Ben

Planet Nerd's resident scientician, Ben is an actor, comedian, improviser and self-styled science communicator. He's best known for his science-based comedy lecture series, performed as "the Man in the Lab Coat".

 

A big shout-out and thank you to all the cosplayers who took the time to talk to us at Animania Melbourne! There was a lot of love for anime on display, and it was great to hear about your passion for the obsess- er, hobby.

We didn’t get quite enough material for a complete segment, though, so we’re planning to combine your interviews with more that we’ll get at Supanova Melbourne, which is on early next month, and do a segment covering cosplayers both anime and otherwise. Watch this space for more about that in the coming weeks!

 

Yes, this Saturday, March 5, Planet Nerd is coming to Animania Melbourne! Roving reporter Ben McKenzie will be wandering about the the anime fan festival talking to the fans and cosplayers about why they love anime and what drives them to make the perfect costume. Hopefully we’ll see some of you there!

 

We seem to have transitioned to the new site setup pretty successfully, so any changes from now on should be mostly cosmetic. The videos in the links below are working again; the podcast feed isn’t quite working yet, but we’ll get it sorted.

 

Planet Nerd is experiencing a few problems as we update the site to the current version of WordPress, and try to recall how we set this thing up four years ago. Will this violent struggle lead to a climactic rebirth? Will the podcast backlog reappear, so you can relive the best moments from the original series – plus the newer snippets we added later? Well, we certainly hope so!

In the meantime, you can check out the Planet Nerd YouTube channel to relive our past glories.

 

One of your humble Nerdsketeers, Ben McKenzie, is in the running to become iinet’s “Top Geek”! The initial popular vote section is over, but you never know – he could end up in the top 15 for the next phase. You can find out more at the official Top Geek web site.

By the way, if you’re reading this, you might like to know that Ben will be geeking out live on stage monthly this year, with his Dungeons & Dragons inspired show, Dungeon Crawl. Check it out at Shaolin Punk!

 

Yes, that’s right nerdlings, Planet Nerd is being repeated by Channel 31 Melbourne – again! The nature of PN is irrepressible, and you can watch us at 11 PM on Thursday nights. It’s tricky to tell which episode we’re up to, but you just might catch a repeat of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book launch episode around the time of the opening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince next Wednesday, July 15…

 

It be September 19th, and ye know what that means: all ‘cross the Interweb, nerds be talkin’ like pirates. But there be another reason to remember today, an’ that be Punraiser, a fund raising event in support o’ RMIT Fine Arts photography students. So get along to Roxanne Parlour tonight to see a line-up o’ Melbourne’s finest comedians, includin’ Planet Nerd presenter Ben McKenzie talkin’ about science or somesuch, and our very own DVD reviewer, Rob Lloyd, presentin’ a preview of his incredibly nerdy new show, Every Film Ever Made, with Planet Nerd guest star Adam McKenzie. Arrrr!

 

I got pretty excited about the prospect of Iron Man. You know I did. Just scroll down the page and listen to me sing “How Good Does That Movie Look?” in a slightly flat fashion. But the thing is, I really am a bit excited about Iron Man, and now I have more reason than ever. Sing and ye shall receive! Behold, the Iron Man “teaser trailer”.

…man. How good is that goatee? Plus the soundtrack of the trailer will make metalheads (or more likely, since this is Planet Nerd, Guitar Hero fans) go mental.

 

Planet Nerd: Year One

No, it’s not a brilliant re-imagining of our origins and our early trials in our new role; rather, it’s the Planet Nerd year one wrap party! If you’ve enjoyed the show this year, why not come along and show your support and appreciation. There’ll be clips from the show and great moments of nerdiness on the big screens, and merchandise, including DVDs and possibly even T-shirts, for sale. So come on – you know you want to.

What: Planet Nerd: Year One wrap party

Where: Glitch Bar + Cinema, 318 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North (Melways 30 C11) [map]

When: Saturday, September 8th, from 7pm

 

Yes, it’s July 21st, and we all know what that means: it’s Moon Day! No, that’s not it… I know! It’s the anniversary of the controversial and historically important Scopes “Monkey” Trial over the teaching of evolution in American schools!

Well, okay, yes, it’s both of those things too, but what we’re all really excited about is the release of the most anticipated book in human history: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Of course your faithful Planet Nerd correspondents were up at the crack of dawn to ask the hard questions of the fans in the queue, so be sure to watch the show this week (and Channel 31′s Breakfast Show on Monday morning) to see the excitement and hilarity that ensued! We’ll all be engrossed in reading the new book over the next day or two (except for Dan, of course, who’ll just be waiting for the movie).

Perhaps the most exciting thing is that Book 7 is almost guaranteed to break with the usual conventions of Books 1 through 6 – and at “only” 600 pages, with four horcruxes to find and the final battle to take place, there’s no room for mucking about, so it’s sure to be a rollercoaster ride. I’m strapping myself in right now – and staying the hell away from all media until I finish reading it!

Interestingly, we found something of a split in opinion during our interviews: younger readers consistently felt that Snape was indeed evil, while the older readers (i.e. those who at least considered buying the “adult edition” with the classy black cover) mostly thought that he was ultimately good. What do you think? (And no spoilers, please!)

But don’t forget Moon Day! It’s the oldest traditional geek holiday, and our second favourite next to Towel Day.

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