Opinion
Daily Dirt for Oct. 4, 2021 The best part of waking up in the mornings between April and October is not a cup of Folgers Coffee, it’s knowing that it is baseball season. That will make more sense as you work your way through Vol. 86 of today’s three thoughts. 1. We’re in the first week…
Read Full Article 
Once we hear them, many times it is impossible to forget them. We can love them, and we can hate them. “They” are the commercial jingles that pound our brains — non-stop, it seems — both on television and on the radio.” Jingles are written to be as easy to remember as nursery rhymes —…
Read Full Article 
Weekend Twin Spin: Daily Dirt for Oct. 2-3, 2021A Tom Hanks film festival would be downright awesome Selecting my five favorite Tom Hanks films for Vol. 84 of the Daily Dirt was much more difficult than I expected. That guy has had a quite a career. Here are today’s three thoughts: 1. Hanks was recently voted…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Oct. 1, 2021 There’s a couple of things I need to get off my chest in the first two of three thoughts in Vol. 84 of the Daily Dirt: 1. Hockey should never be referred to as a “major sport.” It’s not. It’s that simple. That’s why the TV ratings are so microscopic. It’s a…
Read Full Article 
My love affair with music dates to the late summer/early fall of 1966. That means I am currently celebrating my 55th anniversary of appreciating the finer points of what it has meant to have enjoyed the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel and hundreds of other groups and individual artists for more than half a…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 29, 2021 Ideally, some day we might hear Touki Toussaint singing “Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga, ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga”. In the meantime, welcome to Vol. 82 of the Daily Dirt: 1. There’s little question the first line of a song can hook you. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most iconic opening lines…
Read Full Article 
As I travel along streets and highways, I see these squares in the middle of the road. They always are the same size. They have nothing to do with filling a crack or a hole. What are these squares? Do they have something to do with aerial photo calibration? Maybe extraterrestrials left them? Jim Frankenhoff,…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 28, 2021 I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of the Eagles, but personal bias will never stand in the way of sharing news. Welcome to Vo. 81 of the Daily Dirt. 1. The Recording Industry Association of America has updated its list of the top-selling albums of all-time.…
Read Full Article 
It’s that time again, to reopen the loveline for the lovelorn. Stevie Love, the real-life Doctor of Love and potentate of passion is here to help. As always, real answers for real issues.Let’s get right to today’s mailbag: Dear Stevie Love,I’m always amazed at how you can cut right to the heart of the matter,…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 27, 2021 Granted, I spend a lot of time watching television. But it comes in hand at times like this — Vol. 80 of the Daily Dirt: 1. Here’s my picks for the most memorable TV characters we have seen in the first couple of decades-plus in the 21st century: Bronze medal:…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 25-26, 2021 My three favorite times of the year are the opening of baseball season, the start of the new television season and anytime the pizza guy arrives at the front door. Vol. 78 of the Daily Dirt begins with the TV part of that statement. Welcome to today’s three thoughts: 1.…
Read Full Article 
Growing pension costs for retired educators and administrators are quickly crowding the classroom out of Illinois budgets. Pension costs are crowding out direct education spending throughout Illinois school districts. In the coming school year, 39% of the money the state allocates to education will be diverted away from teachers and students to meet required pension…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 24, 2021 Vol. 77 of the Daily Dirt is nothing short of a treasure trove of information. Sit back, relax, grab the Froot Loops and enjoy today’s three thoughts: 1. Any day you can learn something is a good day, right? You can thank me later for the following information: A. There is…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 23, 2021 Choosing the proper toilet paper can — and should — be a serious issue. It only takes one purchase of those “four rolls for a dollar” at the neighborhood discount palace to ruin a trip to the bathroom. Vol. 76 of the Daily Dirt begins today’s three thoughts regarding that…
Read Full Article 
Musicians make money from royalties, advances, playing live, selling merchandise and licensing fees for their music.Some just make more than others. A lot more. Here are the richest rock musicians, according to wealthygorilla.com, a website that used figures from sites such as Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth and The Richest to build this top 10. Any surprises…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 22, 2021 Ahh … lunchtime as a school kid. Vol. 75 of the Daily Dirt should rekindle some memories during the first of today’s three thoughts: 1. This is for those whose moms packed their lunches as grade-school kids. How many of these items did you hope to find when you opened…
Read Full Article Daily Dirt for Sept. 21, 2021 A little Mayhem, a little Lily … and a lot of Louie DePalma in Vol. 74 of the Daily Dirt, which, as always, provides you with three thoughts of the day — and all free of charge. Is this a great country or what? 1. I’ve mentioned before how much…
Read Full Article 
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The speakers regarding the proposed changes to the police and fire commissioners’ duties in hiring chiefs for the respective departments were tabled along with the resolution. The Quincy Police and Fire Commission sent new remarks to Muddy River News. JRG We appreciate the opportunity to present our perspective on the proposed ordinance change. …
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 20, 2021 There’s something special about a well-crafted black-and-white movie, be it from the 1940s or last week. The atmosphere, tone and visual concepts available in that format can be equally subtle or breathtaking. Vol. 73 offers Stevie Cinema’s all-time black-and-white faves in today’s three thoughts that could change the world. 1.…
Read Full Article 
It’s been a rough year for sports fans, and I’m not talking about where your favorite teams may be in the standings. I can never remember a year for losing such a large number of iconic sports personalities like we have in 2021. And the calendar still has more than three months remaining. Add the…
Read Full Article Daily Dirt for Sept. 18-19, 2021 We’re going to be missing familiar faces when the 2021-22 TV season unfolds. Here are the biggest losses. Welcome to Vol. 71 of the Daily Dirt. 1. It’s just not going to be the same in another month or so. When I sit back in my favorite recliner, a glass…
Read Full Article Deals get done in many forms and in many places. Lunches … golf … beers … board rooms … back rooms … They don’t get done when little work is done on the front end, and most of the people involved are blindsided. The idea of giving the mayor the sole power to hire the…
Read Full Article Daily Dirt for Sept. 17, 2021 When it comes to songs, one-hit wonders have always fascinated me. How did a particular singer or group manage to put all the pieces together for that one gargantuan smash — and then never be heard from again? Vol. 70 of the Daily Dirt examines some of the best examples…
Read Full Article 
Daily Dirt for Sept. 16, 2021 Imagine turning on your television set and seeing nothing but westerns most nights on every channel. Vol. 69 of the Daily Dirt provides some insight with the first of today’s three thoughts. 1. We love westerns at the Daily Dirt, and spend considerable time thinking and talking about them. Here…
Read Full Article In a recent contribution to Muddy River News. I mentioned such delicacies from around the world as jellied moose nose, Mongolian boodogs and mice wine. The jellied moose nose was pretty much self-explanatory, the boodog specialty involved large rodents and the mice wine was just that (with small bodies at the bottom of the bottle).…
Read Full Article January 21, 2025
DAILY MUDDY: BALD EAGLE DAYS AND PADDLES WITH A PURPOSE
Current Weather
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN