http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/articles.sec-11-1-off-the-cuff.html DJ Madhatter (aka Jordan Lee) is part of the WAMI award-winning hip-hop group Rusty Ps. If he’s not scratching tunes at joints like Jackalope Lounj, The Jazz Estate or Stonefly Brewery, he’s teaching turntablism at the prestigious Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in two-week workshops. ]]> Peace advocate, poet and former educator and nurse Amy Stonemark is quick to draw a distinction between liberals and radicals, and counts herself among the latter. Stonemark has a long history of peaceful protest, marching for civil rights with Martin Luther King in Selma, Ala., and once had the rap sheet to prove it. ]]> One of Milwaukee’s own is coming home to perform. Catey Ott, dancing since the age of 4, honed her artistic skills in the rehearsal studios and classrooms of UW-Milwaukee’s Dance Department, where she received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She currently serves as artistic director of the... ]]> After years of touring the comedy circuit and being a featured member of “MADtv,” Frank Caliendo is star ring in his own successful TBS series, “Frank TV.” The show’s second season is set to air in October. Caliendo is the driving-force of the program, which features filmed comedy sketches combined with stand-up pieces before a live audience.]]> Around 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month, the Sugar Maple, 441 E. Lincoln Ave., plays host to the local chapter of Drinking Liberally. Jason Haas, head liberal, kindly provides details. ]]> Fair, patient and reliable: monikers not routinely attached to politicians. In fact 7th District Alderman Willie C. Wade doesn't refer to himself using that "P" word. "An elected official" is more fitting. Wade was first elected in a special election in April 2003. He supported an ordinance in 2004 establishing a city youth council and has been vocal on issues like living arrangements for sexually violent persons, day care and liquor store zoning and the Safe Routes to School Program. He goes door-to-door, ]]> For years, when students graduated from film school, true north seemed to lie west, in Los Angeles. The digital age, however, has freed filmmakers from relying on any one city to make their projects come alive. A group of UW-Milwaukee film school graduates pooled their resources and made their first feature film right here in Wisconsin. ]]> In April this year, just months after her new anthology Milwaukee Does Strange Things to People was published, Susan Firer began her two-year term as Milwaukee’s fifth poet laureate, an office initiated by the Friends of Milwaukee Public Library and previously bestowed upon local poetic luminaries John Koethe... ]]> The wooden racks cradle a stellar selection of wines that even the most particular purists will cherish, but the demeanor of Dee’s Wine Stop reflects the ease and charm of its Bay View neighborhood. Deanne Wecker opened her wine store at 2327 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. ]]> Denna Haslett is not your average aerobics instructor. In fact, she makes it her business to kick typical to the curb. At Just Classes, Haslett’s new fitness studio in Wauwatosa, she hopes that others will also buck the typical idea of what a “fit” person should look like. Haslett says she wants people to embrace their...]]> Milwaukee native Vince Gallo grew up on the East Side, where he graduated from Shorewood High School.Now semi-retired and recuperating from surgery, this self-taught artist focuses on what has been his hobby for 25 years: wood-burning. Gallo says he envisions teaching wood-burning at an educational center...]]> In March, Milwaukee made its mark on the international world of Irish dance competition when two students from the Milwaukee area competed in the 38th annual World Irish Dancing Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Maggie Dunn, 19, of Whitefish Bay and 15-year-old Riley Seiler from Greenfield...]]> Planning a wedding? Need answers for all your nuptial questions? Monica Rae Gill can help. As owner of The White Box of Wedding Design, Gill provides prospective brides, bridesmaids and mothers-of-the-brides with resources on how to design the perfect wedding and offers advice on wedding etiquette, budgets and...]]> Lisa and Swee Sim have been involved in the green movement for the past 25 years. Lisa, a native of Milwaukee, is a culinary artist by trade, while Swee, originally from Singapore, is a former Wall Street financial consultant. The Sims’ passion for social issues, Earth-friendly products and healthy lifestyles led them to open the environmentally responsible store Future Green in 2003. Since then, Future Green has been making a positive impact in the Milwaukee area through its community classes, fair trade expos, bio-diesel production and beautiful art crawls. ]]> 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. ]]> One by one, the three sails of the historic Denis Sullivan are released to begin a sunset cruise for Capt. Hugh Covert and his six-man crew. This Great Lakes schooner, which resides in port at Discovery World from May through October, is both home and work for Capt. Covert, who was named senior captain in 2007.]]> Before Jason Rae begins his senior year as a history and political science major at Marquette University in the fall, he’ll be heading to Denver for the 45th Democratic National Convention. As the youngest superdelegate in the country, he will be one of 793 individuals who could decide the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.]]>