9 Empowering Songs for Kicking Ass and Taking Names

I first came up with this blog post idea a long time ago when, in my SuperBetter account, I created "listen to an empowering song" as a power-up. I had a few on my iPod, came across a few more, and decided it would be cool to put them all together in a list post. After all, empowerment is about getting ready to kick ass and to take names, so why not help others be able to do the same? In doing a little research for this post, I found lists and songs that were dedicated to empowering women after a breakup! It sends the message that a man will empower and validate us, so when we are without one, we have to find out how to do it on our own. I also found lists and songs that I didn't think were all that empowering at all, like Adele's Rolling in the Deep (Sorry Adele, but this does more fall into the 'empowerment after breakup' category). Besides, we shouldn't only be looking for empowerment and self-confidence when we're newly single. We should be doing that all the time and looking for ways to channel that energy besides being someone's girlfriend or wife. So, I'm changing that by creating my own list of empowering songs that are actually empowering (I fail to see how Somewhere Only We Know by Keane is empowering) and can actually be applied perhaps when we're in a happy relationships. Here are nine empowering songs for kicking ass and taking names. I know that some of these artists have done more than one empowering song, but I wanted to feature each artist only once.

Roar - Katy Perry

An obvious choice for an empowering song. I prefer the lyric video to the official one. I don't think the jungle theme showcases the message of the song all that well. I don't think Olivia Henken did it justice on season 5 of the Voice.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9SeJIgWRPk]

Hair - Lady Gaga

It's not one of her most popular hits, but this song is one of my favorites from her. I want someone to sing this on the Voice.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okq8xHrIZ8I]

#thatpower - will.i.am ft. Justin Bieber

Not only is this great song, but the music video is awesome too. The choreography is so deliberate, like what it takes to succeed in life.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGIgXP9SvB8]

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

The version by Michael Buble isn't bad either, but I do think the original has much more character and emotion to it. I also think that it would be harder to sing if you had to sing it live.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHs98TEYecM]

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars. Or, in my case, words. I want to be counting words.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg]

Try - P!nk

This song applies to love and relationships, as that's what P!nk is singing about, but you need to try in life also. You can't be afraid of failure or uncertainty. Well, you can be afraid of those things, but you shouldn't let your fear getting in the way of doing things. Let P!nk tell you all about it. Another video with great choreography.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCDVfMz15M]

Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys

Around the time this song came out, my cat accidentally lit his tail on fire by sweeping across a lit candle. My fiance and I put it out frantically, while my cat wasn't too pleased that we pet him the wrong way. Now, the lyric goes, "This kitty's on fire!"

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J91ti_MpdHA]

Dog Days are Over - Florence + the Machine

Now, Pentatonix did this song justice when they performed it on the Sing Off. They made it their own while keeping the intensity and character of the song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU]

Walk Tall - John Mellencamp

Not only is this an incredibly inspirational and empowering song, but the music video is beautiful too. Mellencamp may have been singing for a long, long time (although this song came out in the early 2000's), but this song is timeless.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNn9_bfp6k]

5 Recent Research Findings that Challenge Notions of Politics and Society

Of the many things that go unreported in major news outlets, one of those things are the research findings from major universities. Granted, research does get coverage from time to time, especially if its proven that video games are good for you. And, granted, not all research coming out of a major university deserves press coverage. But, this doesn't mean that there are excellent studies and findings taking place that aren't worth talking about, or considering because they challenge traditionally held notions of politics and society. Here are five recent research findings from major universities across the globe that shed light into how our world, and our government, really works:

Anti-Muslim Bias Tracked in Mainstream Media

Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that organizations with negative messages about Muslims drowned out positive and moderate messaging in the mainstream media. Christopher Bail, an assistant professor of sociology who conducted the study, said that this emphasis by the mass media gave fringe organizations the chance to build networks and to raise funds. It also give little attention to public condemnations of terrorism of Muslims, even though the vast majority of organizations depict Muslims as peaceful, contributing members of our society.

Although the article doesn't expound upon the methodology, I suspect that plagiarism software was used for this research because the software makes it easy to track how many times a certain news release was posted, or copied, on another website. This methodology may also omit news articles that reference these news releases or use them as a source, but don't copy the text of the original release.

Remember the Lowe's Advertising Fiasco Over "All-American Muslim"?

Recent Examples of Anti-Muslim Bias in the Media

Women in U.S Congress Deliver More to Their Districts than Male Counterparts

Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as a man to be thought of as half as good. Luckily, that's not too difficult. - Charlotte Witton

Apparently, 2011 research from the University of Chicago proves Witton's words to be true in politics. In Congress, women outperform men in two main areas: sponsorship/co-sponsorship of legislation and obtaining federal discretionary spending for home districts. The authors don't go so far as to way that women are more innately talented in politics than men, as women who fill the seats of their deceased husbands do not outperform their male colleagues. They argue that the more discrimination a woman has to overcome to get elected, the more motivations and qualifications they need to win the election and to keep their seat in Washington. The researchers call this phenomenon the "Jackie (and Jill) Robinson Effect," where famed baseball player Jackie Robinson needed to be the absolute best to overcome the racial discrimination of his time.

Because of This, Our First Female President will Be AMAZING

Less than Half of Americans Think It's a Good Thing to Have More Women in Congress

Grandiose Narcissism Makes a Memorable President

What do Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy have in common (besides at one time being president of the United States)? They all have a distinct trait called grandiose narcissism.

Grandiose narcissism, as defined by research from Emory University, is an extroverted, self-aggrandizing, domineering, and flamboyant interpersonal style, and it's a personality style that's associated with greatness in the presidency. After all, the presidents listed as having this type of narcissism are the ones that are most often discussed and taught in history class. Few people know anything about Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, the two presidents who scored low ratings for grandiose narcissism. Although this type of narcissism makes a memorable president, it doesn't necessarily translate into a well-liked or an uncontroversial president, as grandiose narcissism is also associate with rule bending, cheating, and impeachment resolutions.

Jumbo: It's Why American Soldiers Were in Vietnam, and Other Fun Facts

The Least and Most Narcissistic Presidents, If You're Curious

Haiti's Poorer than Medieval England (If Medieval England Were Around Today

An annual salary of $400 (as expressed in 1990 international dollars) is commonly used as a measure of “bare bones subsistence.” It was previously believed that this figure was the average income in medieval England. However, new research from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom found that the average income for this time period was closer to $1000/year, since a majority of the population in that time period could afford a varied diet as well as the occasional luxuries. This new figure for average per capita income also means that England in the Middle Ages was wealthier than Haiti today, along with 12 other countries in Africa and Asia (still expressed in 1990 dollars). Haiti, according to 1990 dollars, has an average per capita income of $686/year.

The authors note that these figures do not consider income distribution, where many in medieval England still live a bare bones existence while others were far better off than a varied diet and occasional luxuries.

What Happened to Caring about Haiti After the Earthquake?

Just How Dark Were the Dark Ages? [Video]

Political TV Ads are Overrated, In a Sense

Political advertising is powerful; no one needed research from Penn State to prove that. However, that their research did find was that people tended to overestimate the impact these ads have on others, especially negative political ads. With positive political messaging, people thought the messaging had more of an impact on themselves than on others. Either way, the researchers concluded that the more political ads someone saw, positive or negative, the more likely that person was going to perceive that these ads were affecting people.

I read in Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America that although constituents hate political ads, especially negative ads, the messages of these ads still stick with viewers. Viewers recalled the messaging, particularly if they didn't like the messaging in the first place. Political ads may annoy us during the election season, but they aren't going anywhere anytime soon because they work.

Almost $1 Billion Were Spent on Political Ads in the 2012 Election

A Look at Political Ads from a More Recent Election

Setting My September Goals

I know it's a bit late to do this, but better late than never. Part of what it means to be awesome is to set goals, to create action plans to meet those goals, and then actually meet those goals. I'm going to set myself for awesomeness for the rest of the month, and eventually the year, by setting a few goals for the latter half of the month. These aren't the most ambitious goals in the world, but I also need goals that I can meet in two week's time.

Finish My DMV Appointment Articles

I have 52 articles left of the 102 articles that I need to complete. I want to get this done by the end of the month so I can invoice my client for the next set of articles. This set is taking longer than expected since I don't have the hired help to get them done. The articles aren't hard, just a little tedious since there's a fair amount of research and fact-checking that needs to go into each article. I'm putting it here as my top goal, and telling the world that this is what I'm going to do, so that I stop putting off these articles and start getting them done.

Finish Harrington on Hold 'Em

I haven't touched this book much since I last wrote about reading this. I'm stuck in the chapter on starting hand ranges, and my plan was to make a set of charts that I can refer to as I am playing poker. I've only made one chart, and I actually made it wrong, and ever since then I haven't touched the books or the charts. I really ought to get back to the book, since I think these charts and memorizing these starting hand ranges would improve my game and better ensure that I put myself in a good position when I decide to play a hand.

On a side note, I have already finished one book on my list of books to read this fall (I could have added a few more to this list, actually). Working on my second!

Have $100 in My Poker Bankroll

I am so close to meeting this goal! I currently have $91 and change, and if I reach $100, then I will have broken even with my original deposit. It's only up from there, as once I reach the $100 I can move up a buy-in level. Then, I can work my way up to doubling my money. Completing my second goal on this list will increase my chances of making this goal.

Answer 5 Questions for International Political Forum

So far, I've only answered one question about the Prime Minister and the Syrian conflict, with research started to answer questions about changes to the food stamp program and the welfare system. I need to get those up before they become outdated. This goal is doable, since I'm already 20% there, with two more questions in the works. I'm going to make it a mini goal to get both of those questions up this weekend. This would put me 60% toward my goal, making the other 20% that much easier to do in two week's time.

I'm Back into Playing Poker

And Other Things that Are Happening This Week

I feel like I don't have one big thing to talk about today, but several little things. As I write this and prepare to do this blog post as a weekly roundup, I also feel like this post will also end up as one big post about how a lot has happened this week and there's no way I can talk about just one single thing. I think all those previous words are just a long-winded way of saying I am very crazy.

About the Poker

I have played four nine-top sit-n-gos over the past week. I have made the money in three of them, and in all four of them, I got my money in with the best hand only be to be outdrawn by my opponent. It happens. It's only a matter of time before my hand holds up and that I win a sit-n-go. I've won them before, don't get me wrong. It's just that the trend for me lately has been to do real well, only to lose it all (or most of it) in one key hand where my opponent gets there by the river. It's really the reason why I haven't taken a first place yet. I haven't made any huge mistakes. I will play three more sit-n-gos tomorrow and see if this changes.

I Need a Dining Table

My next quest for SuperBetter is to commit to eating at a table for the next two days. No eating in front of the television. No eating in front of the computer. No eating in the car (although I don't have a car so I can't ever do this). I'm supposed to help myself by making this table more inviting. The only problem is that I don't own such a table, unless I want to eat outside in the summer heat, quite possibly with Oden.

There is some decent patio furniture on our porch that was here when we moved in, which I could theoretically clean up, move into the apartment, and use as a dining table. The only problem with that is that I don't have anywhere to put it. There's no room for it. I might have room for it in my office if I didn't have half an l-shaped desk (kind of a long story on that one). There's also no place to make more inviting as each room has a computer and/or television. I could eat in the bedroom, but that's kind of awkward. I don't know what I'm going to do for this quest.

Two More Days Until I Can Redeem Points for Video Games!

I am so excited! I really want to get Rogue Legacy, and I saw on Steam that there is a Grand Theft Auto pack that has four or five of the Grand Theft Auto games! I have a $30 budget for the video games, and those two things might take up the whole budget. That's okay though, because that will be five or six new games that I can play, and that's plenty to keep me occupied. I've been really productive this week too, earning about 12 points each day. This will put me in a good position to continue for my file cabinet after I redeem the points. I think I'll break even once the week is over, the points are tallied, and I redeem the 60 points needed to purchase video games. I might even be about 10 points ahead of last week. I'll take it for the sake of a few new games, especially since Rogue Legacy and Grand Theft Auto are awesome!

You Must Play Geoguessr (and Challenge My High Score)

Geoguessr, if you haven't heard of it, is a brand new Google Maps game where you're given a random location in the world and you have to use the clues in the Google Street View photography to figure it out and take a guess. Each game gives you five locations, and you only have one guess for each location. However, you can take as much time as you need and can click around as long as you need to take your guess. It sounds simple, but it's not easy. Even if you know what to look for, it can still be difficult if you get thrown into a rural location where there aren't any roadsides.

I Started Off Well...

The first time I played, I got 11000 and some points. That's about 2100 points per rounds, which is guessing within 1500 kilometers of the actual location each time. That's a really good score. It also helped that three of them were in North America, so it was pretty easy to guess. However, I've played it a few more times and haven't been able to come close since. I suppose I used up all my deduction and geography skills the first time around. I also received harder locations after the first time around. I actually gone one that was just ocean! My clues were the coral, the fish, the three swimmers/tourists/scuba divers looking at the fish, and the bright blue water. How am I supposed to guess my location with clues like that? It didn't help that I started to stress out because I felt like I was underwater and that a shark could get me at any minute.

Hint: Google Street View has only been around the Cape of Good Hope, and that's about it. So, if you get one that looks like Africa, or has something that says, "Africa" you're best bet is to guess somewhere in South Africa or western Botswana.

This through me off the first couple of times, because rural Africa doesn't have any road signs, you all you have to guess your location with the shrubbery and the vehicles (which may, or may not help, depending on where you are. License plates are blurred so you can't look at numbers, or colors, or anything). It also throws you off because the signs are in English, so your instinct is to go to Western Australia, but that is not correct.

I Want to Challenge People!

I know I can do better (I can do better tomorrow. I will start again tomorrow. I am in pain with all the clicking and guessing and all the wrong guessing)! Therefore, I will issue a challenge! I'm going to say that my highest score was 11,000 so far, since I know it wasn't bigger than 12,000 but I don't remember the rest. If you can beat that, then let me know! It's harder than you think, even if you've been around the world. It's only after you've played a few times that you learn what to look for, and what indicates what about your location.

Hint 2: When you guess, guess near a road. Obviously, this is Google Street View, so your starting point is always on a road. Whether it's a country road or a city road is a completely different story. Although, my first location for this last round wasn't exactly a road. Fortunately, I followed the stone steps to receive a big clue about my location.

Hint 3: Obviously, if you are in a city, then you want to guess in a city. It's one thing if you know you're in France (of which you might not be, because French Canada is always a possibility). But, if you know you are in a big city in France, then you want to make sure that you don't guess in the middle of nowhere.

I should stop giving away hints! This is supposed to be a challenge where I beat you! From here on out, you'll have to learn the rest on your own!

But, give Geoguessr a whirl. As hard as it can be, it's surprisingly addictive.

I am Thankful I Don't Have Student Debt

I managed to do something that's unthinkable, and maybe nearly impossible, in this day in age: graduate college without a dime of student debt. On top of that, I graduated from Saint Louis University, which cost about $35,000 a year. If I remember correctly, during my four years at SLU, tuition increase by about 10%. I do believe it actually increased at least three out of those four years.

We Can Actually Thank SLU Financial Aid for This One

On more than one occasion, my father asked me to go to financial services and to ask about a student loan. "Tell them you need a loan," he said. I did that during my freshman year, and I never went back again, despite repeated requests.

When I visited my freshman year, all the counselor did was tell me that I needed to talk to a bank instead. He (at least I think it was a he. It's been six or seven years now.) printed a list of banks out and said that one of the six or seven banks on the list would be a good option. He didn't tell me how to approach these banks, or where branches were located, or even ask how much money I really needed. I expected this to be a 20 or 30-minute meeting, having a discussion and going through how this process works. I actually thought I would be getting some paperwork on an actual loan. Silly me, as all this means work for financial services. I don't think the meeting even lasted five minutes.

I'm from Hawai'i, and I'm attending school in St. Louis. I don't recognize any of these banks. There's no American Savings Bank or Bank of Hawaii on the list. Wells Fargo only sounds familiar, but it's not a brand I really know anything about. Did they really expect to forge such a huge financial relationship with a company I barely heard of? I suppose this isn't much of a dilemma for most people since they probably get the loan before starting college or the next semester.

So, I never got a student loan. I was always able to avoid it because the financial services department was so unhelpful. It wasn't that I didn't want a loan, but it's hard for my parents to help me when they are 4000 miles away and they're not even on the same land mass.

How College Did Get Paid For

About a quarter of my total college tuition (for all four years) came from the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, which is awarded to SLU freshmen who show a commitment to diversity and who demonstrate leadership. I am grateful for this scholarship and when I can, I interview incoming freshmen for scholarship selection when that weekend rolls around in February or March.

For the first two or three years, my great aunt helped a lot. She had a lot of money, but didn't do much with it in her ripe old age. When she passed on, I believe the money she left for me was used for college as well. I think after she passed, my parents covered the rest of the tuition.

Without Student Loans, I Can Have a Business

More than 38 million Americans have student loan debt, totaling nearly $1 trillion. Student loan debt now surpasses credit card and auto loan debt in this country. Those numbers are staggering, and even though I do have credit card debt (most of which I've accrued after I started the business), there's no way I could have a business if I had student debt. That would have been an additional cost that I would have had to account for in the beginning, making it harder to generate enough income and to be able to put something back into the business. With a ton of debt right after graduation, there would have also been a lot of pressure to find a steady career, instead of taking the chance to venture on my own. I am very grateful that I do not have the debt to weigh me down and to narrow my options for wealth and career.

I Passed My Inbound Marketing Certification Test!

Even though I'm moving away from the inbound marketing/content marketing business, I started my inbound marketing certification from HubSpot way back in April. It's a program where you watch a series of nine webinars, or classes, on the various topics. Once you finish the classes, you can then take the test for the certification. I've finally completed the classes and took the test today. I'm excited to say that I passed, and part of my reward is that cool little badge to the right there. It's one of my several successes of the week.

Other Success Stories of the Week

Opportunity International

Last night, I attended a neat little networking event with Opportunity International and the Young Ambassadors for Opportunity St. Louis chapter. The chapter is new, and the organization is about economic empowerment and providing micro-loans, both of which I am all about. I do like that the organization also works on building savings and providing insurance, instead of just funding loans and getting people to start businesses. Sometimes, getting the loan and having the successful business isn't enough because factors outside of the control of the owner can cause the business to fail.

Since the chapter was new, part of the point of the event was to have some sort of a meet-and-greet and to do something to build awareness for the chapter and the organization. When we think of micro-lending organizations, we think of Kiva.org and the Grameen Bank. However, Opportunity International was one of the first organizations to work on this issue, and it's great to encounter an organization that's actually working on some of the issues featured in Half the Sky. Up until now, it seems like these groups existed by were located somewhere other than St. Louis.

Speaking of the which, what's also great is that this chapter and this organization are going to partner with me on showing a screening of the Half of Sky documentary (of course, it would be a screening of the economic empowerment section). It turns out that Opportunity International is a partner organization of the Half the Sky movement, so this upcoming screening should be a huge hit.

Although, part of the success of last night was the peppermint patty cocktail, which was absolutely delicious. It had brownie batter vodka, peppermint schnapps, something else, and the glass was lined with chocolate sauce. The drink was absolutely amazing. Since the event was at Cafe Napoli, I recommend asking for the peppermint patty cocktail the next time you visit.

Amazing Pizza!

A brand new, very tasty pizza place opened up down the street from me the other day. It's called Papa Murphy's, and they make the pizza in front of you and then you take it home and put it in the oven. We tried it today and it's absolutely fantastic pizza! I ate the gourmet vegetarian, which included neat toppings like zucchini and artichoke hearts, and the entire thing was yummy. Fortunately, I have a whole bunch of coupons, so next time I can get their Hawaiian pizza, or their smores pizza for dessert, or their normal vegetarian pizza (the gourmet one has creamy garlic sauce instead of normal tomato sauce, and has a different combination of vegetables on it). I'm excited about it, and especially like the idea that you can buy it and you don't have to eat it right away.

It's Friday

It's always a success if you can make it until the end of the week without dying, or having a total meltdown, or losing everything you have. Cheers to that! I'm going to spend my night playing a little bit of Wii, reading a little bit of book, playing with the kitty, and perhaps getting some work done. There's always fun work to be done.

People or Works that are Experimental or Innovative

The weather is awful here right now. Thunderstorms now. Hail earlier. Tornado warnings and sightings for the area as well. Flash flood warnings for the next hour or so. A couple of people I know without power. I hope that I can write this before the power goes out! I would have nothing left to do but to go to bed, and I don't want to go to bed right now. My cat doesn't seem to care about any of this. The weather isn't scaring him one bit. A couple of weeks ago, I took one of the coolest personality tests of my life. It's called the Fascination Advantage Test, and it's pretty awesome (also a pretty penny, but worth it). I actually like personality tests because I like to read positive things about myself, but this one was particularly interesting because it evaluated how the world perceives you, versus how you look at the world. I thought that was neat and I really liked how this test told you what you ought to maximize in your personality to engage people and to make success a habit.

I am the Avant-Garde

The Fascination Advantage Test figures out which of the 49 archetypes you are based on what are considered your primary and secondary triggers. Each Personality Archetype has a “primary” trigger (the one that makes you most persuasive and captivating), and a “secondary” trigger (the one represents your second most persuasive strength). For me, I am the Avant-Garde, who is original, enterprising, and forward-thinking. My primary trigger is 'prestige', and my secondary trigger is 'rebellion'. I:

embody a fresh interpretation of the details, tweaking the game to influence direction. Customers and co-workers  are fascinated by my ability to be tapped into the "the next big thing" in business and in pop culture.

Essentially, I am amazing. I am independent, edgy, entrepreneurial, uncompromising, focused, and ambitious. I would recommend everyone to take this test because if you are at all interested in building identity capital and/or building a business, then knowing these traits are important for branding purposes and for engaging people in your vision. Come to find out from this test that building a brand based on being the very best and providing value through higher quality is a key selling point for me. It's part of my prestige trigger. My secondary trigger of rebellion means that incorporating that with a sense of change, exploration, and new perspective maximizes my chances for success and for doing something big.

The Coffee Blog is Fated to Happen

In my inbox today was a Groupon for locally roasted coffee. To boot, it was coffee from a coffee shop that I never heard of, and that was located within good walking distance from my work. I see this as a good opportunity to get the blog started because I can't get some new, unique coffee at a good price. Also, in my initial research, coffee is an incredibly huge market that doesn't have a lot of coverage or a lot of people talking about what the little guys are doing or about coffee culture and trying new flavors. A lot of people drink coffee and spend money on coffee, but it's not easy for those people to find something new, something better, or even something different from what everyone else has or what everyone else is doing.

I also think that because of my archetype, and how I fascinate people, that I am in a better position for success in this line of work versus the content marketing agency stuff. I think the blogging and writing utilizes both triggers, while the agency really only utilized one.

Back on Track

I woke up today and committed to making today a productive, awesome day. I committed to making today a great day and to getting things done. Not only did I accomplish that, but I also found a dollar bill this morning on my way to the bus stop. It's the second dollar bill I've found in a three-day period. I hope I find more money on the sidewalk within the next few days, the next one being a 10 or a 20. You know it's going to be a good day when you find money on the ground, especially when the ground is covered in snow.

However, I'm Nervous

I applied for an Arch Grant about two months ago, and today is the day when they are notifying who moves on to the next round. Haven't heard anything yet, although they announced on Twitter three hours ago that the notifications will go out by the end of the day. It's less than an hour until the end of the day and I haven't heard anything. What's considered the end of the day? I'm nervous because if I don't get the grant, I will start on my project that I hoped to fund through the grant. If I do move on, then I will do the next round and go through the waiting game once more. Getting this grant will be huge, but I think my idea is even better, and I will want to make the idea a priority. However, I don't want to start on it if I do move to the next round. When will I hear something? Eeek!

Other Than That...

Today was a committed and productive day, and I will continue this by playing poker tonight (or maybe game night with the neighbors, as they haven't said anything yet). I played a SNG yesterday and lost, but I was incredibly spaced out. Before I knew it, I only had 2/3 of my original chip stack, and it felt like I hadn't played any hands or made any bad moves. I had no idea where the money went. Alas, I will play again tonight. It will be fun, and I will make the best decisions possible.

Poker, Poker, Poker

I need to practice for my Las Vegas trip, which is less than month away. I am super excited to go! I can't wait. I have this trip to look forward to as well as the Heartland Poker Tour in April. On Pokertube, they have videos of two separate HPT final tables. I plan to watch that to get a glimpse of how tough the competition is that these HPT events. I'm excited, and nervous. I feel my awesomeness exponentially growing. I want to be featured on Pokertube because that would be the coolest thing ever. I would be a semi Internet star. Also, if I happen to win big over the next few months, I could maybe make it out to the World Series of Poker to play one tournament or two. I want to play in the WSOP so bad, even though 2014 is probably when I'll make my first appearance. I need to win super huge to be able to play this year, even though a couple of events have a $1000 buy-in.

Finishing Up

I need to hurry and to finish this post because I want to catch the 5 p.m. bus. I was hoping to catch the 4:30 p.m. bus, but I took too long thinking of something to write about and then I got distracted with the Arch Grant announcement. I keep hitting refresh, hoping to see the notification, but a watched pot never boils. It'll probably come in while I'm on the bus, and then I'll get home and completely forget about it. Then, I won't see it until tomorrow morning or something. Why wouldn't it happen that way? It's usually how these sorts of things go.

The 6 Documentaries I’m Going to Watch Next

The last documentary that I watched, in its entirety, is the latest PBS Frontline special about the first four years of the Obama administration. Yes, I enjoy watching PBS and documentaries, as I don't understand what's so great about crime dramas and the Jersey Shore. I find being smart and knowing what's going on around the world very entertaining. So I don't waste too much time playing Wii, playing poker, and watching West Wing, I'm making a list of the six documentaries I'm going to watch next. It beats staring at all the pictures and facing the ultimate decision of choosing one to watch. I'll make my choices now and watch later. I compiled this list based on what the International Documentary Association and POV have listed as some of the best documentaries of all time, as well as some recommendations from friends.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

This one was pestering me as a Netflix recommendation for some time, and then I learned the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex was actually in St. Louis and demolished in the 60s. Pruitt-Igoe was built and touted as a government solution to cheap housing for the poor, but when set up so that the government would pay for building it and wouldn't pay to maintain it. I'm halfway through it, so this is first on the list so I get around to finishing it.

The Invisible War

This documentary was recommended by a friend, and calls attention to little-known facts about the high prevalence of rape within the ranks of America's armed forces. Interviews with military personnel, elected officials and rape victims provide alarming evidence. It's probably not going to be easy to watch.

Roger & Me

This was Michael Moore's first documentary, and I have yet to see it. Enjoyed Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, and Fahrenheit 9/11. Turns out corporations have been all about profits since the 80s.

Grey Gardens

Came in the top spot on POV's list, and its about the lives of Jackie Onassis's aunt and cousin at their decaying estate, Grey Gardens. Doesn't seem like it would be all that profound or interesting, but I figure it must have gotten the top spot for reason.

Hoop Dreams

This one is within the top five of both lists, and I've never heard of it. The movie is about two boys from the Chicago ghetto who try to use their basketball skills to get out. Sounds interesting enough, and I can stream it on Netflix so I don't have to reorder my queue.

The Thin Blue Line

Another one on the top five of both lists, another one that I can stream live, and another one that I've never heard of. Best of all, this is a criminal justice documentary, an investigation into the murder of Dallas police officer that ultimately released the innocent man who was originally charged and convicted of the crime.

Harlan County, U.S.A.

This is yet another on the top five of both lists, although this one I can't stream live. Too bad, because this one is about labor unions and workers' rights, two human rights issues I am very interested in. Highlighting the struggles of families living in shacks with no indoor plumbing and enduring hazardous working conditions, the film details the conflict between the Eastover Mining Co. and the laborers determined to join the United Mine Workers of America. Exciting!

Okay, that's all I have. Nothing else on those lists interest me, and this is probably enough to keep me occupied for a bit. Besides, some new documentaries might come out and catch my attention. However, do you have any suggestions for me? If so, I'd love to hear them.