Nerd Nite for October 12, 2019
DC9 Nightclub
DOORS: 6:00PM
$10
21+
“Beyond Horoscopes: How Astrology Can Lead to Interesting Life Insights” by Rowena Winkler
Summary: Many of you may know your zodiac sign, but more recently, astrological concepts such as Mercury in Retrograde, Rising Signs, and Synastry (AKA compatibility) have started coming into the mainstream via online articles and popular apps such as Co-Star and The Pattern. In this presentation, learn from Rowena’s experiences getting more involved in the study of astrology, and how this knowledge has impacted several areas of her life — and potentially yours as well.
Bio: Rowena Winkler is a former Communications professor now Communications manager at a software company who balances writing about technology with exploring her co-worker’s astrology charts. Other than being way too involved in other people’s lives, she is a community theater performer, choreographer, and director in the DMV area, an avid foodie, and the mother of three adorable cats. She and her husband Derek are expecting their first child and will be adding a human to the Winkler clan in March 2020
“An Idiot’s Guide to Being a Guide” by Blake Lindsey
Summary: Taking tours of the U.S. Capitol has been a tradition in DCsince it opened in 1800. Which means the Capitol Guide Service has seen some things over the years. Come hear some of them and next time your out of town friends/family want a “tour” of DC, you might be a little more prepared…
Bio: Blake is a local historian, author, and U.S. Capitol Guide. Don’t tell my bosses I’m here…haha just kidding they wouldn’t mind but maybe to be safe don’t mention it to them.
“If loose lips sink ships, what might her other parts do?: Policing women’s talk in wartime” by Rebecca Adelman
Summary: During World War II, the “loose lips” blamed for “sinking ships” frequently belonged to women, and posters reminded amorous GIs not to share sensitive information in an attempt to impress the ladies. Today, OPSEC (Operational Security) materials for military families warn wives to scrub their social media and keep their husbands’ deployments secret. While men telling women to be quiet is hardly novel, in these cases, talkative women are portrayed as not just irritating but lethally dangerous. These chatterboxes will be our guides through a history of the U.S. military’s approach to the problems of its men liking women, and those women liking to have contact with the outside world.
Bio: Rebecca Adelman is an Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at UMBC, where she teaches and writes about things like militarized violence, surveillance, and media theory. Her newest book is Figuring Violence: Affective Investments in Perpetual War, and everyone should buy it. Rebecca is currently 11.8% done with her life ambition to run a marathon in every state + DC. Turns out, there are a lot of states.
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Nerd Nite for September 14, 2019
DC9 Nightclub
DOORS: 6:00PM
$10
21+
“Sharks in Your Backyard: Ocean Predators in the Bay, the River, and Other Places You Wouldn’t Expect Them” by Chuck Bangley
Summary: Sharks (and their close relatives, the rays) are expected to be creatures of the open ocean, or even the shallow water right off the beach. However, you don’t need to live by the sea to find sharks close to home. You’ll be introduced to some of the sharks and rays that live inside the Chesapeake Bay, up the Potomac River, and other unexpected places around the world, including some that can spend time outside the water entirely. We’ll figure out which species might even be in the waters of DC itself, why it’s actually a good thing if they’re there, and what you can do to coexist peacefully with the sharks in your backyard.
Bio: Chuck Bangley has been fascinated by sharks and the ocean in general for as long as he can remember. He grew up and developed an appreciation for calamari in Rhode Island, earned his graduate degrees and developed an appreciation for craft beer in North Carolina, and currently works at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and is developing a borderline addiction to oysters in Maryland. His current research is focused on migratory behavior and habitat use in Atlantic coast sharks and rays. When given a guitar Chuck can play a mean cover of the theme song from “Sharknado 4,” among other things.
“I Don’t Always Wear A Shirt, but… Actually, I Never Wear A Shirt: The Story of Smokey, the Most Interesting Bear in the World.” by Ashley Warriner
Summary: You might not be able to tell from looking at him, but Smokey Bear just turned 75 years young. And what a wild ride those 75 years have been! I’ll take you down memory lane with Smokey Bear, sharing some little-known trivia along the way (he almost wasn’t a bear!), and talk about why his message is still so important today.
Bio: Ashley hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but has called DC home since 2008. She is an enthusiastic nature nerd and proud U.S. Forest Service employee. Her friends all agree that her uniform with the green high-waisted mom jeans is Sex Walking.
“A Nice and Accurate explanation On How taking a shit is a matter of National Security” by James Gallagher
Summary: You read the title. Come for a brief overview of where the poopy goes, and what we do with it, an overview of the number of cyber (and physical) attacks sanitation plants experience each year and why they happen, a quick plug to stop flushing sanitary products “flushable” products, and drugs/grease, and demonstration of poop water drinking on stage. Don’t pretend that you weren’t already sold just from the title.
Bio: James is a huge book nerd, single dad of three,and lives in a log cabin in the woods with a beat up pickup and a hound dog. He owns more old shit than anyone my age has a right to, three degrees, 13 years in the Marines, and he “still don’t know a fucking thing.”