Nerd Nite No. 34: Gamer Romance, Sirius in the Sky, and Victorian Love & Death
Hey Friends, are you ready for a fantastic Nerd Nite? We know we’ve been missing all of you plus the fine beers at Frankford Hall during our hiatus. So we’re back and better than ever. The ever important logistical details:
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
doors at 7pm, show starts at 7:30pm
Frankford Hall at Frankford and Girard
$5 cover gets you a night of nerdy edutainment, plus food and drink specials.
The talks at hand are as follows:
“Love, Pixels, & Exploring Romance in Video Games” by Eric Smith
If someone were to ask you what the Greatest Love Story of All Time was, and what it was that made said story so great, what would be your answer? Chances are, you might not bring up Shadow of the Colossus or Final Fantasy VII. Which is ridiculous, because come on. In this talk, we’ll explore the oft forgotten romantic genre… of video games.
Bio: Eric Smith is the co-founder of Geekadelphia and the Philly Geek Awards, and the social media manager at Quirk Books. He’s the author of The Geek’s Guide to Dating, and his debut YA novel, Inked, is due out this Fall with Bloomsbury Spark. He’s written for The Huffington Post, Boing Boing, BuzzFeed, BookRiot, The Bygone Bureau, Geekosystem, and more. He enjoys bad movies, good books, and old fashioned cocktails. Hi Nena! <3
“When the Stars Align – The Convergence of Art & Science” by John Caperton
The Print Center’s Demetrius Oliver exhibition, Canicular, is conceived in direct response to the curator’s request for the artist to think as expansively as possible about what constitutes a print (printed work being the core of The Print Center’s mission), and reflects the artist’s longtime desire to create an installation requiring a radical shift in the typical functions of an organization and its gallery spaces. In this case, the artist essentially converted the gallery spaces into an observatory which will only be open for one hour each night (Tuesday-Saturday 7:00pm-8:00pm, weather permitting) to coincide with the rising of Sirius in the night sky. Canicular is a new video installation that will consist of a projected, live-feed from a high-power telescope focused on Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky). The video, a live-feed from a telescope mounted on the roof of the Franklin Institute, will be projected in a round structure, built within one of The Print Center’s galleries to resemble a small observatory.
Bio: John Caperton, Jensen Bryan Curator of The Print Center, curated a solo exhibition by New York City artist Demetrius Oliver entitled Canicular on view through March 22 at The Print Center. Oliver is known for creating elegant, improvisatory, site-specific installations using photography, sculpture and video to record the act of sidereal observation itself. His work draws heavily on a variety of disparate intellectual interests related to interpreting phenomena, including American transcendentalism, music of the spheres, and the history of cosmology, weaving them into spectacular, cohesive works of self-exploration and expression.
“True Love Never Dies: Victorians, Burials and the State of Amour” by Alexis Jeffcoat
The woman who left behind her heart, the ashes that were pulverized to make room for two souls; the pomp and circumstance of arctic explorer’s burial with the sad state of his lover in a pauper’s grave. These are love stories. And hate stories, too. Lust, loathing, passion, devotion; all of it follows us to the grave. Be it all-consuming, romantic or even scandalous; love does not end with death and no one was surer of that than our Victorian predecessors. Sit back, grab a drink, and snuggle up: we’re about to gossip like its 1872. The dresses were long, the love was torrid and the burials? Dramatic.
Bio: Alexis received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and European History from Temple University and her Masters in Arts & Humanities from Arcadia University. She manages marketing and programming for the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Laurel Hill Cemetery as a historic site. As a fan of history, Alexis enjoys sharing the stories of the cemetery’s varied “residents” and no, she has not yet seen a ghost.
Plus Joey Sweeney with some sweet acoustic sounds.
See you fine Nerds there!
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Tags: art, astronomy, burial, geekadelphia, history, Victorian Era | 
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Nerd Nite No. 34: February 12, 2014
Hey Nerds!
The first Nerd Nite of 2014 is right around the corner–Wednesday, February 12. So that you can plan to be there and be square, the details on the evening in question:
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
doors at 7pm, show starts at 7:30pm
Frankford Hall at Frankford and Girard
$5 cover gets you a night of nerdy fun, plus food and drink specials, and a chance to hear from the following folks:
- Eric Smith: “Love, Pixels, & Exploring Romance in Video Games”
- John Caperton: “When the Stars Align – The Convergence of Art & Science”
- Alexis Jeffcoat: “True Love Never Dies: Victorians, Burials and the State of Amour”
Plus music by Joey Sweeney!
Nerd Nite No. 33: December 4, 2013. Self-Optimization, Space Launches, and Dinosaur Extinction!
Hey Nerds! We’re just a week away from the last Nerd Nite of 2013. We have a great line up, two anniversaries, a farewell, and a terrific line up to boot.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Doors at 7:00, show at 7:30 sharp
Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Avenue
This is an extra special evening for the Philly Nerd Nite team.
- For one, we are celebrating the 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the first ever Nerd Nite in Boston.
- ALSO! This is the 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the first ever Philly Nerd Nite!
- More locally important, our long time Nerd boss Michelle is leaving for bigger and better nerdy things. Michelle, who we are sure will return as a spectator when she can, will be departing Philadelphia for the warmer climes on the campus of UVA where she has taken a job as assistant professor of Pharmacology. PLEASE consider stopping by to wish her well, thank her for growing NN Philly into today’s success AND hear her give a talk about something near and dear to her nerdy heart.
The talks at hand:
All the Nerds are doing it – well they will be soon. Quantified Self – self knowledge through numbers. From the Nike+ Fuelband, fitbit, body media, Zeo or just your iPhone there are many tools available to monitor yourself. Nerds everywhere are tracking their steps, heart variability, sleep, movement, posture, mood, diet, weight, their life. People have been self-tracking forever, but now the tools are easier, the hardware is smaller and more versatile, data is in the cloud and the user interface is nicer. They promise to change health care, make us health and more productive… to optimize our lives. Is all this self study really useful?
Bio: Russ earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. During graduate school, Russ co-founded the nanotechnology start-up Ocular Technologies. Ocular commercialized a patterned SAM coating for beer glasses, when water was applied to these patterned surfaces an image was produced with the water. Now at Johnson & Johnson, Russ mostly studies the skin and how skin care products interact with the skin. His current beer-related research mostly consists of quality control testing in various taverns throughout the Philadelphia region.
“Anatomy of a Space Shuttle Launch” by Joshua Moskowitz
Successfully launching any spacecraft, especially one as complex as the Space Shuttle, is the result of thousands of carefully planned and executed events. It requires years of preparation, training, and hard work by thousands of people. Anatomy of a Space Shuttle Launch will explore some of the events that take place before and after lift-off, when and why they must occur, and what can happen if they don’t. Strap yourselves in and get ready, because what goes up doesn’t always have to come down.
Bio: From 2004 – 2010 Joshua Moskowitz worked as a Mechanical Systems Flight Control Officer in NASA’s Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. He supported 19 space shuttle missions from the MCC while performing a variety of functions. He also drank beer with astronauts and once made a paper clip chain nearly 3 feet long.
“K-T and the Iridium Band” by Michelle Bland
65 million years ago, three-quarters of Earth’s species went extinct. It was a bad time for dinosaurs and a good time for mammals. This extinction event is preserved in the rock layers that mark the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Paleogene (formerly called the Tertiary). That dividing line in time, space and biodiversity – the K-T boundary – is one centimeter thick, and it contains multitudes. Among the topics for discussion are: neutron activation analysis, iridium, disaster taxa, and Eugene Shoemaker’s greatness as a human being.
Bio: Michelle Bland is a biologist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies insulin signaling by making fruit flies diabetic. She is the co-founder and a boss of Philly Nerd Nite. She likes dive bars and soul music.
Music by Nerd Nite alums Los Festingos
A Festingo: One whom expands the musical universe through creative, humorous, and often outrageous feats of harmonious excellence.
The price: $5 cover gets you a night of nerdy fun, plus food and drink specials.
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: beer, dinosaurs, K-T band, NASA, self-optimization |
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Nerd Nite No. 32, November 6, 2013
Hey Nerds!
First – a big thanks to everyone who came to our Halloween party. We had a blast, and we hope you guys did too. And you certainly did not disappoint in the costume contests. From some extreme nerds to Mary Poppins to Bunnicula to Doc, Marty, and a Flux Capacitor, we were amazed by your talents all evening long. Mad props.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming with a smorgasbord of nerd goodness. Details:
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
doors at 7:00, show at 7:30 sharp
Frankford Hall at Frankford and Girard, 2 blocks from the Girard St blue line stop
$5 cover gets you a night of nerdy fun, plus food and drink specials
The lectures at hand:
“How the Universe is Trying to Kill You” by John Bochanski
While the night sky looks peaceful and serene, it is anything but. Near and far, the universe is full of hazards that pose a threat to all life on Earth. We’ll take a look at a few, and look at some ways that astronomers are trying to identify the most eminent threats. While I can’t tell you when and where the next threat might strike, I can tell you that Bruce Willis and nuclear bomb is not the way to go.
Bio: John Bochanski is an astronomer and visiting professor at Haverford College. John is also a blogger for Sky and Telescope magazine and volunteers for the Philadelphia Science Festival. Hailing from South Jersey, John graduated from Villanova and got his Ph.D. in Seattle from the University of Washington. After that, he worked at MIT and Penn State, before coming back to Philly. When not contemplating the mysteries of the Universe, John can be found watching the game, or out on a run around town.
“Jeffro Kilpatrick: Bury My Bones in Ink” by Jeffro Kilpatrick
Kilpatrick will discuss how he uses art and cartooning in all ends of his life, from his career to charity to social circles to wooing the love of his life. He will show examples of his work referencing geeky pop culture, his fascination with Philly and Fishtown, and his obsession with the world’s maudlin, rambling, nocturnal creatures.
Bio: Jeffro Kilpatrick is a Philly cartoonist, born and raised in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. He is a co-founder of the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society (www.phillytoon.org) and a proud member of the Meathaus Comics Collective (www.meathaus.com). He spends his days and weekends teaching art to Philly middle school students, and his nights hunched over the same drawing table he had when he was a kid.
SKELETOR is the host of popular Karaoke Gong Show for more than six years at the Trocadero. It is the most evil and FUN Karaoke show you will ever attend. Carmen Martella III portrays a parody of Skeletor, the overlord of evil, from the 80’s cartoon “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.” The next Karaoke Gong Show is Friday November 15th!
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: art, astronomy, citizen science, comic books, Skeletor, STEM education |
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Nerd Nite No. 31, October 31, 2013 – HALLOWEEN PARTY!
Nerds,
Get out your needle and thread, your hot glue guns, your stage makeup and your nerd glasses, because we are having a Nerd Nite Halloween Party! It will be a horrifying yet delightful mash-up of a regular Halloween party and a regular Nerd Nite. To wit: we’ll have a costume contest with rad prizes brought to you by Quirk Books, Frankford Hall and the Nerd Nite Philly team. See details in the flyer below for costume contest categories. We’ll have candy, we’ll have beer (with happy hour specials all night long) and we’ll also have speakers.
Thursday, October 31, 8 pm onward
NO COVER – FREE FREE FREE
In particular, we’re excited to bring you the 2013 Geek Award-winning Scientist of the Year and great friend of Nerd Nite Kimberlee Moran who will spook you with “Tales from the Crypt”. Nerd Nite co-boss Michelle Bland will scare you silly with “Horrors of Invertebrate Genetics”. Blurbs below:
“Tales from the Crypt” by Kimberlee Moran
Ghosts, vampires, and zombies…oh my! This Halloween learn the science behind death and some of our favorite ghouls. We’ll learn about what happens to the body as it decomposes along with the facts behind vampires. Finally, you’ll sleep easy tonight after learning why you’re safe from a zombie apocalypse.
“Horrors of Invertebrate Genetics” by Michelle Bland
Biologists love making and finding new mutations to get a handle on how life works. Sometimes, though, nature turns out to be made up of the stuff of nightmares. Witness the dreadful spectacle of Drosophila development gone awry! Sit transfixed in terror at the menace of zombified insects! And learn the horrifying meaning of “bag of worms”.
