Nerd Nite SF #159: Karaoke, Naval Misadventures, and Wild Fermentation

Ready for another good, old-fashioned, classic Nerd Nite SF? We’re back at it again at the Rickshaw and ready to rumble! It’s been fun experimenting with format and location for our first few shows of the year, but you just can’t beat a classic Nerd Night show: We’ve got talks about the art and philosophy of karaoke, the not-so-human origins of the very human love for booze, and a howling history of the unluckiest ship to ever sail under the US flag.

Life, Love, Death, and the Other Self of Karaoke

By: Benjamin Poynter

A talk chronicling data and studies behind real-life excursions into the activity of karaoke across Los Angeles and the cities of Japan. After a certain point, when does the regular self transform into the ‘other’ self when participating in karaoke nights long enough, and what are the parallels, constructive or destructive, between those two selves that reveal themselves? Karaoke is a pastime that has moved beyond a fun, nighttime affair into a form in which people rely on it as a means of expressing and confessing what they normally cannot in daily life. Out of that, tales of love, lifelong friendship, tragedy, inventions, and even language study have come out of the speaker’s excursions. This talk is paired with an ongoing project where 125+ Japanese songs have been performed publicly as a means of studying the language and a special, interactive game, which is now in development out of those experiences.

Get Down, Mr. President! The Unluckiest Ship in the History of the US Navy

By: Sam Litt

Tired of constantly hearing depressing news about the current US military? Come have a laugh at the hapless and absurd tale of a US Naval destroyer from WWII instead! Forget about your dread of endless American imperialism with this true story of 1940’s US militaristic incompetence, and learn how we nearly lost the Second World War - to ourselves.

Wild Fermentation, The Chimpanzee Diet & The Origins of Alcohol Production

By: Aleksey Maro

Why are humans attracted to alcohol? The answer might be buried in the fruit-filled diet of our early ancestors. Following the ‘Drunken Monkey’ hypothesis, Aleksey measured the alcohol content in fruits eaten by our nearest relatives - chimpanzees - and found they’re essentially knocking back 1 - 2 drinks a day. Join us as we track the evolutionary trail from fermented forest fruit to the mysterious origins of that which has brought us here today (beer).