Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > December > 05
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Nerd Nite’s Dan Rumney and JC Dwyer
Be there and be square. That’s the motto of the auspicious social series, Nerd Nite, embodied by its geek-hipster Austin organizers, Dan Rumney and JC Dwyer.
Along the way, Rumney and Dwyer discovered hundreds of Austinites like themselves, “meta-nerds,” as Dwyer call them, sharing a limitless curiosity about the world around them.
“The cult of knowledge and obsessive behavior has lost its stigma,” Dwyer says. “The talks can be funny, sexy and exhilarating at the same time.”
Each nerd leader followed a woman to Texas. Rumney, 30, grew up in Newcastle, U.K., read physics at Oxford University, worked for IBM in England, Detroit and New York City, before landing in Austin, where he now performs institutional tech support for IBM. His fiance, Lizzie Bracken, studies scenic design at the University of Texas. Dwyer, 31, hails from Chicago, attended the University of Pennsylvania, and lived in New York before heading to Laredo, then San Antonio, where he’s a anti-hunger advocate and his girlfriend, Alexandra Minnaar, is an immigration lawyer.
Dwyer and Rumney’s serendipitous meeting resembles Nerd Nite’s other creations myths. Chris Balakrishnan, an avian biologist specializing in parasitic birds, bred the phenomenon in Boston. Informally, he spread the word to other cities with the hope of fostering scientific literacy, especially about evolution. Besides Boston, Nerd Nites have popped up in New York, Munich, Germany and Washington D.C., with one planned for New Orleans.
While living in New York, Rumney had heard of Nerd Nite, but never got around to attending. The idea stuck in his head after his Austin move, so he contacted Matt Wasowksi, who ran that event, first on the Lower East Side, then in Brooklyn. Turns out, Wasowksi had also been Dywer’s housemate. Learning that both nerdsters were in Austin, Wasowski suggested they collaborate.
The new team outgrew their first venue, Opal Divine’s Freehouse on West Sixth Street, after one event, and settled into the upper floor of frat-friendly Buffalo Billiards on East Sixth Street, filling a musical stage on a usually dark night.
At first, the bar’s management requested a fee, but Rumney and Dwyer pointed out that there was no Nerd Nite budget and no entry fee. Almost right away, however, the Buffalo folks realized that 100 or so people buying beers for a few hours each month was better than leaving the room unused.
“It’s not a nerd bar,” Rumney says. “Which is part of the charm. I think everyone who comes to our events identifies as a nerd, but it’s not an exclusive club.”
The duo, serious yet ironic, play up their transatlantic cultural differences as they introduce each speaker. The presenters are often previous Nerd Nite attendees, some delivering the core of an academic thesis. Others are professional lecturers. Recently, Rumney and Dwyer have taken requests from guests about subjects of interest.
Not unlike the lectures that are part of Austin’s long-running Dionysium events, the Nerd Nite talks are just arcane enough to capture one’s attention for 20 or 30 minutes. Beer helps. They come with titles like “Recent Interpretations of the Holy Grail on Stage and Screen,” “Preventing a Dietary-based Apocalypse through Public Health Theory and Practice,” “The Molecular Basis of Beer Tasting” and “Look Before You Flush.”
“If it has poo or sex in it, people love it,” Rumney says. “The smart presenters take something high brow and mix it with the puerile.”
They plan more themed events — such as Nerd Nite Speed Dating and an annual Nerd-tacular festival — for their growing coterie. Dwyer is especially interested in a “nerd off” competition with the folks behind the Dionysium, which also includes live music and an old-fashioned debate.
The reason for the proposed mock rivalry is obvious, Dwyer says: “There’s nothing like a good controversy to stir up attendance.”
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‘One Peace at a Time’ Austin Premiere
Globally and locally, Turk and Christy Pipkin spread the word, good and bad …
Amanda Tyler and Rep. Lloyd Doggett
Bad, that much of the world lives in abject need; good, that, in their documentaries, they’ve identified ideas (“Nobelity”) and actions (“One Peace at a Time”) that can alleviate those ills …
Tara Poteet, Dustin O’Neal and Angie Dewees
“One Peace at a Time” has been working its way through film festivals and regional openings …
Christy Pipkin and Joe Ely
Naturally, the official hometown premiere would bring out notables from the fields of law, arts, music, charity, media and otherwise …
Yamil Canizares and Myndi Garrett
At Manuel’s across from the Arbor Theater, they listened to the angelic Kat Edmonson, crunched tortilla chips and continued to spread the Pipkin word before the movie started …
Anika Kunik and Jim Innes
Having previewed the movie on a screener, I then headed out to the next social event of the evening.
Zane and Natalie Wilemon
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