I recently came across this brilliantly written blog from a very funny articulate and bitter blogger from here in Ann Arbor:
joblessinannarbor.blogspot.com

As I write this I am 30,000 ft. in the air winging my way towards San Diego for a business trip. Lack of connectivity and lack of desire to work on work-related items has given me some rare quiet computer time. I think I’ll take advantage of it by coming back home to Daddyo, my domain home for the past 14 years.

Those who follow Daddyo with regularity must by this point think that either I must have died, that I have abandoned Daddyo altogether or what turns out to be the real reason – that I suck as a blogger. Yes, it’s been a long, long while since I’ve posted here and there are a myriad of reasons which can all be summed up by saying I’ve been very busy: planning for my wedding this summer, raising a teenage boy, going to school part-time and working full-time takes up a lot of time, and when I do have a down moment or two, the guitars in the living room tend to be the winner.

There are many things to write about and I think I’ll start by tackling the most complex issue I can think of – how I feel about the Prez…

President Obama, I love you. President Obama you are a weenie democratic sellout. President Obama you are in waaaay over your head. President Obama I still have hope. President Obama, you disappoint me beyond words. All these things are true, and if you were to live in the Rinpoche McGowan household, you might hear any or all of these opinions uttered within any given 24 hour period.

I am a lifelong avowed leftist who, for my complete adult life, has been looking for signs of anything that resembles a sense of vision and a spine from the Democratic Party. And I, like many others, drank the Obama Hope Kool-Aid. Not that that’s a bad thing, when it comes to national politics, I think so many of us wanted to feel something other than the anger and hopelessness we’d felt throughout the truly disastrous Bush II years. I think we all hoped that Obama could rise above the cynicism and special interest rule that defines Washington D.C. Yeah, I decided to look straight ahead with rose colored glasses and thought that perhaps one man could make a difference. I was naïve and I was wrong. And yet I’m not giving up on President Obama. I’ll give him a second chance. And truth be told, I think if he continues to screw up like he has, I’ll likely give him a third chance and a fourth too.

Despite the fact that his lack of executive experience continually shows through, despite the fact that he keeps backing off all the promises he’s made to the gay community, despite the fact that Guantanamo Bay is open and shows no signs of closing, despite the fact the anti-war candidate is leading us through two wars, I still want to believe in Obama. I want to hold on to the idea of hope. Naïve? Yes. Totally cynical? Thankfully no.

When it comes to leading social change here at home, In my book there have only been two great American Presidents in the last century, FDR and LBJ. Those two men had the force of will and political savvy to lead sweeping progressive legislation through an often hostile Congress. So far BHO is not even worthy of having a three-initial moniker, but I’m hoping in time he will.

Boo ya to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova who won an academy award tonight for their astonishing song ‘Falling Slowly’ from the brilliant indie movie ‘Once’.

And bravo to Jon Stewart who had the decency to bring Marketa back on stage to make her acceptance speech after they started up the background music before she had a chance to open her mouth.

From Lori we have a link to this NY Times story about Hansard and Irglova

Finally, head over to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic to hear a great live performance from the duo.

Next week is the kids and my annual NY Thanksgiving pilgrimage (pun intended). The tradition now is to go to a Broadway show during the trip. Last year it was “The Wedding Singer”. This year it’s “Legally Blonde” – maybe. We’re anxiously watching the strike by Local One, I.A.T.S.E. , the stagehands union.

Let’s look at both sides of the issue.

According to I.A.T.S.E:

My friend Jeremy Lopatin just pointed out that Bonnaroo is sadly going on without us this year.

If you want a little live Bonnaroo action, head over to The AT&T Blueroom where you can watch 3 days of live Bonnaroo concerts including Gillian Welch, The Flaming Lips, Damien Rice, Wilco, Regina Spektor and The Hold Steady (to name a few).

In remembrance of last year’s Bonnaroo, if you click on the photo to the left, you can see a little “What Stage” panorama action from last year.

While I’m certainly not a member of the Mac fan club, I do appreciate their marketing campaigns.

Maybe I’m too much of a geek, but to my mind, this ad just might be the best Mac ad ever.

As the father of a teenager who is just about to start taking driving lessons, I was thrilled to read the article, Feds Want Cell Phone Ban for Teen Drivers

Cell phones are dangerous enough for experienced drivers, but teenagers on their phones while driving is a much scarier issue. I know I’m sounding like a conservative old coot here, but teens and cell phones should not mix with driving.

Folks might have heard snippets of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin radio interview on WWL where’s he’s extremely critical of the govenment’s actions. It’s a raw, honest and highly emotional piece of radio. A piece of history. Folks who haven’t heard it should definately give it a listen. During an interview which he at one point erupts in tears, Mayor Nagin tells the government to”get off your asses and let’s do something”.

I managed to capture a 12 minute stream of the last part of the interview from CNN, so anyone interested in hearing this very, very moving piece of radio can click here to hear it.

Thanks to Caleb, we have a link to this picture of some tremendous geek vandalism.

From Joe Wright, the soon to be father of two, we have a link to the brilliant video Harlan McCraney: Presidential Speechalist.