Nerd Nite is back for our 2013-2014 season in a new [and very sexy] location. We’re excited to announce that we’ll be taking up residence in The Club (Rice Theatre), at the Citadel!
- People said, “we want Nerd Nite to be more central,” and we’re giving you more central.
- People said, “we want LRT access,” and we’re giving you LRT access.
- People said, “we want a bigger room,” and we’re giving you a bigger room.
- People said, “we want chandeliers,” and we’re giving you chandeliers.
- Sadly our venue is no longer under an erotic massage place, but you can’t have it all.
Nerd Nite is a break even affair and in order to move to this lovely new space (cover insurance, rentals, incidentals) we’ve had to make a few changes. The first is that we’ve had to raise the price a little. Previously, after services charges, Nerd Nite Edmonton was $12 (in advance), we’ve had to tack on $3 bringing the total to $15 (after fees) in order to cover costs. We hope it won’t break the bank. The second, we can no long offer a free drink (for a cacophony of reasons) but don’t worry, there will still be drinks for purchase. We are confident that the positives of the new space will out weight the negatives and we appreciate your understanding as we continue to explore the many corners of nerdom.
Same nerdy format:
Three speakers from your community for about 20 minutes each + beer (and other assorted beverages) = Nerd Nite
When: September 12, 2013 (doors @ 7:30p, show @ 8)
Where: The Club (Citadel Theatre, 9828-101A Avenue Edmonton)
$18 at the door
[Children 17 & Under Will Not Be Admitted]
The Heroic Horn – Music, Movies and Looooove
Megan Evans
Throughout its long and sordid history the sound of the french horn has been used in some of the most poignant moments found in music. From its roots in the hunt, its brassy sound can add drama to any sweeping outdoor vista. The sound of the horn can boldly take you where no trumpet could ever dream of!!! The mellow and warm qualities are often used to nostalgically tug at your heartstrings (just think Princess Leia’s theme!). Let’s nerd out with a little chat about the history of the Horn, its famous (and infamous) stars as well as its uses in modern culture today.
Bio: Megan Evans is a French Hornist (Horner? Hornerist?) with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held for five years. She doesn’t appreciate jokes about being horny, so don’t even think about it! Megan received a Bachelor and Master’s of Music Performance from McGill University in Montreal where she studied with John Zirbel, principal horn of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
What the Fluff are Furries?
Alexi Huskey
Things are about to get fuzzy. This presentation will explore a largely misunderstood and often misrepresented lifestyle. In costume, Alexi will review the origins of furryism, discuss how anthropomorphisms have existed for centuries, and consider what it means today to celebrate being furry. While popular television shows, like CSI, have taken cracks at the fandom by playing off its stereotypes, furry culture is much more deep, involved, and often has remarkably positive effects on local communities. While Furryism often incorporates other sub-cultures, like goths, ravers, anime, and even some hipsters, it is more than a sub-culture; it is often described by the people who live it as a lifestyle. Alexi will open your eyes to the real furry culture in Edmonton and elsewhere and will reveal what it really means for me to be furry.
Bio: Alexi has been a furry for nearly 15 years now. Always represented as a husky, and can often found dressing up in elaborate costumes for his fursuit and attending clubs and parties. When he was a pup he found he always shared an affinity for animals, and often preferred to hang out with his cat or dog as a kid and watch cartoons. Later in life he found himself particularly fond of a specific breed of dog, the Husky. However his introduction into the fandom did not come until much later when one of his friends asked him if he was a furry after noticing he was wearing a collar decoratively. Since then Alexi has remained akin to the husky and the personality traits the breed represents to him, good looking, loyal, independent and playful. For Alexi, the furry fandom represents a way to express his spirituality, maybe cope with species dysphoria, and to find like minded furs to hang out with. He can be found often “fursuiting” around at dog related charity events, and even the Edmonton Zoo. To this day, he’s helped raised over $1,500 for animal rescue shelters and sled dog related rescue shelters.
Encouraging Public Nerdgasms
Trevor Prentice
What do a 14 metre radius metal hemisphere, a tesla coil, and a moon rock have in common? Aside from the shear awesomeness of their very existence, they are surprisingly excellent tools for sharing one’s love of science. Trevor will discuss some of the best techniques we have at our disposal to stimulate interest in science and why it is so vital that we do so. From electrifying children to flying people to the edge of the Universe, Trevor will discuss a few of the many ways we can inspire minds young and old.
Bio: A capture the flag and urban tag aficionado by night and fun loving physicist by education, Trevor got his start working with science centres running overnight science raves for young children at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. In addition to this pastime, Trevor used his time in Seattle to educate himself at the graduate level as a rocket scientist, with a side of entrepreneurship. He returned to Edmonton to run the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre, largely to fulfill his dream of choreographing 10 watts of raw laser power live to an audience of up to 250 often initially sober minds. After commercializing some hard-core University of Alberta science with TEC Edmonton, Trevor worked as Staff Scientist at TELUS World of Science Edmonton for nearly 2.71 years. He recently rejoined TEC Edmonton to try to better understand the minds and research of the extreme nerds at the U of A and to dare I say, change the world.
Nerd Nite is back in a very special way. For the first time in Edmonton you can attend Nerd Nite for free and it’s an all ages show!
On August 22nd, gates to the ATB Community Patio (see map at end of post) open at 7:30 and the show starts at 8:00. The first 200 people get in (for free)! It’s recommended you get to the Fringe Site early to assure yourself a spot.
This is the description of the event that you’ll find in your Fringe Theatre Adventures program (see below for the line-up):
ATB Financial Community Patio, on the Fringe Site
8:00 pm – 10:15 pm, Thursday, August 22
Nerd Nite at the Fringe . . . a fun night of nerdery, knowledge and drinks. It starts with an introduction to the history of Nerd Nite and is followed by three presenters regaling you with their ‘nerdy knowledge’ on a wide range of topics. Presentations are each 20 minutes long followed by a question period and a 10-minute break to visit and socialize with fellow nerds before delving into the next topic.
Previous Nerd Nites have included presentations from a liquid-nitrogen-wielding quantum physicist, an award-winning opera composer, a forensic anthropologist, a globetrotting luthier and a toy collector, to name but a few. Currently presenting in over 50 cities around the world, Nerd Nite has been featured in illustrious publications like the Penn Gazette, the North Adams Transcript and Mathbabe.com. In fact, the Nerd Nite motto is: It’s like the Discovery Channel with beer!
Nerd Nite: be there and be square
Presented by Nerd Nite Edmonton
Here’s our line up:
The Northern Lights and Extreme Space Weather
Prof. Ian R. Mann
The largest space storms are triggered by explosions on the sun sending billions of tons of solar plasma hurtling towards the Earth at over 2 million miles per hour! Upon arriving at Earth they can trigger space storms and extreme space weather. As recently as last July, the Earth was narrowly missed by a solar explosion which could have triggered the most extreme space weather we’ve witnessed in 150 years. Should you be afraid, or perhaps very afraid? Learn more about the dark side of the northern lights with Professor Ian Mann, as he reviews the physics of the Aurora Borealis, and the space storms associated with extreme space weather.
Bio: Prof. Ian R. Mann is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta, and was a Canada Research Chair in Space Physics from 2003-13. He is a Co-Investigator on the five satellite NASA Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission to the northern lights launched in 2007, and is a Co-Investigator on the NASA Van Allen Probes mission to the Earth’s radiation belts launched in 2012. He was selected as one of Canada’s Top-40-under-40 in 2009 by the Globe and Mail and Caldwell Partners International, and currently serves as the United Nations Co-Chair of the international Expert Group on Space Weather, as part of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) initiative on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. He is also the Principal Investigator of the CARISMA magnetometer array (www.carisma.ca) and the www.AuroraWatch.ca real-time aurora alert project. He is active in public understanding of science on TV, radio and in print, for example co-presenting with Jay Ingram in the Discovery Channel TV feature “Where Space Meets Earth: The Cosmic Shore,” appears regularly on CBC radio such as on CBC Quirks and Quarks and on CBC Radioactive in Edmonton, and his research was recently featured in a Canadian Geographic magazine article on solar maximum.
Supernatural Creatures on Contemporary Television
Kristen Hutchinson
There has been a plethora of supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, witches, fairies, shape shifters, and zombies) in television series in the last few years. Why is the supernatural such a prevalent topic in contemporary visual culture? Is our current fascination with the supernatural different than it has been in the past? Are these 21st century TV creatures sexier than their predecessors? Get your wooden stakes, pitchforks, and silver ready as we delve into the worlds of popular shows like True Blood, Teen Wolf, Supernatural, Hex, Lost Girl, and The Walking Dead.
Bio: Kristen Hutchinson is an art historian, artist, curator and art consultant. She received her PhD in the History of Art from University College London in 2007. She has taught courses about 21 different topics at universities and colleges in the US, Canada, and the UK. Kristen is the co-founder of fast & dirty, an Edmonton based rotating collective of artists and curators that creates exhibitions and art events for short durations in unusual environments and projects that challenge curatorial methods. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions and has published articles and reviews and given presentations on contemporary art in Canada, the UK and the US. Kristen established kh1 art consulting to help clients buy art for their homes and businesses, offer interior design services, and provide grant writing and exhibition location research for artists. She offers live online independent seminars about the supernatural, contemporary art, film, and television and also teaches weekly visual culture seminars in her Edmonton living room where she bakes delicious treats for each class. Check out her upcoming seminars: www.kh1art.ca/art-history-courses
Manufacturing the Miraculous
Ian Pidgeon
How are smart people fooled by a magic trick? Magician Ian Pidgeon will talk about the ways in which the mind can be manipulated to transform ordinary events into miracles. He will break down how, over hundreds of years, magicians have learned to capitalize on the glitches in the human brain in order to fabricate the impossible. Come watch, listen and discover how miracles are made.
Bio: Ian Pidgeon is an accomplished magician with an unusual background. With a degree in comparative religious studies, and a fascination with psychology, social theory, and illusion, Ian is both sceptic and believer. Believing that the mind chooses and creates its own reality, his performances explore the murky space between what is real and what is imagined. He most enjoys things that are both. His unique style is highly engaging, personal, and compelling. His performances are uniquely designed to draw you in, capture your imagination, and share with you a sense of mystery and excitement.
When he’s not performing as a magician, he can be found casting lots at Sense of Serenity. In addition to being a magician, Ian is also a professional tarot card reader. Like his magic, his tarot readings are about exploring myth and meaning in a way that is direct and personal. For further information check his website at IanPidgeon.com.
The location of the ATB Community Patio
Dearest Edmonton Nerds,
On behalf of Wade and all of the volunteers who help make Nerd Nite Edmonton such a great event, I want to thank you for your support over the last year. When we introduced Nerd Nite to Edmonton in the Fall of 2012, we weren’t certain that it would be a hit. But after we sold out our first event and had to move to a larger venue, we knew we were on to something.
After a total of six Nerd Nites since that first one, Wade and I will be taking a break for the summer to relax and get things organized for a killer 2013/14 season. If you have any questions about Nerd Nite, or want to be a presenter, please email us (e-mail address is over in the right-hand sidebar). We’re always looking for presenters and new ways to make Nerd Nite Edmonton even more successful.
As they say in the song, see you in September!
Adam Rozenhart, Nerd Nite Edmonton Co-Boss.
