SPlog

The only thing I could see them doing wrong was using the parking barricade. I wonder if Taste of Champaign could add events that might be more attractive to teens/young adults. I know even my …

A track from My Werewolf Diary. Now playing live at house shows, seances, and other clandestine venues. www.myspace.com/mywerewolfdiary mywerewolfdiary@hotmail.com “The Idiots” by My Werewolf Diary

Vote for Urbana’s Farmers Market and help them win $5,000. When you ask your friends to vote, you will not only increase City of Urbana Market at the Square’s chances of winning, but you could …

Just a bit of the aftermath of Friday’s severe weather:

Here’s a nice bit of news for those of you who have kids, like insects, or just want to know about cool arts & education events!  This Saturday, June 20, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 …

Newsflash: The warm weather is here, finally. If you’re looking for a post-Taste of C-U adult beverage to quench your thirst, here are the new beers around town. MIKE & MOLLY’S On tap: Southern Tier …

Mark Nepermann, 21, a May graduate in fine and applied arts from Batavia, was arraigned Thursday on a single count of misdemeanor theft alleging he stole signs valued at less than $300 from the UI …

Here are the rules for Champaign’s first ever Rock n’ Roll Camp, taking place this week in Champaign, hosted by John Jordan of the oddly named Bay-area band Porkbelly: I get that there is to …

That’s right, in about ten minutes the first North First Street farmers market will be open in the parking lot of the Champaign Police Department, 201 N. First St. in downtown Champaign.  The market will …

Nation’s Girlfriends Unveil New Economic Plan: ‘Let’s Move In Together’ “Smothering? Is that how you would describe this plan?” “I never used that word.” “It was your tone.” “You did imply it.”

Come out this Friday at 10 p.m. for the first ever bike-in movie night at the Independent Media Center’s Back Alley (202 S. Broadway, Urbana). The first movie we will premiere is Creature Comforts, along …

+ Jake Thomas’ excellent two-part piece on retaliatory evictions had commenter JoeFun demanding reform: “I’ve been in this situation. The system, as it is now, gives every protection and right to the land owner. The …

Now that the Play or Pose reunion has past, we can look forward to The Vertebrats’ two-night reunion concerts this October at the Cowboy Monkey. Tickets are on sale now. You gotta love any clip …

University of Illinois students are constructing a 600-square foot home that can be heated with a hair dryer as part of a national competition to construct energy-conserving homes. Read all about it.

Some big names are coming to Ellnora — The Guitar Festival at Krannert, to be held September 10–12, 2009. The Krannert Center’s biennial guitar festival will feature The National, Ani DiFranco, Junior Brown, Bill Frisell, …

Jorge and Thee S-words   Harps of Tartarus (video is really dark, but the sound is surprisingly ok)   Shadows on a River

This just in from the University of Illinois police department: The University of Illinois Police Department seeks the public’s help inidentifying the suspect responsible for the theft of two artworks thatoccurred on Saturday (June 13) …

U of I grad student, Daniel Schreiber (completely unrelated to the Smile Politely editor and contributor Dan Schreiber), is starting a chocolate making company. He is raising money via kickstarter.com to purchase equipment, to eventually …

The film Leading Ladies is wrapping up filming this week in CU with a big bang — a scene of an amateur Midwestern ballroom dance competition. Who: All ages (10 years old and older), sizes, …

and this is how they make sure to cut the right part of my neck! Yeesh!

Here are a couple of videos from Friday night’s show at Highdive, in case you missed it: Starlight Mints, “Zoomba” Evangelicals

Hey guys, thanks a lot!

Gillian and I took my parents to the Farmers’ Table last Saturday at the Red Herring. It’s a Slow Food gathering where the organizers purchase produce at the Urbana Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and …

This Monday, the Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston will be screening Henry Selick’s Coraline for free. The film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novella will be the first in a series of six free family films at …

Zoo Improv, creators of the C-U Improv Festival, is starting a run of shows at Cowboy Monkey this Saturday at 7 p.m.  Usually seen at the Iron Post, private parties, festivals, dance breaks, and corporate …

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced an agreement with the FutureGen Alliance that advances the construction of the first commercial scale, fully integrated, carbon capture and sequestration project in the country in Mattoon, …

So many new brews to choose from! CRANE ALLEY On tap: Ommegang Hennepin, Lagunitas IPA, Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter, Southern Tier Mokah, Dogfish Head 60 Min IPA, Arcadia Hop Rocket, North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner, …

But there are ways of producing biofuels without competing with staple food and feed crops. — from “A Minute With … biofuels expert Stephen Long.” Read about Long’s thoughts on cellulosic and sugar-based ethanol and …

In a recent interview with The Rumpus, Dave Eggers gave some love to his almost-alma mater. Awesome.

Believe it or not, September isn’t simply going to be dominated by indie rock or guitar virtuosos. It’s going to be a folking great time as well. OK — bad pun. But seriously, some great …

The problem with new, cheapie bikes from big box stores is that most of them are “designed” to capture the attention of a kid or teen, and as such, they have lots of colors and …

Dale Watson and the Lone Stars roll through the Rose Bowl tonight for a 7 p.m. show, and Big Boss Twang opens. As of this morning, The Whip thought there would still be some tickets …

Hey, we’re still cheaper than Albuquerque. Champaign was in the mix for the New York Times’ “What You Get for … $190,000” entry yesterday.

OK — if Wavves wasn’t enough to satiate your need to check out one of the most buzzed bands of the year, just hold on to your local hats, because Pygmalion is presenting recent Polyvinyl …

The Champaign Bark District (pun duly acknowledged) will open this Saturday, June 13. The dog park, located near the southeast corner of Windsor and Rising, has “a 4 foot fence, double-gated entry area, separate areas …

Woah! Slow down there folks… just because Wavves freaked out in Barcelona doesn’t mean they won’t kill it on stage at Pygmalion! In any case, if they don’t float your boat, just check out today’s …

The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts announced their 2009-10 “Marquee Season” today. You can download a word document of the release here, or just be content with the folllowing highlights until the calendar is …

Hold on to your hats! Wavves, the newest Pitchfork-hyped-breakdown-prone-band, will be making their C-U debut at Pygmalion this year, as well as another Secretly Canadian artist, Marmoset, and Parasolorian, Cameron Mcgill. Plus a few other …

Maybe you’ve seen this already. If not, you need to. (I know there are some dumb “literal videos” out there, but this one is really good.) “What the effing crap? That angel guy just felt …

Hey, y’all. I’m training as an airshifter at WEFT. Dave Witzany was kind enough to let me sit in on his show tonight and told me Wednesday that he’d be happy to have me program …

This weekend should be a good one for outdoor drinking. Here are the latest menu additions. MIKE & MOLLY’S On tap: Rogue Imperial Young’s Special Bitter, Schneider Organic Edel Weisse, Southern Tier Jah-va Coffee Stout, …

If you are looking for lunch plans, “Eat to the Beat” in West Side Park in downtown Champaign starts in 20 minutes. Enjoy the great day with a free concert! 12 — 1 p.m. Be …

Even though C.O. Daniel’s recently made a deal with Mayor Schweighart to raise their required entry age to 21, the bar is now on the market. Yes, I repeat, C.O. Daniel’s can be yours.

On deck for today, a hot band from South Africa on Secretly Canadian Records, a local who calls Peru their second home, a ten-year veteran of the scene, and a current Smile Politely diary keeper. …

If you enjoy any combination of baseball, people-watching, and socializing outdoors, then there are really few better entertainment options in downstate Illinois than a night of Danville Dans baseball. The Dans are a collegiate summer …

Please hire Mat Brown as your Director of Disc Jockeys. Immediately. He needs to help your younger, less knowledgeable DJs. For real. On the way to work today, I heard “Mirror in the Bathroom” by …

“Exploding Monkeys,” Hot Cops