This Weeks Day-By-Day Picks

Thursday, May 22, 2003
People who missed part of the Las Vegas season of The Real World, in which the “Sizzling Seven” lived in Sin City, can make up for lost time when three cast members swing through town to bartend at Have a Nice Day Café (4115 Mill Street) beginning at 10 tonight. Guys get to compete for the chance to take Trishelle on a date, while the ladies spruce it up for a possible night with Steven or Frank. Wait, you think —didn’t Trishelle and Steven kind of have a thing for each other? But then you think, Dude, I forgot how Trishelle totally said she wasn’t into him, she was all about the sex. And you say this to your buddy, who remembers what happened next. Nah, dude, he says, cuz then Steven was all, “Hey, let’s call this off” that one time when he wanted to put his mack on those sorority chicks, and Trishelle got all mad and shit, and, yo, remember when she thought she was pregnant? Some people might feel awkward competing for a date with one of these people while the other one’s standing right there, but once you’ve decided to go to Have a Nice Day Café, you’ve probably altered your standards of socially acceptable behavior anyhow. Ladies, don’t forget that Steven used to tend bar without a shirt in Texas. Fellows, if you strike out with Trishelle, check out her Playboy spread that comes out in June! And please, don’t forget Frank. For information, call 816-931-9100.

Friday, May 23, 2003
It’s some of the best exercise you can get. What is it? It’s swimming. That’s what callers to the Clay-Platte YMCA are likely to find out while they’re on hold waiting to find out what outdoor movie will be shown during Family Fun Night. We are so pleased that someone in town has tapped into the beauty of screening outdoor movies near swimming pools that we’re actually sending our readers to the YMCA on a Friday night. For $10 a family, swimmers can enjoy roasted hot dogs, chips, drinks and a movie — which had yet to be chosen as of press time. Each family should bring a dessert or side dish, turning the event into a swimmerrific potluck dinner. Remember to swim first and eat later. The party goes from 6:45 to 10 p.m. For information, call 816-453-6600.

Saturday, May 24, 2003
Today we recommend heading to MoMo Studio (417 East 18th Street), where a lass named Lad shows her new paintings. She usually does abstract, illustratorly pieces drenched with dollops of colorful paint. Her style is relaxed and goofy rather than careful or refined, and that’s something most people have a hard time pulling off without seeming sloppy. We like her for excelling in that arena. We also like people who make up clever new names for themselves, so she probably had the upper hand from the beginning. Today’s hours are 1 to 6 p.m. For information, call 816-474-4814. To get a sense of Lad’s style, check out www.deckerfoundry.com/artnonesuch/index.html and click on “Lad art.” To get a sense of her personality, click on “Ladness.”

Sunday, May 25, 2003
Memorial Day has us wondering why we take special days to remember things but never set aside time for forgetting. Forgetting is very important to your health — any mother will tell you she’s glad she can’t remember the pain of childbirth. And we’d all have moved away by now if we really remembered how hot it was last August. We don’t mean to be unpatriotic, but we’d like to start a tradition of celebratory forgetfulness. (Some might claim that this is the purpose of holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, but even then people are expected to remember to wear green and to be grateful that Ireland is free of snakes, so that’s bullshit.) If this possible tradition strikes your fancy, we recommend casting your memories out to sea at Oceans of Fun, where there is not only a pretend sea to cast your memories into but also a bar. Religious intolerance? Forgotten. Endangered species? What endangered species? We dare you to find an endangered species at Oceans of Fun. The aquatic amusement park is located off I-435 at Exit 54. For information, call 816-454-4545.

Monday, May 26, 2003
It’s the last day of a three-day weekend filled with supercool scooters here in Kansas City. The various scooter shops in town have joined together in a magnanimous show of cooperation to put on a rally called Under the Tower. We’re glad to see everyone getting along, considering that when Scooter World opened after Scooter Fix had long been the only show in town, we immediately began imagining Onion-like headlines about a feud that never came to pass. Scooter people from all over the Midwest have come for fun, and fun they have had at various rides and parties. Today, the group forms a huge pack to make the 55-miles-an-hour-at-most ride from Kansas City to Lawrence. Scooter riders leave from Vespa KC (9555 Nall in Overland Park) at 11 a.m. and will arrive at the Replay Lounge (946 Massachusetts in Lawrence) one to two hours later for a celebratory lunch. On this very special Memorial Day, nothing says freedom like a slow vehicle on the highway. For information on the weekend’s events, call 816-419-7278.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003
The Empire Room is still the best bet for Tuesday-night outings. Steve Tulipana spins mellow music that falls on the slightly loungey side of indie rock. The Empire Room is located at 334 East 31st Street. For information, call 816-561-2640.

Wednesday, May 28, 2003
People who feel inspired by this summer’s movie offerings (see the Summer Guide included in this issue for more on those) might want to take their enthusiasm and run with it. For those eager folks, there’s the Independent Filmmakers Coalition. Anyone without a big budget and Hollywood backing can attend weekly Wednesday meetings at the Westport Coffee House (4010 Pennsylvania) at 7 p.m. For information, call 816-756-3222.