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Nerd Nite #32 - Beyond the Video Frame
Take a walk beyond traditional filmmaking and into the world of interactive video art and video mapping. Our journey will go behind the scenes on how this artist’s projects were created from concept to execution. Discover more about the strange world of video beyond the rectangular screen.
About Martin Thoburn: Martin is a local animator and artist working in a variety of different media. He has produced and directed several short films, both animated and live action. Determined not to be confined to any one medium, Martin continually explores photography, live video mixing, design, collage, animation and motion graphics. Working with both modern and antique technologies sometimes in tandem, his work explores the uniqueness of the medium, technology, and/or tool. He is involved with YPSI24 and the Ann Arbor Film Festival and you can follow him on Twitter @duiceburger, or visit martin-thoburn.com.
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Nerd Nite #32 - Are Film Cameras Dead, and Why Not?
“Didn’t Kodak go bankrupt?” After the year 2000, sales of photographic film plunged by at least 95%. Yet there’s still a dedicated fringe who appreciate film’s tangible physicality and distinctive look. In a digital age, why are new converts dusting off decades-old, chunky, glass & metal cameras? For this talk we’ll bust out the 35mm Carousel projector and look at examples of why “slow photography” matters even today.
About Ross Orr: Starting with a bakelite Argus at age 8, Ross photographs Ann Arbor (and beyond) using cameras from every era. He bought his first copy of Photoshop in 1995, but celebrates his ongoing love for the photochemical image at silverbased.org and on Flickr. He has contributed numerous articles to MAKE: magazine, including the DIY panoramic pinhole camera chosen for The Best of Make: Vol. 1. He also helps coordinate the web’s largest camera encyclopedia, camera-wiki.org.
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#2 Ann Arbor Stories: Death of a Policeman
Crime was never a big problem in Ann Arbor in 1935. There were occasional break-ins, robberies, stolen vehicles, assaults, a riot or protest or two, but Prohibition was over and the gangsters and bootleggers had moved on. An Ann Arbor police officer had never been killed in the line of duty, nor even died from a horse, car, or motorcycle accident while on duty. Not even a random heart attack. Until March 21, 1935.
Music by Ben Benjamin, and Aeroc made possible by Gholicense. Additional music by Chris Bathgate.
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#1 Ann Arbor Stories: A Buck Twenty-Five
In 1824, John Allen of New York and Elisha Rumsey of Connecticut bought up 640 acres of prime Michigan land, paying $1.25 per acre. Those 640 acres, purchased in a tiny federal land office in Detroit, would become known as Ann Arbor. This is the story of the founding of Ann Arbor and how the town grew from its ragamuffin roots into what it has become today.
Music by Chris Bathgate
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Three Across: An Evening with Your Friendly Neighborhood Crossword Constructors
Join us for a conversation with a panel of Michigan-based crossword puzzle creators whose work has been published in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. Crossword constructors Tracy Bennett, Peter Collins, and Will Nediger discuss the challenges of creating a good puzzle, wordplay tips, puzzle pet peeves, and the process of getting from concept to publication.
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AADL Talks to Keith Alexander
Keith Alexander was raised by a petty thief who didn't believe in working a day job. In Forgery of the Month Club, his memoir, he talks about this experience and how it made him is who he is today.
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Night Of Notable Authors Panel Discussion
The Ann Arbor District Library, the Library of Michigan and the Library of Michigan Foundation are pleased to present this special event, Night Of Notable Authors. Every year, the Library of Michigan selects up to twenty of the most notable books, either written by a Michigan resident or about Michigan or the Great Lakes. The selected books are honored in the year after their publication or copyright date. Each selected title speaks to our state's rich cultural, historical, and literary heritage and proves without a doubt that some of the greatest stories are found in the Great Lakes State.
The Night Of Notable Authors included a panel discussion moderated by Anna Clark (A Detroit Anthology, a 2015 Michigan Notable Book).
Panelists included:
Michigan Outdoor Writer and Poet Jerry Dennis (several Michigan Notable Book titles, including The Living Great Lakes: Searching For The Heart Of The Inland Seas, a 2004 Michigan Notable Book)
Mystery Author Loren Estleman (Nicotine Kiss: An Amos Walker Novel, a 2007 Michigan Notable Book)
Memoirist and True Crime Author Mardi Jo Link (two Michigan Notable Book titles, including Bootstrapper: From Broke To Badass On A Northern Michigan Farm, a 2014 Michigan Notable Book)
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Nerd Nite #26: Runs with Lasers
Local laser artist Mike Gould discusses his recent experiences with the Illuminatus Lasers Troupe, including:
– The Quest for Mystic Fire – Lasers at Saline Celtic Festival (because, of course)
– Talks with Lasers lecture/demo to educate kids and families to the wonders of coherency
– Tetraptych: 4 Panels, 12 Lasers, One Wall art piece for DLECTRICITY 2014
– L is for Laser, his science museum piece
Mike has also done lasers for the UM Stadium half-time show during a night game (Notre Dame, we won). He’s part of the Ann Arbor Art Center’s tech+art exhibit, and has made appearances at various Maker Faires, Art Prize, Ignite, FoolMoon, etc.
For more about Mike, wander over to his website, of that of his crew — Illuminatus!
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Nerd Nite #25: Ypsilanti History
Local historian James Mann returns for his fourth Nerd Night talk, and will be speaking on his new book, Ypsilanti, part of the Images of Modern America series from Arcadia Publishing. This is a picture history of the city of Ypsilanti from the 1960’s to the present. James will speak on how Ypsilanti got the most easily misspelled name in the state, the Michigan Murders, and tell the true story of Rosie the Riveter. There is more to Ypsilanti than the Water Tower! Copies of Ypsilanti will be available for purchase.
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Even in Darkness: The Legacy of the Holocaust on the Next Generations and Researching Family Stories
When she received a box of letters and documents from a German priest in 1996, local author Barbara Stark-Nemon was already captivated by the story of her great-aunt’s Holocaust survival, and the unconventional life she and the priest lived in post-WWII Germany. What she learned from the contents of that box cemented her motivation to write about it. Barbara shared the story of how 15 years of research, interviews, translations, and international travel informed Even in Darkness, her debut novel, and how what she learned influenced her understanding of the Holocaust.