Night & Day Events

Thursday, April 29

When we were telling our coworkers about long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox, we uttered the following inane statement: “She’s crazy and stupid … but also hardcore and awesome.” Everybody laughed, and we felt dumb. But deep down, we knew we spoke the truth about the woman who broke all English Channel swimming records at age 15 and again at 16 and later swam through icebergs in the Antarctic Ocean. In her new book, Swimming to Antarctica, Cox reveals that the Antarctic’s near-freezing waters were not her primary concern; she was more worried about being shredded by gigantic, jagged pieces of ice. For fuck’s sake, when Cox swam Africa’s Cape of Good Hope (she was the first person to do so), a shark came after her! (She doesn’t swim alone; somebody in the boat alongside her shot the shark, and Cox kept swimming.) We should mention that when we said “crazy and stupid,” we meant it in a good way. Cox surfaces at 7 p.m. at Unity Temple on the Plaza (707 West 47th Street). Call 913-677-2665 for details.

Friday, April 30
The equation is tried and true: young professionals plus free drinks equals high attendance at X organization’s “young friends” event. This time, it actually has an event planned, not just drinks at a department store. (Halls? Who came up with that?) From 5:30 to 9 p.m., the Rep Set, the Missouri Repertory Theatre’s 21-plus group, hosts a private film screening at the Empire Room (334 East 31st Street) to promote the Rep’s upcoming production of Lilliom. That 1909 European play inspired the musical Carousel, so the group is watching Carousel. Clever, that Rep Set! Admission ($15 in advance, $20 at the door) covers two drinks and a buffet of heavy hors d’oeuvres. Non-Rep Set members may attend; for reservations, call 816-235-2700.

Saturday, May 1

Never say Corporate America doesn’t contribute to the arts! All afternoon today, the American Jazz Museum and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art host free art activities, films and live music at Put Yourself in Pictures, an all-ages event sponsored by … Target. At the Jazz Museum (1616 East 18th Street), artist Mike Toombs helps visitors draw movie posters to take home, in conjunction with the museum’s Up Close in Black: African-American Film Posters. The Jazz Disciples provide the music while A Raisin in the Sun; Cornbread, Earl and Me; and The Wiz are onscreen at the Gem Theater across the street. At the Kemper (4420 Warwick Boulevard), Crystal Hansen lends a hand for self-portraits or moving-picture flip books, and cartoonist Mike Worley helps produce comic strips, all to the music of electric violinist Maggie Pruitt and keyboardist Bram Wijnands. Everything starts at 1 p.m. For more information, call the Kemper at 816-753-5784 or the Jazz Museum at 816-474-8463, ext. 206.

Sunday, May 2

Anyone who grew up in Kansas City is familiar with the John Wornall House Museum at 6115 Wornall Road. In fact, most locals are probably tired of the Wornall family’s Civil War-era home, a grade school field-trip staple. But the museum’s new exhibit, Hidden in Plain Sight, tries to rekindle interest by focusing attention on the stuff that was usually relegated to the background: everyday items like 19th-century clocks and dining wares. The museum’s Sunday hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. For details, call 816-444-1858.

Monday, May 3

Mma Precious Ramotswe is a warmhearted woman from Botswana who sets up a detective agency in an abandoned African storefront. It hardly sounds like a plot destined to become a literary phenomenon in the United States, yet Alexander McCall Smith has seen all five of the novels in his No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series sweep through the national best-seller lists. We feel a bit like the last people in the world to have heard of this guy. At any rate, he’s coming to Unity Temple (707 West 47th Street) at 7 p.m. to talk about his newest novel, The Full Cupboard of Life, and we’re going to see what all the fuss is about. Call 913-384-3126 for more information.

Tuesday, May 4

Bar Natasha quickly established itself as a hot scene for cabaret-style entertainment. Now, on the first and last Tuesdays of every month (which means tonight, math majors), DJ Oz-Good mixes things up a bit, spinning jazzy, funky dance beats — he’s not really much for show tunes. It sounds perfect for a night with the windows open, a nice breeze, the lights turned low — and $5 martinis! Bar Natasha is located at 1911 Main Street. After 9 p.m., it’s $3 to get in. Call 816-472-5300 for details.

Wednesday, May 5

Reading the attractively designed copy of Portland, Oregon, cartoonist Ezra Claytan Daniels‘ two-part, self-published, back-from-the-future-to-the-near-future-to-change-the-distant-future graphic novel The Changers, a host of questions come to mind. If Daniels doesn’t do drugs (a claim he makes on his blog at www.dream-chocolate.com), how the hell did he come up with this messed-up sci-fi story? What’s with the green ink on heavy, gray paper? And how does someone go about self-publishing his or her own comic books? Find out by asking the man himself when he visits B-Bop Comics (3940 Main Street) today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 4 to 7 p.m. If Daniels can’t answer all of these questions in person, curious visitors can buy a copy of his CD The Changers Progress Diary, an audio journal detailing Daniels’ experiences and inspirations. For hardcore collectors, a page of original artwork from The Changers gets raffled off at 6:30 p.m. Our friends from the future tell us that the original page will really be worth something someday. For details, call 816-753-2267.