arts / 8

Kickstarter in the Community:
Have yourself a very nerdy birthday

» From the maker of geeky valentines come nerdy birthday cards

UO

nerdy words

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor

Marts
@theotherpress.ca

=
$

 

N&’ Words has put a new
spin on birthday cards,
with retro designs and geeky

phrases to appeal to individuals

with an interest in science.
Whether your passion lies in
physics, chemistry, biology,
statistics, or computer science,
there’s a nerdy birthday card
for you.

The six card styles feature
colourful, retro designs with
gift, balloon, and birthday
cake illustrations created by

Nerdy Words founder Christine :

Snyder, who has a Ph.D. in
Biomedical Science and a
background in graphic and
website design.

are captions that celebrate the
geeky side of birthdays. One
card has a yellow package tied

reads “A gift wrapped in paper
and string theory.” Another

card has a trio of balloons that
read He He He (helium on the

a few laughs today!”

“T tried to choose sayings
from a variety of disciplines
and also included some more
generalized themes such as
statistics and manuscript

Along with the illustrations wide an audience as possible,” :
: Snyder wrote to the Other Press :

: from Tottenham, Ontario.

After the success of Nerdy

with equation-filled string that Words’ Valentine’s Day cards

: campaign on Kickstarter,

: which raised over $2,500,

: Snyder came back with an even
: bigger campaign for Nerdy
periodic table) accompanied by Words’ birthday cards. This
the phrase “Don't forget to have : time the rewards include all
: the necessities for a birthday
: celebration, such as ribbon,

: balloons, and a gift. The red
: satin ribbon has “p < 0.0001”
: printed on it, which means

: statistically significant. The
preparation in order to reach as balloons have He (helium)
: printed on them, which

: coordinate with the matching

balloon card. The gift is an eco-

: friendly notebook that features
: periodic elements Ge Ni U S

: (Geranium, Nickel, Uranium,
and Sulphur) on the cover.

“The reward structure we

used for the Valentine’s Day

:; campaign really worked well, so
? we expanded upon those levels
: for our birthday campaign with
: our extra gifts in a variety of

: combinations,” Snyder wrote.

: “The gift wrapping ribbon was
a big hit, so we decided to add

: science decorations and a little
gift.”

The Kickstarter campaign

: has reached its $1,500 goal and

 

: continues to raise funds from
: more than 50 backers during

: its final week, which ends

: March 13. The campaign has

: been featured as a Kickstarter
: Staff Pick and has appeared

: in the BuzzFeed article

: “Top 5 Nerdiest Kickstarter

: Campaigns.”

The campaign rewards

theotherpress.ca

: or more, backers can get the

: whole birthday package with a

: six-pack of cards, He balloons,

: ribbon, and a Genius notebook.
: The campaign includes various
: donation levels with different

: combinations of the rewards,

: so backers can choose which
rewards they want.

“We had so much positive

: feedback from the Valentine’s
Day campaign and many

> people were keen to purchase

: more cards from us. We are

: excited to see many repeat

: backers and we hope they enjoy
: their birthday cards just as
much,” Snyder wrote.

Nerdy Words has even

more geeky cards expected to
: be available later this year for
: other holidays and occasions.

“We are hoping to expand

Image from Kickstarter.com our line of cards with an All
: Occasions campaign by late

> summer,” Snyder wrote. “This
: will include holidays such as

: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day,

: Easter, as well as retirement,

baby shower, and graduation.”

The All Occasions cards

will be offered individually
: in the campaign rewards so
: backers can choose which

: : cards they wish to receive
: include pre-orders of the nerdy :

birthday cards at $6 for one

: card and envelope or $30 fora

: complete set of the six designs.
: Backers can also get a card

: and Genius notebook for $25

: or, for $42, a six-pack of cards,
: eight He balloons, and nine

: feet of satin ribbon. For $60

: instead of having to buy an
: entire set.

To find out more about

: Nerdy Words, check out

: NerdyWords.com, Nerdy

: Words Greeting Cards and

: Gifts on Facebook, and nerdy_
: words on Twitter and Pinterest.

 

Unexpected sequel offers expected crude comedy

» ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ movie review

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

OOO0S

wouldn't have thought we'd

get a sequel to 2010's sci-fi,
dude comedy Hot Tub Time
Machine, but if there was any
comedy that was good enough
to deserve a sequel, it was that
one.

With its self-aware nature
and hilarious, massive lapses
in good taste, the original
film set itself apart from its
contemporaries and became
a cult hit on video. If you
intentionally saw Hot Tub Time
Machine, youre probably aware
of the level your expectations

: should be set at, for both the
: original and the sequel.

There are several notable
differences in the overall story
compared to the first film,

: particularly the absence of

: Adam Yates (John Cusack), the

: serious one of the motley crew.

: However, it doesn’t appear that

: the movie would be any better

: or worse with his presence, even
: though he was the leading man
: in the first film.

Lou Dorchen (Rob

Corddry), the jerk of the

: group, takes over as the leading

; man and Nick Webber (Craig

: Robinson) becomes a famous

: musician in this film. Lou’s son

: Jacob (Clark Duke) also returns

: for the sequel. As usual, all three
? men are very amusing to watch,

: although it’s glaringly obvious

: right from the beginning that

: Lou is in no way, shape, or form
: leading man material. The

: characters are all borderline

: impossible to like, with Lou

: once again going above and

: beyond to be the biggest jerk

: possible.

Joining the trio is Adam

: Yates Jr. (Adam Scott), who is
: different enough from his dad
: and likeable enough that his

: presence is welcome.

Another difference from

the original is that this time

: the magical Jacuzzi takes the

: guys to the year 2025, instead

: of the 1980s setting of the last

: movie. Everyone from the first
: film is filthy rich in 2015, due to
: Lou deciding to stay in the ‘80s

: at the end of the last movie.

: During a party he throws at his
: house, he gets shot in the groin
: by an unknown individual,

: and the trio—with dying Lou

: in tow—hop into the hot tub

: hoping to go back in time and

: prevent his murder, but end

: up 1o years in the future. Jokes

: about self-driving cars and a

: 2025 that is very similar to our

: Own time ensue.

Make no mistake: most

comedy sequels are inferior to

: their predecessors, and Hot Tub
: Time Machine 2 follows this rule
: toa “T” Though, unlike most of
: those sequels, fans of the first

: one—and of slapstick, crass

: comedy—will find this to be an

: acceptable, sometimes hilarious
: session in the hot tub.

 

Paramount Pictures - © 2015