What We Learned at Nerd Nite / Spot Those tUnE-yArDs Scenesters

Neither a cold, wet evening nor a KU basketball game could keep Larryville's nerds from assembling at Pachamamas for the Larryville debut of "Nerd Nite." Overall, the crowd skewed a little older and more academic than we expected. Imagine a group of eccentric pop culture conference participants deciding to get hammered BEFORE presenting their lectures, and you'll have some idea of the feel.

Here's what we learned before the presentations began:

--Official "Nerd Nites" are now happening in 26 cities spanning seven countries.

--Nerd Nites begin with a "co-boss" delivering the "Story of Origin," a tale which begins with the first use of the word as a slang term (Detroit, 1951) and leads through Dr. Seuss's "knurds" before finally tracing the history of "nerd nites."

And here's what we learned in the three lectures (as reconstructed in this moment based on our drunken notes from last night):

--many people can't see Vancouver as it really exists because they've watched too much Battlestar Galactica.

--there are A LOT more bicycle accidents than you might expect in Madison, Wisconsin

--"Everyone has a right to practical obscurity."

--Famous "poetic terrorists" include Jesus, Bugs Bunny, Andy Kaufman, and Betty White

--Larryville's Busker Fest might be seen as a good example of a "temporary autonomous zone"

--No one in a crowd of Larryville nerds identifies him or herself as a "serious anarchist."

Verdict: nerdy as fuck. We'll be there again on Wednesday Dec. 14 and you should probably join us.

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L.com has given us TWO sets of Party Pics in one week. Here's one from the new tUnE-yArDs gallery .

Who can name those scenesters?

Chip: "I didn't realize it was hip to make that cunnilingus gesture, but I'm glad to learn that it is!"