Posts Tagged ‘Science comedian’
Godspeed, John Glenn: 50 Years of Americans in Orbit
February 20th, 2012
On February 20, 1962, perched atop an Atlas rocket, John Glenn was blasted into space at 17,500 miles per hour. He splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean about five hours later, having orbited the Earth three times, the first American to do so.
Our most recent video for Time.com is a tribute to John Glenn, NASA, and 50 years of Americans in orbit. I wrote it, Tara Fredette was cameraman, and Jim Fields edited.
Godspeed, John Glenn…
Link:
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1461672138001_2107230,00.html
My 25 Mundane Neutrino Explanations
September 22nd, 2011
Today I had the most fun I’ve ever had on Twitter, thanks to the OPERA experiment working out of CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider.
The blogosphere is ablaze with news that they seem to have detected neutrinos traveling faster than light. If true, it would be the biggest science news of the century, overturning one of the most fundamental concepts in physics. There is obviously much skepticism amongst scientists. For a typically insightful explanation, check out Bad Astronomer Phil Plait‘s post: Faster-than-light travel discovered? Slow down, folks
The Twitter fun began when a discussion between two physicist/mathematician-types, Blake Stacey (@blakestacey) and S.C. Kavassalis (@sc_k) led Blake to tweet:
@sc_k Maybe we need to counterbalance the HEP blogohedron with a Twitter meme? e.g., #mundaneneutrinoexplanations
Then he spun out a few funny examples of more mundane explanations for the unusual neutrino measurement:
- #CERN physicists did arithmetic on old Pentium computers
- #CERN physicists let undergrads near the experiment
- Calculations done by visiting Americans who still don’t get the metric system.
… all with the #mundaneneutrinoexplanations hashtag appended.
I think I was the first one to follow his lead with:
- Forgot to carry the one
- Confused neutrino with one sent later
- Study published by Wakefield et al
Then @drskyskull and @physicsdavid and others joined in (even astophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Bad Astronomer) and, before you know it, the Twitterverse was alive with funny explanations, some of which may be as likely as superluminal neutrinos. I ended up spitting out about 25 of them, which I present here, as they were tweeted, in reverse chronological order (so start from the bottom). Enjoy!
My Love Affair with Space
July 7th, 2011
On the eve of the final mission of NASA’s – and the nation’s – 30-year-long space shuttle program, I present to you a video love letter – my newest piece for Time Magazine’s website, wherein Tara and I journey to Florida to witness our first launch. STS-133, in February, was the last mission of space shuttle Discovery…
Click for bigger version at Time.com
Link:
My Love Affair with Space on Time.com
Lunar Eclipse Defined by Wikipedia
June 15th, 2011
In celebration of today’s lunar eclipse, Google‘s logo features an animated moon. When you click through, as usual, you get a page of related search results.
A little while ago, one of the top results included a surprising definition of “lunar eclipse” from Wikipedia:
According to Wikipedia:
Lunar eclipse: A lunar eclipse is when the moon turns black and explodes, releasing a poisonous gas, killing all of humanity. Of course this can occur only when the Sun, …
The page had already been corrected by the time I saw it. But the false definition was apparently cached and showing up in Google’s search results, until a little while ago.
I love Wikipedia. But it’s still funny.
Check out the page devoted to Google Doodles.
Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale
May 5th, 2011
Science comedy fans, unite! For one evening in Sunnyvale, California!
8pm, Wednesday, May 11, 2011. An evening of science comedy at Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club with science comedian Brian Malow.
Information and Reservations: 408-736-0921
***
Science Comedian Brian Malow
presents
Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet
An evening of science humor
“It’s as much about expanding the mind as it is tickling the funny bone.”
– The Washington Times
Get your geek on! From the lighter side of helium to the darker side of the moon, join science comedian Brian Malow on a rocket ride through the humorverse. Brian will dispel myths & misconceptions about science, explore the science in science fiction films, and exercise your brain as well as your funny bone.
For all audiences!
Music is not just for musicians. Art is not just for artists. And science is not just for scientists.
—————————————————-
$12
8pm, Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club
157 W. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
408-736-0921
—————————————————-
Brian Malow is Earth’s Premier Science Comedian (available for off-world appearances if transportation is provided). Based in San Francisco, Brian has appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and performed for NASA, JPL, NIST, OSA, ACS, and other acronyms. He also makes science videos for Time Magazine’s website, and is a contributor to Neil de Grasse Tyson’s radio show. Brian has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Jose Mercury News.
For more info, check out www.sciencecomedian.com and www.youtube.com/sciencecomedian and www.twitter.com/sciencecomedian
Robots Attack! My new Singularity video on Time.com
February 10th, 2011
I have a new video up on Time.com about the Singularity. If you don’t know what it is… find out here. I wrote it. Craig Duff shot and produced it. Jim Fields edited.
The video complements Lev Grossman’s new Time Magazine feature story on Ray Kurzweil.
Upcoming San Francisco Shows
January 24th, 2011
Science Comedian Street Team: Activate! Please forward via email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, telegraph, semaphore, smoke signals, and telepathy.
I have two(2) big San Francisco shows coming up – plus, a bonus appearance at Ignite SF. One show is this week, part of SF Sketchfest – the others are just around the corner: February 8 and 9. Details and links… to more details and links:
This Wednesday, January 26, see two one-man shows for the price of one. At the Eureka Theatre, comedian and cartoonist Michael Capozzola will present his food-themed multimedia show “Regurgitated,” and I’ll be doing my latest science comedy: “Spontaneous Emissions.” Joining us will be the amazing Mike Meehan for a special cameo.
Wednesday, February 9, join me at the San Francisco Punch Line Comedy Club for an evening of science humor – again, “Spontaneous Emissions.” My good friend Ngaio Bealum will join me as a guest performer. Call the club and make reservations in advance! This show will sell out.
And for something a little different… the 2nd Annual Global Ignite Week is coming. I’ll be participating in the San Francisco event at Public Works on Tuesday, February 8. Ignite is an evening of 5-minute talks with 20 slides each, that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Presentations are by artists, technologists, and other thinkers – designed to be of interest to geeks. 16 speakers! A huge variety of topics. My presentation will be called “How Wine Saved the World.” True story. Be there!
And, seriously – even if you’re not in the SF Bay Area, please forward this link to someone who is! Thanks!
SF Sketchfest
January 5th, 2011
8pm, Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 – Eureka Theatre, San Francisco
Sketchfest is an amazing annual event – actually three weeks of events – each January in San Francisco. This year’s performers include…
Dan Aykroyd, Candice Bergen, James L. Brooks, David Byrne, Neil Patrick Harris, Garry Shandling, Eugene Mirman, Nerdist Chris Hardwick, Kevin Pollak, Greg Proops, RiffTrax, Will Durst, Bob Goldthwait, Brendon Small, The Sound of Young America, Paul F. Tompkins, Marc Maron, Todd Barry, Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford, Greg Behrendt, Doug Benson, Moby, Jimmy Pardo, and many many more.
Oh yeah: I’m performing along with comedian and cartoonist Michael Capozzola on Wednesday, January 26th, 8pm at the Eureka Theater. Come enjoy an evening featuring two comedic performances! Mike will be doing his food-themed show and I’ll be doing my thing…
Brian Malow – Spontaneous Emissions
and
Michael Capozzola – Regurgitated
8pm, Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Eureka Theatre
215 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
$15
Synthetic Biology Conference
January 4th, 2011
Feb. 3-4, 2011 – Synthetic Biology conference held at Google’s Washington, D.C. offices
I am participating in a synthetic biology conference called “Here Be Dragons: Governing a Technologically Uncertain Future.”
Stellar cast of speakers from science AND science fiction: Drew Endy, Andrew Hessel, George Church, Robert J. Sawyer, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Robert Wright, and many more!
Part of the Future Tense series, the event is co-sponsored by Slate magazine, Arizona State University, and the New America Foundation, and will explore governance issues surrounding new, rapidly-developing fields of science.
How do we proceed when we have no maps for these unexplored territories?
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Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 8:30am – Friday, February 4, 2011 – 1:30pm
Google, DC
1101 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Bad Science in Star Wars
December 4th, 2010
FORA.tv has a short video of me performing at the recent Wonderfest science festival in Berkeley. I’m talking about bad science in science fiction movies, and the example in the clip is a classic moment from Star Wars…
