Tranzac Club – 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7
Saturday, November 9, 2024
7:00 Doors open, 7:30 Start
Tickets available HERE– $20 including HST – We expect this event to sell out and are not selling at the door.
It’s high time to gather again. As evidenced by the name, this is a one-time return, we make no promises! We’re bringing back two of our top speakers, Diana McCallum and Dan Riskin with new presentations. Also blasting from the past are your original Toronto Bosses, Lauren Shorser and Virve Aljas. Trivia to follow the presentations, presented by our two resident curmudgeons, Mathew Palmer and Tom Aylward-Nally. There are other surprises too, so… Be There and Be Square.
Presentation 1:
Sex Lives of Superheroes: A Scientific Look at How Superpowers Would Wreck Your Sex Life
Diana McCallum
Super powers sound like fun, until you try to move them into the bedroom. Diana McCallum scoured scientific journals, comic book canon and interviewed a slew of doctors for her book Sex Lives of Superheroes. Now she is here to tell you all the shocking ways that having super powers would ruin your sex life, including the dangers of Spider-Man’s radioactive semen, the impenetrability of Supergirl’s vaginal steel walls, and the fact that Wolverine’s sperm would be immortal, and why that’s very, very bad.
Diana McCallum is a writer and comedian who likes superheroes a normal amount. She is the co-creator of the web comic Texts From Superheroes, host of the Talk From Superheroes podcast and author of Sex Lives of Superheroes: Wolverine’s Immortal Sperm, Superman’s Porn Career, the Thing’s Thing, and Other Super-Sexual Matters Explained (available from Penguin Random House in November 2024).
Presentation 2:
Groups of Animals Are Amazing, So Why Are Human Groups So Dumb?
Dan Riskin, PhD
Why is it that a murmuration of starlings can swirl in the sky like they’ve been training their whole lives for this intricate dance, but humans can’t even merge on to the DVP without everything grinding to a halt? This talk is a showcase of some of the most amazing group behaviours in nature and an exploration of what seems to go wrong when people try to work together. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn, and you might even leave the room with a new perspective on the people around you.
Dan Riskin is a scientist, author, and TV science personality. He is best known as CTV’s Science and Technology Specialist, and as the former co-host of Daily Planet on The Discovery Channel. His free newsletter, The Bat Signal is available at https://FollowTheBatSignal.com.
Trivia with Mathew Palmer and Tom Aylward-Nally
We could ask them to be gentle, but where’s the fun in that?
Yes, there will be prizes.
NOTE: PLEASE do not attend if you are feeling at all unwell. As with every event, there will be immunocompromised people present. Don’t be that person.
March is always a weird and tough month (gotta love smarch weather and Daylight Savings Time!), but this one is particularly notable: we have a full year of the pandemic behind us. But, not everything is terrible! Look forward to Nerd Nite on March 25th and celebrate a little with two great talks!
Talk # 1: A fearful risk of explosion: Technology and failure in the British Empire by Dr. Ryan Patterson
The British Empire was not as universally competent as we tend to remember it (or fans of empire tend to claim). In this talk, historian Ryan Patterson will introduce you to the 1873 Anglo-Asante War, Britain’s first big push into West Africa, without discussing any fighting at all. The British forces brought an impressive array of cutting-edge technology on the expedition, believing that it would give them the edge over their non-industrial African enemies. Yet, one-by-one, each marvel of technology failed to work in the jungle.
About Ryan:
Dr. Ryan Patterson is a lecturer in history and research associate in disability studies at Carleton University. He studies race, environment, and technology in the British Empire, particularly the central roles that Victorian climate science and exhibition culture played in Britain’s conquest of African states. His publications include The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, the open access Carleton University exhibit Transnational Representation, and the forthcoming book Queen Victoria’s Wars.
Talk # 2: Star Trek vs Star Wars: Modern Perspectives on Past Future and Future Future Technologies by Shyaporn Theerakulstit
Fan fave Shy is back!
As the Singularity approaches, it is important to examine the technological and socio-economic patterns bringing it about. From Empire to Federation, we will compare the scientific advances of far away civilizations from a long time ago, with those exploring the final frontier. Pew pew
About Shy:
Shyaporn Theerakulstit is an actor, writer, YouTuber, cosplayer and general “nerd about town.” He has given talks on subjects such as Godzilla biology and how to become Batman at Nerd Nite, TEDx and the Smithsonian Institution. He has written and produced for Dark Horse Comics and is also the host of the science lecture series “Real/Fake Science.” His YouTube channel has over 5 million views.
Join us for another virtual Nerd Nite!
On February 25th, we’ll be live from Sam’s house!
Talk # 1: Resilience in the time of COVID by David Donaldson
Building on my TEDx, how do we remain resilient during a long-term, systemic disruption.
In October 2019 I delivered a TEDx on resilience. In it, we examined a bit of the brain science and looked at the 7 Resilience Muscles model as defined by The Resilience Alliance.
We are approaching 1 year of lockdown, 1 year of disruption, 1 year of needing to draw on our resilience muscles. Sprint vs. Marathon, in this Nerd Nite talk, we will look at how we need to approach a long term, systemic disruption differently than a short term, event disruption.
David is a professional facilitator and amateur nerd. An important arrow in his quiver is resilience. A certified Resilience Practitioner since 2017, these skills are essential both personally and professionally. While only working in the world of resilience a short time, David is proudly a long term nerd.
Talk # 2: To Nerds, With Love: An Elementary Teacher’s Reflection on Pop Culture and Fandom in the Classroom by Stephanie Cooper
Throughout Stephanie’s- aka Miss Cooper’s- 17-year-old teaching career, she has never failed to inject her fangirl enthusiasm into her lessons and extra-curricular activities with her students. In this talk, she will explain how she has observed a change in the nearly two decades since she began educating young minds on what fandoms are a hit with students, and how her multicultural bunch has responded to the diversification of characters in comics and movies. And as she is often known to do in everyday conversation, demonstrate how being a nerd is changing in its label and what activities have helped the next generation with understanding subjects and improving their self-esteem in performances from a Star Wars club and superhero group.
Stephanie is a teacher and nerd.
It sucks but due to COVID-19, we’re on hiatus until further notice. We love all of you nerds and can’t wait until we can see you again safely and in-person.
In the meantime, follow us on Facebook & Twitter for your fix of nerdiness!
