No Nerd event wouild be complete without a slideshow
Nerd Alumni Gather for a Wee Chit-Chat - Japanese Style
Posted: October-11-2011
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'Talking about it at nerd night was way more nerve-wracking than being hung up from the ceiling from hooks in my flesh. I was shadow boxing backstage just to get out all the nervous excitement of speaking.’
So says Kim, a Norwegian Body Suspension enthusiast, of his time presenting about his passion at one of Phnom Penh’s hugely popular Nerd Nights.
We are at the first Nerd Gala, a gathering of Nerd Alumni to say thank you for their (voluntary) contributions and to celebrate what Nerd Night has achieved so far.
Nerd Night uses what, according to founder Mike Hahn is, ‘the perfect format to get the nerdyness out’. People with a peculiar obsession or interest (the two are often interchangeable) stand on stage and talk for 20 seconds about each of 20 slides. People watch, listen, clap, ask questions then chat about what they’ve heard. Simplicity itself.
The format is called Pecha Kucha, and originated in Japan in February 2003 as a way for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It draws its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat". The 20:20 format is designed to encourage conciseness and keep things moving at a rapid pace.
It has grown from humble origins. According to Giacomo Butte (who spoke on, ’Things I learned while Teaching Architecture to Khmer Studnets’):
‘It started as this little private club of people meeting, with maybe 30 or so people at the first ew events. Now it’s, I don’t know, about the biggest night in Phnom Penh’
Indeed, in its 10 months of existence, there has been 16 Nerd Nights and 93 Speakers., with an average of around 125 people per event, there have been some 2,000 people attending thus far.
And the inspiration for the speeches has come from some intriguing sources. For example Robyn Zeller, who talked about her fascination with swing dancing;
‘It all started when I was 6 yers old watching Tom and Jerry. It was the episode with Tom trying to woo the white lady cat by playing “Is Yous In Or Is Yous Out” on the double bass.’
But the Nerd Gala celebration, held at Lotus Blanc (one of the first venues to host a Nerd Night), doesn’t mean that Nerd Night is winding down. By no means. Indeed, If you have a peculiar interest, hobby, fascination, obsession or pecadillo that you’d like to share with the world, leave a message on the facebook site and you may well be in the next batch of Nerd Alumni.
And, just in case you missed them the first time round, here are all the topics which have been spoken on at Nerd Night thus far:
Hackerspace PP, where you can work on your technical or entrepreneurship projects
photographs of American bombs fashioned into useful things along the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Work at AISIEC
Time as a novelist; interested in speaking again with a more snappy topic
What he learned teaching architecture to Khmer students
Documentary on Smot
"How to fill in a lake and evict people"
Swing dancing in Asia, finding a family away from home
Contemporary Khmer Painting and Live Paint
Time in Asia
Mustaches
Photography and Going beyond the lens
Project Alba - food security social enterprise
History of women's hunting fashion
History/mission of PSE and Lotus Blanc
Collective song writing
Kurata Pepper
Traveling through South America
Quick drawing Comics
Noises of Africa
Public speaking, power of being embarrassed
From nerdy geek to fitness freak
Bringing back the golden age of Khmer cinema
Crop Circles
Tree and People Depend on Eachother
Unique locations around the world Quiz
Gender Specialist...Khmer woman...Firey
Randomness and alcoholism and randomness: funny:)
Happiness vs. money, nature vs. industrialisation
yoga/pilates, interested things you didn't know about yoga
Read narations about social justice in housing, Places for All
Pet Peaves
Traditional Hula
7 tips for traveling smart in relation to street kids.
How to be a good journalist and get your information right
Her love of English words...obscure words
War on Music
Life as an adopted kid in Minn.s an adopted kid in Minn.
Art and Inspiration
presenting on Recruiting in CAmbodia
Pride Week
Ultimate frisbee
"rite of passage" Body suspension
Being a Khmer backpacker
Nipples
Blogging in Cambodia
10 Shakespearean plays in 60 seconds
Longest/highest skydive
How to run Word 2003 & 2007 at the same time
Adventure : One Type of Education
Mekong Blue Silk Production and program
"One Cambodian Nationalism" - life mission
Benefits of Software Development Profession
Passions and Life Experience
Growing up Nerdy in Minnesota
Classic Khmer architect Vann Molyvann
Climate change in Cambodia
"One-man band" who plays in post-conflict zone
Technology for social good
speaking on the history of the circle
Motivation
On her home country of Kazakhstan and Borat's travels there
Cambodia startup weekend
Solar power in Cambodia
The Khmer Hip-Hop Scene
The social aspects of quantum physics
"Going to the movies"
Breakneck journey through 15 countries, in theater form
Space simulator/perspectives on development?
Some of the oldest living architecture in Cambodia
Spoken word
men vs. women
DJing
BarCamp
Bro Union
Pajama Culture
Cricket
Science Fiction and International Development
Wikipedia
Professional Starcraft
Beer Pong
Magic of war
Justees
Logos
Lustral Water
Wine
YouTube
Parasites
Social Media
Open education
Turkmen Textbooks
Colour
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