DocBook for eLearning

I'm very happy to announce the formation of the DocBook Subcommittee for eLearning! The DocBook Technical Committee approved the subcommittee and following charter on 21 Oct 2009:

Background

For more than a decade, DocBook has provided a structured markup vocabulary for hardware and software documentation. DocBook is now widely used in both commercial and Open Source environments. DocBook has a very broad element set, and applies to much more than just technical documentation. The DocBook TC is engaged in evolving the suite of DocBook specifications. The community benefits from having a standard, open, interchangeable vocabulary in which to write structured content. DocBook has been, and will continue to be, designed to satisfy this requirement.

The OASIS DocBook SubCommittee for eLearning is chartered to develop and maintain official variants of DocBook in support of the eLearning industry. Specifically, the subcommittee will focus on schema and stylesheet customizations to support:

1. Develop and design a DocBook-based method for creating reusable learning objects, and the learning content types needed to support them. Some specifics of the design for learning content include:
   1. learning types, including assessments and exercises
   2. a content assembly for structuring, sequencing and managing the learning types as reusable learning objects
   3. linking and relationships between learning objects
   4. interactions
2. Establish guidelines that promote best practices for applying DocBook markup to learning content

Scope of Work

This subcommittee will submit additional enhancements back to the full DocBook standard as appropriate. The scope of this DocBook subcommittee is eLearning content. Broadly, this includes online learning, instructor-led training and other related educational materials.

This effort will deliver on the following goals:

• Build official DocBook variants, based against the DocBook v5.0 schemas.
• Address issues and enhancement requests that have arisen from experience with real-world DocBook and eLearning implementations.
• Add support for features specific to the eLearning industry.

We already have 5 members, who are very eager to get started! If you are an OASIS member and would like to participate, please let me know!

Incredible India!

I had the incredible opportunity to travel to India last week on business. It was hectic, so I didn't keep a regular blog for each day. Instead, I kept a brief log of my travels which I'm posting below. I also posted pictures to: http://picasaweb.google.com/shudson310/India2009.

4:30a local time, 23 Aug 2009

I'm in India! As I've only seen the airport and darkened roads at night to the hotel, I have to say it reminds me a little of Mexico -- the people look different, and the roadside adverts are in a different foreign language, but there are some strong similarities. On the plus side, almost everyone speaks very good English (except my driver) and are very friendly.

Favorite trip moments (so far):

• Flying over Ireland when I was awake! It truly is the Emerald Isle!
• Lime Pickles on the flight from London to Chennai. No, it didn't taste like lime OR pickles, but it was still very tangy and tasty!

I basically stayed up for 24 hours straight, since I worked early on Friday and then stayed awakefor the Denver-London leg. Sleeping on a plane is never great, but did get some rest from London-Chennai!

I'm a little bushed still, so am going to take a cat nap. We are going to see the sights at 8am!

6:15p, 23 Aug 2009

Just got back from a day of sightseeing in Chennai.

Our host, Abel, was very gracious throughout the day. We tried tender coconut, saw Mamallapuram and the Shore Temple, and ate at a wonderful place on the beach called Fisherman's Cove.

Unfortunately, I thought I was also pickpocketed for $5USD and 500INR. I thought I had left it in my pocket when I wanted to get some change. When I went to use it, I couldn't find it and thought the worst as I searched my pockets. Thought a bunch of street vendors that were very persistent had taken it. My host felt very bad, as did I (although I thought it was a $15 lesson to me...).

Turns out I outsmarted my jet-lagged self and moved it to a hidden zipper pocket on my pants!

Didn't find it until I was going through all my pockets at bedtime. Will issue an apology to my host when I see him again!

There are motorcycles everywhere! Tons of them. It's the easiest way to get around. It's funny to see ladies in sarees riding sidesaddle behind a guy riding the motorbike.

We then went shopping for sarees. Got some very beautiful ones, that I hope the girls will like.

Also jet lagging very bad now. Almost fell asleep in my food at dinner! Time to go to bed, methinks!

24 Aug 2009

Met with a vendor today. Very nice office, and very smart people. They are most gracious hosts.

They took us shopping for saree tops at the famous Nalli and Porthy shops. Must be a million sarees in there as they each had about 5 floors worth! Then they took us to dinner at the Pergola restaurant atop the Accord Metropolitan hotel. Very modern, top-floor restaurant overlooking Chennai. I told them it was the Rainbow Room of Chennai!

25 Aug 2009

Met with a new vendor today. It was quite a bit further and we got stuck in traffic. We started a bit late. The working conditions seemed much more "rustic". They also work multiple shifts, so they are open round the clock. Training went OK. John and I had dinner at the hotel at the Peshawari restaurant. It was very good, Tandoori grill. They had amazing, different ice cream, too. I also tried "filter coffee" today. It apparently is slow brewed with chicory root. I liked it.

26 Aug 2009

Met with another vendor today. Nice facilities, and another sharp group. They were also kind enough to take us to see St. Thomas Mount on the way to the airport, where it is said that the Apostle Thomas was martyred, and a bone fragment has been retained as a relic. Interesting history, and nice view of the city from up there.

Our flight was delayed about 2 hours, so we didn't get to Delhi until 1am. Didn't get to the hotel until 2am, unpacked until 3am. Had to get up at 7am to get breakfast before going to the client site.

The hotel, BTW, is outstanding! I can see why several Presidents have stayed here! If my room is this nice, I wonder what the Presidential Suite looks like?!

27 Aug 2009

Traffic was really bad, so we still started an hour late! More smart folks, and a really nice facility! They have 5 floors, too.

Ate dinner at Buhkara. It's world famous and right in the ITC Maurya, New Delhi. Very good food!

The dessert was interesting. Tasted like rose water flavored noodles alongside pistachio ice cream. Yum!

28 Aug 2009

Great day. Wonderful folks, and very smart. On the way to take John to the airport, we stopped and saw Qutb Minar - built in 200-300 A.D.! Incredible detail and design. Quite beautiful. Traffic was a mess at 7pm. After getting John to the airport, we had dinner at an amazing restaurant at the Shangri-La hotel. Beautiful hotel lobby, and then great food! The palatte cleanser was served in this teapot-looking thing, that was spewing forth vapors. It looked like it would burn you, but was actually dry ice! it was a yummy tamarind ice cream. very good company, food and dessert.

29 Aug 2009

Saw all kinds of things today: Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, lunch at the Monsoon restaurant at Le Meridien. The water wall was very cool, and the best ginger ale ever! After lunch, went shopping at Connaught Place, then Akshardham Temple, then sunset at India Gate. Got a flower chain made of Chameli (Jasmine) blossoms - the Indian girls wear them in their hair for the flower's potent perfume scent. I also learned "BHAJSA" - the sequence of the Mughal Emperors: Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan (builder of Taj Mahal), Aurangzeb Alamgir.

30 Aug 2009

Today is my birthday! We tried to get an early start at 6am, but it was raining, so traffic was horrible. They didn't get to the hotel until about 6:40am. Then it was about a 5 hour drive to Agra. It was worth it, because the rain cleared so the Taj Mahal was beautiful! Momentous occassion to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World on my birthday! After the Taj, we had lunch at the ITC Agra hotel. They had delicious Moong Dal Ka Halwa - a sweet pudding made from lentils.

Then we went to Agra Fort. It's amazing how much inlay was done in both Taj and Agra Fort! Then we made our way back to the Intercontinental Hotel for dinner - they had made a birthday cake for me and requested the live band sing Happy Birthday to me!

31 Aug 2009

Traveling home today. It was a great trip, but I miss my family and look forward to seeing them!

Got a surprise upgrade from Delhi to London, so I was able to rest on this leg. Need to stay awake from London to Denver to get back on Colorado time.

Overall, I had a wonderful first trip to India! The people, places and food were all absolutely incredible. I hope to return again soon.

FLL 2009 begins!

We held our FIRST Lego League team kickoff tonight! We have more than doubled the size of our team this year, and have maxed out the team size allowance.

Our team this year will be the "Jumping Jelly Beans". We look forward to a wonderful season of fun and learning.

Below are a few pics, trying out our Robot Mats General Training Mat. Our new bot was tasked with following the big curvy black line. It wasn't perfect, but demonstrated the task well considering it was programmed in a day!

Presenting at XML-in-Practice 2009!

I've just been accepted to present at XML-in-Practice 2009, September 30 - October 1, 2009 at the Arlington Hilton near Washington DC!

My presentation entitled, Professional Publishing on a Shoestring Budget, will discuss how to optimize your multi-channel publishing processes using the latest approved DocBook v5.0 schema and the DocBook Publishers schema.

Details on the conference are available at the XML-in-Practice website.

I hope to see you there!

DocBook Publishers Schema Version 1.0 now available for public review

Well, we finally got all the i's dotted and the t's crossed! The DocBook Publishers schema is available for public review. This is an effort I chaired to support the needs we've seen in the publishing industry.

Many publishers spend considerable amounts of time and money developing and maintaining their own custom schemas and output rendering. This standard tries to address the unique needs of publishers, while building upon a standards-based platform to reduce cost and ensure consistency. Key publishers involved in this effort have included: O'Reilly, John Wiley and Sons, and Penguin UK, so this was not developed in a vacuum either!

Here's the notice from OASIS:

The OASIS DocBook TC has recently [January 2009] approved the following specification as a Committee Draft and approved the package for public review:

The DocBook Publishers Schema Version 1.0

The public review starts today, 2 July 2009, and ends 31 August 2009. This is an open invitation to comment. We strongly encourage feedback from potential users, developers and others, whether OASIS members or not, for the sake of improving the interoperability and quality of OASIS work. Please feel free to distribute this announcement within your organization and to other appropriate mail lists.

More non-normative information about the specification and the technical committee may be found at the public home page of the TC at: http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=docbook. Comments may be submitted to the TC by any person through the use of the OASIS TC Comment Facility which can be located via the button marked "Send A Comment" at the top of that page, or directly at: http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/comments/index.php?wg_abbrev=docbook .

Submitted comments (for this work as well as other works of that TC) are publicly archived and can be viewed at: http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/docbook-comment/. All comments submitted to OASIS are subject to the OASIS Feedback License, which ensures that the feedback you provide carries the same obligations at least as the obligations of the TC members.

The specification document and related files are available here:

Editable Source:
http://docs.oasis-open.org/docbook/specs/publishers-1.0-spec-cd-01.xml

PDF:
http://docs.oasis-open.org/docbook/specs/publishers-1.0-spec-cd-01.pdf

HTML:
http://docs.oasis-open.org/docbook/specs/publishers-1.0-spec-cd-01.html

Schema:
http://docs.oasis-open.org/docbook/rng/publishers/publishers.rnc

OASIS and the DocBook TC welcome your comments.

You can also take a look at all of our content samples on SourceForge here:
http://docbook.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/docbook/trunk/docbook/relaxng/publishers

The End of the Bloodline

It is with a heavy heart that I blog tonight. I had to put my faithful friend, Duncan, to sleep today. He had cancer and was beginning to suffer. I couldn't let him suffer any longer.

It hurts because I had his grandfather and father as well. We weren't able to continue the bloodline, so this is the end of an era. His grandfather, Laddie, saved me from a rattlesnake bite as a boy. He barked and barked to get the adults' attention and got between me and the rattler. He took a bite right on the hard part of his nose. He survived and lived many years, chasing cars on the ranch. If it weren't for Laddie, Sr., neither Duncan nor I would be around!

Laddie, Sr. and me in 1983

We were able to breed Laddie before he died in a car chase incident, and named him Laddie as well.

Laddie, Jr. and I in 1989.

Laddie, Jr. was a faithful friend through Jr. High, High School and even survived through my college years. He was cool, because I taught him to shake and give High Fives! He and I also had many adventures at night when I was supposed to bring in a load of wood for the fireplace.

We were able to breed him as well, and named his son, Duncan.

Laddie, jr and Duncan

One of my most favorite photos of my lovely wife Dawn and Duncan

Laddie, jr and Duncan at our first house

Duncan had the sweetest personality of the line. He was so gentle with the kids, and always a faithful friend. He liked to snuggle and lay in your lap when he was younger. He lasted over 14 years, which if you convert dog years to human years, is a pretty good run.

Duncan and his house

He had a tough time getting out of the house the last 2 days, and was starting to dehydrate, despite having several water bowls around. His testicles were the size of softballs because of the cancer, and he was down from 75 lbs to 42 lbs. He also started yelping periodically over the last week. I can only assume he was starting to be in pain.

Saying goodbye to my friend

why is it so hard? I miss you, Duncan.

Connor says goodbye. He had a really tough time, but knew it was time.

Collin says goodbye. He was brave, like his namesake and tried to comfort us all.

Caileigh tries to be brave. She wanted to have a special burial for him, but we will settle for a memorial stone that we will make.

Holly says goodbye. Not sure what she'll do without her companion.

Caileigh says goodbye. It tears me up just looking at the picture, because I feel the same way.

We took him at 3:30pm today. Thankfully, it had clouded up and was cooler, so he was not too hot or uncomfortable. We all needed the rain on our face afterwards to accompany our tears. Collin fed him treats in my lap right up until he fell asleep. He passed quickly and gently, just like his personality. We all miss him terribly.

Caileigh makes it all better with Caileigh's Smiley Face Pancakes! Caileigh made dinner for everyone to cheer us all up.

Star Trek Easter Egg sweepstakes winner!

Woohoo! I won the STAR TREK Easter Egg Sweepstakes, and they are sending me an official Phaser prop from the film!

I guess seeing it 3 times opening week (twice in IMAX) helped! It is the best Star Trek film yet, so I'm very excited to win! It's also fun that this "ties" together my two favorite Sci-Fi universes...

Here are some photos!

Vote DocBook!

Attention all DocBook fans!SourceForge is accepting nominations for its annual Community Choice Awards, so this is a great opportunity to Vote DocBook!

Nominations are open until May 29th. Please vote for DocBook in the Best Project for the Enterprise category. If you want to do the same, click here!

Get the word out using your social network and vote!

DocBook: A Successful Open Source Project?

A few weeks ago, I found an interesting article on gauging the success of Open Source projects. Since I contribute to several open source and standards initiatives, I thought I'd put the article to the test with the most prominent of these: DocBook.

To give a little history, DocBook has been around since 1991. It is a very robust content model and considered the "de facto" standard for technical documentation. Given it's broad adoption, does that necessarily mean it is successful? Why? The article provides a 9-point checklist, so I'll address each of these in turn.

1. A thriving community - DocBook has one of the most active user communities around. Don't believe me? Check out the docbook-apps mailing list and the docbook mailing list and by tuning into the DocBook irc channel. You can get expert help from around the world almost 24-7 and in multiple languages, too! Many of these are contributors to the DocBook project on sourceforge.net, and participation is welcomed and encouraged.

2. Disruptive goals - Many would agree that DocBook provides much more control and semantics to what is currently available in Microsoft Word or other commercial documentation solutions. DocBook aims to be the preeminent solution for creating books and papers about computer hardware and software (though it is by no means limited to these applications).

3. A benevolent dictator - Two words: Norm Walsh. Norm is very well known in the XML community. He is not afraid to speak his mind concerning requested features, but is very open to new ideas and contributions.

4. Transparency - DocBook is maintained by a technical committee at OASIS. All activities and correspondence is archived and available for public review and input. The DocBook mailing lists are also archived by several different services. You can't get much more transparent than that.

5. Civility - This has never been an issue in the DocBook community. All participants are very professional, and willing to help the newbies as well as experts with any DocBook-related issues.

6. Documentation - Not only is the DocBook specification publicly available, but Norm Walsh has open-sourced his book, "DocBook: The Definitive Guide" and Bob Stayton has open-sourced his book, "DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide". These are the best sources of documentation available for DocBook, but several parameter references as well as the DocBook wiki are also publicly available.

7. Employed developers - While DocBook does not have any official paid developers, several of the contributors work full-time on DocBook and DocBook implementations.

8. A clear license - The standard is freely available from OASIS as well as the docbook.org site. The specifications are covered under OASIS IPR Policy, where you can read all of the details.

9. Commercial support - Last, but not least, DocBook is supported in many commercial products.

In consideration of these 9 items in the checklist, I would posit that DocBook is, indeed, a very successful open-source project and well worth considering for your documentation.

I'd also like to point out to the naysayers that DocBook is NOT dead! In fact, it is more active than ever! The latest version of the standard (v5.0) has been in development for the last several years and is expected to reach official OASIS standard status some time this year. The DocBook TC is also establishing subcommittees to address industry-specific needs.

The first of these is the DocBook Publishers subcommittee, which is addressing the needs of the publishing industry (as opposed to computer hardware and software documentation industry). The specification for an official Publishers schema was recently approved and will be available for public review shortly.

If you have specific needs in publishing, documentation, or content management, we would be very pleased to assist you. Please visit the new Flatirons Solutions website at: http://www.flatironssolutions.com

Star Trek: Boldly goes where no [Trek film] has gone before!

I saw the premiere of Star Trek last night. In short, absolutely stunning - especially in IMAX format! The special effects, sound effects, and soundtrack were awe-inducing.

Fellow Trekker Bill Petro has an excellent review here.

SPOILER ALERT:

There were quite a few nods to the original series and the movies that I loved, including the creature from Ceti Alpha (ST:II), the Orion girl, Captain Pike, the Phase Cannons (loose tie to Enterprise), Sulu's swordfighting...

I was hoping there would be a little tie-in with the Star Trek: Enterprise show (perhaps having Archer or Trip mentioned), especially since it was a prequel too. Perhaps the explanation of the altered timeline negates that whole series... I REALLY liked the use of Captain Pike in this film, so I'm OK with this approach. It might also have been fun to have Number One or Dr. Boyce in there (can't remember if the latter was killed in the attack...).

Complaints? Only a few: The Uhura relationship. It just didn't feel right to me. Also, since they got a Russian for Chekov, I was hoping they'd also get an actual Scot for Scotty. The englishman they got was OK, but still not quite what I'd hoped.

Bones almost stole the show. He was hilarious and absolutely in character. Spock and Kirk were also very well played.

In all, a very welcome re-start to the franchise. One I hope will continue to boldly go...

Agent Carmichael uses XSLT

As I was watching the "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart" episode of Chuck, I was excited to see Michael Kay's XSLT book in the background! It appears that Agent Carmichael also uses XSLT...

I also noticed Programming Perl, and a few Java books, but was most excited to see the familiar red book laying in the background!

Trying Live Writer

My colleague, Jim Earley, recommended trying Windows Live Writer. This is a test.

Technorati Tags: web,tools,software

Here’s where I work:

Ideally, I’d like to find an editor that makes great use of div and span and lets me easily assign class attributes to them.

Seems pretty easy so far. I'm going to post and see how it looks, since I use a custom template on my blog.

WOW, the preview capability is really nice! It automatically pulled my categories too. This might be my new blog tool of choice!

DocBook Publishers schema approved to Committee Working Draft

I'm proud to announce that the DocBook Publishers SubCommittee presented the specification for the DocBook Publishers schema to the DocBook Technical Committee. In the meeting, the motion to approve the specification to DocBook TC Working Draft was carried!

So what does this mean?

Prior to this, the specification was "locked up" in the subcommittee as it was being developed. Now that it is an official DocBook TC Working Draft, it will be available for public review for the first time! We would appreciate any and all feedback! I'll post a link as soon as it's available.

This specification would not be possible without the diligent work of:

• Keith Fahlgren, O'Reilly Media
• Norm Walsh, Mark Logic Corporation
• Dick Hamilton, XML Press
• John Pedersen, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
• Jim Earley, Flatirons Solutions Corporation
• Jirka Kosek
• Dave Pawson, Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB)
• John Hanratty, Reed Elsevier
• Gary Hoffman
• Scott Hudson, Flatirons Solutions Corporation

We hope this specification will make it easier for the publishing industry to produce multi-channel content from DocBook XML!

Highlight of the Inauguration Speech

I found President Obama's closing statement to be the most interesting and impactful:

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

I found it interesting, because the recurring verse in our family's life this year has been Joshua 1:9

9"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

We have also been memorizing the book of James, and I found these verses (James 1:2-5) particularly poignant today:

2Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

May God bless America and President Obama with faith, endurance, wisdom, peace and prosperity.

DITA Learning in the new Adobe Technical Communications Suite!

Adobe just announced a new Technical Communications Suite, and has included support for DITA Learning!

Full support for DITA standards

Take advantage of DITA 1.1, including support for Bookmap, Indexing, and Glossary specifications, and use the DITA 1.2 Learning and Training Content Specialization (beta) to develop compelling training content.

I'll definitely have to give this a try. The DITA Learning Content subcommittee is in the process of putting together more real-world examples using this standard that we've developed over the past several years. Maybe I'll try to put that together using the demo!

Enjoyed the John Williams composition for the inauguration

More Obamination

Unbelievable. I happened to be perusing iTunes and noticed a custom album that is on the "hot list". It's an album called "Songs about Obama". I have no idea if any of it is any good (looks like a lot of rap to me), but here's the list of songs:

It's a New Day 3:39 will.i.am It's a New Day - Single  $0.99
Obama Song  4:09 Michael Franti & Spearhead Obama Song  - Single  $0.99
Vote for Hope (feat. Barack Obama) 4:49 MC Yogi Vote for Hope - Single  $0.99
Yes We Can 3:16 Obamabots Yes We Can - Single  $0.99
Black President 4:28 Nas Nas  $0.99
Yes We Can 2:36 The Power Of O Yes We Can  $0.99
World of Friends (Song for Obama) 4:50 Garrison Davis World of Friends (Song for Obama)  $0.99
Work to Do (Obama 08) 5:15 Kidz In the Hall Geniuses Need Love Too  $0.99
We Want Obama 3:02 We the People We Want Obama  $0.99
We Believe 3:10 Chubb Rock Obama We Believe  $0.99
Barack Obama 4:12 Cocoa Tea Yes We Can  $0.99
If I Was President (Live) 3:49 Wyclef Jean If I Was President (Live) - Single  $0.99
Vote Vote Obama Vote 4:25 Henry Love Vaughn Vote Vote Obama Vote 08  $0.99
This Incredible Moment - Full Version 2:59 DEE And The SOT Obama Victory Song 'This Incredible Moment'  $0.99
There's No One As Irish As Barack Obama 3:28 Corrigan Brothers There's No One As Irish As Barack Obama - Single  $0.99
Rock Obama (Mahalo America) 4:19 Scott Katsura Rock Obama (Mahalo America)  $0.99
Our Colors Won't Run (Obama for America) 5:02 Nigel George OUR COLORS WONT RUN (Obama for America)  $0.99
Obama You 3:38 Joey Pearson Obama You  $0.99
Obama Vote Song-2008 4:11 Jeff Logan & Various Artists Obama Vote Song-2008 - Single  $0.99
Obama Time 4:29 Madame Star Obama Time  $0.99
Obama Rock (Save Our Country!!!) 3:37 The Obama Mamas Obama Rock: Save Our Country!!! - Single  $0.99
Obama Power: A Song for Barack 2:38 Lou Del Bianco Obama Power: A Song for Barack  $0.99
Obama Obama 3:31 Millennium Obama Obama  $0.99
Obama Obama 5:10 Dynamq Obama Obama - Single  $0.99
Obama Gonna Get It 3:46 The Steelers Steelers Love You (featuring Obama Gonna Get It)  $0.99
Obama for Change 4:38 Michael Droste Obama for Change  $0.99
Obama for Change 5:36 Kenge Kenge Obama for Change - Single  $0.99
Obama Anthem - Yes We Can (Come Together) 3:11 Talat & Various Artists
Obama Anthem - Yes We Can (Come Together)  $0.99
Obama 2:48 Washington Salsa Band For the Presidency  $0.99
Obama 3:04 Pistol Opera Obama - EP  $0.99
Obama 8:04 Extra Golden Hera Ma Nono  $0.99
Obama 3:20 Rankin Cobra Obama  $0.99
Obama 5:00 Ridi Obama - Single  $0.99
O! Oh! Obama! 3:57 La Compagnie Créole O ! Oh ! Obama ! - Single  $0.99
O-B-A-M-A , Obama (Obamagroove) 5:08 Joseph "Ziggy " Modeliste O-B-A-M-A, Obama (Obamagroove)  $0.99
New Beginning 3:34 Luke Parkin Anthony Ross and Maris Moon Obama 08 Version  $0.99
Mr. Obama (Tribute Campaign Song) 3:26 Tony Ballard Mr. Obama - EP  $0.99
I'm Standing Up With Barack Obama 1:22 Rodger Collins I'm Standing Up With Barack Obama  $0.99
Goin' Places (The Barack Obama Song) 4:50 Ozzie Bostic Goin' Places (The Barack Obama Song) - Single  $0.99
God Bless Obama and Supporters 4:27 Dishu Productions The Making of History: Barack Obama  $0.99
Change the World (Tribute to Obama) 2:58 Nikko Change the World (Tribute to Obama)  $0.99
Change 8:04 The Evangelist Ulus Dye Jr. Singing Change for Barack Obama  $0.99
Black President Obama 3:27 Mad White Jamaican & Splurt & Obama Black President Obama - Single  $0.99
Barack Obama Victory Song 7:42 SamO and the band JFC Barack Obama Victory Song  $0.99
Barack Obama My Heroes 5:00 Roy Medina Barack Obama - My Heroes - Single  $0.99
Barack Obama (Root Version) 4:40 Blakk Rasta Barack Obama - EP  $0.99
Barack Obama 3:34 Soca General Time F4 a Change  $0.99
Barack Obama 3:55 French Fries Barack Obama - Single  $0.99

Personally, I prefer "The Presidential Rap" that came out during the Reagan era about The Gipper!

So, we know that the media and music industries are both worshiping this man, and people on the street are almost proclaiming him a messiah!

Those are some pretty big expectations to fulfill. I was in an American Politics class in college, and one of the key papers we wrote was about the unrealistic expectations placed on ANY candidate in this modern era -- basically that any modern president will be "unsuccessful" or unpopular because of the loads of expectations placed on them. That said, they tend to bring it on themselves when they make tons of exaggerated promises that they can't fulfill!

Well, Mr. Obama, I sure hope your promises of "Change" are for the better. I'll go on record right here and now: I don't think things will really change. Look at his cabinet: it's primarily the same Capitol Hill gang from Clinton. It'll be business as usual, except that the Democrats will push their social agendas through at the cost of the American taxpayer. Our debt will continue to skyrocket, the economy will keep swirling toward the bottom of the toilet.In four years, I'll be able to say "I told you so."

I'm more than happy to be proven wrong, but at this point, I remain firmly skeptical.