With transnational bondage, borderline personalities, and banned hybrid weapons, this month’s Nerd Nite deals with some blurred lines. We’ll help bring them into focus with three lectures and plenty of beer, plus music, librarians, food, and nerdery. Be there and be square!
Wednesday, 7/15/2015
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets available here!
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“Converting Labor Abuse to Sushi” by Brendan Rogers
Nobody signs up to commercial fish for free. It’s dangerous, grueling work, with long stints far from home. Yet many job-seeking migrants are basically tricked or forced into becoming slave fishermen. “Sorry, Charlie”, indeed. We’ll look at how this system works, how this fish ends up on your plate, and what can be done about it.
Brendan Rogers grew up in the Mission District and enlisted in the US Coast Guard at the age of 19. In addition to his continued service in the Reserve, he is the Training Officer for the SF Public Library and serves as a San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commissioner.
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“Borderline Personality Disorder: On the borderline of what?” by Sara Landes
Borderline personality disorder – a mental health problem with such a vague and undescriptive name that even some mental health professionals have difficulty defining it and explaining how it develops. What the heck is it? What are people on the borderline of? How do you even get a personality disorder? And why should you care? Come find out!
Sara is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating suicidal behavior and severe emotion dysregulation and researches how to implement treatments for these problems.
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“The History and Outlaw Status of Sword Canes” by Erin Simon
Delve into the early history of the dapper gent’s most lethal accessory! Marvel that so many people still try to sneak them on planes! Laugh at the California law that calls them out by name (the wrong one)! By looking at ngrams, silly pictures, and even sillier laws, we’ll learn about sword canes, how a ballistic knife is different from a lipstick case knife, and what California law has to say about boobytraps. The pen may be mightier, but the sword cane is way more fun.
Erin Simon is the product counsel for Google Books, Scholar, and more. When not researching obscure weaponry, she makes pictures and pointless robots.
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With: Alpha Bravo, who’ll be spinning tunes specially selected to match the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.
Plus: The San Francisco Public Library will be on hand to dole out library cards, reading lists, and the hottest branch gossip.