Welcome back everyone. I hope you all had a good J-term. Now it’s time to buckle down and celebrate with our February edition of Nerd Nite!

For those of a detail oriented persuasion, here are some. (details that is)

Math Unplugged: How do you Design a Calculator When you Don’t Have a Calculator.
by Clay Helberg

How to Speak to a Librarian (If you Really Must)
by Adam T. Brisk

The Bechdel Test and You: Are your Faves Problematic?
by Sam Bauer

As always, game, prizes, fun, and much more are free with every ticket purchased.

Teatro Zuccone
$5.00 at the door.
Doors open at 7:00

BE THERE AND BE SQUARE!

As promised, and just under the wire, we’re excited to announce Nerd Nite: Bitter Cold January Edition!

Come join us for our usual blend of informative presentations, pop culture trivia, drinks, prizes, and nerding out next Thursday!

January 22

Teatro Zuccone
doors open at 7:00, show starts at 7:30

$5.00 gets you in the door!

Arrive early and join us for a drink! Stay late and join us for another!

Presenting for your edutainment…

Precisely the Right Amount of Over-thinking
by Eric Schwerdt

The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Species:

By Professor David Syring

2015: The Distant Future
by Jeremy Nilson

Come one, come all! Tell your friends!

After a hiatus that seemed far too long, Nerd Nite is alive once more and back with a stellar lineup.

Join us as we explore the mythos and legend that is 007: James Bond, as Jess McCullough dive into the history and origins of this titular hero.

Lisa Horton of the Sherlock Holmes Society explains the massive appeal and superfandom behind the great detective.

And Nate Lindstrom introduces us to his lifelong passion as we journey with him through the history of of Star Wars toys.

All that and all the comic book, sci-fi, literary, scientific, pop-culture, Dr. Who references you can shake a stick at, games, prizes, drinks and all that you have come to know and love about Duluth’s Nerd Nite, in one amazing evening.

Teatro Zuccone, $5.00 at the door.

Doors open at 7:00 and the shindig starts rolling at 7:30.

Nerd Nite Duluth proud presents our 22nd event on March 26th, 2013.  Prepare to learn and laugh with us as we explore technologies, history and time constructs on our stage at the Duluth Playground.   This month we engage with three dynamic presenters:

• Chris Nollet takes us back to early days of NASA as we look at the science, challenges, and ultimate successes of the Orbit with “Wonder Twin Powers! Project Gemini:  the Little Space Program That Could.

• In a “Waste of Time: the History of Daylight Savings Time” Lawrence Lee will look at the origins of standardized time, time zones, daylight savings time and an argument why we should do away with DST.

• Have something to say and want to share it with the world?  Kyle DeLaHunt will give share workflows, equipment and techniques for capturing your conversations and expressing them to the world in his presentation “Podcasting: Exposing Yourself to the Entire Internet (but not in that way).

All of these great presentations come packaged with a plethora of trivia, door prizes and humor. Even if you aren’t a nerd, you’ll want to join in the celebration of geekiness.

Doors open at 7:00, show begins and 7:30! Just Five Dollars!  You’ll pay for the whole seat, but only use the edge!

Poster Designed by Adam Brisk in February of 2010 for Nerd Nite I.

In January of 2010, Jeremy Nilson and Adam Brisk decided that they wanted to see James Cameron’s “Avatar.”  Pre-show dining at Pizza Luce found them in the bar area right across from Crystal Pelkey (and a friend).  Mr. Brisk and Ms. Pelkey knew each other from Little Falls Community High School thus leading to conversation about Duluth, events and nerdy things.  The conversation was loud and boisterous and covered comic books, dungeons and dragons, party pizzas, IT content, and the Golden Girls.

No one remembers who brought the idea forth first, but a discussion ab0ut creating a stage show began that night.  Meetings were held. Presenters were contacted.  Laptops and presentation remotes were “borrowed.” and on President’s Day 2010, Nerd Nite Duluth took the stage at the Teatro Zuccone to a small but appreciative audience.

We’ve grown in the intervening years to  22 plus shows, with a thriving Facebook group, a stable of presenters, all the while creating innumerable friendships and laughs along the way.

So we’ve entertained the Twin Ports with stories of Star Trek, Star Wars, science, tv shows, pop culture, fashion, Doctor Who, and other topics.   Its been a pure pleasure to be part of the revitalization of Downtown Duluth, and to witness the belly laughs, guffaws, and snorting from our audience.

Thanks for three years of fun and learning!

Sincerely,

Crystal Pelkey, Jeremy Nilson, and Adam Brisk

NERD NITE XXI: NERDTOPIA

Friday, February 8th, 2013

Nerd Nite returns on a Friday Night for our 21st celebration of geeky hobbies, sciences, and dorky things! This time, we are bringing three great presentations to you!

• Stepping Off the Pedestal: Women in Arthurian Literature Who Kick a Considerable Amount of Ass – by Alison Klawiter
  • Today we tend to prefer our Arthurian heroines with a bit more moxie. Consequently, we might be tempted to dismiss women in medieval literature as passive characters: the princess in the tower, the damsel in distress. But is the difference between today’s sword-wielding badass and the lady in the tapestry really that great? This presentation will provide a brief history of women in Arthurian literature before taking a closer look at some medieval heroines who are surprisingly modern.

• “What can you do with a $35 computer the size of an Altoids tin?”  By Clay Helberg
  • The answer is, a surprising amount. I will be doing further research over the next few months, but a few things I’ve discovered so far
    •  a cheap web surfing platform
    •  a cheap home file server
    • a cheap Home Theater PC
    • a cheap brain for a robotic system
• To Cook A Feast for Crows: The Cuisine of Game of Thrones by Luke Sharman
  • Come along on a break-neck tour of food culture and cooking in the world of George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire (subject of the HBO series Game of Thrones). we’ll explore harvesting, procurement, and preservation issues unique to the seven kingdoms, and learn to prepare one of the many fancy meals prepared for Tyrion Lannister.

All this, plus games, door prizes and tons of laughs for 5 dollars! Doors open at 7:00! Show starts at 7:30! Can’t wait to see you there!

 11 East Superior St, Duluth, Minnesota

Nerd Nite 20 Logo – as designed by Dann Matthews (www.dannesigns.com)

Just in time for the holidays, Nerd Nite comes back to the stage to share some joy! Duluth’s favorite group of geeks gets on the stage to share stories and presentations about pop culture, science and economics.

So Join us on Wednesday, December 19th at 7:30 for three new presentations:

– Nate Lindstrom spares us the horror of actually watching it as he presenters Stir, whip, stir, whip, whip, whip, stir, beat. The Star Wars Holiday Special: A Recipe for Disaster

– Barb Baco bedazzles the senses with Hyman Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis and the Global Financial Crisis

– Amber Carter bids us join hands in unity with You’re Okay, I’m Okay: How To Find Love & Acceptance For Those Who Love Vampires That Sparkle In The Sun Like Diamonds

Plus:

• Holiday Sweater Contest

• A game we are calling “Defend the Indefensible”

• Fabulous Door Prizes

Doors open at 7:00! Show starts at 7:30! 5 Dollars!

Thanks to all of our attendees, presenters and support staff who made last night amazing!

Curse this Mac and its intuitive design features!

Mary Hall leads shares vacation slides… of toilets. Most laughs ever recorded in a Nerd Nite presentation.

Lawrence Lee, in a damn fine hat, introduces the community to our game “Name that Star Ship!”

Luke M. started the night off with a great presentation about the tropes, history and zeitgeist of Scooby Doo.

Crystal, Jer and Adam start off a fantastic night of presentations and laughter.

Jess and Ali as Jack the Ripper and Wonder Bread Woman

We made the marquee! We made the marquis! We made the Markey!

We’ll be announcing our December date very soon!  Stay tuned!

• Nerdiest.
• Most Obscure.
• Most Interactive
• Cleverest? (WTF does that even mean?)
• Obviously Thrown Together At the Last Minute.
• Not really trying.
• Inappropriately Sexy (Jawa? My Little Pony?  Cthulu?)

 Nerd Nite Duluth is on October 30th!

The Alpha-Nerds of Nerd Nite Duluth are pleased to announce our 19th Nerd Nite on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 at the Teatro Zuccone!

This month’s presenters:

• Luke Moravec takes a look at the history of our favorite Hanna Barbera gang of sleuths in “Scooby-Doo, Where the Hell Have You Been?”

• Mary Hall shares the most exciting part of her travels to Japan in “Eastern Exports: Why Japan is #1 at #2”

• Jeremy Nilson goes all academic and psychological when he talk about the nature of fear and fright in “Its Fun To Be Scared: a History of Horror.”

Plus – Games! A Brand New House Band! Door Prizes! Laughter!

You’ll pay for the whole seat, but only use the edge!