Nerd Nite Los Angeles - June 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: Animal Crossing is Just Late-Stage Capitalist Propaganda (and I Can’t Stop Playing It)

By Anne Marie Kelly

Summary: Deep in the isolated despair of the COVID Pandemic, a light shone through to unite gamers worldwide: Animal Crossing: New Horizons. But under the halcyon veneer of fishing, gardening, and making friends with penguins ran a darker message. In this talk, media historian Anne M. Kelly will look at the themes of monopoly, colonialism, and market economics that define Animal Crossing's gameplay and appeal. Drawing from fan studies and participatory culture theory, Anne asks: can we escape the game's twisted worldview and build a personal paradise? Or are we doomed to repeat a system of exploitation in our pursuit of a five star island?

Bio: Anne M. Kelly is an archivist, oral historian, and incipient social studies teacher with their Masters in Media Studies. They have published in The Cine-Files, Spectator, and The Film Experience. A four-time Nerd Nite presenter, Anne has devoted their career to making obscure history popular and popular history obscure.


PRESENTATION #2: Hospice: Navigating End of Life Care So You Know It Before You Need It

By Jeffrey "Jeff" Happ

Summary: People often reference the quotation “we all die alone” - and that couldn't be further from the truth. While it is one of the hardest things to go through, the end of life process is full of support and care. Nurse Jeff Happ will walk you through what hospice is and what it isn’t, how it assists the patient and their family, and what it can mean to have a good death.

Bio: Jeff Happ is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He has extensive experience as an in-home caregiver and an EMT. He has been a nurse for nine years and has worked exclusively in hospice and home care. Jeff is also the co-creator of the Nerd Trek Podcast, which is completing a full Star Trek watch-thru, as well as a host on the Nerd Trek Movie Club podcast, where he and a guest get to deep-dive into one of their favorite films.


PRESENTATION #3: You Will Change Your Mind About Snakes: Why California Snakes are Cooler (and Prettier) Than You Are

By Emily N. Taylor

Summary:  No one is indifferent to snakes: most people hate them, but those that love them do so fiercely. In this presentation, you will learn why owls decorate their nests with tiny, worm-like threadsnakes; why snakes have two, huge, weirdly shaped penises; what happens when a watersnake musks you point blank in the face; and why baby rattlesnakes have bellybuttons. Searching for and watching snakes in the wild is the new and improved form of birding, and biologist Emily Taylor recently wrote a book on how to do it. She will share excerpts from California Snakes and How to Find Them and arm you with endearing facts about our legless friends.

Bio:  Emily Taylor is a biology professor at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where she does research on lizards and snakes with her students. California Snakes and How To Find Them is her first popular science book. She is obsessed with noodles, especially super spicy noodles, and is suspicious of things with legs.