Invest Yourself

TUE 8/23
We’re too cheap to funnel even a smidgen of our paychecks into the available 401(k), but we remember from Finance 101 that making investments as early as possible is advisable. (The closest we come is fun with online mortgage calculators; they don’t require real money, so it’s sorta like shopping with credit cards.) Those who want to create a portfolio — and score a view in the process — should check out the 7 p.m. condo-buying seminar Tuesday at Coffee Girls (310 Southwest Boulevard) sponsored by InterFirst, Realty Executives and Oak Tree Home Lending. Walk-ins are welcome, but RSVPs are preferred. Call 816-469-4956. — Annie Fischer

Ice, Ice, Baby
What lies inside these blocks of frozen water?

SAT 8/27
Ice carvings are to stone sculptures as plays are to movies — an ephemeral alternative. It’s possible to purchase an ice carving and store it in a freezer, but it’s a crime against art to display a work of delicate beauty between microwave pizza and freezer-burned vegetables. Justin Woo, apprentice chef at the Fairmont Hotel and president of the Johnson County Community College Junior Chef Club, makes his fleeting creations sparkle like the “ice” that decorates rappers’ teeth and newlyweds’ fingers. Speaking of digits, Woo wields chainsaws and archeological tools, so fledgling hackers should pay close attention to his suggested safety precautions before using similar equipment to free the swans trapped inside their frozen slabs. Woo’s demonstration runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday in a red tent near the City Market’s Arabia Steamboat Museum (400 Grand). The outdoor setting ensures that his crystalline masterpieces will melt like Frosty. Call 913-469-8500.

— Andrew Miller
Love Hurts

8/19-8/25
For those of us who take moviegoing seriously, summer is, quite literally, showtime. But this year? Remakes of tired television shows, Jessica Simpson on the big screen, a movie featuring our boyfriend John Cusack that we absolutely refuse to see and, horror of horrors, a Deuce Bigalow sequel? Is it any wonder we’re staying home, Netflix-ing through seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm? Enter Tivoli Cinemas’ Film Forum. A series of one-week-only, maybe-you-shouldn’t-bring-Grandma-to-this-one films, this week brings us My Summer of Love, which we’ve been dying to see ever since hearing comparisons to Heavenly Creatures. Director Pawel Pawlikowski sets this drama in the Yorkshire countryside and follows the developing relationship between two young women who are total opposites. The film opens on Friday at Tivoli Cinemas (4050 Pennsylvania, 816-561-5222); after the Sunday screening, local writer Steve Shapiro leads a discussion. — Rebecca Braverman