Posts Tagged ‘geekadelphia’
Nerd Nite No 54: Social Media Travels, America’s True Birthplace, and Fun with Weird Al
Greetings Nerds!
Are you ready to enjoy a fine fall evening with us on November 4? We know we are! Check back soon for more details on our talks, but in the meantime, we’ll hopefully pique your interest with the following info:
Kae Lani Kennedy will present “Your Social Media Habits are F*cking with the Travel Industry: Here’s How We’re Adapting”.
Social media is driven by users sharing experiences and one of the most commonly shared experiences online is travel. Whether it’s to a restaurant in our city, or to a distant continent, we want to humblebrag, take selfies, and hashtag where we and what we’re doing. So what does all this social media jargon mean for the travel industry? In this talk, we’ll discuss the social implications of social media, shifting trends and travel habits, and how the travel industry is adapting to this changing media landscape.
Kae Lani Kennedy is a Philadelphia-based travel journalist and the Social Media Manager for Matador Network, an independent travel media site specializing in capturing “human stories”. Straddling the worlds of journalism and marketing, she has developed social media strategies that have earned her and her company the title of the travel industry’s “Most Effective Brand on Social Media” by Skift and American Express. When she’s not traveling the world in the name of journalism, she enjoys street photography, flying drones, and sampling nachos from every bar and restaurant around town.
David Krueger will discuss the topic of his recent book, in his talk entitled “Vikings Myths, Pseudoarchaeology, and the “True” Birthplace of America”.
Why do people believe things that scholarship has disproven? Is myth more powerful than science? I’m going to tell you the story of how a charismatic Norwegian immigrant was able to persuade the masses that the nation began in 1362, with the deaths of Christian Vikings at the hands of skraelings in what was one day to become Minnesota.
David M. Krueger is an independent scholar of religion, history, and American culture with a PhD from Temple University and a ThM from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of the new book Myths of the Rune Stone: Viking Martyrs and the Birthplace of America published by the University of Minnesota Press. He’s a farm kid at heart, loves ’80s hardcore punk, and is a dedicated offspring wrangler a.k.a. parent.
And, recent Geek Awards Winner Kelly Phillips will share some Weird Al stories in her talk “Everything You Know is Wrong: Growing Up Online with “Weird Al” Yankovic”.
Kelly Phillips is a cartoonist living in West Philly. She is the creator of the comic series Weird Me: the true story of her teenage years as the moderately successful webmaster of a “Weird Al” Yankovic fan site. Her work has appeared in various publications, including Philadelphia City Paper, Quarter Moon, and Secret Prison. She is also the co-editor and publisher of the award-winning all-girl comic anthology Dirty Diamonds, which recently debuted its sixth book around the theme of Beauty, featuring work from over 50 international contributors.
And what else? Music by local singer-songwriter Brian Gray!
When: Wednesday, November 4
What time: Doors open at 4pm. Show starts at 7:30pm
How much: $5 cover gets you admission plus happy hour specials all night
Where: Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125
Be there and be square!
Nerd Nite Philly
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: america, comics, geekadelphia, history, social media, travel, vikings, weird al | 
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Nerd Nite No. 48: The Dangers of Democratization, Dirty MRFs, and Jedi Junk! Plus, Music by the Black Mariah!
Oh hey, Philly Nerds. We’re on a roll celebrating all that is nerdy in our great city. We had a great PSF-edition of Nerd Nite on the 29th, but now, back to our regularly scheduled program: May Nerd Nite.
What do we have planned? Well let’s get right down to business:
First up is “The Dangers of Democratization: The Story of Cote d’Ivoire” by Anne Frugé
In 1990, multiparty-democracy was introduced to Ivory Coast with strongman Houphouet Boigny at the helm. By 1993 Houphouet was dead, a power vacuum loomed, and the country was torn apart by political feuds. Ultimately the question of which Ivoirians should be considered citizens led to a civil war that lasted from 2002 to 2008 and La Crise of 2010. Based on recent field research, this Nerd Nite talk explains what happens when a country tries to democratize before important milestones in political and economic development have been reached.
About Anne: Anne Frugé is a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland researching (and teaching) politics of the developing world and ethnic violence. She has conducted field work in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Her husband, Phillip Gray, is so supportive of her work that he travelled to West Africa with her in 2014.
What happens after your recyclables are picked up? Join your plastic bottles and milk cartons as they head to a Materials Recovery Facility, get crushed and melted, and then end up as a park bench or a jacket. This Nerd Nite talk will explore how various recyclables are broken down and re-made in to every day objects.
About Michelle: Michelle is the Executive Director of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, a nonprofit organization dedicated to litter abatement and recycling education and promotion. She is not a scientist, but she is nerdy (just ask anyone, really!). Before her time at KPB, she was the Commercial Corridor Manager for the Frankford Community Development Corporation, where she gained a new love for Philadelphia and its neighborhoods. She holds a BA in Political Science from Brandeis University, and a Masters in Public Policy from Drexel (see, told you she’s not a scientist).
Lastly, Nerd Nite regular Ben Leach will discuss “Jedi Junk: Oddball Merchandise from a Galaxy Far, Far Away”
Have you guys heard of this movie series called Star Wars? It’s pretty popular. And it survives thanks to merchandise. The total amount of money all of the Star Wars films have made at the global box office totals over $4 billion, but the total sales of toys for the franchise totals $12 billion. However, you don’t make and sell that much merchandise without a few missteps along the way. Nerd Nite utility player Ben Leach lets you ride shotgun in his T-16 Skyhopper as he discusses some of the stranger characters that were immortalized as action figures, the even stranger choices that were made when it came to merchandising popular characters, and some items that were clearly thought of after a rough bout of hibernation sickness and thus were never, ever sold, probably for the best.
About Ben: Ben Leach is a medical writer based in Southern New Jersey. He was dragged to his first flea market when he was a month old, and ever since then, he’s been on the hunt for weird and eclectic items that remind him of what it was like to be a kid in the 1980s and 1990s. He sometimes provides updates on his family’s website collectorgene.com. Previously, he’s spoken at Nerd Nite about brainy supervillains, foreign movie posters, his Mr. T collection, and he hosted a game show based on the 1984 Sears Wishbook.
Cover is $5, which gets you admission to learn from some local nerds as well as hear some new music from local band the Black Mariah, all while enjoying happy hour prices at the always accommodating Frankford Hall.
When: Wednesday, May 6
What time: Doors open at 4pm. Show starts at 7:30pm
How much: $5 cover gets you admission plus happy hour specials all night
Where: Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125
Be there and be square!
Nerd Nite Philly
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: democracy, geek culture, geekadelphia, Jedis, political science, recycling, star wars, sustainability |
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Nerd Nite PSF-Edition: Busting Science Myths Left and Right!
Yo Nerds!
Happy Science Festival! We’ve got a great edition of Nerd Nite brought to you in conjunction with the Philadelphia Science Festival. We’ll be busting myths for you fine folks and entertaining you with one of our favorite nerdy bands, Los Festingos!
So what’s in store? We’re taking cryptozoology, gluten free diets, and forensic science to task– what’s truth, what’s fiction, what is still unknown? Intrigued? Join us! Note that the pre-sale tickets for this event are *sold out* but we’re still selling tickets at the door! Get there early because we do expect a crowd!
Gluten Free, the craze that’s sweeping the nation by Stephanie Moleski
Dr. Stephanie Moleski is Assistant professor of Medicine at Jefferson Hospital in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Her clinical and research interest include celiac disease and gluten related disorders. She will discuss the differences between gluten intolerance and celiac disease and help explore some truths and myths regarding these disorders No fear – gluten containing beer will be served.
And last but not least will be No Sh*t Sherlock: Forensic Fiction and Fallacies by Kimberlee Moran
TV and crime novels would have us believe that a DNA profile takes a matter of minute and a CSI crew can fingerprint your front lawn. Learn some truth behind popular depictions of forensic science as well as some forensic facts that are stranger than fiction.
When: Wednesday, April 29
What time: Doors open at 4pm. Show starts at 7:30pm
How much: $5 cover gets you admission plus happy hour specials all night
Where: Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125
Be there and be square!
XOXO,
Your friendly Nerd Nite Philly Team
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: academy of natural sciences, cryptozoology, CSI, diets, forensics, geekadelphia, gluten, Los Festingos, mythbusters, Philadelphia Science Festival |
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Nerd Nite No. 44: Dickens! Mutter Museum! Dark Matter! And a Special Holiday Contest
Are you fine folks ready for the final Nerd Nite of 2014? We sure hope so, since we have an extra special lineup planned. And you won’t be able to get another dose of nerdy action at Frankford Hall until February! We’ll be at Frankford Hall the first Wednesday of the month so mark your calendars now: February 4, March 4, April 1, you get the picture.
Now without further ado, the topics for the final 2014 Nerd Nite:
“From Picked to Pickled: True Tales of the Mütter Museum” by Anna Dhody
“Charles Dickens and the Haunting of Christmas” by Edward Pettit
For a time in the 19th Century, when readers bought the Christmas issue of a magazine, they did not expect to be regaled with tales of good will to all men and visions of sugar plumb fairies. Instead they expected it to contain a tale or two that would chill their very souls— a tale they would read aloud around their hearth on Christmas Eve with the wind whistling down their chimneys and the world outside still and silent. Ghosts and spirits would rise from the pages and haunt their dreams. And the man responsible for the Christmas Ghost Story tradition: Charles Dickens.
Edward G Pettit is a Philadelphia writer, professor, book reviewer, film presenter, public lecturer and all around literary provocateur. He is known as the Philly Poe Guy, but also recently served as the Charles Dickens Ambassador for the Free Library of Philadelphia’s yearlong Bicentenary celebration of the author’s birth in 2012 and wrote the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion’s 2013 murder mystery play, Twisted, in which he played Dickens. Pettit will be reading one of Dickens’s Christmas books, The Cricket on the Hearth at the Maxwell Mansion on December 13.
And Christina Love presents “Join the DarkSide: Dark Matter Matters”
Dark matter makes up over 80% of all the matter in the universe. We don’t know what it is. We can indirectly see dark matter by the gravity that it produces, but we have yet to directly detect it. There are three ways that researchers are currently looking for dark matter: particle detectors, particle accelerators, and excess particles.
Bio: Christina Love received her PhD from Temple University where her work focused on the direct detection of dark matter with the DarkSide Collaboration and she completed her postdoctoral work at the Transportation Security Laboratory working on the detection of explosives for aviation security. She is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Physics at Drexel University where she works on education and outreach. For example, she is the founder of Start Talking Science, an event where researchers present non technical posters to the general public.
And a special holiday treat for everyone: Nerd Nite veteran Ben Leach will be mixing up our usual entertainment segment with a special Price Is Right style contest featuring the 1984 Sears Wish Book! It’s going to be incredible retro fun!
The logistics:
Wednesday, December 3
Doors open at 4pm. Show starts at 7:30pm
$5 cover gets you admission plus happy hour specials all night
Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19125
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: astronomy, Charles Dickens, dark matter, drexel university, game shows, geekadelphia, literature, Mutter Museum, Price is Right, Sears Wishbook Catalog, weird science |
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Nerd Nite No. 40: Is it True That Size Isn’t All the Matters? Plus the wacky world of enhancement drugs and controversial librarians!
We’re ready to rock you with another line up of Philadelphia’s finest Nerds on Wednesday, August 13. Here are all the details you could want:
“It’s Not Just Size That Matters: Conflict, Competition and Dominance in the Animal World” by Marina Haynes Many people think that to be the “top dog” you have to be bigger and stronger than your opponent. Size definitely helps but that not the only thing influencing how groups of animals interact. Learn about the many ways animals (and people) deal with conflict and competition and learn to be a better observer of behavior in the process!
Bio: Marina Haynes is the Curator of KidZooU at the Philadelphia Zoo, the Zoo’s newest exhibit and largest in its history. Her academic background is in animal behavior and has conducted research on animal play behavior. At the Zoo, she is responsible for the management of the widest range of animal taxa in any one area including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish. Her passion is training animals and people using positive reinforcement techniques.
“Drugs are good? A history of “enhancement” drug use in policy, sport, and life” by Ross Aikins What do Nazis, Francis Crick, Lance Armstrong, The Beatles, and one in eight college students have in common? They all use drugs to better (and sometimes worse). From substances of enlightenment to substances of abuse, the complex, enduring relationship between people and drugs continues to evolve. Somewhere along the way in America, we decided that some drugs were good, some were bad, and sometimes we changed our minds. This talk shouldn’t make you want to reconsider doing drugs, but it might make you reconsider “drugs.”
Bio: Ross Aikins got into drug and health research as a “recovering Californian” from UCLA, and is currently on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where he specializes in college student health, military veteran populations, and other issues in higher education. Prior to coming to Philadelphia less than a year ago (!), he studied so-called “enhancement drug use” in literature, science, war, sport, and society as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in New York City—focusing specifically on the nonmedical use of Ritalin, Adderall and other stimulant medications among college students. When not boldly exploring the menu of “Wawa” or practicing his pronunciation of Philly suburbs, Ross enjoys comedy and general NBA nerdery. A chapter he co-wrote on PED use in college athletics will appear in the book Scandals in College Sports, to be released in March.
“Unexpected results from a lifetime of microplannning:random chance, unconscious schematics,finding an adversary, going viral without getting sick & the Great Librarian War of 2014” by Kyle Cassidy In early 2014 Kyle Cassidy published what seemed to be an innocuous photo essay about librarians in Slate magazine. Within hours it went viral and ultimately became the most viewed series of photos Slate had ever published. Unexpectedly controversial, it spawned a documentary, narrated by Neil Gaiman, attracted the attention of publishers and began an intense discussion about image, body image, and the future of libraries that is still resonating.
Bio: Kyle Cassidy is the award winning photographer behind the documentary photo books “Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in their Homes” and “War Paint: Tattoo Culture and the Armed Forces”. He most recently photographed “Geek Knits”, a book about knitting and nerds written by Joan of Dark and published by St. Martins Press, it comes out in December. Currently he’s hard at work photographing science fiction writers desks and roller derby players. www.kylecassidy.com @kylecassidy
Plus, music by Tom Kelly. Think nerdy videogame-inspired tunes.
As always, we’ll be at Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Avenue.
Show starts at 7:30 sharp.
Cover is $5
Be there and be square!