… you Google yourself and Google offers up a couple of “related searches”?
Every now and then I “Google” myself (I know, I know – doing so can make you go blind and grow hair on the palms of your hands) for a couple of reasons. One is curiosity and vanity (is that two?) and the other is to see if anyone’s talking about any of the comic projects I’m involved in.
Oh, come on – like YOU never Google yourself!
Anyway, when I looked tonight, Google had related searches at the bottom. My vast and deep knowledge of all things search engine related tells me that this means OTHER people have searched for Mike Imboden along with other keywords.
And what were the searches?
Mike Imboden Twitter
and
Mike Imboden cartoons
Sure, it could be on the few impostor Mike Imbodens out there that was being looked up, but remember – reason #1 for doing a search on myself is partially for vanity reasons, so it HAS to be me that was being looked up, right?
Anyway, I thought it was kind of neat.
Imboden
Is it a Sign of Success When…
2000-2009 – Looking Back
I was going to write a witty (at least witty to ME) countdown of the 9 most memorable things about the past decade, but I decided not to. Sure, there's been PLENTY of stuff to make fun of for the past ten years – so much so that it's hard to really just single out 9 things.
Instead, I'm just going to wing it here and write a little about whatever major events happened that made an impact on me. I'm not going to number this, but as always there's no importance to the order of my lists – just the order in which I write them down.
So, without any further ado — The Zeroes Remembered.
While he may have died suddenly in 2009, his body of work will always be here to entertain us. The king is dead – long live the king.
And the world of comics will never be the same again. I don’t know if that's for better or worse, though.
I could rant for hours here, but we all know what happened in 2001. There's no need in beating a dead horse with a topic that will probably just end up with people arguing anyway.
It was a bumpy road, but we made it. And I couldn't think of anyone better to have ridden it with.
While it sucked to see it end, the final episode rates up there with the last episode of Newhart as one of the most satisfying conclusions in TV history.
While not new to the 2000's, it was during the past decade that the living dead "came to life" with tons of movies, books and great comics like "The Walking Dead" and "The Living Corpse" (yeah, that second one is based on a bit of bias. But it's MY list!)
Again I risk stepping into political territory, but how can this not be mentioned? Monumental $@%&-ups by local, state and national governments shows the world that for all of our bravado, we're still pretty bad at taking care of our own. The visions of dead bodies and destruction looks like a horror movie.
So much for staying out of politics. For better or worse, Obama shatters the racial divide and becomes the President of the United States. Bible thumpers and right-wing freaks go insane in the months following.
Hard work and dedication pay off as Kim realizes a dream of hers and becomes an elementary school teacher. As a footnote, the scandal and fall of the telecom industry – namely MCI/Worldcom – played a huge role in her getting here since she had been moving up in the ranks and had management written on her when everything crashed thanks to a few greedy jag-offs. Proof that there sometimes really is a silver lining to a dark cloud.
Hahahahahahaha. Although, come on, you've gotta admit it would have been… "interesting" if everything had ground to a halt and stopped working.
Britney Spears, in a swirl of self-destruction, flashes her c-section scar and vagina to the world as she drunkenly climbs from a car. Proof that fame can easily tear down what it creates, she goes insane in the months and years to come.
From Facebook and Twitter to online shopping and porn sites featuring midgets dressed as Ewoks, the Internet has changed not only the way we live, but the way we live with others. The jury is still out on whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing.
And with that last one, it's appropriate that I end this. Good golly, Miss Molly – there's TONS of other stuff worth mentioning, but we'll leave it at what we've got. I'm sure you've got some, so feel free to post away in the comments.
See ya' next year!
As a Country, We are Screwed
It’s no big revelation that our society is going to hell.
If you’re a Right-Winger, it’s because Obama is the devil and we’ll all be Socialists saluting a solid red flag with one big star on it. If you’re a Left-Winger, it’s because we’ll all die from lack of affordable health care. If you’re in the middle, it’s because both sides are so goddamn crazy that you’ll go batshit insane from osmosis.
However, right and left isn’t what really drove home the subject title.
No… a grade school teacher I know gave a student a “C” on their report card. Well, “gave the student” is really correct; the student EARNED a “C” through careless work. While the student is bright and quite smart, s/he has a bad habit of rushing through work and not checking anything. As a result, mistakes are made. My teacher-friend told the parents at mid-term “So and So is very bright, but s/he needs to slow down a little and check their work”. But when the reports cards come out and s/he is awarded a “C” for their shoddy and careless work. So the kid goes home crying and the next thing you know, the parents have called requesting a meeting – not with my teacher-friend, but with the principal of the school. They are livid that their precious little fuck-up got a “C”.
What is wrong with this picture?
The parents were told their child was making the mistakes that resulted in their AVERAGE grade. Did they speak to their kid? Did they check the kid’s work to see if Einstein was being more careful? No. They went about their lives, hoping other people would raise their kids. And when that didn’t happen, they couldn’t wait to point their fingers at someone.
Now, hey – not all teachers are perfect and my teacher-friend isn’t the greatest teacher to grace the halls of academia, but MOST teachers are doing what they do because they love kids and helping them learn is very fulfilling. Let’s face it, the good ones aren’t paid what they’re worth so it ain’t the lure of easy money pulling people into the teaching profession. So, when a kid brings home a “bad” grade, it’s probably not the teacher being vindictive. In fact, the teacher probably feels a bit of guilt over that bad grade – to them it could be viewed as a slight bit of failure. So to “blame” the teacher for anything less than an “A” on a report card falls on two or three shoulders, and the teacher is NOT one of them.
As long as we, as a society, continue to rely on others to take care of us and then blame them when they don’t provide 100% of what you expect, we are going down a spiral path to fucked-up-ed-ness. You see, contrary to belief, it doesn’t take a fucking village to raise a child. It takes one or two loving and caring parents. And when it becomes time to lay blame we need to listen to the words of the late, great Michael Jackson by starting with the “man in the mirror”.
Career Quiz Results
So, it’s obvious I need a change. I’ve been spinning my wheels my too long and have gotten far too complacent. I think I’m afriad to make a change, though. Because while things aren’t fulfilling right now, it’s at least semi-safe. Of course, it’s TEMP work and how “safe” can that ever really be? All I’ve really succeeded in doing the past few years is to back myself into a corner and now I need to find a way out. To do, I need to alter a number of things – some of which need one or more things to get first. I’m AWARE of what I need, but it’s getting there. It’s like playing one of those “gem drop” games where you look to set up a long burst of matched colors.
Anyway, I took a couple of those “Career Quiz” things to help me find some direction. Here’s what I came up with:
[My style] prefers to perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is supportive and helpful to others with a minimum of confrontation. They prefer to work where they have time to think things through before acting. [This style] tends to be insightful, reflective, selectively sociable, creative, thoughtful, emotional, imaginative, and sensitive. Usually they thrive in a cutting edge, informally paced, future-oriented environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.
On the flip side, another site said I was an Introvert, Sensor, Thinker, Perceiver (ISTP) for my career type. It said that People of this type tend to be logical, pragmatic and matter of fact; quiet, unassuming, and autonomous; realistic, pragmatic and aloof; impulsive and curious about the physical world; flexible and resourceful; objective and unemotional.
I sort of agree with all of that, except for the last part. Unemotional? Not really.
Anyway, it concluded with: The most important thing to ISTPs is the freedom to act independently and follow their impulses.
So.. What does all of this mean? Well, here’s some career choices these quizzes picked for me:
Bar/Club Manager, Hotel Manager, Lobbyist, Marketing Executive, Performing Arts Administrator, Politician, Promoter, Publicist, Service Sales Representative, Telecommunications Specialist, Television Reporter, Small Business Owner, Consultant, Police Officer, Software Developer, Information Services Manager, and Private Investigator.
Oddly enough, a couple of those are things I’ve mulled over in the past. The “small business owner” thing keeps coming up. Pair that up with a couple of the other items from this list and maybe I should open a bar, or start my own PI business. Whatever it is, I need to figure it out ASAP.
Anyone out there have any (serious) suggestions or observations from this?
Happy 20th Anniversary!
Twenty years ago today, Kim and I walked out of the Frederick County Courthouse as husband and wife. I have a feeling there were more than a couple of people who didn’t expect it to last. Guess the jokes on them.
Thank you for being my wife and best friend, Kim. As a wise man once said, reality is my love for you.
College Bound
No, not me.
We just got a letter yesterday saying that Dave was accepted to Towson State University (outside of Baltimore)!
Sure, it’s not a Big 10, ACC or other “big” school, but Towson has a good rep and has produced some notable people like Charles S. Dutton (used to love, love, LOVE his show “Roc”), Dwight Schultz (“Howlin’ Mad” Murdock from “The A-Team”!) and Stacy Kiebler (the long-legged hottie from WCW and WWE fame). Of course, the biggest plus is that they have a good film school there since that is what Dave eventually wants to get into (at least, that’s what he says).
So now it’s off to find financial aid – God knows we can’t afford college tuition these days.
And, hey – good job, Dave. I’m proud of you.
(Cr)(H)appy New Year
Take your pick. Crappy or Happy. It could be either, or… both.
One thing I know is that it’s GOTTA be better than last year ended.
I feel really bad these days. Not like I’m sick, or naughty, just… bad.
I hate bitching and complaining about the same shit over and over and over, but sometimes it helps to “put it down on paper”, as it were. It gives me something to look at and a way to purge it all from my mind.
So far, 2009 has been sort of… just… sort of here. It feels like everyone is holding their breath and waiting to see what happens when Obama takes office, despite the fact that that isn’t going to cast a magical spell on everything and bring back the glory days of the late 90s. But, I hope, it will be a step in the right direction. Everyone will look around, see that shit isn’t all that different, give one giant exhale and get back to what it was we were doing before everything started going to shit.
Me, I just want a FT job that pays what we need to get by. Outrageous property taxes are pounding us – it’s like Frederick County is just saying “Ahahahahah! Fuck you all!” to everyone that doesn’t work in the Technology or Medical fields. I mean, really – how can your average Joe make ends meet when his mortgage goes up nearly 19% because of increases in taxes which results in an escrow shortage?
I kind of feel like George Bailey these days.
Where’s my Clarence when I need him?
What’s New?
Nothing here. Still looking for full time work and just found out that we have a shortage in our escrow account because of Frederick County’s mile-high and out of whack property taxes. As a result our mortgage payments just shot up nearly $325 a month. Man, ya’ gotta love it when your home’s value is based on the houses around yours which are, undeniably, worth much more. So, as if we weren’t facing a nasty shortage before, now we have this to deal with.
Hey, look! It’s us! This is shortly after dinner on Thanksgiving. That’s (part of ) the view from our back porch. I look weird without a baseball hat on, huh? Tramp doesn’t look too happy to be getting his picture taken – I think we had pulled him away from eating HIS Thanksgiving dinner for the picture, so I can understand being a bit miffed with us.
My apologies on not keeping things up to date as I promised I would. Sometimes things happen and you tend to lose focus, y’know? Anyway, I’ve got a couple of things waiting in the wings to post, so I’ll probably hit here with ‘em over the next couple of days.
The Shape of Things
Well, still no luck on the job front and with the way things are looking, it may be a while.
It seems that I’m in an odd spot; too qualified for blue collar work and not quite qualified for the white collar stuff. Plus, it being a “Seller’s Market” and all when it comes to jobs, employers can pretty much cherry pick who they want. I seriously think that, at this time, more so than ever it’s WHO you know and not what you know. So, if anyone reading this knows of anyone looking for someone like me to work, don’t hesitate to give them my number or e-mail.
The lack of FT work and, thus, lack of money, has really put a crimp on my creative side. It’s hard to sit and write when I should be busting my balls to find a job. It’s like I’ve got a little devil on one shoulder tapping the side of my head and reminding me of all the things I need to get done and/or caught up on while, on the other shoulder, a little angel is telling me that time spent in front of the computer should be time spent sending out resumes. So, I try and find a happy middle. I’ve set times for when I allow myself to write and times for when I dig through every site I can find for employers in the area. I don’t know how well that’s working out yet, but considering I’m still not employed FT and I still have a couple of scripts that need to be done, I’d say not too well.
Anyway, enough of the depressing shit. I’ll be back soon with something more lighthearted, I promise. And hey, maybe even a special sneak peek at some Fist of Justice stuff that we haven’t unveiled anywhere else yet. That’d be cool, yeah?
The Man of a Thousand Faces
Well, maybe more like a dozen, but that doesn’t sound as neat.
Anyway, in an effort to try and clear my mind of some of the shit that has been cluttering it, I started poking around in some ZIP file archives of old websites. You know, back when imboden.org was a family site and no instances of “fuck” were found and people still gave out websites by starting with “Aytch-tee-tee-pee, colon, forward slash, forward slash” instead of just blahblahblah-dot-com.
As I’m digging around I found the collage below. I added a more recent one so I could get away with calling it “’88 – ’08″ when, truth be told, aside from the recent one the “newest” is like from ’05. And of course, all this did was depress me a bit more when I realize that HOLY SHIT! I’M FORTY-FUCKING-ONE YEARS OLD!
So, while I go take a Geritol and complain to Tramp the Dog about my bad knees and arthritic joints, you can:
THRILL! at the sight of a mullet! GASP! at the bad facial hair! MARVEL! at how my hairstyle only really changed three times in 20 years!
