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CULTURE

World-renowned Sexpert on campus today and tomorrow

Take a former prostitute and porn star, add an advanced degree, stir in over three decades of research, lectures, performances, films, workshops and life experience, and you're sure to have one of the most interesting guest speakers to appear in East Central Illinois in a long while. Annie Sprinkle has been on the sex-positive and feminist scenes for longer than I've been alive. In fact, upon hearing she would be in town this week, my father excitedly asked me to …

CULTURE

Stand-up spectacular

The C/U Stand Up Spectacular: A Night Of Stand Up Comedy takes place Friday at 9 p.m. at the Canopy Club. Cover is eight bucks. Eight stand-up comedians (Trey Mowder, Ryan Nallen, Sirifax, Lane Pieschel, Drew Michael, Ryan Walker, Sam Norton, and Collin A. Bullock) will do their best to make you laugh. In the interest of introductions, Pieschel, Bullock, and Nallen answered a few of our questions below.

CULTURE

A decade of independence

It's easy to forget (now that you have been named the "Person of the Year!" for blogging about your exotic life in Marrakesh and filling out your Facebook profile and we can watch videos of any spectacle, political or not, almost immediately after it happens) that things weren't always like this. When the GEO strike happened a few weeks back, videos of the picketing were published online almost instantaneously, all without waiting for the mass media: the News-Gazette or local …

CULTURE

Freeway rolling through on Thursday

Rick Ross has had quite a life, and he's coming to Champaign on Thursday to share some of his experiences with local young people. In a free event in conjunction with Chicago-based Hip Hop Detoxx, Ross will be appearing at the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club (201 E. Park St., Champaign) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. C-U Citizens for Peace and Justice organized the event "in the wake of the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington and part …

CULTURE

Art and bikes try to get along

Ever since Italian neo-realist director Vittorio De Sica decided that art could only exist if it made bicycles disappear, bikes and art have had a mutually hostile relationship. The few times they've met since then have been disasters: recall Sears's in-house bicycle brand "Free Spirit" (named, evidently, for the impulse wordy philosopher George Hegel believes art embodies), or Breaking Away, the state of Indiana's greatest "artwork," or the countless pictures of unrideable fixies and project bikes posted by their "curators" …

CULTURE

Pecha Kucha in C-U

When my friend Amy first told my about a new kind of event that was being organized in Champaign-Urbana, it took me a while to understand the concept. "A what?" "Pecha Kucha," she explained, "it's a sort of show where designers present slides on their work. You should find out more about it, maybe you could present." Which is how I ended up meeting Christina Tapp and Madelin Woods, the organizers of Pecha Kucha in C-U. A rapid-fire format for …

CULTURE

Tracing sweet corn to the source

The Urbana Sweetcorn Festival kicks off this afternoon at 5 p.m. in downtown Urbana. The festival is taking place from 5 to 11 p.m. tonight and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. tomorrow. There's entertainment available on three stages, with headlining acts War, 33 Miles, and Days of the New, as well as other interactive activities. You can download the full entertainment schedule flier here. However, in this preview I'm going to focus on the festival's namesake: sweet corn. Namely, …

CULTURE

Let Us Plan Your Weekend for You

There's more going on around town than you may realize. As much as some of us former big city-dwellers like to bemoan the lack of anything worthwhile to do here in Champaign-Urbana, that's just simply not true. What we lack in terms of massive art museums, slam-poetry readings, open-air concerts, and professional sporting events, we make up for with elbow grease and ingenuity (otherwise known as the DIY spirit), as evidenced by this selection of offerings to add to your …

CULTURE

A Winter War for Gamers

In 1969, a notice was posted in the Daily Illini seeking to form a group to play wargames. A meeting was held shortly thereafter in Altgeld Hall with about a dozen men in attendance. That day, the Conflict Simulation Society was chartered. Alan Conrad's memory of the circumstances behind that first meeting are a bit fuzzy. He recalls that all in attendance were students at the University of Illinois with an interest in board games, specifically wargames created in the …

CULTURE

Listen Up: Speakers in C-U, January 19–25, 2009

You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that's the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are four events going on in town this week, and three of the presenters took the time to answer …

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Most Recent Culture Comments

isaac arms avatar

just confirmed:  there will be white russians served. the art abides.

isaac arms avatar

big lebowski at the art. mark it, dude.

{username}

There’s a great video promo out for “Company” too: http://vimeo.com/36077847

{username}

Had to tweet this. I ride when I can – but will have to do this all next week. More people certainly should.  <a >Beach wedding</a>

{username}

@”@Local Yocal” Well, the first question is why the municipalities across the country needed to use the police to violently overthrow the Occupy encampments in the first place. I’ll let others explain that, for I have no answer. So upon receiving the request from Chancellor Katehi to…

{username}

If searing pain seems reasonable to you to handle a trespassing, then I guess that’s how we want to be policed.   Well, I think as stated in the OP, how such weapons are used is important. For me, (and sidebar on the disagreement of trespassing vs.…

{username}

@”@LocalYocal”: “If the trespasser could be dragged or carried out easily…But when they actively prevent that option by holding onto something…. Pepper Spray seems a reasonable choice.” If searing pain seems reasonable to you to handle a trespassing, then I guess that’s how we want to be…

Jason Brown avatar

My only problem with the above comment is that your home is not a public place. But that’s nitpicking your example. I understand from the remainder of your comment the semi-validity of both sides, but make no mistake - I am 100% with the peaceful occupiers.

{username}

As someone who supports the Occupy movements, it is very tempting to indulge in the symbolism of this incident. By all means, if this can be a rallying cry for further activism, it should be used. But if we are going to look at this on a…

{username}

What a load of apologetic shit. While Holy’s conclusion is correct, Lt. Pike’s behavior was inappropriate, the use of force scale and Holy’s interpretation of the student’s actions of “interlocking arms” as an “active resistor” misses the point about what pepper spray is. Pepper spray is a…

Most Recent Comments

{username}

Pamela - Are the roasteries in Seattle as clean as CSR?  It always disturbs me a little that it is so clean in there.

JPSherrill avatar

Now you will be able to munch on pizza and shrimp cocktails in downtown Urbana (whilst a DJ spins?) after your dissolution of marriage http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2012-02-05/its-your-business-new-pizza-place-downtown-urban     Is this a franchise of a Reno pizza joint, or just a coincidence of name? http://www.blackrockpizza.com

{username}

Signs someone is “fishing” for a factual anchor: 1. Starts call to radio with: “I’ve been an Illini fan for (XX) years” or “I’m a diehard fan,” as if somehow that unverifiable claim will justify the 5 minutes of B.S. that follows. 2. Makes reference to KenPom…

{username}

That’s what she said.

{username}

Black dog and Siam terrace is where I always go after my divorces.

Mike Ingram avatar

Love CSR.  Apart from making my way through the regular roasts in 1/2 pound increments, I also like to pick up some of the little sample packets of the flavored stuff for when the lady and I feel like getting crazy.  Sticky Bun is pretty nice.

Rob McColley avatar

If you happen to be getting a divorce, or fighting a DUI prosecution, downtown Urbana is a great place to eat.

{username}

HUUUUUUGE fan of their Black Velvet roast…It makes up about 75% of my coffee intake. LOL CSR is definitely one of those Champaign institutions that I brag about to people not from here. :-)

{username}

We like CSR too! We french press at home and I leave the lid off while it steeps—letting the ground beans bloom. Then, like in your tasting, I scoop off the top layer before pressing. We really need to invest in a burr grinder though, as I…

{username}

Confidential? In this state? Hahahahahahahhahahaha

isaac arms avatar

just confirmed:  there will be white russians served. the art abides.

isaac arms avatar

big lebowski at the art. mark it, dude.

{username}

There’s a great video promo out for “Company” too: http://vimeo.com/36077847

{username}

Wow, His Majesty took the time to answer your polite plea. It’s been a while since I spoke fluent arrogance, but allow this attempt at a translation: “I deeply regret the embarrassment…” = I wish we hadn’t got caught and it wasn’t a big deal really. “...and…

{username}

I love the Guitars

{username}

I had their tea at the Urbana Farmer’s Market when they first started out and it was great! Their tins recently caught my eye at Walnut Street Tea Company and my guests used it all up before I could even try it! Way to go Tiesta, stay…

{username}

Im fine with missing ingredients and of course they fixed things what restaurant fights with the customer over things like that anymore. ( the way social media could affect them) My problem is that I am visiting you place of business within the first week of opening.…

isaac arms avatar

Thanks for that, Louis CK.

{username}

Your call to stay pissed is precisely why global warming fanatics will fail.  Emotion has no place in hard science.  The problem with the issue of global warming is that is has been pumped full of emotion and politics, and the science is becoming a by-product. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204301404577171531838421366.html?KEYWORDS=global+warming

{username}

Clearly the Postal Officials in favor of this cannot make an economic argument, as this saves the post office $0.  What is their rationale?

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