Don’t be scared. Nerd Nite East Bay may be a week earlier than normal this October, but we’ve got you covered with a Halloween-themed show. Strephon Taylor will show how Jack Pierce created Frankenstein. Then, Joe Chen from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics will descibe Zombie research. Finally, Egan Hirvela will explore suspense horror in video games. Oh. And there will be a costume contest.
Starting at 7PM, we’ll have a last brilliant barrage of sound from DJ Ion the Prize, and Detention by Ann-Marie. Come dressed as your favorite scientist, or science experiment. Prizes will be awarded!
Rick, Rebecca, Sarah, and the Oakland Public Library will always pick “trick”.
Also: 10/24 is the last day to register vote and the non-partisan League of Women Voters of Oakland will be tabling all night.
Be there and be square.
This event is 21+.
Monday 10/24/2016 Door+drinks+detention at 7 pm, talks start at 8 pm and end by 10:30 pm Club 21, 2111 Franklin St, Oakland (two blocks from the 19th St BART) Advance tickets are $8 [or less for early nerds]. Your CC statement will denote these come from Drinkified Learning, LLC. We will strive to allow some purchases at the door for $10 (cash or card), but we sometimes sell out. tix fb
Jack Pierce the Maker of Monsters by Strephon Taylor
Jack P. Pierce was a true artisan. While it would be hard to imagine anyone in the Western world being unfamiliar with his work, practically no one knows of him. A love of Halloween and horror led filmmaker Strephon Taylor to pursue a decade of research on the man behind the creation of famous movie makeups such as Frankenstein and the Wolfman. In support of “Jack Pierce, The Maker of Monsters,” his presentation will provide uncommon and new details into the life of this behind-the-scenes movie great!
Strephon Taylor is an East Bay, CA native who cut his teeth in the arts world as a teenager fronting thrash metal band Sacrilege B.C., designing flyers, record covers, and logos for other bands, and designing foamcore wall displays to advertise the latest album releases from a Tower Records art department. November Fire was born later, celebrating all things horror and Halloween, and the business soon grew to include far more than just its signature black shirts with white graphics with a new production company releasing its own CDs and DVDs.
They Are Getting Closer…To Killing You, Eating You, and Turning You: Zombie Research Has Arrived by Joseph Chen
Stem cell research is advancing like never before, but so is the looming Zombie Apocalypse! In the past, injecting biologics (like home-grown stem cells) into the heads of brain-damaged people seemed like Sci Fi, but now that reality as arrived. But the brain-damaged individual that you’ve brought back…well, It’s looking at you funny…It’s drooling a little…It’s shuffling towards you menacingly…wait…stay back…Get Away From Me!!!…Aaarrrrrrgh!
Joe got his PhD from Rutgers University focusing on endocrine disruptors, did his postdoctoral training at UCSF where his work centered on identifying adult stem cells in the human endometrium, then moved on to the Gladstone Institutes of Virology and Immunology to work on HIV, and is now a Senior Investigator at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, with a focus on emerging infectious diseases such as Zika, as well as using viruses as therapeutic agents.
What’s That Around the Corner? – A Look at Survival Horror in Video Games by Egan Hirvela
Since the early 80’s, horror survival been a popular sub-genre of video games. From the earliest text games to the ultra modern console and PC titles available today, fans can’t seem to get enough of jump scares, low ammunition and Things That Shouldn’t Be to run away from. This talk will look at the history of horror survival games, why they are compelling to players and how they differ than regular action games.
Egan Hirvela has been a video game designer for over two decades. He’s worked for many big companies over the years, and have worked on several AAA titles (namely Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Assassin’s Creed 3 and Guild Wars 2). Currently, he is also a Fellow speaker with Odd Salon. This will be his first Nerd Nite talk.