Like most mornings, I'm sitting at my breakfast bar, drinking my herbal tea and eating some breakfast before I start my day.  I've got The Today Show on in the background but then suddenly my attention is drawn in immediately.

One of the anchors is talking about this new app (nothing out of the ordinary right?). However, my ears perked up when the anchor began talking about the new selfie craze and how there is a new selfie app out to help you take a 'better' selfie. The new app titled Skinneepix enhances your selfie photo not by color filters or goofy effects like most photo apps but actually gives you the option to take weight off of your face to make you look thinner.  You have the option to 'shed' 5lbs, 10lbs or 15lbs from your face.

" But I don't know why people are so reluctant to say they're feminists. Maybe some women just don't care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word? " -Actress, Ellen Page

Alright...so your eyes are already rolling to the back of your head after only just reading the title. But please, read further. Not just for womens' sake but for the sake of humanity as a whole. I'm not writing this to say how difficult it is to be a woman in today's society (although it is). I'm writing to be another voice in the many out there in this fight in hopes that together we can drown out the naysayers and the negativity that exist about women being treated as equal or heck, even just respected in what is considered to be such an advanced and progressive day and age. I feel as though being a self proclaimed "writer" that it is my responsibility to speak up.  All this being said, I guess I really wanted to talk about why it's so important for women in general but specifically in any realm of entertainment to speak up and start presenting images on the screen, in magazines and in books that portray REAL women that face REAL issues ( not just what pair of heels they're going to wear out.) I'm not saying that one should not care about their appearance but just take a second to stop and realize that there are most definitely bigger issues going on out there and I hope to at some point have a career where I can make an impact on how young women view themselves and what they're capable of.

With an opening scene that's sure to go down in movie history, Out of the Furnace grabs your attention and holds tight with an iron-clad grip.  The movie's acting and dynamic tone don't letting you out of their grasp until the very end despite you gasping, even pleading, for air. Director Scott Cooper's (Crazy Heart) dark and gritty vision of small town's gone awry and family conflict is highlighted beautifully in his followup film.  The city Pittsburgh also adds quite the backdrop to this intense drama.

Out of the Furnace focuses on the relationship between brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) and Russell (Christian Bale) Baze and their struggles to overcome their individual obstacles and try to unite as a family again, especially after the loss of their parents.

Rodney, a military vet who has returned from his third tour in Iraq begins coping with his PTSD by getting involved in an underground fighting ring lead by the deplorable Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson) and it is up to Russell to save his brother from a tragic fate.

Although the contents of this film are dark and certainly not what one wants over the Holiday Season it just ma be what one needs to grasp reality and realize that it is the struggle we face in our lives and overcome that makes living life so beautiful and so worthwhile. I give Out of the Furnace a solid B+ for being a riveting piece of film art with maybe a few loose ends that could have been tied up better and made more clear.

Broken Anchor rocks hard and plays even harder. Frontman Austin Hartley-Leonard is charming and charismatic and his raspy vocals really draw you into each song. So check out my chat with the hilarious, talented, bean and cheese burrito loving Austin of Broken Anchor!


So at first listen, I get a vibe similar to Bruce or more recently,The Gaslight Anthem, just wondering who some of your musical influences are?

I certainly love both The Gaslight Anthem and Bruce, I bought "Nebraska" in college and it changed me pretty profoundly. But I equally love Built To Spill, Son Volt, Wilco, The Beach Boys, The Hot Snakes, that first Pete Yorn record, Flying Lotus, Dianogah, Ras G


I absolutely love the music, especially 'Never Leave me Alone' . Such a great song, and much like the other songs from 'Broken Anchor' so chill and easy to listen to and rock out to at the same time. I can just put this on and listen to it on a road trip FOR MILES (Sun shining, wind in my hair sort of deal)! With that said, what did you have in mind when putting together songs like this? Is this how you pictured people listening to your music?

I really had no notion as to how people were going to receive the music...but if you told me "Never Leave Me Alone" had inspired a massive food fight followed by a group make-out....I wouldn't be bummed ;)

In Kristen Bell's new film The Lifeguard her character Leigh quits her great job as a reporter in New York to come back to her hometown and save lives as the lifeguard at the community pool, when in reality she's really the one that needs the saving.

I think I'm so drawn to this film because I really relate and I don't think I'm the only almost thirty-something out there that feels like Bell's character. I mean, here I am a few years out of College and putting my writing and film degrees to use working at a gym. Don't get me wrong, I dig my my job and love fitness however, I'm still doing a lot of soul searching and figuring out how to do what I want to do in life (write for a living) and just figuring out how to grow up in general.

I think our generation, thrown out into this world after College with a failing economy were really forced to find our way and for some of us the economy wasn't even a factor.  Just having a career goal that is hard to obtain is an obstacle in itself.  With so many of us out there being lost and confused with which direction our lives are going in this film comes at a perfect time.  No wonder Sundance made it one of its official selections.  I'm looking forward to watching Bell navigate this difficult path laid before here and hopefully finds some answers for my own journey as well.

Summer is in full effect and while most of our favorite tv shows are on Summer vacation nbc has brought their newest show Camp to the rescue (floatation devices in tow) to keep us from drowning in an overabundance of Summer reruns.

So I know what you're thinking...there was Salute Your Shorts Rachel, do we really NEED any other camp show?  Will anything replace the beloved show of our childhood?? Well guys, in just a few short episodes Camp shown us that it certainly deserves a place in our hearts for igniting that nostalgia for being young and having fun.

Although the show has awesome inappropriate humor, it also has heart which is what really keeps you watching.  Camp airs wednesdays at 10 pm and you can also catch up on Hulu (there's only been two episodes so it's definitely worth it!). So grab your sunscreen and your swim trunks and  kick back with Camp!  Trust me it'll make you feel like a kid again, which, for some of us isn't too far of a stretch!