Night & Day Events

 Thursday, October 28
Of the 55 stories American literary patriarch John Updike selected in 1999 for the Best American Short Stories of the Century, 41 were written before 1980. Hemingway, Faulkner, O'Connor -- all the usual suspects were there. But one writer we didn't read in high school whom Updike deemed worthy to stand alongside the greats is Gish Jen. And even though Updike hasn't written anything good since the early '80s, we'll assume that the Shakespeare of the suburbs nonetheless knows high-quality fiction when he sees it. We'll bring our high expectations, then, when Jen comes to town to promote her new novel, The Love Wife, at 7 tonight at Unity Temple on the Plaza (707 West 47th Street). For more information, call Rainy Day Books at 913-384-3126.

Friday, October 29
Kansas City isn't known for its abundance of upscale clubs guarded by smooth-headed, ultra-discriminatory bouncers letting only the plus-très chic pass through the velvet rope -- and that's fine with us. Hell, we couldn't get into one of those places even if gold coins were streaming out our fly. But with all that's going on tonight from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Velvet Rope at Screenland (1656 Washington, 816-421-2900), we might be willing to cram a handful of doubloons into our drawers if it would help us get in. A celebration of black Hollywood, the event brings actress and singer Cee Cee Michaela, Dana Gilmore of HBO's Def Poetry Jam and plenty of local entertainment. There's also an after-party until 3 a.m. Best of all, though, is that admission is free before 10 p.m. and only $10 after that. For more information, see www.hgekc.com.

Saturday, October 30
The American frontier is a shadowy land, strewn with the graves of pioneering settlers and the Native Americans whose nations they destroyed. But that doesn't mean it won't be fun to spook ourselves out prairie-style with a few haunting tales from the days when soldiers at Fort Osage lived a hard-knock life on the edge of the Louisiana Purchase. Tonight from 7 to 9 at the historic outpost 45 minutes east of town at 105 Osage Street in Sibley, the storytellers in Ghostly Lore of the Frontier equip us with everything we need to ensure a night of freaked-out insomnia on Halloween eve. Admission is $5. Call 816-650-7537 for more information.

For folks who are already burned out on ghost stories and terror-at-the-fill-in-the-blank parties, check out the truly frightening Mother Trucker. David Wayne Reed's homage to the rig jockeys and convoy cowboys of classic '70s trucker movies has been extended; you can catch the final show at 8 tonight at the Late Night Theatre (1531 Grand, 816-235-6222).

Sunday, October 31
It's finally Halloween, but we suspect that many of you have already blown your party wad -- that's the drawback of a Sunday holiday. But people who aren't too hungover to do anything but drag their sorry asses to Chubby's and then back to the couch can head to Worlds of Fun (4545 Worlds of Fun Avenue, 816-454-4545, ext. 5220) for the final day of HalloWeekends. This year's additions include scary new walk-throughs such as the Fright Zone, Meat Cleaver High, Lore of the Vampire and our personal favorite, Camp Gonnagitcha Witchahatchet. Though they might not induce the level of horror we felt at the sight of that person we woke up with this morning, we don't want to be that scared again for a while anyway.

Monday, November 1
Ever since we saw Bill Cosby's deservedly reviled Leonard Part 6, in which the villains are vegetarians whose heads explode into sawdust if they so much as nip the end off a wiener, we've been averse to committing to the veggie way. However, we do know several lapsed vegheads who, upon sampling their first hunk of mammal, did not experience sudden, catastrophic cranial trauma. (They did complain of paralyzing remorse, but we're already used to that.) Still, we'll be biting back our fears as we crunch on some crudites in celebration of World Vegan Day at 6:30 p.m. today at Eden Alley Café (707 West 47th Street, 816-561-5415).

Tuesday, November 2
It's finally here, folks. Time for separating the sheep from the goats, for trampling the vintage, for threshing the wheat and burning the chaff. Indeed, any fool who denies that ramifications of biblical proportions rest upon the outcome of this Election Day will be sent to the outer darkness of political indifference, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. For the love of God, Allah, Vishnu, Buddha and the now-immortal Christopher Reeve, get the fuck out and vote! Those iniquitous vipers who still don't know where to go today should call their local county election board: 816-842-4820 for KCMO, 816-325-4600 for other Jackson County towns, 816-415-8683 for Clay County, 816-380-1441 for Cass County, 816-858-4400 for Platte County, 913-782-3441 for Johnson County and 913-334-1414 for Wyandotte County.