#partner spotlight

Mochi Cafe is an eclectic blend of Japanese pop culture and the celebration of friendship and fun based in San Diego, California, founded by Andrea Cash and Stephanie Moore in 2009.

Inspired by the maid cafes in Akihabara, Japan, Mochi Cafe entertains guests through games, dance, and song. Unlike the traditional black and white attire, maids and butlers of Mochi Cafe bring a colorful and fun brand of cultural entertainment for all ages.  They bring a unique experience of Japanese Maid Cafes to the United States so all fans of Japanese Culture could enjoy!

Follow them on facebook at MochiMaidCafe

Mochi Cafe will be making some mochi fun happen at Fangaea on both Saturday and Sunday in the Garden Salon upstairs during Fangaea – they will be hosting a game cafe where customers can join in and play board games with their favorite maids and butlers! There will be live dance performances for your entertainment and chances to win grand prizes!

Partner spotlight Karen is a retired Geography teacher who shares stories from around the world. Myths and legends share ideas, concepts, rules and history that can be applied to all. She has told stories to her children, grandchildren, and to students from preschool through college! Storytelling has taken her to rural villages along the Napo and Amazon Rivers and in schools in the city of Iquitos, Peru. as well as throughout the United States. Karen is proud of her Northern European heritage and loves to share the stories of her people through storytelling. Karen is a Charter Member and a blot leader.

Partner Spotlight Be sure to head over to the website and check out all our partners. And if you are an artist,writer,craftsman etc. you can find out how to become an Official TAC Partner and get your craft seen by the fastest growing Asatru Community.

"Norse, Viking, Publishing, Commuity, Art, Editorials" Norhalla, Inc. is organized for the preservation and education about Norse and Viking culture, mythology, belief and history through art, literature, and community. From awesome art, to series of books for children and adults, to communit building and events, Norhalla is worth a look at. 

Craig Benzine wears many online hats. His most long-standing role is host of Wheezy Waiter, a YouTube channel that wittily chronicles his life, musings, and sometimes, the frustrations of living with several clones of himself. Then there’s The Good Stuff, a channel that explores a given topic—say, sleep, or the future of food—through a playlist of videos that includes interviews with various experts. Craig has also lent his hosting skills to Crash Course and Mental Floss. Given his breadth of experience, we had plenty to chat about for October’s Partner Spotlight.

CURIOSITY: You’re a bit of a jack of all trades: you make funny videos, you make informative (but still funny) videos, you’re in a band … at this point in your online-video career, how would you define yourself and what you do?

CRAIG BENZINE: That's a complicated question. Rhett and Link, who are big in the internet-video world, they call themselves Internetainers. That wouldn't be properly describing what I do because The Good Stuff is an education channel, so it's more than entertainment, I'd like to think. I guess I produce online videos—I consider myself more of a producer. Although, I host other things. Okay, let's figure this out ... I produce and perform in internet videos.

Any time this comes up it's always an awkward conversation. Like this right now. Basically I have to describe what I do in a way that sounds like I'm not doing internet porn.

CURIOSITY: Producer and performer, got it. How and why did you make the transition from doing Wheezy Waiter to doing learning-oriented videos? Have you always felt compelled to teach, or at least, to share information?

CB: At the beginning, I wasn't like, “I'm going to make content that teaches people.” I just saw an opportunity to do that along with the silly comedy that I was doing. I don't know why I decided that suddenly, but I guess I had been listening to a lot of This American Life and Radiolab. I never felt like, “I'm smart and I want everyone to be smart.” It was more like, “I can get enjoyment out of learning and I was others to get enjoyment out of learning.”

CURIOSITY: You mentioned that you wanted to bring an educational aspect to the silly things you were doing. Do you think humor is very important in the world of online learning?

CB: I use humor in everything I do. My goal is to make it entertaining for everyone, even if they're not understanding it. I try to trick people into learning. But that doesn't mean it's necessary to do that for everyone! There are educational channels out there that aren't so humorous, that are mostly about learning, and they do a great job and capture my interest very well. This is just my personal style I guess.

CURIOSITY: How do you decide what topics to cover on The Good Stuff?

CB: Basically, it's me and four other dudes, and we discuss what we think would make a broad enough topic for a playlist. One day someone said, what about the future of food? We discussed what would be cool about the future of food—there's vertical farms, indoor farming, urban farming, eating bugs is apparently a viable option for the future ... And then Sam, one of the producers, he found this company Beyond Meat, where they make meat out of plants. We were like "Oh, that's cool.” I flew out, interviewed them, and made the video.

It's all very vague, we don't know what we're going to end up with because we rely on interviews with people. We go out and learn as we're shooting.

CURIOSITY: What’s it like talking to those great minds for your videos?

CB: It's probably the thing that makes me the most nervous, of anything I do! Leading up to the interview ... I think I handle it pretty well, but I get a little anxious. I'm worried I'm going to sound like an idiot talking to smart people. But I'm very honored and flattered that I'm able to meet all them. We’ve interviewed Bill Nye, the Amazing Randi ... it’s been really fun.

CURIOSITY: You’ve done lots of collaborations with other people in the online-video community. Why do you think collaborating is important, and what are some of your favorite collabs that you’ve done?

CB: Well, collaboration from a business standpoint is very helpful, as far as growing your audience. But it also reminds your audience that this is a giant community, and that you're a part of it, you're a human being who interacts with other human beings! It feels very isolated if it's just you talking to the camera. It's more fun to break out of the normal thing you do and get ideas from other people.

One of my favorites that I've done for my channel was with this guy Josh Sundquist, who's Paralympian, he has one leg. He came to me with the idea that he had an evil clone who had two legs. We ended up shooting this video in Iowa City. We just ran around town and included his public speaking in the video. I really liked it, I thought it was a fun story.

As far as being on other people's channels, one of my other favorites is Nice Hotel with Julian Smith. He stayed in a nice hotel and we did a whole song about it. People still come up to me and reference it.

CURIOSITY: What do you think the future holds for online learning, and for you personally?

CB: I certainly think the world of educational videos is going to keep growing, and be more and more popular. There’s an ever-increasing number of content creators. It seems like when I started there was a handful of very popular channels, now there's hundreds, if not thousands. At some point there's gonna be too many! That's why places like Curiosity.com are helpful, to help curate that stuff. For me personally, I'm gonna keep making Wheezy Waiter videos and keep making the Good Stuff!

CURIOSITY: How many times do you think you've cloned yourself on Wheezy Waiter?

CB: Thousands. I have no idea.

CURIOSITY: How do you stay curious?

CB: Well, I read the news. I watch online videos, and I exercise. Exercise usually helps me think. If you sit around and just don't do anything, then your brain gets lazy too.

As a food science professor at the University of Maine and a longtime member of the Institute of Food Technologists, Dr. Mary Ellen Camire works to usher in the future of food. Her expertise has made her a sought-after consultant for companies, research grant panels, and, yes, interviewers with all sorts of food FAQs. Read on for our chat with Dr. Camire, which includes the multiple reasons why “processed” shouldn’t be a bad word, plus advice for dealing with young, picky eaters.

CURIOSITY: Could you summarize IFT’s mission, and tell us why it’s so relevant today?

DR. MARY ELLEN CAMIRE: Our mission [at IFT] is to advance the science of food, and its application across the global food system. Today, your groceries come from all over the world—we want to make sure that everyone has access to sustainable nutrition and a sustainable food supply. It's a tall order!

C: Why is sustainability so important, and how has it factored into your work?

MEC: We waste a tremendous amount of food in the world, and we're really not going to be able to produce that much more food in the future. We have to be wiser about how we use it. I've been very interested in looking at food processing byproducts, and how we could reuse those. My first research project as a professor was studying the potato peels left over from making french fries, and how to use them as a fiber supplement.

We've also developed some healthy salmon jerky from strips of salmon that were left over from a smoked salmon plant. They needed the smoked salmon to fit inside their packaging, and so they would trim the fish, and there'd be pieces left over that they had no market for. We took those and made a healthy snack out of it.

So, I’m trying to find ways to use what's left over in a healthy way, to reduce the amount of energy that's needed to process foods, and to support expansion of local food systems.

C: The word “processed” is pretty demonized when it comes to discussing healthy food. Is that outlook warranted?

MEC: We hear that a lot in our classes, "How can you promote processed foods, they're so bad for you?" I say, "Did you have coffee this morning? Did you have a beer last night? Those are processed foods." Raisins, you take a grape and you dry it, that's processing. People just want to get on the bandwagon and say, “let's burn the monster.”

If they really stopped to think about what their lives would be like if they didn't have processed food … I don't want to go back to the time when women spent most of the day growing and preparing food! I have a profession, if I had to grow all my food, I wouldn't be able to do my job. I really think, growing up back in the 60s, that my mother was able to go back to college and have her career because of the availability of processed foods.

It's made a big difference, we're seeing major growth in other countries too. Women are working and they need foods that are more convenient. And being convenient doesn't mean it’s unhealthy. Oftentimes, processing means it’s safer!

C: How so?

MEC: A big emphasis among the members of IFT is nonthermal processing—ways to use energy to process the food so it looks and tastes and feels fresh, but it’s [been] processed to kill bacteria.

One way to do that is with high pressure. You might have seen packages of guacamole in the supermarket that can last a long time, because they've been high-pressure processed. The bacteria, they're very small, but the pressure is enough to pop their membranes and kill them, and it doesn't really change the taste and the appearance of the guacamole.

One [method] that's not out commercially yet is using plasma electricity to sterilize the surface of foods. Think of those balls at the science museum with all the electricity inside them. Think of something like that being applied to the surface of your food, zapping it. You still have a fresh fruit or vegetable, but the bacteria on the surface has been knocked out.

It's exciting to see those technologies coming closer and closer to commercialization.

C: That’s awesome! Are there any other popular misconceptions about food that bother you right now?

MEC: Well, some of the consumer nutrition trends are not necessarily science-based. Right now, some people are trying to go gluten-free when they don't have celiac disease. I'm very interested in whole grains and dietary fiber, and we have a lot of people who are removing those foods from their diets, and that's causing other health problems.

And potatoes! I'm of Irish descent, so my family came over to the U.S. during the potato famine in the 1800s. Today people vilify potatoes as being fattening and full of carbs, but potatoes have a lot of potassium, fiber, and antioxidants. They're really actually good for you, if you don't douse them in hot oil and get them all crispy.

C: If someone's studying nutrition, what are some strategies for separating the hard science from the pseudoscience?

MEC: Look out for emotionally charged words like toxins, poison, magic, miracle … any of Dr. Oz's favorite words. There's a lot of hype out there. I'll see things on Facebook like, “This diet will help you lose 10 pounds in two days.” Don't perpetuate something that you can't verify!

I recommend that people learn who a reputable source is. WebMD fact checks their information; the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is a profession group for dieticians, they have a lot of good information about nutrition; and IFT has a Food Facts page for consumers about food issues. Not every dot-org is sound science, but there are a lot of good ones out there.

C: Do you have any advice for parents who are trying to encourage healthy eating habits in their children?

MEC: “You have to eat your vegetables if you want dessert” is not an effective strategy. If you want them to eat fruits and vegetables, don't [present] it as a regular meal. Make it a treat, make it a snack. "Your cousins are coming over, look, we're going to have some special purple cauliflower." If there are other children around who you're pretty sure will eat the food, peer pressure works really well! If mom tells you to eat it and you see your friends eating it, you'll eat it because you'll be cool with them.

C: How do you stay curious?

I think I was born curious! I was really lucky, my folks encouraged me to go into science. I try to spend time with my three grandchildren, and they have a lot of questions. Sometimes their questions are naive but very insightful. They get me wondering, “Why is it this way?” and they trust me to go look it up for them.

As the host of Thug Notes, Sparky Sweets, PhD. dissects literature with his signature street-savvy style. No book is immune to his analysis—he’s covered modern hits (Gone Girl, 50 Shades of Grey, Game of Thrones) as well as established classics (Catch-22, King Lear, Dante’s Inferno…the list goes on). Today, though, Sparky ventures from the world of web series into the written word himself. His book, Thug Notes: A Street-Smart Guide to Classic Literature is now available for purchase, and contains even more thorough discussions of celebrated fictional works.

We were lucky enough to get hold of Sparky, so we asked him about the new book, his favorite Thug Notes moments, and the story that made him cry.  

(If you’re unfamiliar with Sparky, check out this playlist of some of his favorite Thug Notes episodes! Note: these videos contain profanity.)

CURIOSITY: Let’s talk about your book. What motivated you to publish it, and who do you hope to reach?

SPARKY SWEETS: People tell me all the time that Thug Notes has helped them with their school work and reinvigorated their passion for reading. Since my videos are only about five minutes long, I don’t get a chance to explore [the books] in as much detail as I would like. The Thug Notes book let’s me go all-out and tell it like it is.

For those students who are bored in English class, I’m hoping the Thug Notes book will make them see literature in a new light and convert them into a well-read baller. For people who have lost their love for the lit-game over the years, I’m hoping this book will remind them that there is some legit, timeless wisdom in these books that can apply to errybody’s life.

C: How did you choose which books to include in the Thug Notes book?

SS: We mostly went with books that people gotta read for school. We also tried to be diverse with our selection so we weren’t only covering American literature—we got some Achebe and Dostoevsky in there too.

C: What are some of your favorite books that you’ve covered on Thug Notes?

SS: My two absolute favorites are The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Grendel by John Gardner. I’m all about dat existential angst. Also, I think The Count of Monte Cristo is up there just because of how bada** the comeback story is. Revenge is a dish best served gangsta, and you can’t help but feel like you’re the one pimpin’ instead of Edmond while you read it.

Next, I’d say filming the Grapes of Wrath episode stands out to me because I’m pretty sure that’s the only one where we included the outtakes in the final cut. I couldn’t get through this one line about Rose of Sharon whipping out her t**** at the end. Too funny.  

C: Where do you like to go to read?

SS: I like reading in a quiet library amongst the stacks where you feel like you’re lost in a maze of bookshelves. Put me in the LA library with a stack of books and an a**-load of coffee and I can stay there for hours.

C: Why do you think literature is important?

SS: Right now reading is in the category of things we all make sure to forget to do every day, like flossing, taking vitamins, or putting on sunscreen. Literature allows us to see the world from vastly different perspectives. It forces us to consider new paradigms that can make us empathize with other human beings in a way science cannot. Technology may change the way we interact with the world, but it will never be able to make our choices for us. The arts empower us to make more informed and carefully considered choices—from big life decisions, to small choices about how to treat other people—and there’s nothing more important than that.

C: Has a book ever made you cry?

SS: Of course. Where the Red Fern Grows. F*** that book.

C: Which classical author would you want to spend a day with, and why?

SS: Dostoevsky for sure. He is one of the most forward-thinking artists of all time and it would be the most interesting thing ever to hear his thoughts on the state of the world right now. I’m sure he would be super curmudgeonly and wipe his a** with an iPhone. It would be awesome.

C: How do you respond to people who are offended by the fact that you swear on your show?

Surprisingly, there really aren’t that many people who complain. If they do, well… haters gonna hate. I think people get that in order to make something like Great Expectations relevant and interesting, you have to do something radical. Thug Notes is just that.

C: Do you have an opinion on the ebook vs. paper books debate?

SS: I can see arguments for both sides, but honestly, whatever gets your pages turning is good enough for me, playa. It’s nice to give people options, and I just hope in the long run the digital book industry does more to help good authors get their work read.

C: What advice do you have for students who are struggling with English and literature?

SS: Keep your chin up and stick with it even when you get discouraged. There’s no shame in asking for help, and remember that nobody really knows what they’re talking about all 100% of the time.  

C: How do you stay curious?

SS: First, I try to make sure I don’t always read things I know I’ll agree with. Second, I try to read erry single day. It’s one of those cases where you think you don’t have time to do it, when the reality is you don’t have time NOT to. Feel me?

As the host of the This Week In Science podcast and radio show, Dr. Kiki Sanford shares news of exciting ideas and breakthroughs in the science world. (Helpfully, she’s a scientist herself—she earned her PhD in molecular, cellular, and integrative physiology.) Because her number-one passion is spreading amazing info, she’s a perfect fit for July’s Spotlight interview! Read our chat below to learn about her fascinating bird research, her favorite parts of TWIS, and the fellow scientists that inspire her.

CURIOSITY: You went to UC Davis for your PhD, and you studied neurophysiology, specifically in birds. Can you tell us a little more about your bird work? Are you still enthused about birds today?

DR. KIKI SANFORD: I'm absolutely still enthused about the birds today. My research was focused on spatial learning and memory, [and I] focused on specific behaviors that birds had, like food storing or migration. How does a bird, through its life, remember this amazing amount of information about where it has stored food to go back to and survive off of during the lean months? How does a bird remember how to get to its breeding ground, and how to get back?

C: We keep finding out how much smarter birds are than we originally thought!

KS: There are amazing statistics. There's this one species of bird, the Siberian tit, that lives in Siberia, a very northern climate. Before winter comes, as the days start getting shorter, it will store something like 250,000 pieces of food to survive off of. It's insane, a quarter-million pieces of food! And it goes back and finds these little stores because it knows where it's hidden them. I can't even remember where my keys are!

C: Eventually, you made the transition from full-time scientist to a someone in science communications, trying to teach others. What inspired this change?

KS: As an undergrad, I started doing work at the campus radio station. At first it was just a music show. And then, when I was in graduate school, I was talking to some friends one summer—we always talked about science—and we were like, "Haha, we should be on the radio!" And I was like, "We can be on the radio!”

So we started doing This Week in Science. At first it was just a hobby, but there came a point when I realized that my favorite moments during grad school were teaching classes, doing my radio show, and going to conferences and discussing science with people. I loved science, but the communicating of it was what I really wanted to do.

C: TWIS describes itself as “humorous, often opinionated, and irreverent.” Can you speak to the importance of these qualities for the show?

KS: Humor is a really important way to get ideas across to people. When they're smiling and laughing, people are more receptive to ideas. Being irreverent, that's been an interesting one for us, because some people who [start listening] to our show are very science- or engineering-minded. They're looking for something that has no joking and very strict language. Those people write me and say, "I don't like your show, you're not doing it the right way, you've lost me as a listener." And I'm like, "Well, you weren't my intended audience to begin with!" Our fun-loving attitude has helped us reach the audience we wanted to reach.

C: Do you have an episode of TWIS that stands out in your mind as a particular favorite?

KS: Earlier this year we did a live show in New York City for STEM Fest, and that was just brilliant. Being in front of a live audience took the show to a completely new level of energy that I don't think we've ever hit before. I remember we talked a bit about synthetic genomics ... balancing what gains humanity will get from designing genes vs. the threats [we'd] be up against.

C: You also started a show called Smart App Moms, which reviewed smartphone apps for children. As a parent and a scientist, do you have any advice for parents who want to cultivate their children’s interest in science?

KS: I think it's important to let your child explore … let them try and do things on their own, let them take things apart. Let them run around in nature. If they ask you a question, answer it to the best of your knowledge, but then try and give them something else to think about. So you're not just handing them knowledge, you're also inspiring them to keep thinking and keep asking more questions.

C: Who are some scientists that inspire you?

KS: There are so many! Sylvia Earle is an amazing oceanographer who has become one of the most important communicators of our time, getting the message out to people about the state of the oceans and climate change.

In terms of brain science, Miguel Nicolelis. He's been doing some really fascinating work at Duke University on brain-computer interfaces and brain-to-computer communication. It’s futuristic, pushing the envelope of what is possible, and I think it’s just fascinating. I like big thinkers.

C: How do you stay curious?

KS: Reading science fiction novels is something that I love to do. I'll read a book and there'll be these ideas in it, and I get curious. Then I go do a Google search or have a conversation with somebody. Reaching out and talking to new people, that inspires new thoughts, because you're bringing what they know into what you know. It's making space in my life so that I can integrate information from all sorts of different sources.