nerdnite wellington 2: in which we explore geoengineering, stories, witchcraft, and food
20 September at Betty’s in Wellington
We’re back for another evening of geekery!
Nerdnite Wellington #2 – In which we explore geoengineering, stories, witchcraft, and food!
When: Monday 20 September, from 6pm ’til we’re thrown out
Where: Betty’s at 32 Blair Street, Wellington
Sign up: Facebook event or @ us on Twitter if you can make it. Or you can email us.
In a very particular order, then, may we introduce our speakers:
Geoengineering — What could possibly go wrong?
Dr. Jez Weston
Dr Weston used to be a rocket scientist, but the rocket exploded. He now works for Al Gore’s secret communist conspiracy to set up a One World Government and crush all of your hopes and dreams by making you insulate your house. He has been described as part of a “harem of whores, substituting politically correct theology for science” with an agenda of “not enlightenment and progress but a return to the pre-industrial Dark Ages”.
In space, no one can hear you sing
Leonie Reynolds
Traditional Hollywood storytelling structure explained with reference to Alien and The Sound of Music.
Leonie Reynolds writes words that turn into pictures, and others that don’t. She agrees with Jean-Luc Godard that cinema is truth at twenty four frames a second (except for the truth part).
The history of modern witchcraft
Polly
Once upon a time in the 1954, a man named Gerald Brousseau Gardner wrote a book Called “Witchcraft Today”. In this book Old Gerald posited that witches had existed throughout the ages and that, while they had been pretty much suppressed by the Church, a strain of this ancient witchcraft had survived down through the ages, and, further, that he had discovered the remnants of a living coven in the Black Forests of England, into which he had been initiated. He was wrong! But he is responsible for the ‘revival’ of witchcraft and the Modern Pagan Movement, sort of.
Polly has a degree with honours and most of a masters in Religious studies. Her topic of geekyness is about the modern pagan movement from the 1950s to the present day, and she is also a practicing Witch (after 15 or so years you’d think she would have it right but yes, she’s still practising).
Tuesday Night Dinner: People having dinner together
Mike Eastwood (aka Tuesday Night Mike)
Tuesday Night Mike has opened his home, every Tuesday night, for a ‘pot-luck dinner party’ since 1999.
You will hear how Tuesday Night Dinners accidentally started, why they are still happening 11 years on, and what could happen from here. Mike will share stories about food, martinis and people who have contributed to this random and magical phenomenon in Wellington.
In the real world Mike Eastwood is a web geek who runs a small web design and development company. When he’s not cooking, eating, drinking and telling stories he’s probably still doing dishes with a smile on his face.
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The event’s free, and we urge you to bring your friends, enemies, pets and favourite extraterrestrials. Come drink with us!
Or, in the words of the unofficial nerdnite tagline, “It’s like the Discovery Channel…with beer!”
Have questions? Get in touch with us on Twitter or fill out the Contact form and our nerd monkeys will pound on a keyboard and get back to you.
Posted in nerdnite wellington | 
Tags: community, food, geoengineering, Hollywood narrative, Jez Weston, Leonie Reynolds, Mike Eastwood, nerdnite wellington, nerdnitwelly, Polly Lind, witchcraft
Hey guys,
Earlier notification on the date the better. Some of us are considering travelling to make the next one. 🙂