Keeping it real

Albatross! Get your albatross!

Has this ever happened to you? Having set up this blog a couple of years ago, I feel like I need to feed it occasionally ... But in the meantime, all the social networking I'm doing with the Che Underground blog, Facebook, Twitter, et al. -- not to mention my day job at TheLadders, where we're currently figuring out our blogging play -- has me everywhere else on the Web but here.

And while I don't suffer from introversion or a lack of ego, there's just so much truly personal detail I want to commit to the unpredictable currents of the Web.

I'm comfortable treating this blog as a beacon for old friends looking for me online and as a spot for the occasional G-rated family bulletin, akin to those newsletters people used to mail around to their friends ("Nussbaum Family News: All's well at our house ... Richard broke an arm, and little Melanie won a star for her finger painting. Oh, and Darlene and I have agreed to see other people. Happy holidays!")

Anybody else wondering exactly what to do with their personal blogs as other social-networking options proliferate? I'd like to hear suggestions!

PS: Everybody here is in fact doing wonderfully. Nancy is selling a gratifying amount of art in this down economy (and blogging admirably!); the kids are rockin' at school, and the veterinary bills have been surprisingly modest. Here's to 2009!

Happy post-Halloween!

Between Che Underground, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn -- oh, yeah, and real life! -- this blog has been growing a bit weedy.

I started my very cool new job at TheLadders at the beginning of September ... Sadie and Lily entered 10th and 6th grades, respectively ... Nancy has been arting it up furiously ... And we've been engaged in the usual run of family holiday fun, most notably our elaborate preparations for Halloween.

Our front yard is the scariest on the block, and Sadie and Lily outdid themselves as Rorschach from the "Watchmen" graphic novel and one of a pair of cupcakes. Lily is the one on the right in this photo from yesterday's Halloween party in Maplewood Village.

Wired love for Che Underground!

When old friends and I started the Che Underground blog February 16 (my 43rd birthday), we didn't know how successful we'd be at reassembling the sights, sounds and sociology of the early-'80s San Diego music scene it covers.

So far, it's exceeded my fondest hopes -- and today we got some very welcome recognition from Wired.com. Music editor Eliot Van Buskirk did a terrific piece on our scene and our site, including a lovely sidebar showing some of the participants before and after.

"'We were ignored by the media and harassed by the powers that be, hated by the San Diego Police Department and still the shows went on, the zines were printed and distributed -- all pre-internet and pre-home computer,' said Toby 'Lifehater' Gibson via e-mail. 'Most kids today have no clue how much work that was back in the day, making the stuff by hand, advertising however you could and distributing on foot.'"

A magical summer

Here's a quick update from the Smoky Mountains, where we've rented a cabin for a week to wind up an amazing summer.

I've had lots of consulting work to keep me busy, but it's also afforded me the flexibility to explore New York, catch up with folks, take a couple of trips, hang out with Nancy, get our house ship-shape and generally tie up all loose ends.

We vacationed in Michigan and Tennessee, the kids had their two weeks at camp, we hosted a passel of Nancy's siblings and took in a Yankees game, I've worked on the Che Underground blog, we bought a conure, we visited a movie set (courtesy of Joe Drago) so Lily could meet Andy Garcia, we rode a tour bus around lower Manhattan (twice!), Nancy rented a new studio, I got to hang out with the peeps back at the CNET/Ziff Davis Media/Ziff Davis Enterprise offices, we learned all about fine vegan dining ... It's been spectacular!

Tuesday, Sept. 2, I start a great new job as content director for TheLadders, the No. One recruiting site for six-figure salaries. They're great folks with a rockin' office in SoHo, and I think we'll make magic together. A perfect coda to a fantastic summer.

Crazy-busy family fun

We're having family fun, but crazy-busy. On Friday our family and niece Katie drove our camper-trailer the 800 miles back from our annual gathering near Muskegon, Michigan, with Nancy's kin ... Got in around 1am Saturday ... On Sunday evening, a contingent of those Michigan/Arizona relatives arrived at our house back here in Jersey ... Four a.m. Monday, I got up to take the kids to Montclair to embark on their two weeks of camp ... Nancy's brother Dave arrived at noon at Newark airport to join the rest of the away team ... Then we all caught a train into the city ... Took my first-ever bus tour around Manhattan, then took in my first-ever baseball game at Yankee Stadium ... Got home around 1am ... Everybody but Dave took off this morning to drive back to Michigan ... Dave and Nancy and I had a lovely walk around Central Park and dinner at Vynl on 84th & Columbus. Now home -- whew! Time to get back to work so I can get some rest! :-)

Bringing it all back home

After more than 20 years away from the town, the Che Underground site I started in February is reconnecting me with my San Diego roots. Check out this article in the San Diego Reader. Time to think about a reunion show!

Parrot Anniversary

Nancy and I decided that 17 years of marriage marks the Parrot Anniversary and bought ourselves a sun conure. Bozzie is a very entertaining critter who might be the smartest thing in the house; she's certainly got us well-trained! She's incredibly interactive, very loud, very messy and entirely endearing.

Besides Bozzie, our current livestock quota comprises one dog, one cat, two rats, one guinea pig, one hamster and a Siamese fighting fish; keeping some of the pets from eating the rest is a logistical challenge everyone welcomes.

My one regret is the matching conure we had to leave behind. (If anybody's interested, tell the PetCo at Essex Green Mall in West Orange, NJ, that I sent you.)