Get your mind out of the gutter…this may be our most family-friendly lineup ever! Yet, as always, nerdy to the core.

If you’re so inclined, give us some props at:
http://do512.com/event/2011/07/06/nerd-nite-26-puppetry-of-the-peonies
http://www.yelp.com/events/austin-nerd-nite-26-puppetry-of-the-peonies

This month’s mondo bizarro talks:

Puppet Improv: Is Totally a Thing
Sara Farr (+ Patrick Knisley)

We understand they are not real, and we suspend our disbelief and see them for what they are — symbols. But since our brain is already in a mode to see everything in a puppet show as symbolic, it really messes with us when the other punch lands. Learn how puppets act on our psyche in strange ways…

Sara Farr is the founder and producing artistic director of the Puppet Improv Project. In her day-job, Sara helped design, build, and implement one of the first computer animation degrees (AAS) offered in Austin. She is a great fan of storytelling through all visual art forms.

Hydroponics, Fad or Food’s Future?
CJ Oden

Lifelong gardener CJ Oden will illuminate the basics of the hydro-way, speak about its efficacy, and discuss the key components of effective gardening in general.

CJ Oden has been into plants since he destroyed his mother’s garden – and replanted it for her – at age five. Growing up an outcast nerd with dirt under his fingernails, CJ now works for a local hydroponic store in Austin.

Birding on Broadmeade — Birdwatching and Nature Observation in a Northwest Austin Neighborhood
Mikael Behrens

An amazing and beautiful diversity of birds can be found without going far from home. Birds are the easiest kind of wildlife to observe and enjoy, and they offer a window into the bigger pictures of nature and ecology.

Mikael Behrens has been an avid birder in the Austin area since the mid 90s.


PLUS: Speed-dating is back! This month is for girls who like guys, and vice versa: http://austin.nerdnite.com/speed-dating/

Nerd Nite remains FREE, cuz we do it for the love. Bring a friend!