Arts ^Entertainment
Thursday, July 13, 1995 Page 9
Store offers gifts of love and romance
By Kathryn A. Ratliff
Staff Reporter
Finding a gift for a signi ficant other is a snap
at The Romantic, located at 400 N. 48th Si. in
Centro Plaza.
Locally owned and operated, The Romantic
is a new love and romance theme store special
izing in gifts for that special someone. The store
offers a variety of unique and interesting items
including cards, music, books, baskets, linge
rie, bath supplies and candles.
“We offer ‘just because’ gifts for the people
you care about,” store owner Terry Krait said.
Krait said one of the store’s specialties was
the “Hurry Home Bouquet,” which comes with
a balloon, card, stuffed animal and a red bag to
stuff with goodies.
“The ‘Hurry Home Bouquet’ isauniquegift
sure to make someone you love hurry home,”
Krait said.
Each “Bouquet” is different. Customers can
choose from several stuffed animals and cards
to create their own special gilt.
For example, one “Bouquet” comes with a
stuffed cow and the card, “I’m in the Moooood.”
Another comes with a crab and the message,
“Sorry I was crabby.”
Customers can create their own gift baskets,
Kraft said, and with the purchase of three or
more items to fill it with, 10 percent is taken off
the total price—and the whole thing is shrink
wrapped for free.
Some of the more original, unique items
include Chocolate Body Paint, edible flowers
(chocolate), glow-in-the-dark lingerie and heart
shaped pasta.
“The heart-shaped pasta is really tasty,” Kraft
.said.
^ For those Harlequin romance fans, there’s
the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire and
star in a personal ized romance novel. The ques
tionnaire is processed, sent away and returned
to the customer in about 45 minutes, Kraft said.
Lingerie is a popular item, Kraft said, as well
as the store’s selection of Kim Anderson cards
and ceramic angels and teddy bears.
The Romantic also offers a selection of in
structional ‘how to be romantic’ ideas including
books on how to write love letters and poems
I anna Kinnaman/DN
An at-home picnic basket, containing chocolate body paint, edible chocolate roses, heart shaped pasta, romantic music
and lingerie, is being prepared by Terry Kraft.
and “1001 Ways to be Romantic.”
Kraft also carries board and card games,
love puzzles and colored chalk for writing love
letters on the sidewalk or driveway. This shop
of love even has its own special blend of gour
met coffees.
The store focuses on couples in love, Kraft
said, and the merchandise is in good taste.
“Ifsnot sleazy,” Kraft said. “I bring my kids
here.”
Kraft owns the shop with his wife, Cheri.
They opened their doors May 15 and Kraft said
business has been good and shows no signs of
slowing down.
“Romance is hot in the summer,” Kraft said.
Drinking, singing, puking make Lollapalooza memorable
By Doug Kerns
Staff Reporter
The third stop of the ’95 Lollapalooza tour
was in Kansas City’s Sandstone Amphitheater
on July 10. The Kansas sun sucked sweat from
a great mass of culturally diverse white
midwestemers as bands played to sporadic ap
plause.
Perry Farrell’s leftist, credit card friendly
band blitz/cultural revival had a lower turn-out
and less spunk than last year’s gala event, but it
nevertheless offered as good a reason as any to
get really wasted in Kansas.
This kind of thing is too big to real ly ‘cover’;
only something of a core-sample (stool-sample?)
of the day’s events seen from a personal angle is
possible in such a mass spectacle.
In the interest of the readers, I guess I should
say something about who played. I missed 98
percent of Doo Rag (accompanied by Beck),
the first act on the Second Stage. This was
probably the best set of the night, but I’m only
guessing.
I left the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and The
Jesus Lizard at the Main Stage and meandered
in the pricey flea market dubbed the Mindfield
while munching on free food (perks o’ da biz)
from a vendor stand appropriately named “Gar
lic Chicken, Lamb Kabob, and Falafel on a Bed
of Seasoned Rice” (free ad).
Then, after spending the lion’s share of my
money in the beer garden, I got my second wind.
I wandered off, paranoid and twitchy, reporter’s
notebook in hand, and arrived at the small stage
called the Lab.
Here, a drag queen on stage was verbally
assaulting the illiterate and inexpressive audi
ence while vainly groping to find some meaning
in the event. I began to swoon as faces in the
crowd turned ogreish, and bungee-fettered.
bikinied women rolled wildly on stage; the sun,
the sun...
Back at the Main Stage, 1 caught the genius
Beck as the day really heated up and coherence
began to slip away.
I wanted to catch Sinead O’Connor, but the
twin lures of shade and beer drew me inexorably
away. It was at this point that I ate the orange
Jolly Rancher someone had given to me in the
parking lot. Things began to turn strange, but
hey, when in Rome...
As I listened to Second Stagers Yo La Tengo
(beautiful!), I felt a tug at my leg. A one-eyed
dwarf mime in a jester’s hat was gesturing
something about the evil trees and Bob Dole,
frat boys and lesbianism; I led to hear Pave
ment, who played, got lost and afraid as night
fell...
As I was vomiting in the portable toilet, I
could hear the crowd going mad over simulta
neous shows of bong-hitters Cypress Hill on the
Main Stage and rapper Coolio on the Second.
The rhythmic throb of bass, along with the heat
and the toxic odor of the deadly blue water
rejuvenated me, and 1 went out to face the
music.
The next act was the always prist ine Courtney
Love and her band, Hole. As I chewed beer
soaked grass from the lawn, I wondered if 1
should be offended by her didactic rants, but the
band sounded great.
The whole thing wound down to transcen
dental sounds of the amazing kids of Sonic
Youth, a perfect cornice to the rickety structure
of the day.
What about some kind of theme, tying it all
together?
What’s the point? Entertainment with an agenda?
Free love and pseudo-intellectualism? Anti
suicide and sick irony?
Ah hell, who cares?