I want to give kudos to Rein Razer. In our story earlier this week on QuadCities.com on her upcoming burlesque show, Rein Razer’s Court of Royalty, coming to Village Theater tonight, she said the following:   “I got the idea from how the Speakeasy was doing their booking for shows.”   Seems simple, right? Just actually acknowledging that you got the idea for something from someone else on the local arts scene. But you’d be surprised at how little this is done. More often, much more often, people have an incredible selective amnesia about things others in the scene... Read More

Ah… National Siblings Day. The day that comes once a year when brothers and sisters all over put aside their differences and acknowledge each other through thoughts, words and pictures. Mothers and Fathers have had their days of recognition for a long time. So why not round out the appreciation holidays by including those individuals who shared so many childhood memories with you? National Siblings Day was founded by native New Yorker Claudia Evart in 1995, to honor and celebrate siblings.  After losing her two siblings early in life in separate accidents, she knew how important siblings could... Read More

Are you ready to party like it’s 1999?! Reminiscent of the Y2K scare almost 20 years ago, the U.S. global position system (GPS) satellites will be encountering a ‘week number rollover’ this Saturday Apr 6. This rollover will set back the current GPS systems to 1999, which could be cause for some interesting issues. When we think of GPS, the handy little cell phone application that helps us get wherever we need to go, might be the first thing that comes to mind. However, GPS signals play a much larger part in our everyday lives that we don’t even notice.  GPS signals are utilized in almost... Read More

When we think about St. Patrick’s Day, we imagine parades, corned beef and cabbage, clovers and of course- GREEN BEER! But what is the real story behind this fun-filled holiday? First fun fact? St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish. He was born in Roman Britain sometime in the 5th century (the actual date has been greatly disputed). His given name at birth was Maewyn Succat. At age 16, Irish pirates invaded his family’s home. Maewyn was kidnapped, taken to Ireland and enslaved. Those green beers are already sounding more refreshing, right? The young man that is now known as St. Patrick eventually... Read More

As you were scrolling through your phones or computers yesterday, you may have noticed it was International Women’s Day. I personally have been a woman for quite some time now and was completely unaware of this magnificent opportunity to celebrate my existence, until now. Anyone else? I was even more shocked to find out that the day of observance was initially organized in New York back in 1909. What?! It turns out the earliest Women’s Day observance, called “National Woman’s Day,” was held on February 28, 1909, in New York, organized by the Socialist Party of America... Read More

Are you done with winter? Are these long, dark and unnecessarily cold days giving you the Winter Blues? Well, have no fear. There is light at the end of the tunnel! Both figuratively and literally. You don’t need a doctor or scientist to tell you it can be hard to keep your spirits up after months of being stuck indoors, due to snow and cold temperatures. Even if you are an outdoorsy winter person, the shortened days and lack of sunshine can still have an impact on your psyche. By this time of the year, the number of Midwesterners who don’t want warmer days are definitely dwindling day by day.... Read More

Eccentric founding father Benjamin Franklin once wrote in a letter from 1789, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” This quote has been referred to repeatedly for the past 230 years. And while it may ring true to most, there have probably been just as many undiscovered tax evasion cases as references to his famous words. Still haven’t heard of any eventual death evasions, even though the jury is still out on Walt Disney. The morbid reality we all live with every day, is that our physical existence here is temporary. We know this. While I’m sure the number... Read More

We hear the concerns all the time, “social media is ruining the world,” “children no longer interact face-to-face thanks to social media,” and the latest one, which can simply be referred to as the “Momo Challenge”. Merriam-Webster’s definition of ‘social media’ explains it plainly as, “forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content.” While some may think social media is a new concept, with applications such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Whatsapp and Twitter taking... Read More

Whether from a childhood mentor, a speech at the Oscars, or that poster hanging in the office collecting dust, one phrase is repeated to us over and over throughout our lives – “Follow Your Dreams”.  But what exactly does that mean? Does it mean that if you are reading this while sitting at a job you don’t enjoy or looking around at the laundry and dishes piling high that you aren’t following your dreams? Because seriously, who dreams about waking up and dedicating their time and energy to things that they don’t feel any type of self-gratification from? Most dreams and goals, at the... Read More

The great Maya Angelou once said, “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” The QC Diversity Book Drive is collecting books for grades K-6 with a focus on strong women and girls, people of color, LGBT individuals, and a wide variety of people to reflect our diverse community. Subjects include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields, women’s history, environmental education, inclusiveness, and more. They are collecting books throughout the month of April to be distributed to students at Monroe Elementary... Read More