DadCentric Presents: The Top 5 Dad Moments of 2010

Historians will look back on 2010 as The Year A Few People Said That 2010 Was The Year Of The Dadblogger. We're pretty sure that didn't happen - well, for most of you, anyway. I'm writing this from the deck of DadCentric's floating headquarters, the superyacht SS Dadcentric, resting at anchor off of Barbados. While I wait for the helicopter to arrive, bearing cases of Dom and fresh lobsters, I thought I'd put together a list of great dad-related things that happened this year. As we bid adieu to 2010, we look back on the year's Top 5 Dad Moments - events that brought the dad community together and propelled the Dadiverse further into...ah...dadnessness.

5. The M3 Summit. The dozen or so people that were there all agreed, in a completely earnest manner, without the slightest hint of derision or irony or snark: it changed everything.

4. Single Dad Laughing. Single Dad Laughing was started in July 2010 by Dan, who "decided to quit being a plague and a cancer and start writing things that would actually make people sit back and think". His blog - his message - is, in his words, "more about love and less about me". "So much more than a daddy blog"¹, and certainly not a testament to Dan's own ego, Single Dad Laughing provides "intelligent humor"², "deep, powerful content"³, and "sincere followers"⁴. "Powerful and heartbreaking"⁵, "passionate and desperate"⁶, and "have been viewed several hundred thousand times"⁷ are phrases used (by Dan, natch) to describe his posts⁸. Also, Dan is "not interested in co-authoring a book with you",⁹.

1. Dan, author of "Single Dad Laughing"

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

3. Tron: Legacy. There were a few great movies that featured memorable fathers (or father figures), and the impact they have on their kids: True Grit, and, uh...ok. Maybe not. But hey, at least we finally got a sequel to Tron. Incomprehensible plot and wooden performances aside, my kid and I both agreed that lightcycles and Olivia Wilde in a bodysuit and Jeff Bridges as The Cyber-Dude in 3D with an accompanying Daft Punk soundtrack = awesome. 

2. Ed O'Neill Returned To Claim The Title Of TV's Best Dad. Let's be clear: there's very little in Modern Family that's actually modern. In fact, three of the four dads on the show are throwbacks, resurrecting the very worst caricatures of Sitcom Manhood: Cameron (The Wacky and Flamboyant Gay Guy), Mitch (The Uptight and Priggish Gay Guy), and  Phil (The Completely Selfish and Clueless Bumbling Idiot Dad). And to add insult to injury, we get Al Bundy! Brilliantly, the show finds fatherly grace in Ed O'Neill's Jay. Yes, he had the good sense to marry Sofia Vergara's Gloria. But he also has the good sense to constantly mess with his doltish son-in-law, to impart his adopted son with his hard-earned wisdom, and, best of all, to admit that he's not perfect. 

 

1. All Kidding About The Year of The Dadblogger Aside, Some Truly Great New Sites Emerged, And Old Favorites Continued To Redefine "Dadblogging". 2010 brought us Man of The House, The Good Men Project and DadWagon. Culture Brats featured some of our favorite dadbloggers tackling pop culture, and MamaPop continued to showcase some of the best entertainment writers/dads out there. The dadblogging community continues to evolve, and in the best way possible; by challenging each other to do better, questioning the status quo, and ultimately supporting quality work. 2010 was a great year for dadblogging. We're looking forward to hearing more new voices in 2011. Especially if their "daily goal is to sucker punch you in the guts with words that make you think, laugh, and even cry once in a while"¹⁰. 

10. You can't make this stuff up, folks.