To say it’s been a difficult year for creators in the local, and national, arts scene is a massive understatement. All of us have lost money, jobs, our careers and found our artistic outlets severely curtailed. Any of us within the live performance and audience interaction area — from live music to theater to book signings — have had our livelihoods completely decimated. One local creator, however, Kristin Bruchmann, is looking to help out. She told me recently, “I’ve been quite concerned about the number of folks in the Q-C arts scene who have lost their livelihoods... Read More

It was a surreal Thanksgiving. My ex-wife and I alternate years on holidays, and it’s always strange and depressing for me when I don’t get to see my son on those days, especially when I’m reminded of the fun times we had the year before in the memories section of social media. This year was even more downcast, given the dark cloud of covid. Whereas in previous years when I was without my son, I would go to visit family or friends, or have people over to my house, this year there was none of that. I wasn’t going to be visiting my family, nor would there be my usual open door to people to... Read More

We’re all maps of our experiences, our lives a tapestry of our time spent. Every second, every moment of them. Those reflections of paths taken and choices made, big and small, lead to who we are, in ways big and small. Those decisions can be huge – who we decide to love, to marry, to live with. Or they can be small – the places we frequent, the habits we hold, the culture we imbibe. For more than a decade, Caribou Coffee was a huge part of the mural of my life, and my son’s. And while the closing of a coffee shop may seem small in the larger picture of things, it’s still something. Something... Read More

You’ve all heard the classic tale of the Nativity – Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus as the three wise men follow a star to offer their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But what if… the three wise men were NINJA WIZARDS sent to protect Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus from the evil of King Herod and Satan, who sought to kill the holy family before they made it to Bethlehem? That’s the pulse-pounding premise of THE ARIMATHEAN, a new action- adventure novel from author Sean Leary. The book is an action-packed popcorn tale that’s part “Lord of the Rings,”... Read More

It’s Monday. Yeah. We feel you. And so, every Monday, we give you a music video. A fun, funny music video. Something that’ll make you smile, make you laugh, make you reminisce, and make you realize that back in the day, music video creators were probably either insane or heavily intoxicated. But were also incredibly entertaining. We call this feature, The Video You Deserve, and you can find it every Monday on your site for fun, free entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. And today’s video hearkens back to the decade that was basically ruled by one Eddie Murphy. Because Eddie... Read More

With all of the election stress this week, we could all use some GOOD news, am I right? And every month, we at QuadCities.com, along with our media partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” present What’s The Good News, a look at some of the awesome people and positive news happening around the area! So, what’s the good news for November? Here ya go… Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Series Takes On An Online Educational Tone Quad City Arts has launched its new collection of online educational materials for the 47th-annual Visiting Artist Series that’s designed to help people during... Read More

To celebrate Halloween, I’m dropping multiple columns for your laughs and enjoyment. Hope you all have a happy and safe holiday! Is there a vampire workout video? You hardly ever see any fat vampires. They’re almost invariably beautiful, young (or young-ish) and ripped. Even the evil decrepit old vamps are at least skinny. So, I’m wondering, do vampires only “turn” fit people? Or do people make deals with vamps and tell them, “Hey hey hey… let’s wait a minute here, shall we? Give me six weeks to get into shape, and THEN you can suck out my blood and turn... Read More

To celebrate Halloween, I’m dropping multiple columns for your laughs and enjoyment. Hope you all have a happy and safe holiday! Do ghosts fart? Ever walk into your house after you’ve been away, or walk into a room and notice a strange smell? Of course, once you do, you have to try to find it, to try to get rid of it, because who wants a strange smell in their house? I’ll usually look for some dropped food or something behind or under furniture, and sometimes that’s the case. Some bit of stray potable that tried to escape and sadly discovered its motion was limited to whatever got it... Read More

To celebrate Halloween, I’m dropping multiple columns for your laughs and enjoyment. Hope you all have a happy and safe holiday! Are there Vampire businesses that are open all night? There are a lot of other businesses that amaze me with their tenacity to stay around. I never see anyone there. There are never any cars outside. They don’t advertise. They don’t seem to be particularly viable. Yet there they are, steadfast, inexplicable. Can these places be potential tax write offs or money laundering enterprises? Or do they have a set of clienteles that I’m not privy to, since... Read More

To celebrate Halloween, I’m dropping multiple columns for your laughs and enjoyment. Hope you all have a happy and safe holiday! It’s Halloween weekend, and along with the tricks and treats, and little goblins and ghouls, there are other things that haunt me. Questions. Queries. Imaginings. Like bumps in the night, especially if they’re really freaking loud, these things keep me awake. And so, in the spirit of Halloween, I’m dropping a handful of columns this weekend like bite-sized candies. And our first very important question to be answered is… Can zombies swim? Whenever... Read More