caribou coffee invades c-u

The Caribou Coffee chain has come to C-U (while just C right now), tucked inside the County Market in Southwest Champaign. Evidently, a grocery store just isn’t a grocery store anymore without an on-site coffee shop. Meijer has Starbucks’s, the Urbana Schnuck’s has something called Kaldi’s, which is out of St. Louis.

There was once a Caribou Coffee in my hometown, but about five years ago it was boycotted out of the community when it fell victim to an Internet rumor that inferred that the company supported Palestinian and other radical Islamic terrorist organizations. The reality is that Caribou Coffee was owned by Bahrain-based First Islamic Investment Bank, now called Arcapita. Caribou is publicly traded, but Arcapita remains its primary shareholder. Arcapita operates under the principles of Shariah Finance (thus you will never see alcohol or pork products sold at a Caribou Coffee).

At the time of the boycott, a member of the company’s board of directors was a man named Sheik Yusuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi, who is often described as a “radical Muslim cleric” and is a vocal supporter of terror against Americans and Israelis. He was banned from the U.S. in 1999. The company severed ties with the man and reviewed its charitable giving to make sure that no funds were going to groups banned under U.S. law in order to manage its P.R. crisis.

Why am I telling this story? Because to this day I still cannot think of Caribou Coffee without thinking “supports terrorists.” Perhaps that makes me weak-minded — or just human. Maybe I just need another cuppa joe.

Speaking of which, I’m sure some of you are wondering why we need more coffee houses in this town. We might be the most caffeinated community in the state of Illinois.

the celebrity hiding in plain sight

As a child of the 80s, I have a thing for 80s movies. There are so many classics — The Breakfast Club. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Heathers. Beetlejuice. Ghostbusters. Weird Science. Splash. Back to the Future. Beverly Hills Cop. Dirty Dancing. E.T. Karate Kid. Coming to America. Vacation. Better Off Dead. Say Anything. (OK, I’m getting carried away.)

Just sneaking into that group is Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Bill and Ted’s debuted in February of 1989, although it was made in 1987. It was another take on the time travel motif featuring two seemingly brain dead California surfer dudes who are desperately trying to finish a history report so they don’t get kicked out of school. Along the way, they meet such figures as Napoleon, Beethoven and Joan of Arc (that info come in handy when I saw where Joan of Arc was burned in France), and our state’s favorite son, Abraham Lincoln.

OK … so what does that have to do with the celebrity in C-U? Everything. You probably wouldn’t know who this person was if I said her by name, but you will when I tell you who she played in Bill and Ted’s — Missy, Bill’s hot stepmother, known in real life as Amy Stock-Poynton.

C-U Blogfidential discovered that Amy Poynton is at the University of Illinois, where she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Theatre Studies. She recently returned to film with a role in the indie project “The Strip,” which looks like it will be released some time this year. Now you know.

San Dimas High School Football Rules!

stalker in our midst

I have a confession to make: I am a real estate stalker.

As I mentioned before we are in the early process of looking for another place to call home within C-U. It’s no secret to discover who lives in a house. There are names on diplomas in offices and other signs. Or you can just look up their property in the Champaign County Property Record Search.

Names are one thing. I want to know more. So with the help of my good friend google.com, I usually find out who these people are when they drive out of their garages in the morning. Of course, in this town it’s not that difficult to fish out. Most of the houses we have looked at are owned by people affiliated with the major land grant institution in our midst.

In a couple cases, I was able to find out not only what these people did for a living, but why they were moving –  to take jobs at other universities away from here. Why does this matter? Because I want to know why someone is leaving a house. If a family is leaving town to take a better opportunity, somewhere in my brain I feel that the house has better karma than if it was being sold because of a divorce.

Mainly, though, I’m just curious. Mr. lbotp has a different adjective — nosy.

sure signs of spring

It’s time to register for Christie Clinic’s Run for the Health of It, now celebrating its 25th year. The event features both 10K and 5K races for walkers, runners and wheelchairs. Most importantly, this year’s event will benefit Larkin’s Place. A bonus to register early: postmark your entry by March 28 and entry fee is $25; it will be $30 after that.

In case you didn’t notice, Jarling’s Custard Cup re-opened for business.

Pool passes for the Champaign Park District facilities (Sholem and Spaulding) go on sale on March 29. The first 300 purchasers will receive free Dippin’ Dots –YUM (there seems to be a theme to this post, have you noticed?). Pool passes are discounted until May 23; opening day is May 24. CPD also has posted its summer concert list.

Passover food is out for sale. In case you didn’t know, because of the differences between calendars this year Passover is almost a month after Easter. The first seder is Saturday, April 19th. Get it while it’s hot, because when it’s gone, it’s gone, and be advised there is a severe Tam Tam shortage right now. The Schnuck’s in Champaign has a particularly good selection.

Garage sale season is about to heat up.

help – i need somebody

It’s been a little while since I updated you on the progress of Peanut’s birthday party. Before I go into detail on the details, I need your help.

Where do I find a decent cake without breaking the bank in this town? Last year, I didn’t have this problem. My mom and I made cupcakes. Easy and cheap. But this year I want a real cake, and while I know a lot of you out there are DIY gurus, let’s just say that doesn’t come easy to me. A girl’s gotta know her limitations. And Mr. lbotp is no pastry chef either.

While I would love to snag one at the delectable Cake Artist’s Studio, I just don’t have $85 to spare on the moment. And I’m sure it wouldn’t be that much cheaper (or better) at the overpriced Sweet Indulgence (although I do love me some of their frosted sugar cookies. Hey, that’s an idea ….).

So that leaves me with two choices: a grocery store cake (I wish we still had Jewel here — of course that predates me but their cakes are really, really good) or an ice cream cake. I’ve nixed the ice cream cake idea for this year, just too messy for these kids. But I might go with it in the future.

The question is: which grocery store cake is best? And if you have any other ideas, I’m game.

there is such thing as a free lunch

A few days ago the Mr. and I went out to an adult lunch together. I picked the place, he went along with it. We got to Farren’s about 12:30ish, and it was packed. Evidently, not everyone is out of town for spring break. Either that or they were all at Farren’s. Still, we were on the tail end of the lunch crowd. We ordered our food quickly — they practically know Mr. lbotp’s order there — and waited. And waited, and waited, and waited. We waited so long that a table of eight got their food, ate, talked, and left before we even got the waiter’s attention to ask what was up.

I tell this story not to indict Farren’s. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I was duly impressed with how they handled the problem. We alerted them to the long wait, and they responded swiftly. We got our food, but more than that, we got a dose of old-fashioned customer service. “I’m sorry for your wait, I’ll get your lunch,” said the tall dark-haired man, who is always there and who we presumed to be the manager.

We weren’t sure if we heard him correctly. A lot of times when I’ve been in a situation like this they’ll offer you a dessert or something as some sort of peace offering. But this was different. We had barely complained. They recognized the mistake and rectified it.

And you bet we’ll be back someday.

come fly with me

So last year was the first year of my life (that I remember) that I did not do a bracket for the men’s or women’s NCAA tournaments. I attributed it to year one of parenthood — that little thing called losing yourself. This year I am determined not to let that happen.

Here I present, the first annual men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament challenge. Go to ESPN.com and fill out your brackets for the men’s and women’s tournaments (registration required, but it is free and easy). Then on the next page, when it says “Join a Group” look for the group Little Blog onthe Prairie in both areas. The password is lbotp. There’s no entry fee or anything such thing. Winner gets lunch on me.

The contest will lockdown at tipoff time of both tourneys (Thursday for the men, Saturday for the women). Get busy kids!

uninteresting. is that a word?

OK, so I know I left you with the cliffhanger about the celeb in C-U. Well, that will have to wait a bit and I’m sorry if you are disappointed, it will come soon enough. Right now I’m suffering a bad case of blog burn out. Instead, Missy, Jenna and Stephanie tagged me for a meme on five interesting facts you don’t know about me, and I will offer some answers here. What I discovered is that I’m pretty vanilla. There’s not much all that exciting there. So here I present five things that aren’t all that interesting about me:

1. I can touch my tongue to my nose.

2. You know that Northwestern journalism professor who has students investigate death row cases for possible wrongful convictions? Well I was on one of those cases, although it wasn’t one of the famous ones you’ve heard a lot about that led to the state’s death penalty moratorium. But I can say that I’ve interviewed a death row inmate and that I “discovered” DNA evidence that hadn’t been tested in his case (here is an article about it). The results came back pointing more or less that the guy did it. The inmate died in prison and his case was closed.

3. I love Kermit the Frog. He is by far my favorite muppet. It’s not easy being green, people. I was super sad when Jim Henson died on my birthday.

4. I met Joe DiMaggio in an airport and got his autograph when I was 14 years old. I was carrying a sports magazine (I have been a huge sports fan since I was 8,) to a counter in a newsstand when some dude asked me if I liked sports. I told him yes, warily. He tipped me off to DiMaggio sitting alone at an empty gate. I was so nervous I couldn’t talk, so my mom asked him, “Excuse Mr. DiMaggio, may my daughter have your autograph?” And he answered, “You can call me Joe.” I will never forget that.

5. I once was singled out by name by a crazy anti-Semitic homophobe racist during his vitriolic speech because I led protests against his appearance at my University.

I am tagging Amy at Larkin’s Place, Cynthia at The Sandwich Life, and Lisa at Champaign Taste.

updating …

You heard it here first: lbotp first speculated that Champaign would become a megabus destination back in November. Service begins on Thursday.

One Week Boutique has found a new location and has announced its dates. I’m relieved that Peanut will not be a streaker this summer.

Bella Home, the offshoot of Bella Mia currently in downtown Urbana, is moving to Champaign in the same locale as its sister store at Shoppes of Knollwood. That’s bad news for my wallet.

Rumor has it that The Tragedy At The Mall has reduced its workforce. Business may not be booming for some unlucky puppies after all.

Mrs. Chicken is having a boy! No wonder why she has been so sick.

I have an interesting story about a celeb in C-U, but it will have to wait for later this week … stay tuned.

do you know who your neighbors are?

We are getting a little antsy. As much as we love our little house, we never thought we would be here for more than five years. It’s coming up on that this summer, and for various other reasons we have decided to become active house hunters, housing market be damned. (Of course I am always playing amateur realtor, but that is a post for another day.)

So the other night I was talking on the phone to our Realtor. She mentioned how a client of hers recently rescinded an offer on a home after viewing online that there are not one, but two registered sex offenders living within blocks of the property. The neighborhood in question was filled with newer homes on the southwest side of town, with a median price tag around $250k. Not exactly skid row.

It’s been awhile since I plugged into the Illinois sex offender information Web site, so I went back there for a little investigation. I found that there are 82 sex offenders living within a five-mile radius of my house, an area that covers a good majority of Champaign-Urbana. 82! Mr. lbotp was astounded.

So now when you go to buy a house (not that many people are these days), look into the information about schools and taxes. But don’t forget to add “consult sex offender registry” to that list.