Photography: Jake Baggaley

I particularly like photography which teaches me something and shows me the world from a different perspective. I think that's why I'm such a big fan of Jake Baggaley. He describes himself as a 'social documentary and portrait photographer'. His photographs taken inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone are particularly eye-opening. We've all heard of the tragedy but Jake's photos take us into the lives of the few survivors living within the zone and demonstrate just how isolated and forgotten these people are. His photos are beautiful yet heart-breaking at the same time.

Please do check out his website, his photographs are incredible!

Hannah xo

Favourite Flicks: In Time

I wasn't too keen on watching this film. I tend to add anything I haven't seen before to my Lovefilm list which ends up in me watching a lot of rubbish. And I wasn't keen on watching a film starring Justin Timberlake because well, I couldn't imagine him being a convincing actor. 

But lo and behold, this film was a very pleasant surprise! :)

The concept is rather interesting... Imagine if money no longer existed. It has been replaced with the currency of time. So, instead of paying £3 for a coffee (I live in London!) you'd pay 3 minutes. A car? Well, that would set you back 5 years! You also get paid in time, you pay your rent in time and if you run out of time, well, you just drop down dead. You could literally watch your life ticking away, as in this picture below. Oh, and people can beat you up and steal your time. Watch your back, folks!

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It doesn't stop there... You stop ageing when you're 25 and you have the potential to live on forever. This leads to a lot of confusion as to whether the man you're meeting is somebody's father, grandfather or even great-grandfather. Awkward. It's a little weird seeing Olivia Wilde playing Justin's mother. Even weirder when you find out it's her 50th! It's a strange ol' world.

The film sees Justin taking on the hypocrisy of his odd society, escaping his ghetto and seeing how the other half lives. This makes him deeply unhappy and he becomes a futuristic Robin Hood, stealing time from the rich and giving it to the poor, literally saving lives. It's a very interesting story which raises all sorts of questions about our own world.

Have you seen this film? What did you think?

Hannah xo

Favourite Flicks: Zombieland

Carrying on yesterday's theme of zombies, my favourite 'zom-com' is the downright hilarious Zombieland. If you cross Scott Pilgrim with Shawn of the Dead, you'd probably end up with something resembling Zombieland.

Part post-zombie-apocalypse survival guide, part love story and a whole lot of laughs and gore, this is a little different from your usual zombie flick. Zombies have of course taken over the world and this is a tale of fighting for survival against all the odds. You'd think that this would bring the few survivors closer together, right? Wrong. It's hard to trust anybody in Zombieland. Watch out for a cameo from a Hollywood star playing himself ;) Classic! Expect a rollercoaster ride as anything goes in Zombieland.

Necessary viewing, I insist that if you haven't seen it already then you must. Enjoy!

Hannah xo

Geeky Gamer: Plants vs. Zombies

My daily commute is an hour sat on the London Underground. Long, but it has certainly given me more time for reading and playing nonsensical games on my phone ;) My latest tube time gaming obsession has been this little gem of a game, Plants vs. Zombies from PopCap.

The aim of the game is to protect your home from a relentless zombie invasion who only want to pick your brains and eat them. Eugh! So naturally, you need to fill your garden with special butt-kicking plants to protect you and your home - a zombie assault course if you will. Be careful though, these aren't just your average slowmo leg-dragging zombies. there's everything from polevault zombies to digger zombies with a conehead zombie in between! Don't worry though, you have an equally large and varied plant arsenal to return fire with.

This game is super easy to play and very addictive. You have been warned...

Hannah xo

Health Kick: The truth about mobile phones?

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I just watched a rather scary documentary about the possible effects of electromagnetic radiation on our bodies and the world around us. The collapse of bee colonies, an increase in cancers and diseases and a whole host of other negative trends have been linked to an ever-increasing number of mobile phones, wireless telephones and the phone masts which now seem to be popping up everywhere (you can check out your home town's mast count here).

Here are a few interesting things I learnt from this documentary:

• Everything in the world has a natural electromagnetic frequency and it just so happens that a human's frequency is exactly the same as the Earth's natural frequency. Coincidence? I think not!
• Melatonin is our most powerful antioxidant which is produced at night when we sleep. Even a tiny bit of light can stop the production process and leave our melatonin levels looking less than satisfactory. I think I'll start wearing my eye mask while sleeping now...
• Living near a phone mast appears to highly increase your chances of developing cancer as a small town found out to their horror. 
• Mobile phone radiation levels are tested by using an 'average size' model skull, which does not take into account the effect on a 9 year-olds brain which is now the average age a child gains their first phone.
• Many of the reports and research carried out on harmful effects of radiation from mobile phones are being funded by the telecommunications industry themselves. Scientists feel pressure to conform to their employer's wishes and so many of these results can not be completely trusted. 

One thing that is crystal clear is that much more research needs to be done into the harmful effects our modern technology is having on the natural world and the ways in which we can cut down or altogether stop these effects. 

You HAVE to watch this! I'd love to hear what you think.

Hannah xo

Beauty Bulletin: Very Berry Face Mask

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Hello there!

I can be pretty fussy about face masks, or at least my face is because it tends to start feeling prickly towards the end of the recommended leave-on time... But I just found a lovely moisturising mask from those masked magicians, Montagne Jeunesse. It smells delicious, bursting with blueberries and cranberries, giving this creamy mask a beautiful rose colour.

My face is a fan, not one itchy pore to be felt. Not only that but it feels smooth and refreshed and ready to face the world looking a lot less frazzled.

What's your favourite face mask?

Hannah xo

Books I Love: The Hunger Games Trilogy

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Wow.

Oh my goodness.

I just finished this trilogy in about six weeks. I just couldn't put this stuff down!

I'd heard all the hype which had naturally completely put me off but then my friend insisted that I simply HAD to read the books. As I'd never heard my friend raving about a book before, I figured I should finally see what all the fuss was about. And I'm soooo glad I did :)

For those of you that have seen the film, the books are a whole world darker. There's so much twisted violence in these books that there's no way this will ever be accurately portrayed in the cinema - totally not suitable for children.

I would never spoil these for you but trust me, if you haven't already read these books, DO!

Hannah xo