Meet the people who are making the first annual Yuri's Night a reality. The Creators: Loretta "Hoopy Frood" Hidalgo George T "Mad Ups, and Downs" Whitesides Trish "Rando-Babe" Garner And Their Helpers: Alan "Sunjammer" Pritchard Chris "Answer Guy" Hirata Cynthia "The Conscripted Volunteer" Collins Eric "Space Raver" Larson Emily "The Shrieking Eels" Eelkema Felipe "Astrolipe" Hernandez Gair "The Mad Scotsman" Dunlop George "Scary Man" Weinmann Jan-Albert "Southern Skies" Koekemoer James "Sugar Daddy" George John "Propaganda Shiznit" Wright Maria "Lunar Connection" Lytkina Mat "Switchboard" Kaplan Nathan S "I Wanna Be a Candygirl" Brown Rachel "Can Yuri Two Step?" Zimmerman Richard "Mars is for Lovers" Clar Shane "United Nations" Kemper Willibald "Better late than never" Stumptner Yasuharu "Shigata ga nai" Kawabata Zane "Opposable Thumbs" Crawford Loretta Hidalgo Los Angeles, USA <loretta@yurisnight.net> Function: Co-Founder, chief organizer in Los Angeles, queen of Saturn Likes space because: I think the Japanese and I agree that it is an ideal honeymoon destination. Free fall is great, but you can't get more than 30 seconds of it on Earth (and face it, the Vomit Comet just isn't that romantic a location anyway...) Best celestial body: Saturn, because people can always recognize it when I draw that one. Plus it's where I plan to retire. George T Whitesides Los Angeles, USA <george@yurisnight.net> Function: Co-Founder, chief organizer in Los Angeles Likes space because: On the Moon, I could dunk. Best celestial body: Europa, definitely Europa. [editor's note: Europa is one of the 4 largest moons of Jupiter. Because it appears to have a liquid water ocean beneath its frozen surface, scientists believe that it may harbor life.] Trish Garner Vancouver, Canada <trish@yurisnight.net> Function: Started the global website, organizing the Vancouver party, helping with global administration Likes space because: There is a long philosophical answer to this - in short, the magic and mystery. Best celestial body: The Earth, come on, look around you, it's beautiful. That doesn't mean I don't think we should leave though; I just think we should take care of what we have at the same time. Alan Pritchard Los Angeles, USA <alan@yurisnight.net> Function: Global Technical Coordinator -> Yuri's Night Live! Global Flight Director Likes space because: We can all look up to the night sky and be moved by it. The night sky gives us the 'big picture' - how insignificant humanity and its conflicts are, and how much beauty and mystery and wonder there is all around us. The powerful thing is that we can reach out there and be part of it, and space cries out to be explored - which is why I am devoting a good deal of my time to getting us as far out there as we can, as soon as possible. Best celestial body: Local: Europa (if/until Nemesis or Marduk are discovered) Other Systems: Sirius - our origin or our destination? Inbetween: The Eagle Nebula (M16) - do you feel tiny? Chris Hirata Los Angeles, USA <hirata@yurisnight.net> Function: Tormenting Robert Zubrin, occasional comic relief Likes space because: Am I to believe that anything more than 100 kilometers above my head is unimportant or boring? Surely not. The Universe goes on and on and on... Best celestial body: Pluto. It is the frontier of the solar system. As of this writing, no human spacecraft has visited the planet; within my lifetime I hope to see humans walking on its surface. Cynthia Collins Los Angeles, USA <cynthia@yurisnight.net> Function: Press Relations Princess Likes space because: My roommate dragged me into this kicking and screaming... (I'm a biochemist for goodness sake!) but I like it now... really. Best celestial body: Io; it looks like it would be perfect for triathlons. I am planning on starting up the Jovian Ironman Championships this coming year. (who needs Hawaii anyway?) [editor's note: Io is one of Jupiter's 4 largest satellites, known as the Galilean satellites, after Galileo of Galilei, who discovered them on January 7th, 1610, when he turned his spyglass towards the sky.] Emily Eelkema Los Angeles, USA <emily@yurisnight.net> Function: Promotions... i.e. making sure everyone I know is at the party Likes space because: Weightlessness would be awesome. And there's so much of space to explore... Best celestial body: Any extrasolar planet. Eric Larson Los Angeles, USA <eric@yurisnight.net> Function: Promoter, DJ Wrangler, Spraver Likes space because: Someday I want to open a World Space Party that is an entire World. I'm going to be the first raver in space. Best celestial body: Sirius. Because I'm a dog person. [editor's note: Sirius is also known as the Dog Star] Felipe Hernandez Los Angeles, USA <astrolipe@yurisnight.net> Function: Decoration of the space - ambiance; DJ SpaceTech-Trance Likes space because: The idea of Universality and the common language between Hydrospace and Outer Space. We belong to the Cosmos and to the Oceans. Best celestial body: Venus. She is the first and brightest "female" that I see every evening, and because she is always following Father Sun, if we are here looking from Mother Earth. Gair Dunlop Dundee, Scotland <gair_d@hotmail.com> Function: Chief Organizer in Dundee, Scotland Likes space because: Space? I became interested in space when i was a kid- we saw the moon landings and at the same time our family moved to Cumbernauld, a new town at the edge of Glasgow. I saw the future... and it was very badly built. Best celestial body: Scotland. Hey, it's celestial! George Weinmann Los Angeles, USA <weinmann@yurisnight.net> Function: Finance and corporate relations Likes space because: Opportunity for international co-development and because it involves large amounts of energy and cutting edge technology. Best celestial body: Any passing comet will do. James George Los Angeles, USA <jgeorge@space-frontier.org> Function: Sponsorship Sales (i.e. getting people/organizations to give us money) Likes space because: I've loved it since I started reading the Tom Swift series when I was 10. Best celestial body: Cindy Crawford Jan-Albert Koekemoer Stellenbosch, South Africa jan@yurisnight.net Function: Organizing a small local celebration for people involved in our space activities. Likes space because: The vastness and therefore the possibility of more life out there. Best celestial body: The Sun - it keeps the clock in all Earth's lifeforms ticking... John Wright Los Angeles, USA <john@yurisnight.net> Function: The ever-so-cool marketing materials - flyers, stickers, shirts... maybe even some glow in the dark boxers; keeping track of the money and sales; tiger team for on the fly website updates; general mayhem Likes space because: It keeps me off the streets and away from gangs. Best celestial body: Pluto, because it IS a planet, and a cute dog. Maria Lytkina Kaluga, Russia <maria@yurisnight.net> Function: Chief organizer of the party at Kaluga State University Likes space because: Kaluga is the "space city" - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the founder of theoretical cosmonautics, lived here for more than 40 years, and did his main research on the ideas of space travel, rocketry, life in space, etc. And so the idea of space exploration is very popular in our local culture. Best celestial body: The Moon - it is so beautiful, the silver one, it is so close, mystical. I was born 7th July (Cancer) under the Moon sign. Mat Kaplan Los Angeles, USA <mat@yurisnight.net> Function: Mostly helping with media contacts and writing, along with producing the planned webcast Likes space because: So many reasons. Destiny, exploration of the unknown, infinite beauty, the opportunity for first contact... mundane stuff like that. Best celestial body: Nearby: Jupiter. Not so nearby: Orion Nebula. Nathan S Brown Los Angeles, USA <nathan@yurisnight.net> Function: Global website and SWAT team Likes space because: It's a fun place to go. Very few places in space are known as well as the majority of places on Earth. There's so much variety in space: Stars with thick atmospheres, stars with no atmospheres, moons of ice, moons of rock, ridiculously energetic galaxies, anything you can imagine. Best celestial body: Triton. It's odd in many ways: the only large Neptunian moon, has a thin atmosphere, orbits backward, funky surface ices. Generally a neat place to visit. Rachel Zimmerman Los Angeles, USA <rachel@yurisnight.net> Function: Space Awareness and Exhibits Coordinator Likes space because: It's the coolsest place I know! Best celestial body: The moon. So bright, so serene, so beautiful, with constantly changing phases. I can use the moon for navigation and for timekeeping, but more importantly, it provides a sense of wonder to those who gaze upon it. I'd like to go to the moon someday. Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars... Richard Clar Paris, France <rclar@arttechnologies.com> Function: Organizer of the Yuri's Night party at the Cafe de Flore, in Paris, France. Likes space because: As a Space Artist, space presents an opportunity to establish new art paradigms. Best celestial body: Mars is my favorite celestial body because it is just down the street. Shane Kemper Sacramento, USA <shane@yurisnight.net> Function: Coordinate the linkage to the United Nations Space Generation Advisory Council website for on-line chat, streaming multimedia, and archiving media files. Likes space because: The wonder and awe of the majestic cosmos. It inspires Humanity through the eons, challenges us to be great, and at the same time keeps us humble. Best celestial body: Betelgeuse, it's huge, hot, red and shares the name of an excellent comedy. Willibald Stumptner Graz, Austria <willibald.stumptner@oeaw.ac.at> Function: Organizer of Graz, Austria party Likes space because: It's the natural next step for mankind... and I want to leap ahead. Best celestial body: Mars... for its endless variety and ever present challenge. Yasuharu Kawabata Tokyo, Japan <yasu@yurisnight.net> Function: Chief organizer in Tokyo, Japan Likes space because: It's a wonderful thing to celebrate! To remember Yuri's courageous spirit and NASA's great work for launching the Space Shuttle. To propose a toast to ISS Alpha and future space development. Of course, to have fun with drinking, singing, and dancing is also very important. Best celestial body: Of course, the Earth! The Earth is one of the most precious, wonderful, beautiful, rare, celestial bodies in the Universe! At present, we can get to gether and share the fun of Yuri's Night only on Earth. What a precious place it is! Zane Crawford Los Angeles, USA <zane@yurisnight.net> Function: Los Angeles Webmaster, various promotion and publication, entertainment at the party. Likes space because: It's the only place we have to go, if we want to keep surviving. It's also closer than San Diego, and not nearly as crowded (but the cost of living, jeez...). Best celestial body: Earth is a hard act to follow, so, leaving it out of the running, I am currently enamored with Mars, because it is the second most hospitable place we know of, and will be the next step in Humanity's pending diaspora.

[ News | History | The Team | Sponsors | E-Mail Us! ]
Home | About Yuri's Night | Parties | Music | Resources | Get Involved