Mixed Taste: At Home lecture on Napping and Slovenian Zombies.

The audience for last week’s virtual summer lecture series got schooled on two very entertaining topics: Napping and Slovenian Zombies.

In case you missed out, you can still watch the whole thing on our YouTube channel, where it will survive until the zombie apocalypse comes for all of us.

Watch Mixed Taste: Napping & Slovenian Zombies >

If you don’t have an hour to watch it, here’s a quick round-up of the highlights and fun facts to tuck away for the next time you feel the need to justify your nap.

Maya Kroth talking about Napping.

6 good reasons to take a nap from Maya Kroth (writer/radio producer/nap evangelist):

1. It’s what nature intended. Your natural circadian rhythm cycle means we humans get sleepy in the afternoon.
2. It’s good for your health. A Harvard study showed that Greeks who stopped taking their siesta had 37% higher risk of death from heart disease. Naps lower blood pressure as much as a pill.
3. It improves your performance. Famous nappers include LeBron James, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison, and they all were pretty good at what they did.
4. It helps you remember (and forget). Sleep helps the brain decide what information is important save and what we can get rid of.
5. It’s dangerous NOT to. Evidence shows that more surgeries go wrong and harsher court sentences are given out in the afternoon. Schedule your important stuff for the morning, friends!
6. It subverts the capitalist paradigm. The rise of capitalism killed naps because it relies on the idea that if you work hard (and rest less), you’ll succeed. This has trickled into class and racial disparities in who is “allowed” to nap because it is so stigmatized.

Nancy Wadsworth talking about Slovenian Zombies.

3 things Nancy Wadsworth (Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Denver) taught us about Slovenian Zombies:

1. Zombie stories tap into big issues. What do we feel threatened by? What is human nature? What are our moral limits and under what circumstances do they change?
2. Slovenian zombies actually refers to protestors in the All-Slovenian Uprising who Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s political party disparagingly called “zombies” on Twitter. The protestors appropriated the zombie label and utilized theatrical and artistic means to double down on their efforts with facepaint, puppets, and masks. (Yay arts!)
3. A subgroup of the protestors decided to take the ideas of their calls for justice and frame them in a spiritual setting with an invented religion. Thus, The Trans-Universal Zombie Church of the Blissful Ringing was born. Invented religions consolidate community, push the status quo, can receive and distribute funds to their causes, and force the State to contend with religious equality.

A Poetic (and Musical) Ending with Brenton Weyi

At the end of the night, we wrap up with a poem from a local poet inspired by both topics and written during the course of the evening.

Brenton dazzled us with an improvised rap based on the audience’s comments. I cannot possibly transcribe it all, so I urge you to watch it instead:

Watch Brenton Weyi’s freestyle rap >

As fun as a round-up is, it can’t compare to the real thing. Sign-up for reminders about our final three Mixed Taste: At Home events happening every Wednesday at 7pm MT through August 19.

Upcoming Topics:

Wed, Aug 5 at 7pm MT
Augmented Reality & The Cult of the Dead
Featuring Till Nowak & Elizabeth Harper

Wed, Aug 12 at 7pm MT
Church Signs & Icelandic Hip Hop
Featuring Joe York & Nathan Hall

Wed, Aug 19 at 7pm MT
Zeno’s Paradox & Artivism
Featuring Elisabeth Stade & Suzi Q. Smith

Previous Mixed Taste: At Home Summaries:

July 15 – What You Missed in Mixed Taste: Polar Forests & Trendy Soul Food

July 22 – What You Missed in Mixed Taste: Keith Haring & Smog Meringues

Mixed Taste was originated by the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Sponsored by:

With additional support by:
Peggy Finley