Matthew Rothenberg

School daze

2011-05-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

I'm spending half of Saturday in the Douglass campus cafeteria at Rutgers while my kid takes tests preparatory to beginning her college career this fall at Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Cooling my heels here is a chance to reflect on two things: the welter of social media I need to update (this blog is the most neglected patch of my online turf, behind my CBS MoneyWatch blog, Che Underground blog, Sceneroller, Facebook, LinkedIn, about six Twitter feeds and all the social media we're warming up at TheLadders) and the excitement I feel about my daughter's college trajectory.

Like many friends my age, I kind of backed into college -- and even more than most, I hurried through it with no particular idea of what I wanted to do when I got out the other side. My alma mater of UCSD is a top-notch school, and staying in San Diego occasioned the wonderful adventures documented in Che Underground. But I have a great deal of respect for the career focus my kid has demonstrated and much more regard than I ever did for the process of applying to a variety of schools, making decisions and possibly facing rejection. (I'm proud that she was accepted into every program for which she applied, but that reflects in a large part the specificity of her career goals. Few of us had such clear ones at her age!)

It's risky to live vicariously through your kids, and I wouldn't trade my choices considering the joys I've experienced as a result. But it's an awful lot of fun to watch mine make their own choices and see those choices rewarded with success.

Plus, the salad bar here is fabulous!

I'm in the Times (not)

2011-01-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

Mazel tov to The Other Matthew Rothenberg for a story in today's New York Times that features a fetching photo and his views from high atop the Flickr digital-photo empire.

As my own social graph will tell you, the presence of two high-tech Matthew Rothenbergs has caused a bit of confusion at times and reminds me of the inconclusive negotiations my father had back in the dear, dead analog days of the early '60s with The Other Jerome Rothenberg, an architect who also happened to write poetry on the side.

And while my wife Nancy Tobin remains at No. 1 in the Google sweepstakes, she's in a similar pickle: For some reason, art attracts Nancy Tobins like poetry attracts Jerome Rothenbergs and Internet technology, Matthew Rothenbergs. She vies with a sculptor, a photo researcher, and a sound artist.

I've suggested to Nancy that they all team up and do a big "Nancy Tobin" show. In the same vein, my doppelgänger suggests "we go in 50/50 on something like whichmatthewrothenbergdoyouwant.com , put a line down the center, our clickable faces and bios on opposite sides of the page, and then pile on the google juice till it becomes the number one search result for our name. We'd be providing a valuable service to the world! (Well, the very small yet incredibly savvy portion of the world who is looking for a Matthew Rothenberg)."

I'm in ... There can never be too many Matthew Rothenbergs!

Remembering Robert Hess

2011-01-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

It's a bit of a shock to realize that Jan. 12 will mark the 15th anniversary of the passing of our friend and MacWEEK colleague Robert Hess, whose 29-year stint on the globe ironically ended while the rest of us were covering Macworld Expo San Francisco 1996. (Robert's love for the show and its attendant revelry inspired Ilene Hoffman to maintain the Hess Memorial party list for many years after.)

I still cherish the T-shirt from our Mac Black party I kept when Stephen Howard-Sarin and I cleaned out his office that weekend; I wish we could stage another Mac the Knife party at Bondage-a-Go-Go or some other sort of bacchanalia to remember our witty, resourceful and brave friend.

Trying out my new MacBook ...

2010-12-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

I'm taking my blog for a spin on my brand-new Mac laptop, thanks to my amazing spouse, Nancy Tobin. Nancy is as nice and thoughtful as she is talented, which is kind of incredible on both counts. I'm absurdly lucky — and this machine is fabulous!

Matthew Rothenberg: Guy on the home page

2010-12-07T14:47:00.001-08:00

The book tour I did with TheLadders CEO Marc Cenedella to support "You're Better Than Your Job Search," a mess of media interviews and my recent appearance as spokesmodel on TheLadders home page has given me a certain status as company mascot.

At a recent dinner we had in honor of Diwali, some of the newer employees were referring to me as "the guy on the home page." I feel a little like the fellow who brandishes his pants on the Subway advertisements! (Seriously, it's been a lot of fun and a very good chance to improve my media chops. I'm also considering buying some nubby ties.)

More Matthew Rothenberg!

2010-10-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

That was funny: I actually did get mistaken for the other Matthew Rothenberg while on the road to promote "You're Better Than Your Job Search" with Marc Cenedella.

The last night of our tour, in Chicago, our host at the bookstore introduced Marc as CEO of TheLadders — then began to read off my bona fides as social technologist for Flickr! I stopped her and cleared up the confusion.

It was actually a great object lesson in our career guidance to Google yourself, the better to be ready for any identity UFOs.

Rothenberg vs. Rothenberg!

2010-02-25T04:33:00.000-08:00

Why did another Rothenberg family have to name their son "Matthew," and why, oh why did this younger, slimmer model have to grow up to to become a social-media specialist?

I'm no slacker on the Web, and (I'm afraid) I do have a few years on my counterpart — but he's undeniably doing a better job of cultivating his personal online findability.

In fact, this blog is my accidental beachhead when it comes to keeping the mid-'60s model of "Matthew Rothenberg" near the top of Google ... While I'm putting a lot more care and feeding into my day job at TheLadders, my Facebook profile and the Che Underground blog, this little online homing beacon just keeps glowing despite my benign neglect.

So until I can induce the other Matthew Rothenberg to change his name to "Martin" or get a job building furniture or herding caribou somewhere remote and offline, here's a good spot to find me!

Keeping it real

2009-01-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-17T06:14:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

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.)

My father's blog

2008-06-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

When my folks were in town last weekend (thankfully, before the big blackout that knocked us offline for a few days) I helped my dad set up a blog here.

Here's the thesis: “In this age of internet and blog the possibility opens of a free circulation of works (poems and poetics in the present instance) outside of any commercial or academic nexus. I will therefore be posting work of my own, both new & old, that may otherwise be difficult or impossible to access, and I will also, as it comes to me, post work by others in the manner of a freewheeling on-line anthology or magazine. I take this to be in the tradition of autonomous publication by poets, going back to Blake and Whitman and Dickinson, among numerous others.”

King of New York

2008-05-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

I've been even worse about keeping this blog going lately -- but between putting energy into the Che Underground online history project, getting into the groove for summer fun and interacting with just about everybody in New York media, something's got to give!

I'm basically having the most fun I've had since we moved here in '01. I'm doing cool work for BNET as well as a few other companies looking for a little advice, and I'm catching up with people I enjoy all over town. Friday I was at the BBC getting T-shirts with fun Britishisms, then off to the offices at 57th and 10th as part of a little CBS-CNET meet-and-greet. We got to walk carefully around "The Guiding Light" set, and then I spun around in Katie Couric's chair! (Not true about the spinning, but the looking was very cool.)

New vistas!

2008-05-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

It's been an exciting week for me, job-wise: I've moved on from my berth at Hachette Filipacchi and am currently working on the editorial and business strategy for lifestyles coverage on BNET, CNET's business channel. I've used the opportunity to polish up my Web presence, extend my Facebook circle -- oh, and repost my resume right here. Please keep in touch -- this summer is going to be a blast, and I want to share it!

Nancy's paperwork

2008-04-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

We're even busier than usual, for an exciting reason: Nancy was awarded a fellowship in printing and paper-making down at Rutgers, a big honor that's got her commuting to New Brunswick, NJ. That means, we're a two-commute family for two weeks -- a situation that became more complicated today when Lily had to stay home sick. It definitely gives us an appreciation for the kind of gymnastics many of our neighbors go through every day!

Bringing it all back home

2008-03-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

I've been even less active than usual on this blog but busier than usual blogging: My preliminary efforts to chart my personal history in San Diego music have now merged with a larger campaign to salvage and restore some highlights from the slammin' little music scene I had the good fortune to join in the early 1980s.

The first result is this Che Underground blog, named in honor of UCSD's now-venerable Che Cafe (site of some of our finest musical moments). Songs, pictures and stories of the fabulous Answers, Hair Theatre, Noise 292, Rockin' Dogs and Wallflowers, to name a few!

Another art star

2008-02-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sadie makes her ELLEgirl debut! I like as many working artists as possible in the house ... And now that Lily's up to seven dance classes a week, I'm counting on residuals.

Wendell and me

2008-02-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

The power of Google: Ace photographer Harold Gee posted this picture of me and Noise 292 percussionist Wendell Kling rocking the acoustic at Presidio Park back in 1984. I must reconnect with the most excellent Mr. Gee ...

Update: I coincidentally unearthed a 1991 memoir I wrote about that summer that includes mention of Harold and the circumstances of this photo. "Our stretch of Presidio Park was @ the foot of a five-sided tower on a hillside, w/a pretty good view of downtown & the Navy docks; [Hair Theatre vocalist] Sergio & I entertained a pack of skinheaded youngsters there one night w/Donovan & Creedence & Dylan numbers, & there were usually four or five guitars & maybe a harmonica floating around the crowd. Harold Gee, another older guy, an eternal local photographer & jeweler & writer, showed up w/Chris Negro a couple of times & added his trumpet to the Presidio mix. "

My San Diego gigs

2008-02-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

More library science: I've used my own stash of fliers to assemble a preliminary list of the shows I played in the mid-'80s. I know this isn't exhaustive: All reminiscences and addenda welcome!

Noise 292

1983
May 26: Ché Café, with the Answers and the Odds
May 27: Revelle Quad, with Know Discipline
June 30: Muir College Tennis Courts, with The Rockin’ Dogs
July 29: Ché Café, with the Answers (and Hair Theatre??)
August 26: Headquarters, with the Pandoras and the Answers
Nov. 5: Ché Café, with the Wallflowers and Hair Theatre
Nov. 12: UCSD Rec Gym, with the Pandoras, the Odds and the Answers
Nov. 17: Ché Café, with Hair Theatre and 11 Sons
Nov. 27: Ché Café (art show)?

1984
Feb. 9: Ché Café, with the Wallflowers
Feb. 11: UCSD Rec Gym, with the Three O’Clock and the Odds
Feb. 24: Ché Café, with the Odds and the Front
April 14: UCSD Rec Gym, with the Unclaimed, the Mirrors and the Odds
April 19: Ché Café, with the Tell-Tale Hearts, the Wallflowers and the Rockin’ Dogs
April 25: Center for Music Experiment, with Jerome Rothenberg and Bertram Turetzky
April 29: The Club (AIDS benefit)
May 30(?): Chris Henry’s house party
May (?): Pea Soup Andersen’s (Jesse Jackson benefit)
June 3: Becky Cohen photo installation
June 6: Torrey Pines Theater, with Shades of Grey
July 13 or 14(?): Anticlub, LA
July 28: House party at Paul Allen’s (first appearance by the Morlocks)
August 10: Party in Anaheim
August 11: The Web, UCSB campus, with the Whitefronts
Oct. 31: Greenwich Village West, with the Morlocks, the Wallflowers, Hair Theatre and Cindy Lee Berryhill

3 Guys Called Jesus

1985
August: Kavern Klub, LA, with Manual Scan and the Nephews
August 31/Sept. 1: Go Go Impossible (Kristy Maddox event)
Oct. 19: Jimmy’s Place, Point Loma, with the Nashville Ramblers and Hair Theatre
Oct. 22: Spirit, with Liquid Rhythm, Ten Yards, Drive-Ins
Oct. 26: Ché Café (Mexican earthquake benefit), with Camper van Beethoven (first SD gig), Hair Theatre, Black Tango, Synesthesia, Everybody Violet, Holy Moroccos
Dec. 2-4: That Dada Strain (play), at PJ’s Warehouse Restaurant
Dec. 20: “Bon Voyage Party” with Decision
Dec. 27: Party at John Stees’ house

1986
Jan. 11: Jackie Robinson YMCA, with the Leaving Trains, Black Tango, Death Bunny
March 1: Jackie Robinson YMCA, with the Angry Samoans, RasZebraE, Decision
April 11: Big John’s, Anaheim, with Love & Terror, Incomplete Monday
April 16: Club Cult
May 6: Spirit, with Ashcan School
May 9: New Generation, with Cambridge Apostles, Bell Jar
May 12: Club Fester
May 16: North Park Lions Club, with Specimen, Tell-Tale Hearts
May 31: Party at John Stees' house
August 28: Spirit, with Camper van Beethoven, Idiot Savant, Social Spit
Oct. 22: Spirit

1987
Jan. 10: Spirit, with the Hitters, the Landlords, Dick Hippo, Blue Puss
Jan. 30: Club Cult (at Wok Express)

Noise 292 at UCSD

2008-02-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Delving even further into my back pages, here are a couple of images with David Rives, Kristin Martin, Wendell Kling and Joanne Norris of pioneering noise-psychedelic warriors Noise 292. This was in the UCSD rec gym, probably in November 1983 (with the Pandoras, the Answers and the Odds) or in February 1984 (with the Three O'Clock and the Odds).

For my next trick, I must figure out how to upload MP3s!

Art History

2008-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

I'm working on my rock-'n'-roll archives, exhuming a lot of ancient analog assets to share digitally with old bandmates. Here's a shot I found in a set of low-quality Polaroids taken from an early rehearsal (circa 1985) with 3 Guys Called Jesus.

I'm eager to collect any sounds and sights from our old San Diego scene (as well as subsequent musical efforts in San Francisco). If you've seen this man, please ping me!

Think Settled

2007-12-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

My old Mac reporting companion, the very young Nick Ciarelli, has made headlines again by accepting Apple's offer to settle its suit against him in exchange for shuttering his Think Secret site. I agree with Nick's lawyer that he came out ahead; while I'll hold fond memories of the site, I'm proud that Nick divulged no sources, and I trust that Apple's offer will help accelerate an already outstanding career.

Joyeux Hanukkah!

2007-12-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a French Hanukkah elf!

Every Picture Tells a Story

2007-11-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

Sadie's uploaded a batch of new comics to her Web site!

Room with a view

2007-11-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

My office window is the backdrop for this Webcast on ParisMatch.fr. I like my international friends, and my French is improving!

In the running!

2007-11-01T03:25:00.000-07:00

Our house is a contender for the Maplewood Lions Club's 2007 Halloween Home Decorating Contest! (That's House #8 here. E-mail lionshalloween2005@mac.com to vote for 16 Euclid.

Sara Rothenberg 1995(?)-2007

2007-10-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

She was a great dog, and she never growled at us once, even when we were trying to keep her past her expiration date.

October Odds & Sods

2007-10-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Nancy is in the inaugural exhibition of Rupert Ravens' magnificent new gallery in Newark!

Sara, our old black Lab, isn't doing so well. I hate October when it comes to elderly pets ... Seems to come in with a scythe and leave with our livestock.

On the bright side, we're gearing up for Halloween in a big way! Lily is going to be a Grim Reaper holding her own head, and Sadie is going to be a naked-rat angel princess in honor of her much-loved rat Frisbee, who did indeed pass away just before Halloween '05.

Same old candidates!

2007-10-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

Miss September

2007-09-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

The paint people behind Liquitex have named Nancy their Artist of the Month for September! While I can still afford her prices, I need to get some more of the AOTM's pieces into my big new office at Hachette: beautiful park view, bluish sun-faded prints of race cars and fighter jets.

Get down with AZD!

2007-09-07T04:50:00.000-07:00

I've been having a lot of fun with AfterZiffDavis, a social-networking site that launched mid-August dedicated to reconnecting Ziff veterans. Our old MacWEEK posse is out in strength, and the site has more than 400 members already. Since Hachette is the current owner of many of the consumer titles Ziff sold off in the mid-'80s, it's also a chance for me to hook up my former and current companies. Calling all former Ziffers!

2037, I break a hip

2007-08-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

I just passed a significant anniversary in my orthopedic history: Thirty years ago last week (while visiting friends in Milwaukee) I got on a skateboard for the second and last time and promptly tore the top off my left tibia. While I was in the emergency waiting room, we got word that Elvis had died.

I'd actually mused to myself that I was about to enter my fourth decade without breaking a bone just a little while before my January 2007 fall, which succeeded in busting the other leg.

Empty nesting

2007-08-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, I'm too old and too busy to maintain a proper blog. Instead, I figure these little postings are the electronic equivalent of those family newsletters folks used to send around in the envelope-and-stamp days. "Hey! We're all alive and well out here, and doing things that you're only marginally interested in!"

In that spirit, everybody had a nice couple of weeks when the kids decamped (haw, haw!) to Camp Eagle Island up in the Adironacks. They swam and sang and cleaned latrines, while Nancy and I caught up on some New York tourism, the first week in the company of Nancy's lovely sister Sue. We saw "Avenue Q," Nancy and Sue visited art galleries in Chelsea and Brooklyn, and we caught up on a variety of museums and restaurants.

Now we're systematically checking off the remaining items on Lily's summer to-do list. Yesterday, we milled around Rockefeller Center and Times Square (Nintendo Center, Toys 'R' Us, Red Lobster, Macy's); today, we got some dim sum. If we can fit in a water park in the next couple weeks, we're cooking with gas!

Baby elephant walk

2007-07-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sadie's classmate Danny Ives is on Nick News tonight, throwing elephant poop!

A very lame blogger

2007-07-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am a very lame blogger, judging both from the quantity and quality of my posts here. While I try to keep this little online lighthouse lit to attract old friends, I fear I'm both too old and too busy to give this blog its due as a vehicle for personal expression. (Ironically enought, those old friends will remember how prolific a correspondent I was back in the days of manual typewriters, when I had the time and self-absorption befitting my age.)

But in the absence of a true running commentary, here's a cursory update of our recent movements chez Rothenberg:

1. We left on vacation for Michigan two weeks ago, camper in tow. We traveled 600 miles, visited Greenfield Village in Dearborn, drove another 150 miles, camped at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park with Nancy's wonderful family. Sadie got two baby rats from Silver Fuzz Rattery in Grand Rapids!

2. We hitched up the trailer Sunday and drove 390 miles to Youngstown Ohio. On Monday, we drove another 383 miles home to Maplewood. We unpacked.

3. Tuesday morning I flew to John Wayne Airport to meet in Hachette's Newport Beach offices with the estimable online staffs of Road & Track and Car and Driver. Last night, I strolled the South Coast mall in Costa Mesa with my parents.

4. Today I drove to the LA office to visit the delightful folks at Premiere.com. Tonight, I take the redeye back to Newark. Sunday is Sadie's 14th birthday!

Independamp

2007-07-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

We just wound up our traditional stations of July 4 a la Maplewood: a performance of the always folksome Alain Zerbini Circus; an early dinner at Samurai Sushi on Maplewood Ave.; and fireworks in the park, dampened this year by rain but ignited on schedule. Here's hoping the weather clears up in time for our annual haaj to western Michigan next week, pop-up camper in tow.

Wolverines Are Go

2007-06-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

In Ann Arbor Monday and Tuesday, visiting the fine folks at Car and Driver. CD.com executive editor Mike Dushane guided my itinerary with the panache he showed when guiding our recent business trip to Paris; his recommendation of the Bell Tower put me right beside the charming U of M campus in a hotel with all the amenities of a particularly agreeable visit to grandma's. The weather's great, the people are delightful, and I'm grooving on our upcoming vacation out this way in July!

Vote for Nancy!

2007-05-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

My talented spouse Nancy Tobin has many exciting events lined up in the next month or two, including a spot in the finals of Modern Postcard's Spotlight Awards. (Vote early and often!)

Here are some other highlights:

Launch Party for Viz Magazine
Features Collaboration with Poet Jerome Rothenberg
June 2, 6:00 p.m.
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery, north of Houston
Launch party and readings for Viz magazine featuring collaboration with poet Jerome Rothenberg.

South Orange/Maplewood Studio Tours
June 3, 2007 11AM-5PM
16 Euclid Avenue
Maplewood, NJ
Nancy's studio!

"What's New?" Studio Montclair's Summer Salon
June 1-30
Montclair Public Library
Reception June 7, 6-9PM
Stop by the Montclair Public Library to see work by local artists, including two pieces by Nancy.

A Celebration of Spring
May 26-August 3
Seton Hall Law School Gallery
One Newark Center
Newark, NJ 07102
Visit the beautiful gallery at Seton Hall Law School, where Nancy has five paintings on display.

Join
Nancy's mailing list here!

Taps

2007-05-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

RIP, Capt. Joe Lerner. Nancy and I like to breakfast together at the Maple Leaf Diner, where Capt. Lerner was a regular. He stopped us one day and told us how much he envied me dining every morning with the prettiest girl in town. I guess he said that to all the girls, but it was a great line.

Small world!

2007-05-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last week we pulled the kids out of school and headed south for four days at Disney World and three on the Disney cruise ship, with stops at Nassau, Bahamas, and Disney's own Castaway Cay.

Lucky for our kids, Nancy and I are both heavily invested in the Disney Gestalt: Nancy is convinced that much of her adult aesthetic was forged in the "Small World" crucible, and I always come back from a Disney vacation with new energy for whatever organizational challenges I need to tame. From the plane to Orlando until the return to Newark, we enjoyed a weeklong trust fall ... although landing back in workday Manhattan was a bit rocky. Whistle while you work!

Blood brothers

2007-04-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been taking the train to and from work most days now. It's a bit arduous navigating the ups and downs of the platforms -- and the crowds -- but I am happy for the speed and convenience of NJ Transit and the subway.

I usually leave from the South Orange station because it has an elevator and a raised platform. So does this other guy whose right ankle is still in a fiberglass cast and who moves around with the help of a little scooter on which he rests his knee.

The other day the elevator was broken, so I lent this guy my crutches to get up the stairs. Turns out he also has a trimalleolar fracture (which he received on the ice outside his house); also went to St. Barnabas' emergency room; also got screwed back together by Dr. Cheema; and also woke up in the OR to loud rock music. I feel so redundant!

Nancy's Web-a-licious!

2007-03-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

Attention, art cognoscenti: Already aesthetically superb in every sense of the word, my spouse, Nancy Tobin, now boasts her own Web site!

No strings on me

2007-02-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

My cast came off a week ago, and now I'm gimping around the house and scaring the kids with the nine-inch scar on my ankle. Sometimes I even go without crutches for short stretches; Nancy says I look like a big toddler seeking the next solid surface to grasp.

My buddy John Stees sent me a groovy get-well present -- a little solid-body guitar I'd entrusted to his care back when I left San Diego 20 years ago this month. He also sent ahead an e-mail explaining its pedigree to my kids:

"[T]his was your father's old guitar that he gave to me when he moved to San
Francisco in 1988, (sic) armed with Beatle boots and McCartney old hollow body.

"It was used in The Three Johns of San Marcos storage-unit fame, making its way
to San Francisco, [where it] had a brief stint in Husky, a duo renowned in the living-room-talent-show circuit.

"Then in pursuit of true love, said Guitar went to Athens, GA, the OZ of independent music. Though not played there, the exposure to ceative energy furthers the magic of this potential Excalibur.

"Now that you are old enough to unleash its destiny, I return it to it's family.

"I wish you fun and fulfilment.

"John Stees"

Calling Doctor Love

2007-02-11T12:10:00.001-08:00

Mystery solved! I now know the identity of one of the most intriguing people on my morning train: the woman I often overhear on her cell phone, battling bureaucracy in the service of sick children. (As I observed in an earlier entry, she's one person I can't begrudge the energetic use of a cell phone during our commute.)

The latest edition of Maplewood's own Matters Magazine identifies this woman and her mission: Dr. Jane Aronson, the founder of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, which is dedicated to helping improve the lot of children orphaned by AIDS and other scourges. MSNBC called her a "force of nature," which sounds a lot like my own impression of the good doctor. (It's funny how some people just give off that sort of aura, even to the casual observer.)

I'm looking forward to losing this cast and getting my train on so I can check in on Dr. Aronson and the rest of my train faves.

Showtime!

2007-02-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

The aunt of Maplewood Middle School's other Rothenberg -- Sadie's friend Jake Rothenberg -- created a blog for her photos from last night's opening of MMS' production of "High School Musical." Here's Sadie on the left as one of the high school's aspiring thespians.

Downtime

2007-01-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Recuperation after my recent fall is slow and steady -- and considering my own limited patience and the inconvenience to la familia, it's proving something of an ordeal.

I'm the proud permanent owner of six screws* and something call an "L-bracket"; Dr. Cheema (the orthopedist) tells me that my leg was so messed up, the ER doctor turned the initial relocation of the joint over to the specialists. And Nancy reports that it took three doctors to shift it back into place. (The doctor sent her down the hall so she wouldn't hear my loud protests, of which I thankfully have no recollection.)

By contrast, I actually recall the OR the next morning, since the anesthesiologist relied primarily on an epidural and fairly light sedation. That meant I woke up for the last stages of the surgery, which featured a soundtrack by Meatloaf and some noisy banter by the surgical team: more reminiscent of a garage than my notion of an operating room.

I've graduated from the walker to a pair of crutches, which Nancy tells me takes about 40 years off my age. It's a much more convenient way of getting around, but kind of precarious; trying to get out the door this morning, I nearly slipped on the wet deck and quickly gave up on any travel plans.

Get me out of here!

*Addendum: After going to the hospital for X-rays, I learned I actually have nine screws in there.

Get down on the good foot

2007-01-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

This is what I tried to post from my Blackberry Jan. 2 ... Sadly, the word-verification feature thwarted me, but trying it was a nice distraction:

"My first blog entry of 2007 is also my first composed on the Blackberry. And I hope it's the very last written in a hospital bed, which is where I ended up yesterday afternoon after a misstep on our basement staircase.

"My ankle turned one way; my foot, another; and now the former is full of pins keeping the latter pointed in the right direction.

"I've got another night at St. Barnabas, then six to eight weeks negotiating the twisty routes at home and work."

... Now it's Thursday, and I was brought home in another ambulance. Nancy bought me a shiny new Lazy Boy, and I've got the big bottle of Percocet. Cheers!

We're a happy family!

2006-12-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

Our posse does a lot of winter holidays, and that means a mighty annual haul of gifts chez Rothenberg. We've all been enjoying the new Wii that I camped out in front of Toys R Us to procure; this parody spot does a nifty job of metaphorizing the gizmo's appeal.

Meanwhile, my personal pile includes a Ramones book and T-shirt as well as a ukulele -- which means I've been playing a lot of NY punk classics on the uke. I was feeling pretty good about my prowess until I checked out this guy's mad ukulele skillz ... Perhaps I can still be the Johnny Ramone of ukulele, since Mr. Shimabukuro seems to have the George Harrison spot nailed.

Should Don Diego be forgot ...

2006-12-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

While Googling the date of the late James Brown's mid-'80s appearance at the Del Mar Fair, I happened across this wonderful archive of San Diego concerts from the '30s through the '90s.

The list isn't exhaustive by any means -- and most of my favorite rock-'n'-roll experiences happened in venues far smaller than the ones included here -- but I have found some lovely nuggets, including a great Bruce Springsteen concert (Sept. 1, 1981); The Clash and the English Beat (June 12, 1982); and REM at the aforementioned Del Mar Fairgrounds (June 20, 1984).

I haven't been able to locate that James Brown gig, however.

RIP Bruce Fraser

2006-12-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

This news wasn't unexpected, but it's still a shock. I understand that there's a Bruce Fraser tribute in the works for January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Here's a nice picture of Bruce, whose Photoshop knowledge and bass acumen both enriched my time at MacWEEK.

Winston tastes good

2006-12-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

I've spent this work week on a professional trek to historic Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where I stayed with a group of my colleagues in the lovely old faux-Norman Graylyn estate and ate copious quantities of cheese grits. Oprah is a regular visitor to Graylyn, although I have no empirical data on her grits consumption.

It took me about 40 minutes to get a decent handle on the geography of downtown (whose Reynolds Building served as the prototype for the Empire State Building), and we had a chance to make a few interesting forays after work.

The highlight of the week for me was a slumber party with my dear friend John Stees, who is currently living in Raleigh with his wife Michelle and two daughters and working as operations manager for the local Habitat for Humanity. John looks to be in ruddy good health and is as delightfully acerbic as ever. enjoyed a terrific dinner at the Old Salem Tavern followed by a quasi-collegiate "rap session" (as the kids put it) involving a spare cot and a couple of cans of the local brew. At our age, these festivities of course ended by 10:30, but the thought still counts.

Dartanyan's alive!

2006-11-24T06:32:00.000-08:00

I like Googling former colleagues, and ex-MacWEEK reporter Dartanyan Brown seems to generate the most fascinating entries of any of us.

Here, Dartanyan is identified as the original vector for the Paul-is-dead bug symptomatic of late-stage Beatlemania:

"It's worth noting, as well, that Tim Harper, author of the first-ever printed story on the hoax, was not the source of any of these clues. In an email interview, Mr. Harper said that at the time he published his article, he hoped that the perpetrators would come forth and admit their part in the hoax; he wrote his article for informational purposes only.

"Mr. Harper says he got his information from a fellow Drake student and Times-Delphic writer, Dartanyan Brown. Mr. Brown told me by email that in 1969 he lived in a rooming house frequented by musicians, and that one of them (he doesn't recall who) recounted the hoax and said that he'd heard it on the California west coast. Mr. Brown also recalled having read about the hoax in some underground newspapers at the time, though this cannot be substantiated. No published source prior to Mr. Harper's Times-Delphic piece is known."

Turn me on, Dart-man!

Peace train

2006-11-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

Like myriad Maplewoodians, I take New Jersey Transit's Midtown Direct train line to and from New York Penn Station every weekday. (Indeed, I'm drafting this entry on my Blackberry en route to the office.)

I'm a big fan of train travel, and I'm delighted with our logistics in the matter: Our house is four leafy blocks from the cute little turn-of-the-20th station, which is also the first stop for many of the outbound trains I take. The trains are pretty frequent, the conductors are pretty friendly, and I can usually take a seat and get to work.

Of course, any routine you follow every day is likely to rub a few spots raw. I don't dig the cattle call waiting for tracks to be announced at Penn (which really is an ugly place to start and end every weekday). The occasional splash of toilet effluvium when the tracks curve into Maplewood can stink up the station. And while fellow passengers generally seem like amiable sorts, some carelessness about personal space can abrade the nerves.

Being a Type A bunch, this crowd is predictably prone to high-volume cell-phone conversations on topics both commercial and highly personal. On more than one occasion, I've been treated to really gnarly medical details -- colostomies, suppurating ulcers -- suffered by my seatmate's friend or relative. Tearful breakups are always uncomfortable to witness, as are knotty office politics. I watched one young Master of the Universe regale a friend with a vivid blow-by-blow on the toilet habits of an intern in his office before being shouted down by 20 of his fellow passengers.

One person gets a karmic mulligan from me: the handsome 50-ish woman who often boards my train while talking animatedly to a distant colleague. As best I can make out, she's a medical professional working for the U.N. or some charitable organization, and she's raising her voice to get results for sick orphans in remote places: "Yes, the HIV test came back positive ... We have to cut the red tape and get the anemia treated now so he's ready to travel! I don't care about the visa requirements; this is important!" In my book, this lady can talk as loud and long as she wants, even when the going gets gross.

Farm living is the life

2006-11-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

My old colleague and dear friend Sheila Colbert and her family gave us a big treat last weekend: the use of their lovely new vacation house at Woodloch, a swank golf resort in the Poconos. We swam and drove go-carts and shopped in the pretty town of Milford and generally had a lovely time.

Tip for New Jersey travelers: The Chatterbox Drive-In in Augusta is cute as a bug's ear and serves a mean veggie burger! Eight thumbs up, many of them grease-stained.

Come as you are

2006-11-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

There was much rejoicing in Maplewood yesterday evening as Halloween fever overran the village, where the kids get to warm up the booty call by trick-or-treating the local vendors.

Halloween is of course the holiest night of our daughters' year, and both of them spent much energy and lucre tricking out our front lawn and their own costumes: Lily cutting capers as The Cat in the Hat and Sadie challenging gender stereotypes as a werewolf-princess.

Indeed, the latter costume garnered a prize in the annual costume contest, sparking noisy jubilation on the one hand and fierce sibling rivalry on the other. Toss four pounds of chocolate into the mix and shake!

Where's Waldo? Nancy and Lily are in the crowd here and here; look for the red-and-white striped hat.

The family blog

2006-10-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

My nuclear family is getting Web-a-licious:

Nancy Tobin, my esteemed spouse, is kicking out the jams with her painting career. ArtSpace 129 in Montclair is among the venues to showcase her prowess.

Our elder daughter, Sadie, has started her own Web site to show off her own considerable cartooning talents.

Our younger daughter, Lily, doesn't yet have a Web presence for her dancing career or other accomplishments. ("Lily Rothenberg" is a major character in a John Sandford thriller but not a namesake.)

Our town

2006-10-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

We moved from San Francisco to New Jersey in April 2001; now we live in Maplewood, the San Francisco of New Jersey.

Maplewood is "like Shangri-la," opines Broadway hotshot Christine Ebersole. "It’s so culturally diverse, and all my children are adopted—a transracial family. And we’re not the freaks. Everybody flies their freak flag high in Maplewood!"

E.B. White's granddaughter and Thelonius Monk's grandson are enrolled in our school district, and we have a circus every Fourth of July. Taking the train out of New York in the heat of summer and rolling into the Maplewood train station evokes the town in the Twilight Zone episode "A Stop at Willoughby," except with the aforementioned freak flags.

Maplewood Online offers some insights into the community, including a discussion board to rival Monty Python's "Argument Clinic" sketch. You can check out the Village Cam for a live view of Maplewood Avenue that's virtually indistinguishable from images dated 1959.

My resume

2006-10-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Matthew Rothenberg
16 Euclid Avenue • Maplewood, NJ 07040
973.762.8107 • (c) 917.608.2794 • matthew_rothenberg@hotmail.com

Executive Summary

• CREATIVE EXECUTIVE with deep experience turning cross-media content into profit.
• PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT professional, skilled in conceiving and launching profitable media properties based on reader and industry needs that scale to millions of readers.
• SKILLED MANAGER with a proven ability to work with tech, marketing, engineering and run diverse groups of design, content, audience-development and production pros.

Employment Background

HUGE INC.
Content Strategist 2011 – Present
Guide the life cycle of content as a product for corporate clients at this cutting-edge digital agency.
• Analyze every aspect of corporate content as a business driver.
• Work closely with UX, product and tech teams.
• Help clients focus the voice, perspective and navigation of their content.

MATTHEW ROTHENBERG LLC
Principal 2008 – Present
I help media and tech companies set strategy and high-end tactics for monetizing content.
• Write “Career Management,” a popular blog for CBS MoneyWatch.com, and make frequent appearances on air.
• Advised Estee Lauder on its CMS selection.
• Helped BBC America choose a CMS and identify bloggers for a new automotive initiative.

THELADDERS.COM
Director, Editorial & Content 2008 – 2011
I led all content efforts for the market’s top destination for $100K+ job seekers.
• Development of a track-based CRM system to provide career-management guidance.
• Created core curriculum as a conversion tool in the subscription/leads funnel.
• Led editorial and platform development as part of the company’s product team.
• Established the corporate voice for all aspects of marketing, PR and business initiatives.
• Co-author with CEO Marc Cenedella of “You’re Better Than Your Job Search,” a 2010 book on the contemporary senior job search.
• Created collateral for consumer and enterprise businesses.
• Media spokesman for TheLadders via print, television and radio appearances.

HACHETTE-FILIPACCHI MEDIA U.S.
Vice President/Editorial Director, Online 2006 – 2008
Set online content strategy, staffing and workflow for all Hachette’s titles in the United States as it transitions from a print publisher to a digital-media company.
• Led a team of product managers and editors, reporting directly to the SVP of digital media.
• Oversaw multimedia content of 12 Web sites, including Elle.com, CarandDriver.com, PopPhoto.com, Premiere.com, WomansDay.com and RoadandTrack.com.
• Led progressive redesigns of all brands in tandem with tech and business.
• Provided original and licensed video, editorial and community content.
• Worked with public-relations team to position brands and maximize traffic.
• Collaborated with business-development team to serve syndication partners.

ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA
Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK Magazine and eWEEK.com 2005 – 2006
Editor/Executive Editor, Ziff Davis Internet 2003 – 2005
Online Editor, Baseline.com and CIOInsight.com 2001 – 2003
Best Practices Editor, Baseline Magazine 2001 – 2002

Promoted to oversee content direction of 20-year-old flagship title, eWEEK Magazine and eWEEK.com (formerly PC Week). Transitioned content operations to combine the Internet and Print divisions.

• Grew the audience of Ziff Davis’ enterprise IT sites from 3MM page views and 1MM unique visitors to 10MM page views and 4MM unique visitors each month.
• Boosted page views for Baselinemag.com and CIOInsight.com 40% in one year.

• Oversaw content development for enterprise group of magazines and Web sites.
• Directed, as Executive Editor of Ziff Davis Internet, the editorial development of eWEEK.com, Baseline.com and CIOInsight.com, among more than a dozen online titles.
• Led editorial transition for major corporate reorganization in late 2004, combining editorial forces for eWEEK Magazine and eWEEK.com in just one month.
• Developed and launched 30 new and upcoming online properties.

CNET INC.
Senior News Producer, ZDNet News 2000 – 2001

Charged with overseeing opinion, reader feedback and Mac coverage for this major technology site, with a direct-line report to the Executive Editor.

• Revitalized Mac section, making it the #2 most popular site destination within three months.
• Packaged community-driven content into a distinct editorial section.
• Edited op-ed pieces, wrote newsletters, and line-edited news coverage and special reports.
• Partnered with Producers to collaborate on television programming ideas for ZDTV.

MAC PUBLISHING, LLC
Director of Online Content, Mac Titles 1998 – 2000
Senior News Editor, MacWEEK 1997 –1998

Promoted from print division to oversee four online media properties, including MacWorld.com and MacWEEK.com, with a direct-line report to the Vice President of the online division.

• Transformed MacWEEK from a weekly print publication to a Web daily.
• Doubled MacWEEK.com’s traffic in just one year, with up to 9MM page views a month.
• Collaborated with IDG upon corporate merger in developing editorial integration.
• Partnered with international Macworld licensees to increase global news coverage.
• Wrote regular “Mac the Knife” column and news for MacWEEK and MacWEEK.com.

Awards and Associations

• Won Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for “Best Single Article,” Baseline’s “Avon Products: The Ultimate CRM Machine,” March 2002.
• Nominated, “Best Breaking News,” ONA Journalism Awards, Microsoft-Watch.com, 2005.

Education

B.A., Anthropology, U.C. San Diego, Graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Hello, world!

2006-10-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

This is overdue, but I figure it's time to gin up a personal blog.

After a long professional career at Ziff-Davis and assorted corporate cousins, I've taken a job running the men's enthusiast titles at Hachette-Filipacchi Media U.S. In the process, I suspect I've dropped off the radars of some old friends and fellow-travelers.

Let's see if I actually keep this spruced up!