Night & Day Events

Thursday, May 27
We are fascinated by the online origami culture. True enthusiasts have chat groups such as Yahoo’s Paperwonders, on which members post origami-sculpture pictures of themselves. There are origami comedians, with origami humor we can’t pretend to understand. Then there are creepy fans of Origami Underground — “the place to find erotic origami on the Web.” Locally, however, some origami aficionados are kind of sweet, such as the grandmother-and-grandson team putting on Stories That Fold and Unfold, a workshop on origami and storytelling at 3:30 p.m. today at the North Oak Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library (8700 North Oak Trafficway). Call 816-436-4385 for more information.

Friday, May 28
Today’s magic number is 55 — the Boulevard Drive-In (1051 Merriam Lane in Kansas City, Kansas) celebrates its 55th anniversary. Any cars built in 1955 or before get in free to the 9 p.m. double feature (Shrek 2 and Starsky & Hutch); the oldest car to make it out tonight wins $55. The car crammed with the most people also wins $55, and another double nickel goes to the car that travels farthest for the party. Don’t have a ’55 or older? Admission is $7 a person. Call 913-262-2412.

Saturday, May 29
We love the arts, but we have trouble wrapping our little brains around artist statements that read like doctoral dissertations on aesthetics. We’ll probably feel a little more comfortable at today’s juried art exhibit at the Airport Hilton (Interstate 29 and N.W. 112th Street), where the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society holds its 35th annual ConQuesT convention. Artists working in digital, oil, acrylic and other mediums will be there with sci-fi- and fantasy-influenced works of art. Many of them, like the guest of honor, Jody A. Lee, have seen their art published on book covers and in game packages and magazines. The art is on display all weekend, but the auction starts at 6 p.m. today. Auction organizer Deb Pellicano says she’s seen work sell for as little as $5 and as much as $600. We’ll be looking for artist statements like these: “Inspiration for this watercolor came to me in a flash after watching Star Trek episode 42, ‘The Trouble with Tribbles.'” Now you’re speaking our language. For more information, call 816-545-4765.

Sunday, May 30

How many times have you been trapped on an awful car trip, stuck at an awful party or wasting your time on a truly awful first date? Jim Gladstone, author of Gladstone’s Games to Go, wants to help ease the pain. His book of “verbal volleys, coin contests, dot duels and other games for boredom-free days” offers hysterical diversions. In the game Star Qualities, for example, players identify passers-by based on their resemblance to famous people and offer a likeness percentage. If you saw a dead ringer for Mark Ruffalo (you lucky fool), you’d say, “95 percent Mark Ruffalo.” However, if the guy has dark hair and a cute, scratchy voice but otherwise doesn’t really resemble our Mark, you might give him only a 40 percent similarity. The game gets really fun if your friends are catty and your passers-by look like Steve Buscemi. Gladstone stops by the Cup and Saucer (412-B Delaware Street, 816-474-7375) from 7 to 9 p.m. to play more of the book’s games.

Monday, May 31

Just when we were starting to get sick of the hoopla surrounding the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition, some new shit came to light, man. A film titled Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West opened last week at the Union Station’s Extreme Screen (downstairs at 30 West Pershing Road). This didn’t exactly scream “guaranteed good time” — until we noticed who was narrating it: Jeff Bridges. That’s right! The man who will forever be known to us as “The Dude” voices this 42-minute National Geographic film. We heard that and spent the rest of the day picturing His Dudeness tagging along on the 8,000-mile trek from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back. Duder on new wildlife discoveries: “Hey, nice marmot.” On the threatening tribe of Blackfeet Indians: “The Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man.” On Sacajawea: “Her life was in our hands, man.” Tickets to hear El Duderino cost $6 for adults. Call 816-460-2020 for show times.

Tuesday, June 1
Communiversity classes have clever names, but “Crouching Taxes, Hidden Profits” or “Bubble, Bubble, Toilet’s in Trouble” don’t exactly make us want to rush right out and sign up. And even though we find it interesting that “Building Fulfilling Lives” is actually possible in only one session, we’ll probably skip that one, too. However, “Movie Buffs in Paradise” sounds right up our alley. The class, promoted as the “longest active, most successful movie discussion group in the city,” meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Westport Coffee House (4010 Pennsylvania) to watch a movie (typically an indie film), then reconvenes at a restaurant to discuss the film. Today’s film is the McDonald’s dietary experiment and documentary Super Size Me. Cost is $16. Space is limited; call Joe Heyen at 816-753-7243 to sign up.

Wednesday, June 2
After watching Super Size Me (see Tuesday), we’ll undoubtedly feel a serious need for some exercise. However, we have an excuse for everything: The mountain bike got stolen; we rolled our ankles the last time we played basketball; we don’t have enough friends to play baseball; the skatepark hasn’t been built yet; walking is boring; tennis sucks; yoga would kill us; and there’s no fucking way we’re gonna run unless a knife-wielding madman chases us. Well, we’ll run, but only if it doesn’t feel like exercise. The Tag Institute meets at 7 p.m. every Wednesday at Mill Creek Park (47th Street and J.C. Nichols Parkway) to play various versions of the game that feels like fun, not exercise. To find out how to play zombie tag, call 816-931-8114.