Link Politely
According to Top Ten Links, two of the 25 largest supermarket chains in the U.S. are present here in Champaign-Urbana. What are they? And what are we missing out on? The answers are just a click away.
Has anyone been checking you out lately? Pay a visit to Craigslist's
Missed Connections site to see who's looking for you (or, as odds have it, who's looking for someone else).
As you might know by now, we're
big fans of
Deadspin.com. And now, it seems like they
might be becoming fans of ours as well.
It seems like we have a fan... after you link up to this, click on the top of the page to check out more! We are flattered, amongst other things...
Former C-U resident Chris Wiberg brings us
Morse Music, a blog that features all sorts of music talk as well as Playlists of the Dead — glimpses into what great historical figures may have enjoyed from the catalog of recent popular music.
There was a time when
openingbands.com ruled the local music scene. The forums were constantly filled with chatter, flame wars were a regular thing and bands could talk to each other about how to improve themselves for their next show. It's been lighter as of late — but we want to see it flourish again. Click on the link above and join the conversation.
Live Fast Die brings its brand of loud, fast, East Coast punk/ metal/noise to the Phoenix on Monday night (that's June 2). For a taste of what's coming to town, check out
this 2006 performance.
Local artistic talent makes us smile, and that's why we're glad we came across
the website of local illustrator and caricaturist Dan Wild.
Where you running off to? To answer this question, check out the
racing calendar provided and updated by C-U's Second Wind Running Club.
Got earthquakes on the brain? Check out the
USGS Earthquake Center for info on seismic activity in our neck of the woods and worldwide.
For local views on national news, politics, law and a little more, check out
Urbanagora.
University of Illinois student,
James Kurisunkal, makes waves with New Yorker socialites on his website,
Park Avenue Peerage.
Don't miss out on this year's
Bagelfest in Mattoon, Illinois.
Urbana High School
has more than meets the eye. One editor on staff can corroborate that!
Extra books lying around? Donate them to the
UC Books to Prisoners program.
Track down your C-U ancestors and long-lost cousins in the online
Champaign County Historical and Genealogical Index at the
Urbana Free Library.
This essay, "Scratch Me, and I Bleed Champaign: Geography, Poverty and Politics in the Heart of East Central Illinois," is now 14 years old. Is this the same Champaign-Urbana we see today? Is this an accurate portrayal of yesterday's C-U? You decide.
Do some good in your community! Go to
cuvolunteer.org to find a local organization at which you can volunteer your time and make the world a better place.
Test your
U of IQ!
Want to learn how to juggle? How about ride a unicycle? Then check out the
Illini Juggling & Unicycle Club.
The first day of spring is about a week away! Time to get out your bicycle. Here is a
map of the bike trails and parks in Champaign. Happy pedaling!
What does the Champaign-raised, bluegrass star
Alison Krauss have to do to get her own honorary street? She already won the Illinois State Fiddle Championship. Sheesh...
Go to the
Champaign County Assessor's website to find out how much your neighbor's house is worth. Or go to the
Champaign County Circuit Clerk's website to see if your friends have gotten a speeding ticket, DUI or been found guilty of other offenses.
Almost every day,
go here to find a new picture of C-U taken by photographer Dan O'Brien.
On a recent trip to C-U (SP coverage
here) Mark Frauenfelder interviewed
student inventors at the University of Illinois.
Keep
live jazz on your schedule. All week, every week.
Need help with your green thumb? Sign up for
the Grow Illini! mailing list for gardeners in East Central Illinois.
Check out this video of
who played at Farm Aid in Memorial Stadium in 1985.
R.I.P. Mabel's, the old Green Street venue that sat at the heart of the local music scene.
Here's some footage of Uncle Tupelo playing Mabel's in 1992.
Do you like trees? In Urbana, we like them so much, we're considered a
Tree City.
From REO to
Eureka Brown —
check out the playlist of C-U artists' music videos on YouTube, collected by SP writer Larry Gates.
Listen to WILL-AM 580 on your computer!
Remember when Bill Clinton was the President? Neither do we, really. He spoke at the University of Illinois in 1998, just before his world came crumbling down as a result of cigars and a blue dress.
Here is a transcript of the speech.
Spend a few minutes driving around northwest Champaign and you're bound to come across the Kraft plant. Check out
this News-Gazette article for a closer look at Kraft's history and future in C-U.
If you are a student or faculty of the U. of I., here's a
quick way to receive an alert in the event of an emergency on campus.
Who's representing you?
State Senator Mike Frerichs.
University of Illinois professor and nationally renowned positive psychologist Ed Diener is featured in the short documentary
How to Be Happy, viewable online —
watch, smile and learn!
Can't decide where to eat? Feel like takeout? Check out local-run
Eat C-U for answers to this, and more.
Would you like to voice your opinion about stores, restaurants, and other places in Champaign-Urbana?
Yelp can help!
We don't know her, but this lady on Flickr has some wonderful photos of
Champaign and
Urbana from the 1970's. Enjoy!
Check out this document from the mid-1990s titled, "Development Opportunities in Urbana." What came true and what did not? What's since disappeared? What's still in the making?
It may be cold now, but, one year ago today we were in the midst of a
blizzard.
Travis Wayne Hurt. If you know him, you love him. He used to be a radio personality at WPGU and when he isn't "performing" as Satan's Beer Vomit around town at venues like Pia's, Village Inn Pizza and Kam's, he is drinking. How much is he drinking?
Check it out.
Far out, man. Actually, it's not that far out
— just 36 miles south of Champaign
— that you can find the small town of Arcola, which is home to the one and only
Hippie Memorial. At the end of the day, the memorial is something of a letdown for your average Joe, but all you roadside-attraction junkies can get your fix
by taking a brief road trip to the edge of Amish country.
Barrooms statewide have been smoke free since Jan. 1. In commemoration of the one-month anniversary,
click here to learn all about the Smoke-free Illinois initiative. To print your own "No Smoking" or "No Fumar" sign,
visit this page.
Don't drive by Memorial Stadium regularly but want to keep an eye on the construction? Check out
Illinois Loyalty, with updated photos every few weeks.
A study, with help from UIUC, makes
news in the Technology section of
The New York Times.
Read more about starlet
Jennie Garth, born in Urbana and raised nearby.
If you want to order in, why not order online? The
local branch of campusfood.com allows you to order food online from 22 local restaurants. Menus available, too.
