How to Succeed with Physics…or at Least Look Great Trying is the topic of the latest OMSI Science Pub on Monday, September 10, 2012 at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne):

Are you an aspiring runway model or secret agent? Would you like to have the elegance and confidence of one? If so, you must become familiar with basic physics concepts. Christine McKinley will show you how a knowledge of physics is crucial in everyday situations like first dates, stage dives, and arson.

Maybe you didn’t pay attention to physics in high school because you didn’t think the subject was relevant to your life goals, but there is no escaping gravity. Whether you want to be a stunt woman, a rock drummer, or a martini critic, being on friendly terms with physics will help you get there in style. You can’t change the laws of physics and you can’t escape them. So, why not put them to work for you? Apply your knowledge of momentum, atomic bonding, and thermodynamics to ramp up the glamour factor in your life. Come and find out how.

The presenter, Christine McKinley, is a mechanical engineer, musician (formerly of Portland’s Dirty Martini), and co-host of History Channel’s Brad Meltzer’s Decoded.

This event begins at 7 p.m. but arrive early to secure your beer, grub, and a seat! There’s a $5.00 suggested donation/cover charge. Minors with adults are welcome, otherwise this event is 21 and over.

Death from the Skies!, presented by Dr. Phil Plait, a.k.a the Bad Astronomer, is the topic of a special OMSI Science Pub on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne):

Asteroid impacts! Cometary debris! Extinction level events! These are the ways the world might end, and these are the topics of “Death from the Skies!”, a scientifically based but fun look at giant impacts from cosmic objects. Phil Plait — astronomer, author, and blogger — talks about how these events have shaped our history, how they may do so again, and why Hollywood always seems to get them wrong. And lest you think it’s all doom and gloom, Plait goes into details on how we might prevent the next great impact from ruining our whole day.

Presenter Dr. Phil Plait earned his doctorate in astronomy at the University of Virginia, worked as a NASA contractor at the Goddard Space Flight Center, working with the Hubble Space Telescope.

This event begins at 7 p.m. but arrive early to secure your beer, grub, and a seat! Tickets for this special Science Pub are $20 – by tickets online or at McMenamins box offices.