The economic validity of culture-led regeneration has been at the heart of a polemical debate in recent years, especially in Europe, where municipal authorities in cities such as London, Bilbao, Rotterdam and Dublin have invested in their cultural infrastructure to drive urban regeneration. American cities, too, are seeing the benefits of branding themselves as creative centers: We need only to look at the fact that it’s an art museum that has become Milwaukee’s defining landmark . . .

In 2006 Harley-Davidson delivered the kind of strapping spectacle only Milwaukee’s motor company could muster: It broke ground on the site of its new museum using a sportster motor bike mounted by a track-racing champion. That knack for flair culminates on July 12, when the finished museum opens its doors to the public in time for Harley’s 105th anniversary bash in August.

We’re all familiar with the agonizing scenario: the family dining table that serves as a battleground; the television set (and, increasingly, the Internet) that serves as a palliative and the drugs, alcohol or infidelity that serve as emotional props. American popular culture and literature is resplendent with memorably dysfunctional families, whether it’s through the writings of Eugene O’Neill and Raymond Carver or animated TV hits like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.” The success of shows like “The Osbournes” reveals the delight that viewers take in seeing other people’s dirty laundry aired in public.

"Are you angry or are you boring?" asks one of the pieces included in the new “Gilbert & George” exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM). The idea that nothing worthwhile exists outside these two states might explain why the work of the artistic duo has become progressively larger and louder over time, often resorting to such malodorous mediums as feces, sperm and spit. Is this preponderance of bodily fluids meant as an avowal of the artists' own mortality or simply a desperate attempt to counter the stultifying effects of old age and withered rebellion? The answer, like the meaning of their work, remains elusive . . .

Those of you who were courageous enough to attend the Locust Street Festival on a stormy June 8 had your hardiness rewarded with a performance by The Trusty Knife, a local band whose eclectic sound betrays a clear affinity for ’70s-inspired rock ’n’ roll with a somewhat glammy edge. When he’s not strumming . . .

When Brady Street resident Frank Alioto became a fireman 25 years ago, he fulfilled his boyhood dream. When he published his first book earlier this year, he realized one of his greatest adult aspirations: to chronicle the history of his neighborhood. Milwaukee’s Brady Street Neighborhood, published as part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series, is an engaging visual survey of the area and its people from the mid-19th century through today. It also serves as an excellent primer to the changing face of Brady Street.

The fact that restaurant serving sizes have grown dramatically in the last few decades is no secret; it’s as plain to see as the nation’s expanding waistline. Yet despite the steady chastisement from doctors, dietitians and documentarians, the American public doesn’t seem quite ready to relinquish its grasp on the momentously overladen dining plate.

If there’s a single tenacious thread uniting both sides of the political spectrum, it’s the use of populist rhetoric to lather the American public into a foaming frenzy. The medium of choice might be civil liberties, health-care costs or loudly disseminated threats to national security, but the agenda is usually the same . . .

Whether you trace its roots to the opulent courts of the Sun King or the corseted interiors of Victorian England, there’s no doubt tea-drinking ought to be rated among mankind’s most pleasant pursuits. The tearoom that sits above George Watts & Son’s china and crystal shop, with its unhurried atmosphere...

“To hyphenate or not to hyphenate” is a question that sometimes perplexes even the most seasoned writer or editor. What’s more, the use of hyphens to express a dual identity has been a source of contention for nearly a century. Those who oppose hyphenated ethnic terms, whether Latin-American . . .