Zero Gravity

If you don’t already know, let me be the first to tell you: 2009 is the Year of Science!

It’s the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Abraham Lincoln was also born on the exact same day (and year) as Darwin, and Lincoln would found the Academy of Sciences.

2009 also marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope to study the skies - and the 400th anniversary of the publication of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion.

It’s the International Year of Astronomy and the International Year of Planet Earth.

2009 is the Year of Science.

What are you going to do about it?

I’ve joined COPUS - the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science - a network of over 500 organizations working to promote science awareness throughout the year. Each month is a different theme - evolution, energy resources, astronomy, physics, biodiversity, etc. I will be producing video and audio content that will appear on the COPUS website. I also hope to be involved in events in the Bay Area and elsewhere.

January’s theme is the Process and Nature of Science. Here’s my first video touching on the theme…

Related post:
http://www.sciencecomedian.com/blog/2008/08/02/why-is-the-sky-blue/
(includes the real reason the sky is blue)

Links:
http://www.copusproject.org

http://www.yearofscience.org

I was gone but now I’m back, apparently.

Reasonably objective third-party proof of my existence is to be found in the form of an interview with me on LabLit.com - a website dedicated to “the culture of science in fiction & fact.”

I met LabLit editor Jennifer Rohn at SciFoo this year.  She’s a cell biologist at University College London, a writer for publications such as Nature, and a frequent blogger.  Her first novel, Experimental Heart, has just been published, too.  It’s available from Amazon or directly from the publisher, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. And, of course, it’s an example of “lab lit” - it’s described as a “romantic thriller set against the backdrop of contemporary scientific research.”

Jenny attended my science comedy session at SciFoo, and I participated in a session that she and John Gilbey presented entitled, “Seducing the Public with Science.”  It was one of my favorite sessions and was attended by Ann Druyan, Brother Guy Consolmagno, Kevin Grazier, Ben Goldacre, Tim O’Reilly, Eugenie Scott, Shelley Batts and others.

Anyway, Ian Brooks interviewed me and LabLit is an excellent website worth exploring and here’s a great place to start:

LabLit’s interview with science comedian Brian Malow.

While at Science Foo Camp 2008, I grabbed a few quick interviews for the Nature podcast, which was posted today on Nature.com.  Just a few soundbites from attendees David Bauer, Brian Cox, Chris Patil, and Martin Rees. And a shout out to me.

It’s the latest episode so, for now, you can find it here.  When it gets moved to the archive, I’ll link to its permanent location.*

Thanks to everyone who took the time to speak to me!

* Update:  Here’s the podcast episode (21 August 2008) in mp3.  And also a text transcription.

On 9/11 this year I’ll be performing at the legendary Purple Onion with my friend, the legendary Bizarro cartoonist Dan Piraro:  The Bizarro Comedy Show: Two Funny Heads.

Says Dan about me: “This guy is a longtime friend and a total pro. He’ll show me up, big time. I should actually be opening for him but it’s my show so tough monkeys.”

Actually, Dan is incredibly funny and inventive on stage, and the most prolific artist I know. He publishes a new cartoon EVERY DAY!  That’s seven new jokes a week, plus he draws them by hand in pen, scans them into the computer, and colors them himself.

We previously did a 10-state, 20-city, 30-show tour of political comedy (”Bizarro’s Politi-Comedy-a-Go-Go”) during the ill-fated last presidential election season, along with pals Michael Capozzola and Jeff Kreisler.  We had hoped to play a small part in unseating the incumbent, but, alas, failed.

However, this time, we are so certain to see a regime change that we don’t even feel the need to do political humor, per se.  Although you can always count on Dan to have some biting commentary on the state of the union.  This time, at the Onion.

Tickets for the Sept. 11 Purple Onion show can be purchased here.

I’ve been writing up my notes from Science Foo Camp, anxious to get something online about the unconference that ended a week ago already, and from which I’m still on a serious high.  Meanwhile…

symmetry breaking has a new review of my “Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet” show.

symmetry breaking is a blog supplement to symmetry - a great particle physics magazine that explores not only the science but also the people, the culture, and the policies of science.

It’s published every other month by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center - national laboratories funded by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy - and, therefore, the magazine is available for free - in print as well as online - to anyone.  Subscribe here.

The review is written by David Harris, editor of symmetry, who attended my show at the Punch Line Comedy Club, here in SF, last Monday, August 11, immediately following SciFoo weekend.

He also invited me to write an essay on being a science comedian for the print version of the magazine.

Thanks, David!

This is a helluva week. I’ve been promoting and preparing for my upcoming science comedy show at the San Francisco Punch Line: Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet, Monday, August 11, 8pm, please come.

But between now and Monday I have what promises to be one of the most memorable weekends of my life…

Friday through Sunday, I’ll be attending Science Foo Camp 2008 (”SciFoo”).

What is SciFoo, you ask?

Well, it’s an invitation-only gathering organized by Nature, O’Reilly Media, and Google, and hosted at the famed Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.

It’s a weekend of interactive sessions. All delegates are also presenters. There’s no agenda until we get there and then it is determined collaboratively and subject to change throughout the weekend.

And who was invited?

(more…)

I’m featured on the On the Green Podcast with host Jerry Kay. It’s only one minute long!

“Brian Malow makes science funny, exciting and easily digestible for all audiences.”

Check it out…

http://bicoastalmedia.com/podcast/?p=165