About Us
Smile Politely is Champaign-Urbana's independent online magazine. We provide the community with a passionate, trustworthy, informed point of view on local music, arts, culture, food+drink, sports, politics and news. Our writers range in age from college undergrads to fifty-somethings, and with that diversity comes a wide array of political, cultural, social, and artistic bents, as well as an impressive wealth of experiences from which to reference. Such variety accurately reflects the hodgepodge that is Champaign-Urbana, a university town with a decidedly Midwestern flair. Smile Politely's editorial staff immerses itself in the community it calls home, and our writers' coverage of events reflects that dedication.
Whatever entertains you, informs you, excites you, or frustrates you, is all likely to be covered in our magazine. And if it's not, let us know. We're always open to suggestions that further expand our coverage. Readers are encouraged to establish their own free profile accounts to take advantage of our unique, interactive site.
Smile Politely publishes articles daily, Monday through Friday.
A note about comments
You are welcome to call us stupid, elitist, fuckheaded, pole-smoking, motherfucking, limp-dicked gashes, but be careful, because there's a line here somewhere around the area of personal appearance and our families (especially if it's not funny or involves the word "retarded", and especially if you're posting anonymously), that if you cross it, we'll be forced to delete your comment, woe unto you. We like making fun of people, too, so have at it, but it's our site, and we gots some rules.
Editors
Ben was born and raised in Champaign-Urbana, and now attends the U of I. He really likes live music and indian food.
Caleb Curtiss grew up in Champaign. He still lives there with his wife, Sarah, his dog Eileen (nickname: Floppy, Flopperella, Flopster, Flopper: the ugliest dolphin in the sea) and cat Buffy the Mouse Slayer (nickname: Taco, Fatty, Bufflecat). He likes giving his pets nicknames, and looks forward to having children so he can similarly humiliate them.
Jamie Newell can be found most weekends working on her novel at Aroma Café when she's not taking photos or sitting in a movie theater. After earning her bachelor's degree in creative writing at Columbia College Chicago, she settled in Champaign and has called it home for four years. Jamie loves to road trip, is a huge horse racing fan, and considers John Steinbeck a god. She also writes a blog about racing called Ghostsnapper.
Joel Gillespie grew up in Iowa, went to college in Indiana, and lives in Illinois. He tries to hide his prejudice against states that don't begin with I, but, let's face it, he is naturally suspicious of their intentions. If you have trouble sleeping, give him a call and ask about soybean processing. And whatever you do, never, never, never ask him for real estate advice.
John Steinbacher went to school here, then lived in Minneapolis, then lived in Toronto, now lives here again. His daughter is both Canadian and American, so he reserves the right to make fun of both countries. He has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota and has worked in health care and disability policy for some really cool organizations. He has edited all kinds of stuff, including a cake decorating magazine. None of this has anything do with music. Go figure.
Josh is a self-taught technologist with an interest in social justice. He spends much of his time at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, dabbling with hacking and activism for fun and lack of profit. If he ever makes money as SmilePolitely's webmaster, it may help keep his helpfulness from becoming terminal.
Justine Bursoni hails from Chicago. (Yes, really Chicago, not the suburbs.) She tried as hard as possible to leave here, graduating after three years of Art History school. It was Custard Cup that forced her to stay. She now lives in downtown Champaign, is working on her master's in art education, makes art when she can, and runs her own photo blog based on consumer culture. She always smiles politely.
Seth Fein was born in Urbana and now lives in downtown Champaign. He owns and operates The Nicodemus Agency, is the founder and curator of Pygmalion Music Festival, and is an assistant talent buyer at The Canopy Club. He loves the Purdue Boilermakers and his wife's marinara sauce.
Writers
Past Writers
Abram Book
Adam Scott
Alisa DeMarco
Alyssa Schoeneman
Andrew Ang
Angela Delgado
Betsi Freeman
Bob Steltman
Brian Kagel
Brian Reed
Caitlin Cremer
Carlye Wisel
Chris Maier
Chris Wiberg
Clint Popetz
Donnie Ferguson
Ellyn Newell
Elyse Russo
Emily Carlson
Eric Heisig
Gordon Oyer
Jaclyn Smith
Jake Thomas
Jane Boxall
Jenna Weglarz-Ward
Joshi Fullop
Justin McLeod
Kristin McCann
Laura Bandy
Lena Singer
Lindsey Markel
Liz Jackson
Logan Moore
Marissa Monson
Matt Cohn
Matt Fender
mertz
Mike Armintrout
Mike Coulter
mrfred
Nathon Jones
Pat Schmitz
Patrick McCarthy
Phil Sudderberg
Ralph Petrella
Ria Roberts
Richard Anderson
Rose Marshack
Ryan Neaveill
Samantha Lee
Scott Frankel
Theo Long
Thom Herakovich
Thomas Gould
Tim Bailey
Tim Brookes
Tim Green
Tim Hayden
Tommy Griscom
Most Recent Comments
Kaiyo was decent for a sushi buffet, but it definitely isn’t as good as KO fusion. I thought it was better than any sushi I’ve ever had at a chinese buffet, but was not as good as my least favorite sushi item at KO fusion. However, I…
What is an antibiotic-free egg? And how can you tell?
Great article. I’ve always found that by making it in the blender, I can be my typical impatient self and pour tons of oil in at once. It’s very forgiving that way, though not fool proof.
I will be at Danu this evening. And seeing as tomorrow - St. Pat’s - is my birthday, I will be celebrating with tons of green and fun!
Big Blue will actually be on 6-9, despite what is posted elsewhere. Then, hightail it over to Bentley’s!
Ahh - good point - I will plug them in the appropriate sections.
Yeeee! This sounds so fun! Any word on covers for any/all of these? Maybe SP could spring for punch cards and some discounts if we make it to all, eh?
Ok, just tell me when I can exhale - Just curious, since all the globalists, carbon traders, and pretty much anyone with copious amounts of wealth have weighed in on population reduction in recent years, i was wondering what yer magic number was. Some of the more…
ESPN360!!!!! For those that don’t know, you can watch the ESPNs’ games on your puter.
...and given the lack of smiley emoticons i chose to employ, that reads far more sarcastically than i ever intended (my apologies). i actually find this to be a great article and an interesting discussion, seriously : )
Once it leaves the basement, it is then called what? hmmm…....could it be mainstream? accessible? appealing on a mass-level? POP??? Quickly it will become a fad, over-saturate the media, and piss people off. Then everyone can write articles based on how that shit sucks, too. chickens are…
So John is seeing all comments as being authored by John. I am seeing all comments as authored by me. The first comment was Mysterious McDade who evidently acquired an Optimism Hat and is now seeing how it fits.
No, everyone is me! Muahahaha! I so didn’t make that first comment so I thought maybe someone was trying to get my goat, adding me to the staff. I hope jumping to that conclusion is forgivable. Yeah, uh, I guess I should say that I swear I…
I have reached Nirvana, I guess. Everyone is me.
Something weird is happening.
WTF guys? Does impersonating a user in the comments section run afoul of your commenting policy?
In general, I think music is much more interesting now than in 1995. I definitely am very glad contemporary music has expanded beyond the four-piece rock lineup that dominated much of the 90’s. The point of the above isn’t so much about a sound or an instrument…
2010 is not 1995. I’m not sure why anyone would expect a music scene to remain stationary as the world of popular music moves around it. Also, today, making popular music with mainstream appeal and being innovative and cutting-edge are usually exact opposites.
I didn’t know that the LED was created here. That’s awesome.
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I love eating Vietnamese food, and having growing up my entire life eating it, I was excited to go. I really wanted to like this place because of all of the hype I had heard——unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. I got the pho (vietnamese soup) and thought…