The past couple weeks have been unbelievably active in the Quad-Cities, and statewide. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced new covid-19 mitigations, including a return to masks in schools and mandatory vaccinations for some state employees. This comes on the heels of covid numbers spiking across the state. Along those same lines, Codfish Hollow Barnstormers said they would no longer allow people to attend their concerts without proof of vaccination, and would not allow anyone under the age of 12 to attend concerts since they’re not eligible to receive vaccinations. And then on top of... Read More

The economy is in shambles. The world is a mess. Young people feel as if they have little to no hope to achieve the American dream they’ve been promised. And so, for many young people struggling with this realization, escapism is paramount to balancing out their lives and getting them through. Sound familiar? It should, because it certainly describes the world today, particularly for the millenial and Gen Z generations, and, as Circa ’21’s great and gritty musical adaptation of “Saturday Night Fever” displays, there’s a fine line between the blinding dazzle of... Read More

Whenever I watch a zombie movie, I always imagine different ways that I could escape zombies if I ever found myself in that situation. I’m sure you can all relate. C’mon now, admit it. When you’re watching a horror movie, you wonder how you’d do if you were in that situation. Could you get away from that werewolf? Would you make better decisions fleeing from that vampire? Would you decide that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to have sex in the woods with that cute summer camp counselor after all those other campers were found massacred by the guy in the hockey mask? And when... Read More

In the past 24 hours, a review on this site of Countryside Community Theater’s “The Music Man” written by Tristan Tapscott has become embroiled in controversy. So much so that it prompted a guest column from local actor Lou Hare, and my invitation, still open, for any other interested parties to send me rebuttals to Tristan’s review. As always, we look forward to hearing from people and stimulating conversation about the local arts scene, whether the responses are pro or con, particularly in regard to a review, which is an opinion of the writer meant to prompt thought and... Read More

Time is the only thing you can spend once. And today, on Father’s Day, that’s something to definitely remember. Being a father, bringing another life into the world, is an amazing experience and responsibility, and it gives you a blessing in time to spend with a person who will always be a part of your life, and who is beholden to you for helping to shape them as a person. You can literally make the world a better place by making the time and effort to make your children better people. To be there for them. To enjoy your time with them. To be a parent and friend to help guide them through... Read More

When it comes to treating and alleviating shoulder pain, patients are finding Dr. Tuvi Mendel a shoulder to lean on. Dr. Mendel, of Orthopaedic Specialists in Davenport, draws upon his decades of experience treating injuries and performing rehabilitative and reconstructive procedures on the shoulder, ankle and knee. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art procedures and superb care, Dr. Mendel has established an elite track record of success, improving the lives and lifestyles of his patients. Frances Vawter of Clinton, Ia. reflects on her experience with Dr. Mendel. “It was about... Read More

Perspective. Context. They’re two of the greatest gifts you can give yourself throughout your life. Think about the things that seemed so important to you as a teenager. The people you wanted to date. The things you wanted to do. The goals you had, the friends you had. Of all those things, which are still important to you? Do the same thing for your twenties, or thirties, and every decade beyond depending on how old you are. Hell, if you’re a vampire, go back to the 1800s. If you’re one of the Eternals, ask yourself why you were sitting on your ass when Thanos was killing half... Read More

“What is true, and I’m actually being serious here, is that there’s footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are, we can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern. So, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and find out what that is.” Who said that? Was it Giorgio Tsoukalos, the “not sayin’ it was aliens, but it was aliens!” guy? Was it Fox Mulder? Was it Harold and Kumar at 2 a.m.? Well, maybe Harold and Kumar said something similar,... Read More

Watch out Deadpool. Stand back, Wolverine. Get bent, Superman. It’s only a matter of time now. This week, I got my second covid-19 vaccination shot, and as we ALL know from the research we’ve done on the internet, the alien DNA mixed with the Bill Gates microchip and a secret recipe of nine herbs and spices will soon result in me developing mutant superpowers, in order to fight the Nirons, interdimensional aliens who are due to arrive to conquer earth any moment now. What? You didn’t read that website? Or maybe it was just a TikTok? It’s not entirely out of the realm of... Read More

When it comes to singing, most of us are best served in our quest at vocal immortality by forgiving shower walls. Some bar band and karaoke heroes are a rung up, but we also have the advantage of typically serenading the inebriated. Even in the case of some “professional vocalists” the studio trickery of Autotune is what makes them pristine and listenable on record. However, a day may not be too far off when every crooner is perfect. A day when singers are bred, not discovered. No, this isn’t about “American  Idol.”  However, it will likely spawn a reality TV show someday. Recently,... Read More