We’re back for the Fall series of Nerd Nite Winona, starting with three speakers on Wednesday August 28 @ 7:30pm. Please join us at No Name Bar for Nerd Nite #38, featuring…
Talk #1: “Are broken things still useful?” by Nathan Moore
Why do things break? How would you sort broken things into ways of breaking? And, can we learn anything from that sorting? Nathan will answer this questions while with examples found here: https://ntmoore.github.io/broken_things/broken_things.html
Nathan Moore escaped from graduate school at the University of Minnesota back during the second George Bush administration. He teaches natural philosophy (physics) at the Minnesota State University in Winona county. “What is physics?” you might wonder? It’s the study of how everyone else is wrong, also, Nathan might be wrong about everyone else being wrong. He’s not sure. Is physics nihilism then? no, astronauts and the people who build CT scanners use physics all the time so it must be at least mostly right. In his free time, Nathan asks his children, ” Why?” and tries to rid his family of the feral cats that live in his garden and garage.
Talk #2: “Winona Has Terrible Voter Turnout: what?!? Why? HOW? and what we can do about it!” by Dan Wilson
You read that right folks, Winona has some of the worst voter turnout in Minnesota. Take a humorous deep dive into the spreadsheets, GIS maps, and voter data to figure out how we transform Winona from the worst to the best!
Dan Wilson currently works with two nonpartisan groups, Minnesota Voice and Engage Winona, on projects designed to increase voter turnout regardless of party or candidate preference
Talk #3: “Joyful Noises – the weird world of experimental vocal music” by Liz Pearse
What’s the weirdest sound you can make with your face? Winona State adjunct prof Dr Liz Pearse guides a tour through the most unique of musical instruments – the human voice! She will share her experience as a contemporary/experimental vocalist, present the shortest-ever survey of 800+ years of vocal music, and ask the audience for their assistance creating a new piece during her presentation.
Vocalist Liz Pearse has alternately been described as a “badass”, having “a near-psychic understanding of what a composer is trying to accomplish”, and possessing “a voice made of arrows forged in a volcanic pit, transforming the didactic and mundanely intellectual into actual fire”. After a childhood spent playing every instrument she could find, Liz has focused her career on exploring the infinite possibilities of the human voice…though she continues to play a bunch of instruments at varying levels of proficiency. Liz enjoys work as a solo artist and as a chamber musician, and has performed all over North America (from Canada to Mexico and coast-to-coast in the USA) and in both Europe and the United Kingdom. Though solo performance and self-accompanying is a large part of her practice, Liz has a voracious appetite for the camaraderie of chamber music, mostly with ensembles Quince and Damselfly Trio. When she’s not performing, Liz lives and teaches in the beautiful Driftless region of Minnesota. lizpearse.com