Movies & TV - May 17, 2013
TV loyalty
I watched the series finale of "The Office" last night, but before I did, I had to blow through the previous five episodes gathering dust on my DVR. In the end, it was worth the night of marathon television, but when I think about the entire final season of "30 Rock," also unwatched on my DVR, I wonder when I'll get around to it.

Marketplace - May 15, 2013
Downtown's "secret" clothing shop sells high-end fashion at rock-bottom prices
Hidden in plain sight is a clothing store you have to see to believe. Frieschskys, 788 N. Jefferson St., isn't actually that special to look at. But when you step out of the elevator on the seventh floor of the nondescript office building, it doesn't take long to realize that something special does await you.

Sports - May 13, 2013
The nicest Brewers of all-time
Plenty is written about baseball's jerks. I've even met some of them. But rarely do people talk about how nice some players are. They may not have been the best players, but if personality counts (which it doesn't), they'd be in the Hall of Fame.

Movies & TV - May 9, 2013
Milwaukee Talks: WISN-12 anchor and reporter Shelby Croft
Shelby Croft was following the playbook for most television reporters. She jumped from market to market, position to position, ultimately serving as a main anchor in Salt Lake. But Croft knew there was something more in life than market size. She moved to Milwaukee to get closer to home. She got married, had a daughter ... then got divorced. A single mom with a high-profile job, Croft's story is an interesting one.

Milwaukee Buzz - May 3, 2013
Thoughts on the sudden death of a friend
Last night at about 3 a.m., I woke up to go to the bathroom. I used my phone to light my way, so as soon as my eyes adjusted, I noticed that my mom had sent me a death notice. My friend and neurosurgeon, Dr. Spencer Block - the guy who did my back surgery in 2011 - had died yesterday at age 51.

Sports - May 3, 2013
Why boo your own guys?
The Brewers should've won the game Wednesday, but John Axford blew a two-run lead in the eighth inning. Sitting close to the field, it was the first time I'd seen and heard the vitriol from fans around me. They booed him. A lot.

Music - April 29, 2013
Are you Milwaukee's next rock star?
It's pretty thrilling to get on stage in front of a live band, facing a cheering audience, putting your personal spin on beloved cover tunes. The idea that you could win $1,000, studio recording time and a gig at Red Rock Saloon is practically gravy, right? The Red Rockstar II competition runs for four weeks in May, kicking off this Wednesday.

Marketplace - April 24, 2013
Perfection: The 2013 Jaguar XJ
If I was a less verbose writer, I could sum up the 2013 Jaguar XJ in one word: perfection. But that wouldn't make for much of a review, and after a month with the XJ that Fields Jaguar in Waukesha loaned me, I have so much more to say. I'll start with this: if you're the kind of person who can afford to spend $73,000 on a car, and you require something with four seats, this is the car you should buy. Run, don't walk, to Fields Jaguar and buy it. Now.

Living - April 24, 2013
You can help cure cancer
This spring, the American Cancer Society is kicking off a massive project to sign up, track and study 300,000 adults for decades, in hopes of curing various types of cancer. It's not the first time the society has undertaken this. Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3) follows CPS-1 and CPS-2, and the results of the first two programs served to advance cancer knowledge and treatment by leaps and bounds. The Milwaukee goal for CPS-3 is 2,000 people.

Arts & Entertainment - April 21, 2013
Zoinks! Scooby Doo springs to life
It's great when a pop culture show can stay relevant long enough to be enjoyed as a kid, then enjoyed again through your kid's eyes decades later. Because Scooby Doo was around before I was born, and my daughter's finally at the age to watch the campy mystery cartoon, too, I not only didn't mind sitting through Sunday's performance of Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries at the Milwaukee Theatre - I enjoyed it almost as much as she did.

Marketplace - April 16, 2013
Local inventor uses Kickstarter to fuel solar charger business
Joshua Zimmerman isn't a full-time inventor, but that's about to change. The 30-year-old middle school science teacher has raised almost $100,000 on Kickstarter project, the "Folding USB Solar Cell." With 15 days left, the Milwaukee history buff has well surpassed his $5,000 goal to build an inexpensive, easy-to-use, practical, every-day solar USB system.

Living - April 15, 2013
Tragic. Maddening. Crushing. Inexplicable.
I'm probably not the only person out there with an uncomfortable sense of deja vu right now. The city is different, and so is the death toll, but the last time I sat up when I should be sleeping, glued to CNN listening to reporters saying the same thing over looped video tape, it was Sept. 11, 2001.

Living - April 15, 2013
Trenni Kusnierek reflects on Boston explosions from blast's epicenter
Trenni Kusnierek, a former Milwaukee TV and radio sports reporter and host, now calls Boston her home. This afternoon, she stood where both explosions rocked the Boston marathon, but just minutes before.

Marketplace - April 10, 2013
A sign of life for Grand Avenue?
I've said this before, but I like the Grand Avenue Mall. It's an easy lunch destination for Downtown workers, and it still has a lot of unrealized potential. It saddens me that most have written it off for dead, and I wish the City or the owners would provide a serious incentive for a few major anchor stores to come and stay for a while.

Arts & Entertainment - April 4, 2013
Aisha Tyler talks "Archer" in Milwaukee and more
I'm super excited for Saturday's "Archer Live," the in-person incarnation of the hit FX show that blows me away every week. I'll just throw it out there: "Archer," the animated spy comedy is not only the funniest show on TV now, but it ranks among the funniest shows of all time. Filthy, witty and beautifully drawn, it packs an amazing amount of comedy into every episode. In advance of the show, I spoke to Aisha Tyler (Lana Kane) by phone.

Music - April 4, 2013
Milwaukee Talks: FM 102.1 music director Michelle Rutkowski
Michelle Rutkowski is the person you can thank (or blame) for the music you hear on FM 102.1. As music director, she's constantly scouting out new music and working with record labels to pick the station's lineup. And, because FM102.1 isn't affiliated with other alternative stations around the country, Rutkowski selects songs tailored for Milwaukee listeners. But Rutkowski is also a mid-day DJ. We caught up with her in this latest Milwaukee Talks.

Travel & Visitors Guide - March 28, 2013
Rebirth and redemption, Vegas style
OnMilwaukee.com Publisher Andy Tarnoff has stopped counting how many times he's been to Las Vegas. He certainly didn't go this March expecting any huge surprises. As usual, he was wrong. He came to this realization as he sat in a comfy, leather chair, with an IV attached to his wrist and oxygen tubes in his nose. Before you panic, that experience was actually planned, but more on that later.

Living - March 26, 2013
Look out soccer moms, the Volvo XC60 is coming through
I have a soft spot for Swedish cars, having owned two Saabs and one Volvo. And Volvo is even more near and dear to me: I learned to drive on my parents' 1987 Volvo 740. So I was open-minded when it came to evaluate the latest car that Fields Auto Group lent me to review, the 2013 Volvo XC60. I've always been just a little curious about this car, but I passed it up when buying our 2011 BMW X3.

Living - March 25, 2013
Why do we live here?
That's not a rhetorical question. There are many, many, many reasons why I love Milwaukee, and why I started OnMilwaukee.com in 1998. But it's the end of March, and the temperature is hovering around freezing. I'm seriously wondering why we live here.

Travel & Visitors Guide - March 18, 2013
"Working" media, Arizona style
It's hard to call this spring training trip work. It definitely is, because as I do every year, I strive to take our readers along for the ride. Inevitably, when I tell people I come to Arizona, they always say, with a glint in their eyes, "I've always wanted to do that!" And I always tell them that they should.