It's almost time...

...For the best part of the year... Autumn & Winter. I'm definitely an oddball when it comes to this but I just do not enjoy Summer like other people do. I like Autumn/Winter colour schemes more, the smell of the candles, the festive holidays. Oh and it's my birthday in December so there's that too. 

I know it's still August but come on you can definitely start watching films that might get you a little excited for the last four months of the year. Here's a few of my fav's!

American Beauty 

Sam Mendes' film coupled with the incredible soundtrack of Thomas Newman will really give you that autumn feeling. The iconic plastic bag scene which is one of the most famous clips in a movie will leave you questioning things you didn't think you'd ever question. It is perfect for those who like to explore a film and discover what's behind the curtain. Shout out to Kevin Spacey one of the best living actors & Thora Birch an often forgotten about actress but who has done some incredible roles. 

Mighty Aphrodite 

If you enjoy Woody Allen films I'm sure you will enjoy this. It's a bit different, good acting and the beautiful setting of New York make it a real treat. Oh and Mira Sorvino is in it (Romy from Romy & Michele)... If that makes a difference. 

The Others

If you haven't seen this before don't spoil it and ruin the twist at the end, it's a good one! A creepy manor shrouded in fog is a perfect setting if you don't mind getting a little bit scared. Some horror films are not subtle... At all but The Others set in the aftermath of World War Two uses this to show the depression of the time and how stuck people could be. It's more psychological than scary... Honest. 

Nightcrawler

Seriously good film, definitely overshadowed by the big winners of the awards seasons but a really interesting & unique story. Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't even exist in this film he is so good and I back up the critic who called it a modern masterpiece. L.A. is shown in a completely different light, it's gritty & not so glamourous reality is shown and if you like a bit of a different type of movie this is for you. 

Stepmom

It's so sad & heartbreaking but the setting & the love the characters for each other just makes it so good to watch. I genuinely cry my eyes out at this film every single time and I always hope it's going to end differently. I love the relationship between Susan Sarandon & Julia Roberts and I have to stop because... So many emotions I can't.

So you have watch these movies now and get in that autumnal mood, or just watch them because they're all good films and I wouldn't lie to you! 

Thanks for reading, leave a comment with your favourite season & film to go along with it

Peace. 

My Favourite Books

I am an avid reader, but I do not read intellectual classics. I am a reader of memoirs, teen lit and true crime. I did an English Literature degree and for three years I felt like I had to fake who I was, pretending I liked Charlotte Bronte, Shakespeare & Charles Dickens. I'm not completely opposed to these Authors they are just not what I reach for, I don't find trying to understand what someone is saying as a relaxing way to spend my time... Especially when I've been working all day. Anyway here are a couple of my favourite books at the moment. You never know you might find you like teen lit too ;)

Sleeping Around by Catherine Townsend

I love Catherine Townsend, she is an awesome person to live vicariously through and clearly this book is a little sexual. But I would say she writes more about relationships rather than just sex. But if you are feeling a little adventuress she can give you some tips. Reading about strong women in this day and age is such a refreshing thought and they aren't Beyonce they are just normal women. A must read for those who live & work in London. 

Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard 

SO it isn't just one book here! I've just finished Twisted & I cannot wait for the next book to arrive (it gets to my house tomorrow)! I started reading this pretty much as soon as I saw the TV show and that was when I was a teenager so I don't think there's anything wrong with it ;) I love the mystery, sometimes they scare me a little and I find the characters really relatable especially Aria & Hanna. A great read for those who love the show, they are pretty different and you get another perspective. 

Talking with Serial Killers - Christopher Berry-Dee

I found this book fascinating, I have a weird obsession with crime, and especially serial killers. It isn't the crime I find interesting it's the psychology and I think a lot of people would admit to liking this too. In this you hear from the actual serial killers & hear their stories from childhood. It's a good read for those who are doing criminology and maybe if you just are like me and find criminology interesting. Disclaimer: some of it is quite hard to read, it can get quite graphic... But then again what do you expect?

Confessions of a Working Girl - Miss S

Straight up this is a book about a girl who works in a brothel. It isn't for everyone and some of what she says is truly disturbing but that's only a small portion of the book. It is really interesting and unlike the first book 'Sleeping Around' gives a perspective of sex worker and someone who enjoys sex and doesn't find it wrong to get paid for it. I enjoyed reading this and found learning about some of the tricks they use fascinating. Also the personal sacrifice it takes, you could call them whores or whatever but they are human beings at the end of the day and aren't just dumb girls. A good read for someone who likes memoirs/sex? 

Zodiac - Robert Graysmith

True crime is maybe my favourite genre, but I find it hard to pile on with it. I have to have breaks as I can find it all a little heavy. This was one of the best reads I've ever had, I was already obsessed with the Zodiac Killer and to this day I want to know who did it. I need to read 'The Most Dangerous Animal of All' but back to this book. It has been criticised as not being completely accurate but I personally think all the information is well researched and really interesting. You might have seen the movie with Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo but reading the book is a lot more realistic and gives way more insight. If you love true crime & unsolved mysteries then you will love this.

There's five of my favourite books if I was going to add one more it would have been 'The Carrie Diaries' but I have mentioned that in a favourites post and decided to leave it out. I hope this was interesting and you decide to pick up a couple of these books! 

Thanks for reading.

Peace.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter/Pinterest 

The Age of Adaline

I really cannot wait to see this film, I heard about years ago when Blake Lively was photographed filming it and it slipped my mind until a couple of weeks ago when I watched the trailer. Although it practically tells the whole story in the trailer; she's a beautiful young woman, has a family but is in an accident and some magic happens and she can never age again. So basically she's beautiful the whole film and everyone's like "you're how old!?" I personally think it looks interesting and the reviews so far have been pretty good!

I am a big Gossip Girl fan and I'll admit I am more of a Blair fan but I do love Blake Lively (except why did she call her baby girl James)? She's so beautiful and ethereal and basically a Goddess. But yes, she seems like the perfect fit for this movie and it's a definite must see - even just for all the ages of fashion, exciting! 

Also Lana Del Rey's song 'Life is Beautiful' is in it and I'm a HUGE fan of hers! So that's another bonus, it's basically going to be the film for me to watch... There haven't been any films I've been excited for recently except for maybe the new Avengers film.

Here's the trailer for the film if you are intrigued...

Are you looking forward to seeing this film or any others, I need some suggestions as I haven't really had my interest piqued recently! Comment down below

If you haven't already follow on Twitter 

Thanks for reading!

Peace.

Cliques-ish

This is quite a random post, but I was on the train to work the other day and I was thinking about my old school and the people there. It gets you thinking about how people behaved, and the way people get treated depending on what 'clique' they're in. I don't think I was really in a clique in the last couple of years at school. But when I first started secondary school I was friends with the "popular" people, but I really didn't fit in and I felt like I was just the funny one. It's not always a great feeling when you have loads of cute/pretty girls around you and your worth is whether people actually laugh at what you say (when you don't even want them to). This post isn't about me though so I digress.

In the first year of school we had a couple of incidents with two girls. One was in the "popular" group and the other was not, she would have been considered in the loser group (I hate saying that, because it doesn't matter now, but at the time that's the way it was). The first girl was out with friends and got hit by a car, and she was really hurt she had to have lots of care and was out of school for a while. The second girl had a lot of medical issues and it was very sad when she had a stroke.

What I find interesting is the reaction of the school, I feel like because the popular girl had that hierarchy top position, everyone wanted to help and wanted to raise money for her. People were fawning over her. But with the second girl, who had a stroke and was not popular - her friends would go around asking for money and trying to raise awareness but no one seemed as interested. This might have just been my perspective, but I found the unevenness of the whole situation odd. At the time I'm sure I cared more about the popular girls well being. I'm sure a lot of people did. Don't get me wrong the girl who had a stroke, still got a lot of attention from adults and teachers, but that is always to be expected. 

When you're at school the most important thing is looks, or who has the coolest phone, or who has the nicest house. But it's important to know that at school everyone is afraid inside that one day they won't be as cool, or one day they'll still be a loser. So it's just important to be yourself and try to be sympathetic of anyone - no matter who they are. Schools may have changed since I was there (this was like 11 years ago, crap I'm old). But I feel this has been a human issue for as long as humans have existed. Both girls are happy and healthy today, but it's so important to treat all these people kindly, because it's the right thing to do. 

Titanic Film Theory

I'm sure this theory is quite old but I find it funny so I thought I'd post about. That is the Titanic film theory, so in this theory it states that Jack is actually a time traveller, who was back in time to stop Rose from committing suicide. 

When I've watched this in the past (only about a hundred times) I actually always noticed some facts that seemed to be way too futuristic for 1912. So my kid brain was pretty smart. 

So if she had jumped on that fateful night, the whole ship and crew would have had to stop and look for her. The ship would have stopped, maybe allowing the weather to get warmer, and most likely would have never hit the iceberg. He spent so much time with Rose so he could ensure her survival, she couldn't die. That's why he had to save her from killing herself.

Here's how you just know he's a Time Traveller!

1. He doesn't have any of the currency of the day, so he has to gamble for it. 

"When you ain't got nothing, you ain't got nothing to lose."

2. So he mentions visiting Lake Wissota, which was man-made but not until 1917, five years after the titanic met it's untimely demise.

3. This one is a little here or there. His haircut and satchel are not of the times 'fashion' for men. He looked more 1930s rather than 1910s. But I think as a poor man he a) couldn't afford haircuts and b) probably made the satchel. But no time travel is definitely the first option you go to...

4. Next, he tells Rose he'll take her on the roller coaster on Santa Monica pier. Well this wasn't built until 1916, suspicious. 

5. This doesn't count, but when I first watched this I was way into Nickelodeon and so when he mentioned (after kissing Rose) "I saw that in a Nickelodeon one and have always wanted to do it." (not the exact quote). I was like what the heck, Nickelodeon was around back then? They were the first place you could go to watch little films and such, they were a big/revolutionary thing back then.

So with all this evidence, clearly he is a time traveller and it wasn't just awful fact checking that was way off on a couple of the scenes. James Cameron you probably should've hired professionals.

I like this theory though, it's funny to think people actually thought about this and even I as a child picked up on some of the inconsistencies with the facts and timings. 

There are so many other theories/conspiracies out there and that is one of my favourite things to read about, some of them are spot on and then others are ludicrous but it's hours of entertainment. So I'll probably do a few more of these posts, yay!

Thanks for reading :)

Peace. 

Update!

Hey!

I'm sorry I have been so MIA recently, my new job is making me really busy and I also have a choir performance tomorrow (28/03/2015) so I have been trying to fit everything in! My job is online journalism so I have to write blog posts and man the social media. So I use a lot of brain power for articles there. But I have written down a few ideas for the next couple of posts on this and I shall be doing them Sunday so stay tuned!

I don't know if many people actually read my blog, but if you do thank you and I'm sorry for not updating in about 20 days (bad Fay) :) 

Don't forget tomorrow (28/03/2015) is Earth Day, it's where you turn off all lights and electricity for an hour 21:30-22:30 if you're in the UK. It's such a great thing to do, it shows that your commitment to the planet! Check out my post from my work if you want to know more about light pollution 

I can't wait to write my next couple posts... Exciting!

Peace.

A Couple Places I want to Visit!

So I have been working for a organisation that helps people travel on their gap year, and just travel in general and it makes me want to go somewhere a lot! I have a few places I would love to go to and thought maybe this might inspire some others to think of where they want to go really badly! So here's a couple of places I'm going to visit one day! 

Seattle

For the last couple of years I have had a massive yearning to go to Seattle, I studied in Canada in 2013 and really wanted to visit Seattle before I left but I couldn't afford it in the end and ever since it's somewhere I want to go, desperately. If you've been on my Google+ page you'll see my cover image as the Seattle skyline. I really love the vibe of that area (somehow I know the vibe even though I haven't been there... I think I've discovered it through movies, 10 Things I hate About you anyone)? Anyway, I will go there and hopefully in the next year or two and it will be glorious and I'm sure I'll let you all know! 

Vietnam

Visiting Vietnam would be so fascinating, I'm really intrigued by the countries history and this would be a definite typical tourist trip. I'm really interested to see sites of the Vietnam War and also want to visit the amazing caves! I find this area of the world really interesting and Vietnam and especially intriguing place to visit. 

Iceland/Greenland

I'll admit it, ever since I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty I have really wanted to go to Iceland and Greenland. I know they're not the same place, but this film was the inspiration and I definitely would go on a tour of that area as it's such a beautifully, scenic place and needs to be explored... By me! I have more research to do on these two countries, and definitely need to find out what to see and where to go! But please let me go! 

New York City 

Okay, I know this is so cliche but I have been wanting to go to NYC for as long as I can remember and even though I know it might be really overrated and not all that it's cracked up to be, I just want it to be everything I think it will be. I'm definitely stuck in the Sex and the City mindset (please let me be a writer, with a Carrie Bradshaw apartment). So yes, I definitely am all for having the American dream in New York City. 

Also can I just say I want to meet my Chuck Bass 

Bali

It seems like a lot of my choices are based on movies/tv shows which is kind of sad, think for yourself Fay! But then again I think a lot of people get influenced by films and books and it just gives you a way to escape to this faraway places. So one night I couldn't sleep so I decided to watch Eat, Pray, Love and ever since I know I'm going to go Bali (and maybe India, I've never wanted to go but that movie sold it). Bali looks incredible, it looks like an amazing place with friendly people. I know that this is all based on a film but I just want it to be that way so much! I also wouldn't mind meeting the man of my dreams there just like she did, wow I need to get my head out of the clouds.

So there are a few places I really want to visit one day, let's hope I get to go to all of them! I have a lot of other places I want to go but these are the ones I dream about. What places do you wanna go to? I hope you'll be able to visit wherever your heart desires :) 

Thanks for reading

Peace.