We’re celebrating one more Nerd Nite before we take a break for July and August. In preparation for the Nerd Nite drought, join us for a draft (or several) while we talk fonts, bad-ass birds and pinball wizards.

Where: The Fox Cabaret

When: Tuesday June 23rd, Doors @ 7; Talks @ 7:30

Tickets: $5 online; $8 at the door

 

#1 26 Letters = Unlimited Possibilities

Matt Heximer

Johannes Gutenberg changed the course of western society in the mid 1400’s. He developed a system of “movable type” to easily rearrange the 26 different letters of the latin alphabet in order to mass produce the printed word. We’ve come a long way in 600 years… even more so in the last 50. Today, Gutenberg’s invention is wrapped up in nifty little software programs we refer to as “fonts” – tiny packages holding both the promise of communication and personal expression. Witness the wonders of digital type and explore the world of fonts beyond Helvetica and Comic Sans.

Bio: Matt Heximer is a partner at 10four design group, a Vancouver based Graphic Design studio that focuses on branding, exhibit design, and typeface design. Matt’s typefaces have been featured in the books “Faces on the Edge: Digital Typography”, and “IndieFonts; A Compendium of Digital Type from Independent Foundries”. His Type designs have been utilized by BBC Worldwide, Disney, ESPN, Fisher Price, The Gap, Hallmark, Nickelodeon, and Simon & Schuster publishing. Matt likes comic books, apple fritters and obviously, Fonts (lots, and lots of fonts). Despite being colour blind and missing half a finger, he can still cobble together a pretty decent Typeface.

 

#2 The Bird that Kicked the Wasps’ Nest

Sean McCann

Ever wish you could go back in time and discover how the dinosaurs lived? Well too bad, you can’t! The good news is, dinosaurs are still around, and there are a bunch of them we know almost nothing about. I spent 5 seasons in the rainforest of French Guiana getting to know the Red-throated Caracara, one of the most bad-ass birds in the jungle. The caracaras patrol the forest in screaming gangs, appear to engage in polyamory as they cooperatively rear young, and make war on stinging wasps then eat their babies. I used nest cameras, automated recording, and camera traps to piece together the life history of these awesome birds, which just may be the very worst enemy of social wasps in tropical America.

Bio: Sean McCann is a biologist interested in social insects, birds and the roles they play in the environment.  He uses photography and videography both as a research tool and a means of communication of that research.

 

#3 A Pinball Life

Eden Stamm

The history of pinball dates all the way back to the 1700’s, it was a derivative of a billiards indoor table game called bagatelle. Over 300 years later you can find these games, using modern technology, and with themes from popular movies, stuck in the corner of bars. Some people may walk past these machines, play them a few times, and think of them as nothing more than trivial casino games that take your money. But to some, these intricate machines are immersive games and works of art in and of themselves. I will tell the story of how these machines are more than just trivial games, and have become an integral part of my life, leading me to pursue pinball internationally.
Bio: Eden Stamm is a semi-professional pinball and poker player. He is currently the #3 ranked pinball player in Canada, and #52 in the world. In 2008 he won the first ever Canadian Pinball Championships.