refrigerators before I bought them.

One of my favorite linguistic quirks involving breath is conspire - to breathe with someone. As my linguistics teacher said, Romans were so paranoid that if they saw two people who looked liked they were breathing together, eg. talking very quietly, they thought they were out to get them. On a positive note one of my other favorite quirks is that the word "comfort" shares the root 'fort' that is also found in fortitude and fortress, and means strength. Which means that to comfort someone is to give them strength. Something that is comfortable is able to give you strength. I think we should be more inclined to comfort each other. Can't wait for p4A!

i fucking love 'the format'

Can't wait for The Format to become the new The Bit.

This is my favorite format. Loving this era of vlogbrothers.

Nothing makes me feel so seen as The Format

"You don't know how loud the noise is until the noise goes away," is a phrase I feel like I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. I have a terrible track record for remembering things so we'll see how this goes. The Format is amazing - it feels introspective and intimate, but also feels like an existential crisis boiling just below the surface

I find The Format so comforting?? No idea why but it’s like you’re in my brain because this is how my inner monologue talks to myself.

The Format is the way of the future. I imagine all Vlogbrother videos becoming more and more existential as the years go on until it's just John laying on the floor for four minutes

Thoughts from places but the place is the basement and living room. Although, as always the thoughts are insightful.

I absolutely love this off-brand Bo Burnham format I hope to see it more throughout the year

I love your videos normally, but the couple you've done in this format, just another level. :-) I love everything about them. :-) -Daven

The Format is soothing and interesting, which I feel like is an exceptional balance to strike

I need an entire Anthropocene Reviewed style podcast, completely in this format.

Inside, but make it more Tuberculosis and less eggplant emoji

The format sometimes attacks me because this is very much what thinking in my head looks like

I love how much fun you seem to be having lately. I said to my partner the other day that so many vlogbrothers projects have this energy lately of "quick, while no one is looking, let's have a good time" and I love it.

I love how this fuzzy mic allows you to get exquisite sound and just be... literally anywhere in frame. idk something about this... I love this format.

I love the intimacy of the near field mic paired with the total lack of intimacy from just like walking around aimlessly. The Format is a huge success imo

So good to see you taking it down a notch but also killing it with the new format.

Being haunted by high pitch humming sounds coming from light fixtures happens to me so often. My parents are now just used to me emerging from my room to turn off random lights around the house sometimes, I'm glad I'm not alone in this 💜

I only discovered this channel a few weeks ago and have started watching from the very beginning (2007). The camera quality has improved and I sense that slightly depressed wisdom that comes with age in them, but these guys have largely gone unchanged for nearly fifteen years. And that's not a criticism or diminishing the updates to their format; it's a testament to their spirit. Their earnest desire to see the world suck less has not been tarnished by fame, fortune, or the unambiguous evil life has shown us all. They gave soul to nerd fighters and breathed life into awesome. I have so, so much respect for this.

There’s also a higher likelihood of these authors being neurodivergent/autistic, which most of these traits can be manifestations of. I’ve been “sensitive” my while life, extremely creative yet overwhelmed by surprisingly simple tasks. As I enter my early 40’s, I’m now dealing with new chronic health conditions that are likely triggered by the constant stress on my nervous system. That book from the 1800’s is on to something. ❤❤❤

"You don't even know how loud the noise is until the noise goes away..." *refrigerator motor stops running*

I recently walked across the width of Spain from France. When I came upon the western coast, I felt this immense relief at seeing the ocean. I live on the east coast of the United States and I dont think I realized how much I longed for the sea until I saw it again. The space and immensity of the water washed over my brain and calmed me. I feel so grateful for every moment I had on that trip but I feel particularly in debt to the Atlantic ocean, for meeting me on each end of my trip like an old friend and keeping me steady as I walked across hundreds of miles of land.

I just wanna say that I love how Hank and John show themselves openly enjoying what their doing and letting themselves be silly while simultaneously raising so much awareness and funds to save lives Like Hank's not humping things and John's not waxing his chin for a punishment, but they still hold on to the fun-loving parts of themselves and still let themselves be authentic and enjoy the light hearted or silly moments arguing about what shows to feature on the almost certainly upcoming streaming service DooblyDoo I've been here since 2009 and love that we are watching them get to live out the values and goals they formed years ago during all that silliness. Like even just from John first visiting Sierra Leone to now being a Board Member at PIH (we were briefly coworkers and I technically worked there first though he did not know i existed), and Hank going from wanting to make education more accessible through just posting Crash Course for free initially to now partnering with an acclaimed university to offer courses that can be claimed at universities if you want to pay a small fraction of the normal cost for a traditional college credit hour I love this community both because Hank and John create meaningful positive change in the world, and because they make dumb jokes and goof around online as well haha. Inside every man is two wolves, and if they're the Green brothers brand of humor and their genuine desire to better people's lives I think they should keep embracing both of them 😅 *I posted this as a comment but it turned into a post length love letter to the history of nerdfighteria so adding it here separately

Mother of pearl, not only has The Format returned and nestled it's way into my heart, we got some more TB talk. Exceptional.

The current John Steals Hank's Idea bit is one of my favorite things, and it gives me something to look forward to all week.

John is training for his elderly man who derives flag inspiration from the sky days and I dare say it’ll fit him beautifully

on the subject of breath, I still remember that the first full sentence we learned in GSCE Latin was "dum spiro spero" which means "so long as I breathe, I hope" and I still think about it 6 and a half years later.

You walking into and out of frame in different locations, I have no idea why, but that is like the peak of humor to my brain. Huge fan of The Format.

You have a knack for being satisfyingly existential without throwing in a gallon of pessimism and it's really refreshing

this has all the vibes of sitting on the floor with your best friend at 2 am discussing everything and nothing all at once

John standing with like 15 feet of cord bunched in his hand kills me 😂

A simile I like to use in reference to light, is that you never notice how dark the room has gotten until you turn on the light. I often use this to describe what taking the right antidepressant is like.

I watched you standing outside in a sweater, and then you commented on how windy it was in your part of the world. Living in a part of the world where you can *feel* the wind just by looking out your window, I'm always struck by how comfort is a relative concept. Anyway, hope you're doing well. Cheers from Newfoundland.

The Format brings me such joy. I had surgery last week, and my stitches are killing me. This video is helping with my irascibility.

I just wanted to say that, before continuing into the video, I paused at 6 seconds in to quietly freak out about the giant MF Doom painting on the side of your room there. Of COURSE John would appreciate one of the greatest and strangest wordsmiths in the history of rap. Respect.

The "air" words don't stop there, and they're all great. To conspire is to breathe together; to aspire is to breathe toward; to perspire is to breath through; to respire is to breathe again; and etc.

I so feel "you don't realize how loud the noise is until it stops". My partner and I hear things VERY differently for a lot of reasons, and I consistently hear noises from power sources that he doesn't. So when I'm in a testy mood and I can't figure out why, he usually asks me, "well, what can you hear right now" and them I'm able to identify the noise that's been driving me up a wall. Can't wait for the P4A!

John, this is a master class in explaining a mid-morning existential crisis.

Aspire: to breathe upon Transpire: to breathe through Perspire: to blow Conspire: to breathe together Suspire: to sigh

The best part of this video for me was "you can't feel the cold I feel", while I could in fact feel the cold while waiting for my bus to school(although likely not in the same way)

John Green out here dropping quotes that force me to rethink my entire world

John, I am loving The Format! It feels like I'm wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, drinking calming tea, and having an existential crisis.

this is a new wave of videos. everyone’s gonna be doing the format now lmfao

"Pain is inside of the body, so it leaves no trace for the historian" has the same vibes of the proverb of the Ancestors, "I don't look like what I've been through"

I love The Format Also 'You don't even know how loud the noise is until the noise goes away' is something that hits quite hard with somebody who has recently become afflicted with tinnitus (like me)

I hope that we see both you and Hank using *The Format* much more often

I've been thinking a lot about happiness recently since finally coming out of a long spell of depression, and it's nice to me to see someone like John appear happy for some moments of his life (I, of course, don't know that he's actually happy, but after watching vlogbrothers videos for many years it seems to me he's much happier than he was). For a long time I thought that the fact I approach things very logically and think everything through probably too much before I take any action meant that I was destined to exist in a low level of misery. But now, through watching John do this, I realise that the secret to getting out of my own head is to focus on and appreciate the very small details of the world around me and especially details about human society and the particular human beings I choose to spend my time with. My newfound happiness scared me when it first appeared because I was afraid I would lose it again, but I think that even if it does go away I can always find it by noticing and searching for small moments of joy and contentment and letting them fill my day when they arrive.

John is giving strong ‘weather guy who has been sent on location to experience storm conditions that were predicted to be much worse than they actually were’ vibes and I GREATLY appreciate it. Might be my new favourite vlogbrrothers format

This is so poetic. You should be an author.

John speaking to us in this format is exactly what I needed today

RE the sound of light bulbs: my favourite band has a low humming in the background of every song, a synth sound from a Juno 106, and they do this bit in their shows where they play it, just that hum, and then take it away and leave complete silence instead. Even in a venue with thousands of people, I gasped the first time I heard it live. It has such a strong impact, even while it's hidden in the back of everything, or maybe *because* it's hidden in the back of everything.

The Format gives me such old-school vlogbrother vibes, and I’m here for it. Such a nice soothing way to end a hectic day.

Along a similar vein; I used to have social anxiety disorder, but I didn't know how much fear I had (and how much it had hindered me) until I no longer felt it.

I really enjoy The Format! As an anxious person myself I appreciate the chill vibes. Also the fuzzy mic is fun to look at.

I love melancholy stand up comedian John Green

I feel so understood about the becoming aware of an omnipresent humming sound from a light fixture

Man I love this format. John sounds like the constant background of my brain.

I'm glad John is enjoying The Format so much.

This precise form and format of media is currently tied with the song for my favorite manner of being stimulated and entertained. I would very much appreciate more, please.

This video gave me strong "sickday home alone at 10.46am"-vibes for some reason, I like it.

1:39 "It's weird that you can see my body, but you can't feel what's happening inside of it" made me stop eating my breakfast without realising it. That statement captures the reason I hate going to the doctor, the reason I freak out about my body doing different stuff, the reason I feel so humanly lonely. I'm on my own when it comes to experiencing life and my own body, and it's such a huge responsibility. I'm ultimately alone in taking care of myself, because I must decide from whom and for what I need help, and then explain my experience with words that inherently are not enough.

The Format is beautiful- I think it could be combined with educational videos or "thoughts from places' and still be amazing. Thoughts From The Format!

i really hope this format never ends

"You don't even know how loud the noise is until the noise goes away." Whelp. That one's gonna haunt me. Thanks John

"You don't know how loud the sound is, until it goes away" 💯

THE FORMAT

Last

‘The Format’ is my favourite Vlogbrothers arc since Singamajigs.

Sometimes I look for the noisy light fitting and then I remember it's tinnitus and it'll never be silent every again

This silliness seems both so warmly whimsical and yet, coldly calculated.

Crazy that JUST THIS MORNING I watched the “mindbenders” video from a year ago for the first time, in which Hank brought up the bit about our lack of knowledge about why matter exists.

I like the creative decision of starting a shot of the empty room with the audio and then appearing suddenly in frame half a second later.

John absolutely KILLS this format. This gave me so much serotonin.

I gotta say, I'm not surprised that "why is there stuff" is the question we don't know the answer to, because "why" is always a much more difficult question than "what, where, when, who, and how."

Hey John, I have always been under the illusion that you made your videos at a desk that was up against a wall. The room, I now know is a rather large room, has me questioning what I think I know. Seeing you sitting in the corner of your set with the camera zoomed out has got me thinking of our perspectives and how can we ever claim to know or see or understand anything. I do know that you are awesome, extremely intelligent, and thought provoking. You will always be a roll model to me!!

I still find it so weird that I don't know you, despite how well I know you. John, of all the people I don't know, but who I know, you're my favorite.

Every morning in the winter we get in the car and turn up the fan for the heat from two notches to four notches. Once the car warms up, we turn it back down and the difference in noise is remarkable. It didn't seem that loud when we turned it up, but it's very noticeable once we turn it back down. I think that's what a lot of life's annoyances are like. They don't seem so bad when they first start and you kind of get used to them but it's a big relief you didn't even know you needed once they're gone.

As someone who has an auditory processing disorder, it was affirming to hear the relief you had in turning the lamp off to stop the sound. That situation is one I’ve played out thousands of times with many variations in the years I’ve been alive.

This series of videos-the last few, I mean-are the most brotherly/quintessential sibling interactions I’ve seen unfold in a public way. This is the “I know you are but what am I” of vlogbrothers. A game of copycat in the backseat of the internet. The “I’m not touching you” of short-form RU-vid videos. Except it’s two adult men. It’s incredibly endearing.

I love The Format - and the fact that we are calling it "The Format", like the high-priced stores which label everything unironically (or ironically?) with just the item's name.

It feels like such an interesting artistic contrast to have this serious feeling format with the near monotone voice, but also the word “dooblydoo”.

As soon as John said "high pitched humming sound" a similar sound began outside my window. It stopped very soon after but DANG was it resonant

2:33 when John introduces a new camera angle then doesn't use it is the best film-maker this channel has ever seen damn.

This season of John vlogs is, up to this point, my favourite season of John vlogs.

He claims that I can't feel cold or pain but I literally got goosebumps as soon as he walked outside.

I’m not bright enough to know what metaphorically resonate means but I love how relaxing your babbling is. Thanks for being our friend!

Things like this is how I know John is writing a truly spectacular novel.

Recently got noise canceling headphones for the first time and the relief I felt when I first turned them on and blocked out the humming was unbelievable. I had no idea how much sound there was until I “turned it off” and then I felt peace. Highly recommend

I thought, I fully understood the concept of "you don't know how loud the noise is, until the noise goes away.", but then came the quarantine. I live in the capital of my country, and the absence of car noises and people was overwhelmingly quiet.

my last job was at a health department; i never thought about tuberculosis til I worked there and we literally had patients who came to us for tuberculosis treatment for months and months til they got clearance from the tb prevention program overlords

John. Real talk. Never stop being you. You above all. You John. Always be you. Sincerely. Me.

Honestly really loving seeing how Sarah decorated. As expected, very tasteful

Same! That's how I feel when I turn off Bluetooth in some device I didn't realize was on. The relief is huge.