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Final Nerd Nite for 2019!
November topics include:
1) Sailor Buffy: A Comparative Analysis of the Parallels Between Sailor Moon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by Cortney Ostrom. 
An engaging presentation highlighting the similarities between two popular, female-centric television series from the 90’s (“Sailor Moon” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”). Topics include magic, metaphors, brawls, blondes, and relationships. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
2) Deadly Stars: The Top 10 Ways the Stars Can Kill, Maim, or Really, Really Hurt You, by Doug Lively.
The ancient Greeks often viewed stars (excluding planets) as stoic enduring markers fixed in a crystalline sphere that we know as the night sky. However, modern science has shown that this is hardly the case. On the contrary, stars are dynamic objects with motion and a life cycle of birth, existence, and eventual death of their own. This entertaining presentation will explore 10 Ways that stars (over their life cycles) can cause extinction, injury, and harm on Earth.
Doug Lively has been an Amateur Astronomer for 23+ years, he is a NASA / JPL Solar System Ambassador, has studied stellar evolution, and holds several national observing awards (including one for observing double stars). Additionally, he is a regular speaker at Astronomy Days for NC Museum of Natural Science, and other Astronomy Events around the Triangle.
3) ???????????????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????????????: ???????????????? ???????? ????????, by Drake Phelps.
Dark Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo, has recently brought PFAS into the public eye. While the movie focuses on Parkersburg, West Virginia, these chemicals are also a major problem right here in North Carolina. This presentation will discuss the what PFAS are, their problems, and how we can be responsible citizens to protect human health and the environment.
Drake Phelps is a third-year PhD student at NC State University where he studies how PFAS suppress the immune system in fish and humans. He also recently joined the leadership team of Clean Cape Fear, a grassroots organization focused on addressing the PFAS problem in North Carolina through education, advocacy, and holding legislators and polluters accountable.
Nerd Nite Raleigh will take place at:
Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh
2116-D New Bern Ave
Raleigh, NC 27610
• Ages 21+.
• Open to the Public.
• Starts at 7pm, arrive early for parking
• Free entry
Date/Time: Thursday, November 21st, 7:00pm (arrive early for parking!). Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook and invite a nerdy friend to come with!
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase at the event.
- Fill out our Google Form to be considered as a future speaker or share the link with someone who you think would give a great nerdy talk!
Please note: Nerd Nite Raleigh will take a break for December and resume in 2020.
Posted in 
October 17, 2019
This month’s topics include:
1) Feasting, Flying and Fu – er em Fornicating (What Bats do in the Fall), by Lisa Gatens.
They sleep all day and emerge at dusk to forage over fields and in forests, feasting on as many insects as possible to fatten up for hibernation. Oh, and it is mating season. So, every bat is looking for a mate, or multiple mates. Learn about preparation for hibernation as well as lots of other fun facts about bats.
2) How language is screwing with your brain, by Kate Farmer.
There are hundreds of languages spoken all over the world, and you probably already know that the language you speak can have a big impact on your professional & social opportunities. But did you know it can also affect how you see color, perceive time, and physically navigate the world? In this talk, I’ll tell you about the surprising ways that your language is f***ing with your brain and what, if anything, you can do about it.
3) Wet Sex: The reproduction in freshwater mussels, by Arthur Bogan.
The wonderful world of freshwater clam sex. How do pet rocks that do not move about reproduce? Explore this unique and bizarre corner of life.
Nerd Nite Raleigh will take place at:
Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh
2116-D New Bern Ave
Raleigh, NC 27610
• Ages 21+.
• Open to the Public.
• Starts at 7pm, arrive early for parking
• Free entry
Date/Time: Thursday, October 17th, 7:00pm (arrive early for parking!). Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook and invite a nerdy friend or two!
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase at the event.
- Fill out our Google Form to be considered as a future speaker or share the link with someone who you think would give a great nerdy talk!
Sept. 2019 – Alamo Debut
Special film theme event at the Alamo Drafthouse in their Video Vortex Bar.
• Ages 21+.
• Open to the Public.
• Starts at 7pm
TOPICS:
1) United We Scream: American Horror Movies and the Fears We Don’t See by Jackson Cooper.
American horror movies are smarter than we realize: every decade, the most popular horror movies are reactions to the country’s subliminal fears of its people. This presentation takes a journey through the decades tracing the most popular horror films of each decade and what it said about our fears as a nation.
2) Czech Animation: The Art of Resistance by Kat Shuckster.
A brief overview of Czech puppet and stop-motion animation and its relationship with a political history of imperial and fascist rule. This presentation will focus on the masters of the Czech Animation world including Jiří Trnka, Hermína Týrlová, and Jan Švankmajer.
3) Movie costumes and characters by Laura Boyes.
Cinema costume isn’t just about pretty clothes; designers create bold character arcs with a timeline of fashion. Jennifer Jones in “Ruby Gentry” and Ava Gardner in “The Barefoot Contessa” rise from poverty to riches, as revealed in their homespun to couture attire. Hot topics include: Can you buy a bullet bra at the general store? And, can your eyes actually shoot death rays behind giant sunglasses?
July 2019
We hope you will join us for the next Nerd Nite Raleigh on Thursday, July 18th! Here are the topics for our next get-together at Kings:
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Turning a hobby into a business, by Danny J QuickYou won’t remember 90% of the indie comics you read. Danny has made it his business to make sure you never forget theirs.
More about Danny: Danny J Quick is a husband a father and a comic book creator. He’s a 12 year US Army combat veteran and lived all over North Carolina. He’s the co-creator of Aceblade AND King Supreme and the voice of the Super Shorts Podcast. Danny is one of the architects of the 4th Wall Universe and is addicted to Mac and Cheese.
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The Right Way To Do Wrong, by Patrick McNeil
In 1905 Harry Houdini wrote his first book entitled “The Right Way to Do Wrong” wherein he divulged the lockpicking and other trade secrets of criminals. People make assumptions about how schemes work and believe them to be complicated, yet in many cases the insider knows how simple they are. Patrick will cover the basics of lock picking and then dive into a few of the simple tricks of the trade employed by both criminals and professional physical penetration testers to bypass physical controls without using lockpicks. You may be shocked and amazed by what you see, and once you leave you’ll be an insider too – seeing insecurity everywhere!More about Patrick: Patrick is an IT Security professional who got into lockpicking as a hobby ten years ago. He runs a local lockpicking group (Oak City Locksport) and does physical penetration testing as a side gig for fun.
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Insect Biodiversity in Raleigh, by Marissa Cole
No matter how you feel about them, insects are all around you– they bite, they sting, and sometimes they spread disease, but they also pollinate the food we eat, protect our gardens, and play other vital roles in virtually every environment. This presentation highlights just a small portion of some of the wide diversity of insects in the Raleigh area through 20 of my own photos that I think best highlight the roles of different insect families as pests, predators, pollinators, and even mimics, while also discussing what makes them unique and why you should probably care about them.
More about Marissa: Marissa is an insect-loving senior at Meredith College, where she has been obsessively focusing all of her undergraduate research projects and every individual class project on entomology. She spends free time volunteering in the Arthropod Zoo at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, where she gets to take care of and teach visitors about a variety of arthropods (including insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) and also learns some really cool things along the way!
Nerd Nite Raleigh takes place at:
King’s
14 W Martin St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
King’s is a 21+ venue.
$3 cash cover or pay in advance via Eventbrite.
Date/Time: Thursday, June 20th, 7:00pm (arrive early for parking!). Doors open at 6:30. Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook and invite a nerdy friend or two! Bee there and bee square!
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase for $20 at the event.
- We are looking for speakers July & August 2019 Nerd Nite. Fill out our Google Form to be considered as a speaker or share the link with someone who you think would give a great nerdy talk!
Pollinator Nite, June 20th!
In recognition of National Pollinator Week, our June session of Nerd Nite Raleigh will center around bees!
Our nerdy topics for June:
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The World Peace Game by Justin KramThe World Peace Game is a hands-on political simulation that gives participants the opportunity to explore the connectedness of the global community through the lens of the economic, social, and environmental crises and the imminent threat of war. The goal of the game is to extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity with the least amount of military intervention. As “nation teams,” participants gain greater understanding of the critical impact of information and how it is used.
More about the speaker: Justin Kram is the Play Integration Specialist at Powell Elementary school and a licensed Master Facilitator of the World Peace Game. He runs two games during the school year, each lasting approximately nine weeks.
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Honey bees, Beauty and a Bluebird House by Alice Hinman
June 20th will bee during National Pollinator Week and Raleigh is a certified Bee City USA! Let’s celebrate the vital role pollinators play in a healthy urban environment and learn how we can help them thrive. A honey bee colony is a mammal in many bodies. What does this super organism require for shelter to thrive?
More about the speaker: Alice Hinman, natural beekeeper and horticulturist, is the founder of the Raleigh-based nonprofit, Apiopolis Urban Bee Sanctuary. Learning about honey bees and how to better care for them is her personal fascinating and wonderful rabbit hole of an adventure in the City of Bees.
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The Golden Meanies of Habitats and Beyond by Richard StephensonWe’ve all heard of the ‘Golden Mean’ in advanced art history class, which we mistakenly added as a senior year elective, to bump our GPA. Well, this is the rest of the story. There’s a reason we love it, without knowing it. There’s a reason bees build with it and flowers propagate to it.
More about the speaker : Richard Stephenson is an Art History buff, who builds furniture for a living based on the Golden Mean algorithm. Sometimes it works and sometimes it just satisfies, but it always challenges the minds perception of the natural world.
Nerd Nite Raleigh takes place at:
King’s
14 W Martin St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
King’s is a 21+ venue.
$3 cash cover or pay in advance via Eventbrite.
Date/Time: Thursday, June 20th, 7:00pm (arrive early for parking!). Doors open at 6:30. Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook and invite a nerdy friend or two! Bee there and bee square!
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase for $20 at the event.
- We are looking for speakers July & August 2019 Nerd Nite. Fill out our Google Form to be considered as a speaker or share the link with someone who you think would give a great nerdy talk!
May 16th – 2nd Anniversary of Nerd Nite with Nerdy T-Shirt Contest!
We hope you will join us for the next Nerd Nite Raleigh on Thursday, May 16th!
This will be the 2nd anniversary for Nerd Nite Raleigh (under the current leaders) so be prepared for some fun additions to the night, including a nerdy t-shirt contest! Wear your nerdiest t-shirt for a possible prize!
Here are the topics for our next get-together:
- The Life of Bikes, by Athena Wollin
Bicycles are certainly remarkable, but they need a little care every now and again to prolong their life. Learn how a bicycle ages, consider the repair costs associated with neglect of maintenance, and understand how donated and used bikes influence the community of people on bikes in Raleigh.
Athena’s Bio:
Athena is an animator and graphic designer, an advocate for people on bikes, and a certified bike technician at Oak City Cycling Project. Helping people feel more comfortable on bikes and normalizing bikes as a valid form of transportation for all citizens are two very important pieces of outreach for her.
- Global Poaching Dynamics, by Evan Cooper
Poaching is a crime that occurs on a global scale and is becoming a larger threat to conservation every year. Evan will be talking about how culture, crime and economics all play a role in the act of poaching. How does it work? Who’s involved? How to help.
Evan’s Bio:
Evan Cooper is a science educator focusing on wildlife conservation. He has worked in zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries and field research in Tanzania. His objective is to provide people with interesting information about wildlife that leads to actionable results in the local and global community.
- Everything You Wanted to Know about Dark Matter but Were Afraid to Ask, by Katie Mack.
The most mysterious stuff in the Universe is invisible, untouchable, and essential to our existence. Find out what we know about this cosmic conundrum and what scientists around the world are doing to settle the question once and for all.
Dr. Mack’s Bio:
Dr Katherine (Katie) Mack is a theoretical astrophysicist who studies a range of questions in cosmology, the study of the universe from beginning to end. She currently holds the position of Assistant Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University, where she is also a member of the Leadership in Public Science Cluster. Throughout her career she has researched dark matter, the early universe, galaxy formation, black holes, cosmic strings, and the ultimate fate of the cosmos. Alongside her academic work, she is an active science communicator and has been published in a number of popular publications such as Scientific American, Slate, Sky & Telescope, Time.com, and Cosmos Magazine, where she is a columnist. You can find her on Twitter as @AstroKatie.
Nerd Nite Raleigh takes place at:
King’s
14 W Martin St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
King’s is a 21+ venue.
$3 cash cover or pay in advance via Eventbrite.
Date/Time: Thursday, May 16th, 7:00pm (arrive early for parking!). Doors open at 6:30. Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook and invite a friend.
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase for $20 at the event.
- We are looking for speakers for our July and August 2019 Nerd Nite events. Can you do a talk or perhaps help us locate someone? Please fill out our Google Form to be considered!
April 2019
We hope you will join us for the next Nerd Nite Raleigh on Thursday, April 18th! Here are the topics for our next get-together:
- “You’re Living in a Model and Why It Matters” by Gabriel Pappalardo
The talk will explore how cognitive limitations in attention and working memory necessarily force us to live in a reduced model of reality, how our different models may cause conflict, and how mindfulness meditation may help us become self-aware of our own models and empathetic towards those with different models than our own.Speaker bio: Dr. Gabe is a public speaker, coach, and meditation instructor who champions the practice of mindfulness meditation to help people thrive in our modern, busy world. Initially a skeptic, Gabe was converted by the rigorous scientific research showing mindfulness’s benefits to focus, health, and well-being, and he then deepened his own practice by living the yogic lifestyle at Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville and received training at the NeuroMeditation Institute. In addition to his roles as VP of Product at Scoutr and Founder and Game Director at 6 Wing Studios, Gabe provides mindfulness coaching to professionals and creates mindfulness-themed talks and events accessible to people of all experience levels and backgrounds.
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“Birding Apps for the Bird Watcher” by Lawrence Zoller
Bird Apps have revolutionized the birding community. We can now carry many bird guides, bird data collection and identification aides on our phone. Come hear how eBird, Song Sleuth and Warbler Guide apps have changed the way we bird watch.
Speaker bio: Lawrence is an experienced bird watcher with Wake Audubon (past President) and uses a multitude of birding apps.
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“Local Government: What is it and why you should care” by Hattie Gawande
Local government is strange in that, of all the levels of government, most people are completely oblivious to it and yet it has the biggest impact on our everyday lives. From the City Council to the Soil and Water Conservation District, local government is unexpectedly fascinating (even dramatic) – and there are good reasons to pay it some attention.
Speaker bio: Growing up outside Boston, Hattie saw the way a just a few plugged-in neighbors had such an outsize influence on the workings of her city. She developed a fascination with local government, and since then has worked for the cities of Stockton, CA and Chicago and worked on local campaigns in Newton, MA and San Jose, CA.
Nerd Nite Raleigh takes place at:
King’s
14 W Martin St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
King’s is a 21+ venue.
$3 cash cover or pay in advance via Eventbrite.
Date/Time: Thursday, April 18th, 7:00pm (arrive early for parking!). Doors open at 6:30. Don’t forget to RSVP on facebook and invite a friend.
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase for $20 at the event.
- We are looking for speakers for our May 2019 Nerd Nite. Can you do a talk or perhaps help us locate someone? Please fill out our Google Form to be considered!
New Google Form for Speaker Sign-Ups
We are currently looking for speakers of interesting topics (the nerdier the better!)
Please use our new google form link to submit a request to speak at Nerd Nite Raleigh and will be in touch!
Upcoming dates
- March 21, 2019
- April 18, 2019
- May 16, 2019
(Please note- Dates and location are subject to change/cancellation due to circumstances outside of our control. We will update speakers ASAP if there are changes.)
A February to Remember!
The next Nerd Nite Raleigh is in just a few days. Here are our February 28th event topics that you have been waiting for!
Mindfulness and Sex by Lauren Campbell
Having the most fulfilling and pleasurable sexual experiences are important to so many. At the same time, cultivating these positive sexual moments can be challenging for so many. Mindfulness practices are proven to strengthen a person’s ability to get the most out of any moment. And therefore, the more mindful we are the more we can enjoy any moment, especially being sexual.
MDMA by David Raus
MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, is a psychoactive drug primarily used recreationally has effects that include altered sensations and increased energy, empathy, and pleasure. Learn more about the controversial substance!
Send Nudes: How To Snap Better Naked Selfies (for Yourself and Others) by Nicole Huang
The Kardashians make it look effortless, but most of us don’t have a team of people to make sure we look good while naked. But with a few tips and tricks, ranging from body mechanics to basic photography, anyone can take a sexy selfie that reflects creativity, humanity, and personality!”
Nerd Nite Raleigh takes place at:
King’s
14 W Martin St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
King’s is a 21+ venue. $3 cash cover.
Date/Time: Thursday, February 28th, 6:30pm (arrive early for parking!) Don’t forget to RSVP on facebook and invite a friend.
- Like our Facebook page for updates and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out.
- Nerd Nite Raleigh t-shirts will be available for purchase for $20 at the event.
- We are looking for speakers for our March 2019 Nerd Nite. Can you do a talk or perhaps help us locate someone? Please fill out our Google Form to be considered!
1) Green Fluorescent Pigs: A vet student dabbles in genetic engineering by Haley Pratt. We’ll talk about how genetic engineering is being used in biomedical science to do things like create pigs that have human immune systems, make miniature pigs, and other interesting advances.
2) Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, and Coordination With Your Local Brewery by Reid Campbell. The North Carolina Brewer’s Guild reports that 200 plus craft breweries call the state home in 2018. The number has growing rapidly over the last few years. What are local breweries looking for from their water and wastewater providers? What efforts can providing utilities take to attract craft breweries to their area? This presentation will summarize discussions with several craft breweries, municipalities, and with perspective brewery owners over those issues.
3) A Stranger Than Fiction Story: Nobel by Jeff Moore. This is the story of the Nobel Prize and some of its more noteworthy winners. Jeff Moore, creator and host of the stranger than fiction podcast, The Live Canary.
November’s event will be held Thursday, November 29th
Location: Kings, Downtown Raleigh (14 W Martin St, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601)
Time: 6:30-9:30pm
$3 cash cover; Age 21+
Like our Facebook page for updates for this month’s speakers and to see what kind of Crappy Nerd Art we will be giving out too!