Nerd Nite East Bay 51: NorCal Neon, Stem Cell Trials, Sailor Moon

From Advertising to Art
Survivors and Lost Icons of Neon in NorCal

See beautiful pictures of neon survivors, mourn famous lost icons of the neon world, and get a visual tour of the best gas, glass and electricity that the East Bay and SF has to offer. Learn about the science underlying neon and discover what decades of evolution in California's neon art and advertising illuminates about our Neon Cities.

Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan are the authors and photographers of the book San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. They also give four different walking tours in San Francisco featuring the city’s fabulous collection of historic neon signs, with back alleys and back stories included. Details and pictures at http://neonbook.xyz/ and San Francisco Neon Book

Super Senshi Sorority
How Sailor Moon Brought Girl Power to the Western World

Sailor Moon's impact on American women and popular culture continues decades after its debut, in resilient and often surprising ways. Learn how a Japanese series about magical girls changed real lives in North America, and delve into the larger conclusions that Sailor Moon's legacy reveals about women and popular culture.

Steven Savage wrote "Her Eternal Moonlight" with co-author Bonnie Walling, an exploration of why Sailor Moon endures so powerfully among women in North America. He is a Software Manager, Elder Geek, Wrangler of Engineers, and author of books on geek careers, culture, and creativity. He's responsible for the infamous www.SeventhSanctum.com, blogs at www.StevenSavage.com, and has books available at www.InformoTron.com.

Out of the Mouths of Babes
Treating Autism with Baby Teeth and Blindness with Stem Cells

The first stem cell treatments are entering clinical trials, and California is leading the way. Learn about a breakthrough therapy that is helping retinitis pigmentosa patients regrow critical connections and see shapes, colors and even faces. Plus bring your mental floss for complicated experiments that drill down into the causes of autism using baby teeth as a surprising (and adorable) data set.