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Nerdnite Feb 28 — Extra sappy
The next Nerdnite will get rolling at 8pm on Monday Feb 28 at Middlesex Lounge. We’ve got two fantastic speakers lined up to help you fight off that typical Boston-in-February urge to stay planted firmly on your couch. As usual, DJ Claude Money will provide the nerd-appropriate tunes.
The talks:
1. “I’d Tap That: Getting Started with Maple Sugaring”
by Sam Bett and JJ Prior
Sam Bett loves making all kinds of foods from scratch. He chronicles many of his culinary exploits in EASY JAWS, a printed magazine he edits and self-publishes. When not tapping maples, making cider, or watching something boil, he works as a delivery driver for Boston Organics.
JJ Prior grew up outside Boston, far from the countryside. Since moving to New Hampshire, he has spent much of his time trying to learn how to fit in with the locals. To that end, his hobbies include beekeeping, raising chickens, gardening, and (new for 2011!) learning how to snowmobile. This is his third year vampirizing maple trees. He teaches fifth grade at the local elementary school.
2. “I’m sorry for your lossy”
By Ross Maddox
Lossy music compression, such as mp3, throws out bits of information from your music files. Some bits you never miss, and some you do. While attempting not to moralize too much, sound nerd Ross Maddox will explain how lossy compression works, why it’s such a cool technology, and why you should never listen to it. But do not despair, he will also explain the superior alternative: lossless compression. Ross is a grad student in the field of auditory neuroscience who knows a little bit of math, which he applies as broadly as he can to problems in brains, the stock market, and music processing.
Be there and be square!
Monday February 28, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
$5
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Jan 17 – Special Nerdnite event at the Oberon
Dearest Boston nerds and friends of nerds,
Nerdnite is exceptionally excited about January’s special event, which will be held at the A.R.T. Oberon theater in Harvard Square (please see below for full event details). For those of you who have been wondering whether Nerdnite might occasionally take place in a more spacious setting … your time is now. We have the A.R.T. to thank for this, and for making available the director of their new show on Buckminster Fuller to speak at Nerdnite about this famous pathbreaker in the field of nerdery. Also thanks to A.R.T. it’s possible to buy advance tickets to this month’s Nerdnite. They’re only $5. As always, tickets will also be available at the door.
Naturally, DJ Claude Money will be spinning nerd-appropriate tunes throughout the night. Here’s the lineup:
Talk 1: R. Buckminster Fuller: Prototype of the American Nerd By D.W. Jacobs
D.W. Jacobs is the playwright and director of “R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE” which starts Jan 14 at the A.R.T. You can read more about the play here, or buy tickets here.
Talk 2: Derivatives Work: The Brief Histories of “Happy Birthday” and “Who Let the Dogs Out” By Ben Sisto
Ben Sisto is an artist and event producer living in Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art’s SIM program, he has exhibited works at Harvard University, Mass MoCA, Artists Space, and Printed Matter; organized live events for the likes of Susan Blackmore, Fugazi, and Silver Apples; spoken at NY’s Open Video Conference, and will be moderating a panel on visual arts for World’s Fair Use Day 2011 in Washington DC.
Be there and be square!
Monday January 17, 2011
Oberon Theater
2 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA
(617) 496-8004
$5 at the door or in advance — buy tix here
Nerdnite November 29: Post-Thanksgiving Nerdery
Hello all,
The last Monday of November approaches, which means it’s time for another exciting Nerdnite. We hope you’ll hustle back from your Thanksgiving break to check out our last Nerdnite of 2010. Yes you heard that right — since the last Monday of December lies between Xmas and New Year’s, we’re going to assume people have other things to occupy their time that day. However, we’ll be back rested and tanned (or whatever the nerd equivalent of “tanned” is…) in 2011.
Before we get to this month’s lineup, a couple of things to check out.
First, Channel 5’s “Chronicle” did a piece about us, which you can watch online here.
And second, don’t forget to check out Punkin Chunkin (the pumpkin-launching contest I mentioned at the last Nerdnite) on Thanksgiving evening, 8pm on the Science Channel.
Now — on to the November speakers, who will be joined as always by DJ Claude Money spinning nerd-appropriate tunes:
Talk 1: “City Hauls: Foraging for wild plants and other foodstuffs within the city limits”
by David Craft
Talk 2: “Fun with joints”*
by Vaughn Tan
*(or, “what you probably want to know about how wood gets connected to more wood and other things.”)
Vaughn Tan is almost totally unqualified to talk about how to make furniture, but he’s going to do it anyway. He discovered furniture and joinery while pushing paper at a large Silicon Valley corporation. The lure of the bandsaw and chisel eventually proved irresistible and he left job security and healthcare to work as a menial in the woodshop at the Anderson Ranch Art Center. He now lives in Cambridge, where he is a special advisor to the International Herring Marketing Board, advising them on brine, specifically its concentration and effect on the texture of crispbreads.
Be there and be square!
Monday November 29, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA
$5
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Somerville vs JP Dance-Off on Nov 20
Mary mentioned this at the last Nerdnite —
We hope you’ll consider checking out the first-ever “Jamaica Plain vs. Somervile Dance-Off” this Saturday, November 20. It’s a benefit for Girls Rock Camp Boston.
The event takes place at Fourth Wall Project
132 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA
Doors at 8:30
$12 at the door
21+
Nerdnite on Channel 5
Set your DVRs, folks: Nerdnite Boston will have at least several seconds of televised airtime tonight (Tuesday November 16) at 7:30 pm on Channel 5, as part of the Chronicle show’s “Night Out” episode. Yes, we will be juxtaposed with a club that serves Jell-O shots. Good times all around. Check it out!
Nerdnite October 25: Art-Science-Food
Hello Nerds of Boston,
Our next Nerdnite gathering will take place Monday October 25, 8pm at Middlesex Lounge. DJ Claude Money will supply the nerd-appropriate tunes. The lineup for this month:
1. “Cooking for Geeks: Science in the Kitchen”
by Jeff Potter
Jeff has just written a book of the same name (O’Reilly Media). In this talk he will share some of the nerdy material he unearthed for his book.
2. “Artistic visualization and creative science”
by Ben Jordan
Ben works as both a scientist and algorithmic artist, using visual representation to explore mathematical and natural subjects. In this talk, he will exhibit some prints and movies (large file) from his “Divisibility” series, and will walk us through the creative process. He will also give us a brief history of how the sciences and arts have been entangled, and some suggestions for why and how to further blur this line. Ben lives in Somerville, and works at Harvard.
Be there and be square
Monday October 25, 8pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA
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Playlist for September Nerdnite
In case you were wondering what DJ Claude Money was doing on the turntables, here’s the playlist from last week’s Nerdnite:
Nerd nite sept 27
I’m always drunk in San Francisco. Nancy Wilson
Here he comes drunk again. Bird rollins
Drunk. Jimmy liggins
Janos revenge. Los sospechos.
The wolf. Menahan street band
Tanz der vampire. Draculas music cabinet.
Romantic rhino. Ananda Shankar
I believe in miracles. Mark capanni
I like it. The emotions.
Bill withers. Lovely day.
Can’t get enough of your love. Richard ace.
Slow run. Byron lee and the dragonaires.
Louie Louie. Richard berry
Have love will travel. Richard berry.
Mom won’t you teach me how to monkey. Little Emmitt sutton
Influx. DJ shadow.
First speaker
Ada Brunstein
Bonnie and Clyde. Serge gainsbourg
Liberte. Marc Aryan
I’m comin home. Mel torme.
Trouble will remain. Amnesty
Let the good times roll. Shirley and lee
boredom pain. MFB
Come together. Ike and Tina turner.
Surfin bird. The trashmen.
Second speaker
Courtney Humphries.
Soul chicken. Bobby Allen and the exceptions
Make it real (ride on). Betty Adams
Money. Barrett strong
You got what I need. Freddie Scott
Shimmy shimmy y’all. Prince fatty
96 tears. ? Mark and the mysterions
Jonny und Joe (German). The supremes
Ain’t got no home. Clarence Henry.
Third speaker.
Tim Lillis
Zombie. Fela kuti
Is that all there is? Peggy lee
Links from September Nerdnite
At last month’s Nerdnite, we had some technical problems that kept Ada Brunstein from showing her videos of weird technology/fashion hybrids. As promised, here are the links.
Ada’s talk was based on her article “The Little Black Piezoelectric Dress” in the Atlantic Monthly.
The videos:
“Intimate controllers” by JennyLC Chowdhury. This is the video game you play by touching your partner in special places.
Sound reactive nightgown by Sarah Soriano. This is the nightgown that lifts up when your lover whispers sweet nothings to you. Or shouts them, in the case of the current iteration of the technology.
And the Grand Finale: Hussain Chalayan’s Spring/Summer 2007 collection. FYI: Video ends with a moderately NSFW moment. More stills of the same fashion here.
There was one more video for Suzi Webster’s Barking Mad garment, but the video was broken when I surfed on by. There are other interesting videos of odd garments on her site though…and maybe it will be fixed soon…so it may be worth checking it out.
Last, but not least, all three of our great speakers from last month have their own websites. So if you want to know more about their work, check out these links:
Ada Brunstein
Courtney Humphries
Tim Lillis
Nerdnite September 27
Hello friends of Nerdnite,
Our next event will take place Monday September 27, 7pm (yes, that is
earlier than usual) at the Middlesex lounge in Central Square. We’re
getting an early start because our lineup is even more action packed
than usual, with three fantastic speakers bringing the full-on
nerdery. The talks:
1. Computational Couture: Clothing for the Techy Fashionista
By Ada Brunstein
(approx start time: 7:40)
Ada is a senior editor at MIT Press and freelance writer. She recently
wrote about fashion and technology for the Atlantic Monthly.
2. Pigeons: The surprising story of the birds you love to hate
By Courtney Humphries
(approx 8:30)
Courtney is a freelance science writer and author of Superdove: How
the Pigeon Took Manhattan….And the World by Smithsonian Books, which
chronicles how pigeons came from seacoasts to city streets. Although
Courtney writes about a wide range of health and science topics for
the Boston Globe, Technology Review, Harvard Magazine, and other
publications, she will probably always be known as “pigeon girl.”
3. Tricks of the Trade: Using Your Stuff Better
by Tim Lillis
(approx 9:20)
Tim is a San Francisco-based illustrator, designer, and end-user. He
is the creator of the “Tricks of the Trade” comic strip/column in Make
Magazine, where he shows readers how to use their stuff better. A
pioneer in the field of Object Use Optimization, he argues that the
design process does not cease when a product is released, but
continues throughout the life of the product, as the user becomes
acquainted with the object. Audience members are invited to share
their own tricks.
As usual, DJ Claude Money will spin the nerd-appropriate tunes.
Be there and be square!
Monday September 27
7pm
Middlesex Lounge
315 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA
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Nerdnite August 30
Dear Nerdnite Boston Google group,
The next Nerdnite will take place Monday August 30 at the Middlesex
lounge. Be there and be square! For all the details about the talks,
please check out this link:
[link]