Monday, August 11, 2008
If you, dear reader, like to do things. And you find yourself in this place, Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A. Then munch on this cowpie, my friend:our first (last) annual guide, coinciding with the seasonal return of the college students:a lawrence.com special presentation:Things to do in Lawrence if You're Not Quite Dead.
Humans were surveyed far, surveyed wide, about what they do in Lawrence. Not the boring stuff, those tired movements the normos among our friends and neighbors blandly re-enact. The real stuff. The stuff the sleeping mule misses, but we, the opossums, see.
For what reason? Because the roads less traveled are less traveled, and the rosebuds are waiting to be gathered. And, as the well-known local saying goes, "Eventually, why not now?"
A word from William S. Burroughs' old friend and assistant.
"The Tao that can be deviated from, is not the Tao."-Lao Tzu
-submitted by James Grauerholz
Art and cuisine.
K.T. Walsh
Take an art walk in East Lawrence-just head toward the most artistic-looking yards and houses, and definitely cover Rhode Island Street between 7th and 8th to see K.T. Walsh's home.
Have a different cuisine each day for a week-go to India Palace, Aladdin Cafe, Mad Greek, Zen Zero, Genovese and La Parrilla.
-submitted by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Gar balls.
There used to be a place behind the Bowersock Mill where garfish could be snagged-big ones. Not sure it's still accessible to the public, but in case it is, here's a recipe for gar balls:
Garfish
Ingredients:
Deboned gar meat free of gelatinous tissue.
Boiled potatoes (pound for pound of gar meat).
Green onion tops, finely chopped.
1/2 cup
1 lb. corn flour, not corn meal or white flour.
Crawfish boil. Premixed type such as Zatarain's.
Add no other seasoning, as the crawfish boil will supply the seasoning.
Use the real spicy suggestions in the instructions included with the crawfish boil.
Directions:
Wrap gar meat in cheese cloth and boil exactly as you would crabs or crawfish. This renders the gar meat snow white and with a taste like a lump of white crab meat. Combine the gar meat, shallots, and potatoes. Mash this mixture until you are able to form patties. Dip firm patties in egg/milk mixture, then dredge in corn flour. Deep fry at 350 for approx. 8-10 minutes. Serve with cold beer! (Created by Capt. Bill Griffith)
-submitted by David Ohle
Buy popcorn from a character.
Go visit Harry Cross, who lives in the 500-600 block of North Street in North Lawrence. He is 78 years old and runs a market out of his garage. He still farms several acres in North Lawrence, and he is 1/3 the price of the downtown farmer's market. Plus he is a real character with great stories. You can get popcorn from him year round. He has a homemade sign out front of his house with the produce or eggs that he has for sale that day.
-submitted by Laura Green
A guide for all seasons.
January: Play free pinball on Friday afternoons (all year) at The Replay Lounge.
February: Make friends with people who have a sauna. Run naked in the snow afterwards.
March: Get everyone dressed up in full '80s gear (the more florescent, the better) to go dancing at NEON (Thursdays at the Bottleneck). Wear those same clothes to KU basketball games at the same bar all season.
April: Catch the Brown Bag Drag show outside the Kansas Union the Friday of Gay Pride Week (the week with all the rainbow flags on campus).
May: Take a hottie to make out on a downtown rooftop. Don't forget to bring a friend's number. You may need it for your one phone call.
June: Frequent Sylas and Maddy's Homemade Ice Cream and eat it across the street in Lawrence's very own Japanese-style garden.
July: Frequent the farmer's market-behold your amazing, locally grown food tastes. Also, take a walk through the Baker Wetlands-they are so gorgeous and green this time of year. Make a bet with your date that you can spot more critters than s/he can.
August: Saddle up with a cutie for a country drive in search of the perfect sunflower patch to take romantic Kansas photos. Look along Highway 59 north of town, Highway 56 southeast of town. Picnic.
September: Visit the Social Service League to buy something used and unique that you would normally buy a new, boring version of for a lot more at Target.
October: Pick apples at Davenport Orchards in Eudora or Fieldstone in Overbrook. Look for the Arkansas Black in mid-October-the taste is amazing and the apples keep all winter long.
November: Support local artists by buying your holiday gifts at the Bizarre Bazaar (the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Lawrence Arts Center) or at gallery openings around town. Or buy from the Fair Trade Holiday Sale at the ECM. While you're there, remind yourself to enjoy a some free veggie lunches on Thursdays (or set an event reminder on lawrence.com/events).
December: Take a friend to an indie film at beautiful Liberty Hall. Go on Two-for-Tuesday-buy a Free State beer with the money you saved. Put a reminder in your phone to come back for a free movie and snacks on your birthday (and a free coffee drink at La Prima Tazza, and a video rental at Liberty Hall's video store).
-submitted by Ailecia Ruscin
Funky masterpieces.
DotDotDot ArtSpace, Wonder Fair, the Fresh Produce Art Collective, Percolator, 6 Gallery, coffeshops, restaurants and bars, all kinds of places cumulatively supply us with numerous events per month, usually on weekends. They are always good places to meet interesting folks and see funky masterpieces.
-submitted by Yuri Zupancic
Good ol' Ernst & Son.
Discover a timeless setting harkening back to another era. The owner has worked there in the family business since he was 12 years old. When I needed a pick to go crystal digging I called all over town for naught and then called Rob at Ernst. That pick was up high in a pull-out box waiting for me (Rob also has a degree in geology). This is the last of the "real deal."
-submitted by Ginger Chance
Form a girl gang and run amok.
Join a girl gang.
Pass the same barfly man around to all your friends for a summer. Best if you meet him at Replay, Red Lyon, or Free State Brewery.
Go to the Dirty Bird (the so-called Flamingo, a strip club in North Lawrence) with a bunch of women. Go home smelling like strawberry stripper lotion.
Marry a guy in a local band. All the girls are doing it for kicks.
Have a baby unexpectedly. Nowhere better than Lawrence to raise a baby with no money but lotsa friends.
The Goddess Collective can be found at Free State Brewery on Monday nights, and they will teach you how to properly spank another person.
-submitted by Megan Green and friends
Dream club.
Serve at LINK, a kitchen for those in need in the basement of the First Christian Church at 10th and Kentucky. Assist those churches and organizations that furnish folks to do this.
Got to a contra-lawrencebarndance.org.
Form a dream club. Meet once a month, read aloud dreams from the previous month. To stimulate dreaming, keep a flashlight, notebook and pen beside your bed-a signal to the DreamWorld that you're serious.
Go the public library, check out a book of party games from the 1930s, and hold a 1930s party game night.
In other words, invent non-ordinary social activities to create bonds with others who share your interests. Or participate in social activities (like LINK) that actually serve those who are unlike you.
Or else just get a pair of binoculars and learn to name birds.
-submitted by Roger Martin
Diamond in the rough.
KU Athletics-EVERYONE knows about basketball and football, but I prefer to catch a baseball game at Hoglund Park, or a women's soccer game when they play at home.
-submitted by Dominic Sova
Small and sweet.
The things I love are small and sweet, like perusing the poetry section of the Dusty Bookshelf and runs along the levee.
-submitted by Simran Sethi
Too late.
Crap, I forgot to send my crap. Oh well. I was going to suggest stuff like that park south on 59 on a hill where you can climb up the little tower and look out at the city, and the university, and the stars, and make sweet sweet love. I can't remember what else. Oh well.
-submitted by Adam Norris
lawrence.comrade
Comments
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razjericho (Adam Norris) says...
Oh man, that last post was mine. That was kind of embarrassing. Oh well. The name of the park, by the way, is Wells Overlook Park.
August 12, 2008 at 11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
xfactor (anonymous) says...
"and make sweet love." What the...???
August 12, 2008 at 3:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grants (Grant Snider) says...
"Gar Balls" would be a great band name.
August 17, 2008 at 3:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kufirst (Kenny Nall) says...
There's a lot of things to do in Lawrence, you just have to look hard enough. My favorite thing to do in Lawrence is to just enjoy what kind of city it is. It's not too small, it's not too big, You can easily get away from people by going into western Kansas and you can get as near to them as you want with a place like KC. Lawrence has a great balance of everything. I really do consider it a priviledge to have been born, raised and to continually live in Lawrence.
August 18, 2008 at 12:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )