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Smile Politely Returns ... More to Come

Posted in OPINION by Smile Politely Editors on Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Welcome back. And thanks for being patient while we packed up for the holidays to take a little breather and redesign our home on the web.

Scroll down. Click around. Some things are different. Others are the same, but look a little sharper.

Notice that our spiffy new website allows you to take advantage of more than a few new features. We're now featuring articles on our home page. Each day we'll choose one article to single out; if you only have time for a brief visit, we recommend you start with the featured article. There will be plenty of additional new writing posting throughout the day in "The Latest" section, which is just below our daily featured article on the home page.

You can now also sign up as for your own user account. You'll find that Smile Politely becomes a more enjoyable and interactive experience after you click the "Register" button in the upper right-hand corner and create your own profile. You can then fine tune your profile by adding personal info about yourself or uploading a photo or avatar. In addition, you can also send private messages to other registered readers. The registering process is quick and painless, we promise.

Also notice in the righthand column we've added a nifty feature that tracks our most recent comments and our most popular articles. Also, our improved search engine should make locating Brandon T. Washington's chili recipe a cinch.

Stay tuned, too. We'll be rolling out more new features over the next few weeks. We're excited about our relaunch, and look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please be patient while we work out the bugs, and in the meantime, if you notice something that's not working properly, click the "Contact" button in the upper right-hand corner and let us know.

2 comments

Most Recent Opinion Comments

{username}

The University does not subsidize the Airbus. For decades bus transportation to the airport was provided expressly for Institute of Aviation students. This service was paid for by the Institute of Aviation, not campus as a whole. Some of you may even remember the old orange or…

Posted by Bill Ferguson to the entry 'The bus less traveled on 03/08/10.
{username}

A book just published gives a very useful different perspective on the “growth for growth’s sake” model and its ecological unsustainability. It is “Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet” by Tim Jackson. The first chapter of the book can be downloaded via http://earthscan.co.uk/pwg . This…

Posted by Gary Cziko to the entry 'Forget it, Jake. It's Champaign-Urbana on 03/08/10.
{username}

I agree with most of the comments on the Orange “Krush.“  They are mostly immature, ignorant, college students who can’t wait for the next frat party so they can get wasted on Keystone light

Posted by Illinois student to the entry 'Orange Krush simply an embarrassment on 03/04/10.
{username}

“Since there is no congestion on 74, one wonders what he is talking about.“ - Duh.  Perhaps the congestion is wishful thinking? And IL DOT is planning to spend $71 million taxpayer dollars widening I-74 between Champaign and Mahomet. I contacted IL DOT on the I-74 stuff. …

Posted by Tony C. to the entry 'A road in search of a reason on 03/04/10.
{username}

Great articles, btw.

Posted by Anna Barnes to the entry 'A road in search of a reason on 03/03/10.
{username}

Since 1994, the American Farmland Trust has had case studies which have shown that there is no net gain to developing farmland. On average the ratio of dollars generated by development to the cost of services provided by communities was $1 : $1.04. For farm land, the…

Posted by Anna Barnes to the entry 'A road in search of a reason on 03/03/10.
{username}

Stuart, Really a fantastic series of articles on this proposed road.  The Chinatown analogy is very cool.  I wouldn’t say that the local press has been lapdogs on this issue.  One of the local TV news channels actually did a piece where they interviewed Mr. Ziegler, the…

Posted by Mark Laughlin to the entry 'A road in search of a reason on 03/03/10.
Seth Fein avatar

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4961547   I stand by it all, except in that I should’ve used better language to describe the types of fools these folks are. Calling someone a douchebag, is kinda like, being a douchebag.   Strike that one from the record. Everything else, well, yeah…

Posted by Seth Fein to the entry 'Orange Krush simply an embarrassment on 03/03/10.
Joel Gillespie avatar

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, part two will actually run Wednesday at 10 a.m. Thanks for your patience; it’ll be worth the wait!

Posted by Joel Gillespie to the entry 'Forget it, Jake. It's Champaign-Urbana on 03/02/10.
{username}

Great article. It seems to me that pretty much every local office and institution concerned is working together to get this road built. The cities of Champaign and Urbana just rubber-stamped the plan, as far as I can tell.  They may have gone through the motions of…

Posted by Mark Laughlin to the entry 'Forget it, Jake. It's Champaign-Urbana on 03/01/10.

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Most Recent Comments

{username}

What if the sideways alternatives are where Jacob actually grants them their wishes, but in ways they didn’t quite expect?  The elimination of one regret. Sayid gets to be with Nadia - although through his brother.  Maybe he ends up with her at the expense of his…

By Zeleni to the entry 'To begin anew... again... on 03/11/10.
John Steinbacher avatar

The link has been updated. Thanks for alerting us.

By John Steinbacher to the entry 'Exit 182 Festival Preview: The Young Republic on 03/10/10.
Annie Weisner avatar

This also explains why I was starting to think Roses & Sake was a group of strange pagans from Vancouver.  This is when it pays to be a local.  My apologies to the true Roses & Sake, we’ll fix this ASAP!

By Annie Weisner to the entry 'Exit 182 Festival Preview: The Young Republic on 03/10/10.
Annie Weisner avatar

Ahh, shame on me.  I grabbed it directly off of Mike ‘N Molly’s website.  I’ll see if I can’t get it corrected on here (and maybe pass along the word to them as well).  Thank you, observant reader!

By Annie Weisner to the entry 'Exit 182 Festival Preview: The Young Republic on 03/10/10.
{username}

I’m with Brigham regarding the Acrylics set. Very XX-ish. Very good.

By Nic to the entry 'A Sunny Day in Glasgow: Not your average shoegaze band on 03/10/10.
{username}

i think the roses & sake link is actually: http://www.myspace.com/rosesnsake  

By Ed to the entry 'Exit 182 Festival Preview: The Young Republic on 03/10/10.
Stef avatar

Dangit! Now I have to go home and try that cake. MMMmmMMMMmmmm looks goood. Cakey cakey cakey…

By Stef to the entry 'Week Seven: The mug cake and the damage done on 03/10/10.
{username}

Very nice preview…I’m stoked to be seeing The Young Republic

By Ed to the entry 'Exit 182 Festival Preview: The Young Republic on 03/10/10.
{username}

I understood this totally differently than the other people that posted…this is what I got from it: - the more background you have going in, the more of the allusions you will understand when watching - afterwards, you can do a little research to fill in the…

By Ed to the entry 'A review of "A History of the American Film" on 03/10/10.
{username}

Sorry about the lack of address and hours. All I can say is duuuh

By Emily Miller to the entry 'Kaiyo a surprising delight for buffet on 03/10/10.
Annie Weisner avatar

Amen.  When I told people I’ve lost 18 pounds since early October the number one response I get from women is concern.  18 pounds in four months is not unhealthy, quite the opposite for me.  But don’t give up on sugar, or become a vegan, or do…

By Annie Weisner to the entry 'Week Seven: The mug cake and the damage done on 03/10/10.
emma reaux avatar

The whole self-acceptance idea is tricky in itself too. Are we supposed to self-accept by sitting around like bumps on logs, doing nothing but just appreciating and accepting ourselves? Life doesn’t happen like that. I like your point about pushing ourselves to do something greater. Self-challenge and self-reflection…

By emma reaux to the entry 'Week Seven: The mug cake and the damage done on 03/10/10.
gillian gabriel avatar

lindsey - i certainly understand where you are coming from on that one.   and i just wanted to state for the record that in no way did i mean to imply that i am not a feminist (or a liberal) just that i find that whole…

By gillian gabriel to the entry 'Week Seven: The mug cake and the damage done on 03/10/10.
Seth Fein avatar

Jason —   I know you are busy with your own thang too, but, whenever you are ready: http://www.smilepolitely.com/contribute/   Word.

By Seth Fein to the entry 'A review of "A History of the American Film" on 03/10/10.
{username}

re: body image—i find it very hard to hear my own true voice in the midst of all the other ones - either the voices from the “beauty industry” demanding total perfection or the ones from the feminist community (which i am a part of, proudly) demanding…

By lindsey to the entry 'Week Seven: The mug cake and the damage done on 03/10/10.
Tracy Nectoux avatar

Fair enough. This is my second attempt at writing for Smile Politely, and I agree that my playful review did not go over well, or at all like I intended it to.   Thank you, Jason, for your advice. I’ll definitely take it to heart.    

By Tracy Nectoux to the entry 'A review of "A History of the American Film" on 03/10/10.
{username}

Tracy, I think there are two halves to this. Even if you are not familiar with the “history of the American film,“ you are always a few Google strokes away from digging up the basics on iconic films and actors that would have registered a big “A-HA!“…

By Jason Pankoke to the entry 'A review of "A History of the American Film" on 03/10/10.
Tracy Nectoux avatar

J, I promise I meant no disrespect. The last thing on my mind was disrespecting anyone.   I was at a disadvantage because I was reviewing a play whose subject matter I know very little about. And I was trying to be funny.   I enjoyed the…

By Tracy Nectoux to the entry 'A review of "A History of the American Film" on 03/10/10.
{username}

I’ve never read a more pointless article, one so brazenly disprectful to its subject matter and to the reader. Please do not write any longer.

By j ciolino to the entry 'A review of "A History of the American Film" on 03/10/10.
Rob McColley avatar

May I borrow your Grey Poupon?   I suppose I could write my news column one day, and my opinion column the next—as with Tatelines or Tupperlines.   But I don’t write a news column, so it seems like a lot of extra work.

By Rob McColley to the entry 'All's well, no worries, next year will be great! on 03/10/10.

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