Nerd Nite Los Angeles - August 2024

Nerd Nite is fun-yet-informative lectures at a bar. It's like TED Talks...but with beer.

We all know that learning is more fun when you’re drinking with friends and colleagues. Thus, Nerd Nite is a monthly event held in more than 100 cities across the globe during which several folks give 20-minute fun-yet-informative and easily accessible presentations across all disciplines – while the audience drinks along.

https://linktr.ee/nerdnitela

FAQ's:

- Doors open at 7pm. Intro at 7:45pm. Presentations at 8pm.

- The Brewyard Beer Company is a 21+ venue.

- There is free street parking surrounding the bar, but we recommend utilizing a ride share service.

PRESENTATION LINE-UP:

PRESENTATION #1: Ride That Wave: The Rise, Crest, and Crash of Vocal Surf Music from 1961-1965

By Hank Bieber

Summary: In the early 1960s, an offshoot of rock and roll called “surf music” was gaining momentum in Southern California. Led by Dick Dale and codified within the walls of the Rendezvous Ballroom in Newport Beach, this frenetic instrumental music soon found itself eclipsed on the charts by slick harmony-driven pop songs extolling the virtues of surfing and hedonistic pleasures of life in the sun. But just who were these non-surfing, inland-living, dorky-looking dudes calling themselves “The Beach Boys”? As history shows, their lyrical hymns about the beach—a musical world apart from the thrashing garage rock of “real” surf music—became the definitive sound of California, a sound imitated by countless contemporaries who collectively gave further vision to the California Dream. Murdered by the Beatles and resurrected by countless indie bands of the early 2000s, vocal surf music left a lasting legacy on American popular music, California identity, and beach culture in general—so put your huarache sandals on and step into yesteryear as Hank Bieber traces the arc of that wild wave.

Bio: Hank Bieber is a writer, musician, and California native. He’s been a Beach Boys fan since he was two years old, singing “Surfin’ USA” on top of a table at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Hank has ventured up and down the coast of SoCal, from Coronado to Isla Vista, exploring the beaches, culture, and traditions of the shoreline. He maintains a personal travel blog, won the Traveler’s Joy 2022 essay contest, and is currently a writer for several Disney video games. His favorite ocean is the Pacific.


PRESENTATION #2: Flag Designs: Stars, Stripes, and Colors Oh My!

By Greg Richardson

Summary: Since the turn of the century, the study of flags and their designs (vexillology), has had a rise in interest and power. With this, there have been calls within cities, states, countries, and other organizations to change and redesign their flag to better match modern times. But have the new designs worked? And why should we care? Should your city change their flag? Find out about this and more in an absolutely non-subjective talk about flag designs!

Bio: Greg Richardson is a product manager at Epic Games, managing/designing animation and cinematic creation tools in the Unreal Engine. Outside of work, you can find him either drinking tea, consuming anime/manga/light novels, studying flags, playing Magic, or playing a Japanese rhythm game. He has an unhealthy obsession with history, symbology, and design, thus high interest in vexillology was par for the course.


PRESENTATION #3: California Sky Watching: Everything You Wanted to Know about Our Weather... But Were Afraid to Ask!

By William Selby

Summary: Every Californian seems to be talking about the weather lately, and for good reasons. Our sky dome is calling us outside 24/7, putting on spectacular shows. What is your relationship to the ever-changing weather elements and to the clouds that are dancing signposts in our sky? How can you hone your weather senses to reconnect to the natural world, unravel magical weather mysteries, predict your weather future, and sooth your nature deficit disorders? William Selby has spent a lifetime observing, measuring, and researching the science behind our wild weather world and he’s eager to share his discoveries with you.

Bio: A recently-retired earth science professor, William Selby has organized and led hundreds of field expeditions throughout the state and beyond with thousands of his colleagues and students. His diverse interests reflect his love of earth science, geography, atmospheric science, and natural history, and have enriched his website and 550-page book, Rediscovering the Golden State. Now, he shares decades of personal and professional weather and climate research experiences from numerous sources (including the National Weather Service) with you as he introduces his latest book and project, California Sky Watcher: Understanding Weather Patterns and What Comes Next, a Heyday publication appearing in 2024.