Arriving in the midst of a franchise extender almost shockingly bereft of weirdness, one scene in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness did manage to completely surprise and tickle me.

Almost every weekday since the beginning of February, the Richard Irvin campaign has sent at least one press release to reporters about a host of issues, from crime to taxes to corruption to former House Speaker Michael Madigan to, well, you name it. Last week, however, the Irvin campaign was conspicuously silent for 24 hours.

I love the band Wombat. Iowa City’s most ferocious young free-improvisational trio brings the noise once again with Tapas de Wombat, an EP-length selection of shorter, more diverse tracks when compared to 2021’s great full-length Befriend the Giant.

In the Iowa Primary, there are five Democratic candidates for Scott County Board of Supervisors vying for three positions on the November 8 General Election ballot: Karl Drapeaux, Brinson Kinzer (incumbent), Joseph C. Miller, Jazmin Newton, and Dawson Shea VanWinkle. There are four Republican candidates for Scott County Board of Supervisor vying for three spots on the General Election ballot: Jean Dickson, Jennifer McAndrew Lane, John Maxwell (incumbent), and Ross Paustian. All candidates were provided the following questionnaire.

Visitors to Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center can learn all about the birds and the bees – and the butterflies, and the moths – in the venue's latest Pollinators' Palooza, a May 14 event dedicated to nature's springtime pollinators that will boast presentations, a film screening, and arts and crafts for children.

A gifted musician and noted author discusses her music career and beloved bestseller Crying in H Mart: A Memoir when the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries present An Evening with Michelle Zauner, a virtual May 18 program that allows participants an audience with the talented writer and Grammy-nominated singer/guitarist who creates blazing indie pop under the name Japanese Breakfast.

A trio of varied artistic mediums by a quartet of gifted Midwestern artists will be decorating the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through the fourth of July, with travelers and art lovers alike to delight in the sumi-e paintings of North Liberty, Iowa's Karen Kurka Jensen, the acrylic sculptural paintings of Chicago artist Sally Havlis, and the glass art vessels of Staunton, Illinois' father-and-son team James and Phillip Bruch Scheller.

On May 17, patrons of the Davenport Library's Eastern Avenue Branch are invited to meet the victorious general whose strategy and tenacity won the Civil War, the president who struggled to rebuild his country after the war, and the husband and father whose final efforts were devoted to the financial support of his wife and family when Peter Grady delivers an informative, humorous, and touching portrayal in his solo program Unconditional Surrender: A Visit with Ulysses S. Grant.