Sorry to end the year on a downer -

The New York Times has a gripping presentation by John Moore (Getty Images) of his photographs taken before, during and after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

The last day of the year. Bye bye

What a beautiful day!!! The sun is shining. Fresh snow on the ground. Last few days off until the biggest bridal show of the year. If you are getting married and have not booked all the things you need to then this is the show for you!!

Just in case you didnt know

2007 Top Pics

If you click on the photo on the right in the margin it will take you to my 2007 top pics in a full screen slide show.

I've mixed up blogs

Blogs are a great way to communicate with customers. That being the case I have 2 main blogs that I write daily in. This one - Jean Francois's blog which to date is mostly about me and my everyday life.

I like to share recent images, information I have learned and basically whatever comes to mind. If you read back to the beginning (about 2 years now)

Well to make a long story shorter - I posted on the wrong blog. My other blog is new and I set it up with the idea as a place to preview photos and video only.

http://dggroup.blogspot.com/

Almost Xmas - time for memories

It's usually around the holiday when family and friends get together and make memories. And that tradition has been photographed, video taped and recorded on a number of different types of media.

Since the invention of photography (its debatable either Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre or Nicéphore Niépce) People have been trying to archive themselves for postarity. I started TorontoHomeMovies.com, USHomeMovies.com and FloridaHomeMovies.com with the idea that as technology has improved there are many people who have lost years of memories simply because there are not machines left to play them!

Weather you live in the USA or in Canada we can help you save your memories.

At FlordiaHomeMovies.com we are saving your 8mm film, super 8, 16mm , VHS tapes , Hi8 tapes , 35mm film and even your old records and LPs. By making them in at DVD digital version you can copy them over and over. Get your memories on DVD today!

How better to remember your memories forever than to convert all your 8mm, 16mm and Super 8 films on to 1 or a set of VHS tapes or DVDs. Our audio specialists can even convert your old LPs to CDs that can be played in your car or stereo. We will take your 8mm tapes, Hi8 tapes and Beta max tapes and make digital copies to DVD, usually in less than 3 days.

Remember the old family projector??? You know, the one that makes the stuttering sound and makes you throw your memories back to 'the Good ol' Days'? We remember it too, and while we remember it fondly, we also remember a few others things.

* Broken tapes * Poor or No Sound * Bulbs burning out * Faded image quality * Irreplaceable projector parts

Imagine, sitting down in your living room or den and spending some fun times with everyone simply by slipping in a VHS tape, Video-CD or DVD and pressing PLAY! We can even convert your 8mm old film to .avi or mpeg so that you can edit yourself in the future. How about giving us your VHS tapes or 16mm movies and we will convert the footage to Flash for internet viewing. We can even host!!

We can convert your 8MM, Super-8MM, 16mm movies to either VHS, Video-CD or DVD* media formats, letting you keep those movies for a long time to come in a way that lets you have all the nostalgia with a lot less of the nostalgic hardware that would otherwise go with it.

We convert almost any format to digital. Here is a list of the most popular:

8mm to DVD
Super 8 film transfered to MiniDV or DVD
VHS converts to DVD or .avi for future editing
16mm film with sound or without to DVCAM, then uploaded to Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0. We then color correct, sharpen and output to DVD.
MiniDV or 8mm or Hi8 or Digital8 transfered to DVD.
Audio tape to CD

We can scan all your family photographs and create slideshows to music then output to either the internet using Flash or create a VCD or DVD.

Another option that we offer is the ability to purchase MiniDV Master Tapes or 8mm Digital 8 tapes for the following reasons:

• DVD copies can be made from the Master Tape. The reality is DVD is not full resolution but a compressed format.
• MiniDV Tapes contain more than 2 times as much data, giving you more detail in your images
• Any future editing will be far superior from the Master tape

Photo Conversions

Photographs fade. It's a fact of life. Save your precious memories for future generations by having FloridaHomeMovies.com convert your 35mm and 120mm slides and negatives to Jpeg, Tiff or Bitmap

• We use professional scanning equipment
• Apply infrared dust & scratch reduction (Digital ICE™)
• Grain dissolver applied for crisp image rendering (Digital GEM™)
• Correction for color range and over/underexposure
• Color Fade & Restoration applied as required (Digital ROC™)
• Manual Spotting for scratch removal on main subject

As members of NAPP we have the experience and the knowledge to restore your memories to perfection.

More photosto come here is a fun winter shoot.

Many couples know what they like. Nice expressions, cute poses or great candids etc. When we shoot engagement portraits we, of course do all this. But I want to make one thing clear about the photos I post on the blog.

These are my favs. In lot cases they are not going to be your favorite ones so let me explain why these are on the blog and not the others.

After shooting for so many years it would be easy for me, Marianna, Natasha and Manny to become lazy. Simply shoot the easy shots that everyone likes and go home. But as artists, we have this internal force that drives us to push our craft a little farther each time we shoot.

Take photo #1 (top) You can make the arguement that Karla and Rob are not in the middle of the photo, that its crooked, and that it looks dark.

I see passion!!! 1. the clouds look fierce. 2. the position of the couple forces you to look down from the clouds to the couple then to the tree - lot more interesting than if they were in the middle of the bullseye 3. the branch on the left is juxtaposed again the tree on the top right giving a cool foreground then couple as mid and tree as background. 4. they are not kissing - but you can tell they will be soon!!


If all I wanted to do was go in the park to collect a paycheck - believe me on a cold day that would be the day. But I remember being soooooo amazed by the snow - I think Karla and Rob got a little worried cause I was laughing so much. Of course it was cold but wow what a blast!!!

If this is your first time on the blog remember - if you click on the photos you can see full resolution images!! Feel free to register to receive email updates whenever I post and make a comment!!! We want your opinions!!

On the Disney Magic

I never really understood how completely burned out until yesterday. It took over 4 days for me to unwind enough to fall asleep without being totally exhausted. I even passed out today during the day!!

Of course I know most of you are freezing and you all hate me. But after 6 months of 80 hour week I wont feel too guilty.

Vacations used to be a major thing in my life. I remember when Marianna and I used to travel nearly every other month. Cuba, London, Tokyo, LA and New York. I'm not sure what changed exactly. Maybe its the boys or too many goals. But being out on the beach yesterday reminded me of another Disney cruise a few years ago.

On that trip I made a list of every single dream and goal I could think of. Including ones that I didn't thing would ever be possible. I think I put down wanting a Picasso and a truck.

Fun memories - Bad happenings

There are lot funny events at weddings. Here are few that may not be funny if it was your wedding but I had hold back at the time.

• the wedding singer who cannot sing. Seriously, you need to actually test them out BEFORE the wedding. I can count at least 40 who were soooooo bad that people were laughing. I love it when they reach for a note and just miss, but keep trying!!!!
• the bridesmaids dress is too small. OK I was overweight. I new not to wear a tank top - especially tucked in. I still think I couldnt carry it off. So why do bridesmaids continually make the dress too small - then freak out when the dress explodes under stress?
• the freak out! Bride and Groom are married 30 minutes and the Bride or Groom go ape on the other over - missing button, pulled hair, dirty limo, mother in law, cake, whatever.
  
• freezing bridesmaid - ok its -20 in December didnt anyone think they might need to bring jackets to the park? So I love it when the guys act all cool and give the girls jackets - then 2 minutes later regret it but can't say anything. I can read their minds - "Damn that was dumb, why the hell did I do that?"
• bridal party love - there is always one groomsmen that thinks he is a stud. But at the end of the night he is drunk and sitting by himself at the head table talking to himself. At my brothers wedding that was almost me, but I kept hitting on the gorgeous photographer (Marianna) until she gave me her number.

Be very afraid!!!! Seriously. The police are freaking out and using Taser guns without though. Here a guy got hit just for refusing to sign a ticket. This happened in Utah - but guess what? The same thing happened in Vancouver, and the guy died!!

Feel stronger!!! I miss going to the studio.

No dreams last night maybe thats way I at least feel a little better today. But I'm way off the way I felt every 3 weeks ago. I still get


In the mood for a list.

I believe sincerely in Dreams become goals. Here is my top list of Dreams for the next few months. I have another for the next year and another for 3 years etc. They are constantly being changed and updated, but since I began making Dream lists 8 years ago an amazing thing happened, they started to come true!!

1. new car
2. rent a catamaran for the day
   
3. plasma/lcd tv for the bedroom
4. finish all my 2007 weddings
5. score a big deal for floridahomemovies.com
6. get the office in Montreal up and running
   
7. get a bigger studio
8. buy a new film projector to replace the broken ones we are always fixing
9. finish the brand new dgvideo site
10. get a tan
11. new super duper powerful top of the line computer for home.
    
12. playstation 3 for sammy - ok its really for me but dont tell Marianna

Had another dream last night

I'm sleeping in bunches of 2 hours. The aches and pains keep waking me up. I think its the reason I'm dreaming so much more. Last nights dream is fading fast - but here is what I remember. I'm at a wedding (really) and its getting close to 11. The groom is finally on the dance floor after his new wife had been trying to pry him away from the bar for about an hour. He's all excited and at the stroke of 11 the DJ turns off the music, the bar pulls down a gate and the light go on. Party over. Wierd. Reminds me of the way limo drivers always tell the bride and groom they have to be at the reception by 4:30 or they will charge extra.


I study finance. Its a hobby. The reason is that in school they really didnt spend very much time teaching us about money. As far I'm concerned the more I know about how to handle mortgages, credit, taxes and my legacy the better off my children will be.

The god of investing is named Warren Buffet. The second richest man in the world.

Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1) Warren bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

7) Warren Buffet has given his CEO's only two rules.

Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your share holder's money.

Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.

9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.

11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.


The article below discusses his opinion on the US trade deficit.

http://www.fhsu.edu/econ/rterry/Trade%20Deficit.pdf

oh my!! March 3rd 2007

The coolest thing is that in this photo my weight was 248.6 and now its 213. So 2007 had been a good year.

Can I reach 200???

I've had so much time being sick that I've started to plan another push toward loosing the final pounds. I promised myself that if I get below 200 I would get laser treatment.

Anyone have any advice??

Still sick. I hate being a whiner

I've falling into a pattern of sleep, work on the computer for an hour, sleep, play with the boys, work, then sleep some more. I just have no energy. Today I went to meet a customer (who didnt show) and by the time I got back I was shaking like a baby. Anyhow - if you are waiting for your order to be completed the guys are all working hard still so there will be any delay.

I have the coolest dreams!!! This last one I was dreaming I'm in a TV program. The good guys are locked in a office building/safe room with a million dollars and the bad guy has this HUGE rifle. It's so real, the actors are bantering with each other. And as each get hit there a tag line and everything. I even have a soundtrack!!

In the end the bad guy get hit by the last good guy and the good guy shoots a special gun in the air and a new sound track come on like the one in Hero. And the dream plays in reverse only at the end/begining the bad guy is dead.

I also dream about pink ponies.






In the meantime, here are few more amazing photos.

Weak. Marianna is watching me

I've been banned from the computer. I feel as weak as a kitty. Meow. I have ton of work to do but the doctor and Marianna have prescribed bed rest. Going to the doctor in Canada for the first time in years was unbelievable. I got there at 9:30, a full 30 minutes before they open. Can you believe there was 4 people ahead of me in line. The place was clean, the secretary s we not very friendly at all, sort like they there to move the cattle.



Then I waited. And waited, almost 2 hours. I told the doctor whats wrong but he starts asking about what I do. So I tell him about Excellence Photography and TorontoHomeMovies.com. Well he gets real interested and for 10 minutes asks me tons of questions about converting old movies and slides, completely forgetting I am sick and seeing him. So I give him a card and he finally tells me I have a viral infection brought on by exhaustion.

So last night I was trying to figure out what is different this year compared to other years. I came up with a) I am dieting all the time - this wont stop I will not gain anymore and in fact am trying to get below 200 for the first time in 15 years. b) I am working out daily - again this is I believe going to help me live an additional 20 years in comfort.

So I need to hire more help. Look for new people in the studio this month. Well as soon as I'm let out of my cage.

Test - Slideshow

I'm trying some new things on the blog. So forgive the construction. In the meantime I'll be adding the following slideshow for your viewing pleasure.

Crazy busy - crazy sick

I NEVER get sick. Well rarely. But for the past 2 weeks on top of handling over 50 appointments, 14 photo orders and 25 videos, I'm sick.

It started a few weeks ago with feeling drained. Of course, the guys at the gym told me to take some time off. Rest up or I'll get worse. But in my infinite knowledge I ignored the professionals and kept up working 20 hours a day and going to the gym everyday.

So last Tuesday I went to work out and it was like there was no gas. It was the weirdest thing, I tried as hard as I could and I just had no energy. Of course the next day I was in pain. Same thing happened on Thursday but the pain lasted until Sunday.

So this past week I made it to the gym on Monday and Tuesday but then got hit with a flu bug that has me dragging myself upstairs. Last night my whole body hurt. Had some funky dreams though.

OK Ive whined enough!!!! Off to the doctor.



Only 18 days until we leave for Florida. I will be NOT be reachable for the first 5 days as even I get a break. Although, I will be posting blog photos and making huge site changes.

If you have not placed your order yet unfortunately you are out of luck for the Holidays. That does not mean we won't be processing orders so if you are one of the 10 couples who got married this year but have not ordered PLEASE call Marianna asap. We will not be able to get your order completed for xmas, but a nuber of orders will be ready just before the 31st of December and the balance in the first 2 weeks of January.

The Count Down begins

Its seems like forever since me and family have traveled out of town. I used to travel with Marianna every 45 days, but with Sammy and Isaac in school and September to December being the crazy months its impossible.

To brighten things up I added a widget to the front of my iGoogle home page. For those of you living in the 19th century, if you have a google account you can create a customized google page with all kinds of cool things. I have the following on my igoogle homepage:

• Photoshop Lightroom Killer tips - its an rss feed to a guru - part of the napp.
• Gmail - It shows the last 12 emails and is alway up to date
• GoogleDocs - It shows the last 12 docs that have been un use. For example: if someone in florida updates the productivity chart I can see immediately the file was used and when. Same goes for any spreadsheets, presentations etc.
• http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ - Plays new images everytime I reload of sacred places all over the world.
• http://movies.aol.com/ - shows this weeks new movies
• weather for toronto and boca raton
• Google calander - I wish I could keeo this updated but I havent been able to convince Marianna to do it for me. :)
• Finally Countdown - A widget that counts down days to certain events - live me leaving for Florida in 23 days.
  

I love the Fall!!!

First Saturday off since I can remember

So I'm off today for the first time since like March. Going to take the boys to all their classes. Serious, they didnt have all this stuff when I was a boy. Isaac does gymnastics - he's 3!!

Anyhow, here is a few more photographs.

Oh. special note. There are 2 types of photos that I put on the blog. My favorites and Customer favorites. If its a little too artsy for you - its because I like it.



Wow this is cool - imagine there is a use for gamers after all!!! I told Marianna.

A project that harnesses the spare processing power of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) to help understand the cause of diseases has entered the record books.

Guinness World Records has recognised folding@home (FAH) as the world's most powerful distributed computing network.

FAH has signed up nearly 700,000 PS3s to examine how the shape of proteins affect diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The network has more than one petaflop of computing power - the equivalent of 1,000 trillion calculations per second.

"To have folding@home recognized by Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network ever is a reflection of the extraordinary worldwide participation by gamers and consumers around the world and for that we are very grateful," said Professor Vijay Pande of Stanford University and a leader of the FAH project.

A promise of more photos

We currently have over 2000 active members to this blog. I shut off the comments section a long time ago because taking the time to read through peoples remarks was well, taking too much time. As much and I would like this to be a free for all, I want this blog to be a place on tranquility and Art. And so, since I've had about a dozen emails from potential and recent couples to add more photos to the blog here are few more.

But first!!!!

There is a few ways to enjoy this blog.

1. Subscribe to email updates
2. Add us to your RSS reader
3. send me emails and ask me to post more info
4. Don't take it too seriously. Those of you who know me, understand that I write what I think. I am extremely fortunate to have a loving family and AMAZING co-workers who back me up. But in the end this is my blog and I'll write what a want, and if you dont like it get your own. (Childish huh!)
   

Technology is cool

I'm currently at my office in Thornhill and at the same time I am logged into the studio on my Mac. I was looking for some photos to add to the blog and found them in one of 7 computers we have there. With this program from Logmein.com I can remote control any of our computers in Toronto, Thornhill, or Boca Raton. Soooo cool.

Soon I will be able to edit videos stored on the web in full HD.

We have 2 new team members - Jason and Matt.

Matt is out creative genius in Boca Raton, who will be editing his magic into every video we produce there. With years of experience, I can't wait to upload some footage to share. We are currently woking on a new video site in Boca so I"ll show you guys when its done.


Jason and I go waaaay back. In fact I remember when he used to work for me nearly 5 years ago!!! Back then as well as being photographers I had a business selling electronics on Ebay. Jason was in charge of shooting and sorting the thousands of items we sold every month. Now he is back with us in this case he will be backing up Anton running our projectors for TorontoHomeMovies.com

Remember - Excellence customers in Toronto and in Boca get 50% off all transfer services at TorontoHomeMovies.com and FloridaHomeMovies.com

Why you never want to leave your ebay account open on the desktop!!

Sony DCR-TRV280 Handycam Digital8 Video Camcorder
Current bid:	US $52.00
Your maximum bid:	US $56,778,342.20
Shipping and handling:	US $12.00 -- US Postal Service Parcel Post.
Payment methods:	PayPal, Money order/Cashiers check.

Lucky for me Sammy didn't press confirm or I would have spent a fortune on a crappy video camera used to transfer old movies.

Slowly caughting up - yea!

For the past few months things have gotten a little behind. The 4 appointments a night in September and October have slowly taken a toll on my workload. Thankfully its almost over. Have you ever set a goal, then did everything you could to reach that goal and fail? Well, I rarely have that happen. Usually because I'm pretty realistic in my projections, but also because I really believe I can do anything.

No I don't think I can fly, or will I ever jump out of a plane but if it came down to me having to learn to speak Chinese and Sammy and Isaac would get accepted to Harvard well lets just say "La ho ma"



It's goal time again!!

Goal #1

Since I was able to lose so much weight, I've gain a bit back. My current weight is 215.

Starting Tuesday night I began my journey to 199. I hope to do this by December 7th when I leave for Florida. That gives me 6 weeks to lose 16 pounds.

Goal #2

16 / 6 = 2.666 pounds a week.

Get our Turn away number to 50 ( we hit 20) Our season runs from March to March and my yearly goal is 100. Last year we turned away 78 and the previous year 63.

Goal #3

Reduce my GTD list by half - GTD stands for Getting Things Done. A organizational methodology used by top executives to maintain an insane amount of work. My GTD list is about 400 items long and include paying for that parking ticket (opps forget to mention to Marianna) to renegotiating our new at the Boca studio.

Punch Drunk. But we made it!!

I've nearly reached my goal of 20 bookings for the fall bridal shows. I love this time of year.
Everything overlaps. Existing couples ordering, new couples booking and engagement shoots galore.

I"ll try to get more images and videos up when possible.


I met a very nice lady who is a make up artist. Karen showed me an album of her before and after and I was amazed!!! Of course, all my brides are beautiful and eht make up is just part of the wedding day, but if you are looking for a pro I put her

I have been a volunteer and co-team leader with the Look Good Feel Better Programme for 14 years.

On an individual and exclusive level, I am available to do bridal and special occasion makeup applications

I enjoy helping women look and feel better about themselves by putting their best face forward

My fees are reasonable and I am flexible in performing bridal trial applications.

I can be reached at 416 666 1963 my email is karrose@rogers.com

Karen Charyk

Where to start?

Well we are booking weddings everyday now. It's nice to get the initial nervousness out of the way. Even though we've been in the wedding business for over 10 years, I still get that little twinge (is that a word?) where I think, what if no one calls, or what if no one comes back. As most of you know we do not do pressure sales. Most of our couples go home, think about it then come back. But at this stage of the game I'm pretty confident that we will kick butt with our bookings.

I've always thought that chiropractors were quacks. Maybe its just something I picked up in the media but I never had much need for one. About 11 years ago I had a car accident and hurt my Hamstring muscle (actually my gluteus maximus - or lower butt for short). So whenever I became tired I would get a sharp pain in the back of my right leg. And my lower back would slowly get more and more sore. So my trainer Mike suggested I see the chiropractors/sports therapist at the gym Dr Aubrey Green. So I went (bought a pillow for Marianna, not as nice as mine see previous post) and he said I would have to see him 6-8 time to get rid of the pain. So get this. After heating, cooling and a type a massaging call striping the muscle I am pain free for the first time in 10 years. Seriously!!!!


So now that the wedding season is winding down in Toronto, its time for us to get cooking in Florida. Soon you will be able to see our new Boca Excellence site - look forward to your reviews.

Found my Ipod cable

Lost my ipod cable so I wasn't able to listen to podcasts at the gym for the past week. Of course, I could go and buy another but I've been sooooooo busy that I couldn't make the time. In fact, busy doesn't properly describe the insanity that has been my life in the past 6 weeks. 2 days off since mid august. yikes.

So if you are one of the people who have been trying to reach me (Mario's brother!!!, Mahsa, Chastity, Isaac from UAE Airlines, and Henry) I'm back on track and will reach you on Monday.

1. I follow an organizational consultant named David Allen,

GTD^® is the popular shorthand for "Getting Things Done^®", the groundbreaking work-life management system and book by David Allen that transforms personal overwhelm and overload into an integrated system of stress-free productivity.

Piloting a productivity seminar for a thousand managers at Lockheed in 1983, David has continued to test and refine the techniques and principles we now know as GTD - a powerful method to manage commitments, information, and communication. This pioneering and proven system is the result of those twenty plus years of David's consulting, private coaching and organizational programs with over a half million people internationally. GTD has well earned its recognition as the gold standard in personal management and productivity for many of the world's best and brightest people and companies.

Sophisticated without being confining, the subtle effectiveness of GTD lies in its radically common sense notion that with a complete and current inventory of all your commitments , organized and reviewed in a systematic way, you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment. GTD embodies an easy, step-by-step and highly efficient method for achieving this relaxed , productive state. It includes:

• Capturing anything and everything that has your attention
• Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps
• Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on
  how and when you need to access them
• Keeping current and "on your game" with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of your
  commitments (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects, and actions)

Implementing GTD alleviates the feeling of overwhelm, instills confidence, and releases a flood of creative energy. It provides structure without constraint, managing details with maximum flexibility. The system rigorously adheres to the core principles of productivity, while allowing tremendous freedom in the "how." The only "right" way to do GTD is getting meaningful things done with truly the least amount of invested attention and energy. Coaching thousands of people, where they work, about their work, has informed the GTD method with the best practices of how to work (and live), in that most efficient and productive way.

GTD's simplicity, flexibility, and immediacy are its attraction. Its ability to enliven, enlighten, and empower is its magic. What, indeed, is GTD? More than meets the eye...

Getting back to Zero

So I gained 8 lbs over 2 weeks. Needless to say I'm upset. I workout 6 days a week ( 2 times a week with weights) and yet I still have to be carefull what I eat.

Special thanks to Catherine and Ben, Betty and Kevin, Christine and Peter, and Tanya and Gino. These couples all had incredible meals that contributed to my inability to fend off food. Thanks.

3 bookings this week and many more to come!!. We are slowly (quickly) closing dates off for next year - yippee. I am meeting so many interesting people. Who cares if they don't all book. I love that I can sit with brides and grooms and help them plan the most important day of their lives.

Here are few tips:

• take good advice but do what you want. If you want to stop at Burger King or Tim Hortons its up to you!
• the bridal parties job is to help you. Boss them around (nicely) and enjoy your day. Delegate
• dont worry about the small stuff. OK the knife you bought to cut the cake is missing - sucks, so what.
• 25 years from your wedding day what are you going to have? Food is in the toliet, dress is in the box and the tan has faded. Take the time you need to make the family photos perfect. Your great grand children will appreciate it.

I'm sorry!!! Its been a while

As you can probably tell by the lack of posts we are very very busy. In fact this weekend will be the busiest of the entire year. So for those who read this blog as regulars sorry.

Been meeting dozens of new couples, as you can tell by the number of new names on the couple pages on the Excellence photo site. We're slowly turning people away. My goal is 100!!! I expect a huge jump in turn aways in the next week as at least 1-2 couples are booking up spots everyday. Thanks Amanda for booking us today - and everyone else in the past week.

I went to a sports therapist today. Very cool experience. Turns out I had an old sports injury. My hamstring muscle was always sore and when I exercised it, the pain became pretty intense. So Dr Green put a hot press on my leg for a few minutes, then this cream that made it reall cold. He massaged the spot like my muslce was a pizza and bam it stopped hurting. While he was checking me out he noticed my back was super tight and did some adjustment there too.

In the end I walked out feeling better than I have felt in 15 years.

We are taking TONs of orders for old movies transfers in the Florida and Toronto offices. Remember Excellence couples get a huge discount so send me or Alex an email if you want to have your old film converted for xmas.

We have a new location opening up!!! Starting on Oct 15th 2007 we will be opening in Buffalo, New York (next stop Montreal!!)

So if are in the Northern US check out http://www.USHomeMovies.com
The website is not completely finished but our new co-op student John is spending hours on it so it should be ready to go by the 15th. The coolest part is that now we will have a presence in the Northern US and the South. I dream of the day when we have East cost (Boston) and West Coast (Las Vegas? or maybe LA?)

Here's a funny thing about me a dreams. I don't really believe that dreams are not real. I think they are the sub conscience mind planing for the future when we are in automatic mode. The only reason most people are unsuccessful is that we let our conscience minds take over and screw up the plans.

Here are a few dreams that I made in the past that are a reality.

1. I wanted plasma tv - got it
2. Jaguar - got it
3. business in Florida - got it
4. travel to tokyo japan - did that
5. 2 amazing kids and a beautiful wife - certainly got that.
   

Lena and Emilio

Wow I love this song. It is the equivalent to grudging up Ave Maria.

Day off. Nice.

Took a 2 hour nap today. Was really really nice to have a day off. After 3 weeks of 18 hour days it was starting to affect me. (effect me? need a dictionary but its my day off so grammer pusses too bad)

Each day I start at by going to the gym. After working my butt off (literally) I either go to my home office and sit at the computer for 6 hours or go to the office, and sit at my computer for 6 hours. Each evening from 6 until 12 I meet with new couples. So remember I take my coffee black hehehe - Actually at the last bridal show 6 couples brought me black coffee and Lisa brought me a mint low fat, no sugar green tea latte when I shot her video engagement session. Nice.


We booked a couple weddings this week. Since I am taking a lazy day the rest of thise section I'm stealing from a previous post. heheheh

We will only shoot 2 weddings on Saturday and one on Sunday. At the show this weekend on photographer told me I was crazy - " Just hire another photographer. The problem I have with that is what if they do a bad job? Sub contractor are just that for a reason - they cant make it on their own.

Marianna, Natasha and I have more than 30 years of experience - I know were good (and modest) People have been asking for a list of available dates. Sorry.

I LOVE to turn people away. It means that our work is good enough and in demand enough that couples make the decision to book. The operative word is decision. If I had a list online of the dates we were available for than many couples would just look see we were not available and we would never really know how many couples were interested but either waited too long or decided too late.

For 2007 the number of people who wanted to book us but when they called to give us their wedding were politely told thank but unfortunately we are booked was 78.

For 2008 that number had reached 11. So between today and March 1st 2008 I want to say sorry we are booked to 100 couples. Weird goal huh?

I've taken to buying 90% of my books online. Not only am I saving money, I can always find the book I want. Amazon has partnered with other book sellers (like thriftbooks.com) and so when I search the Amazon site for used books I get the choice of buying from these retailers as well.

Below you will see a bunch of Science Fiction books that I read as a teenager that are out of print. I've been looking for this group of books for 10 years and was so freaking happy to get them online for next to nothing. In fact, usually I pay more for shipping then the book itself.

Another cool thing is that instead of dreading the post box, (bills bills bills) I cant wait to see if any books arrived!

I also am not a neat freak. So if I can save 2$ and get a book with a ripped cover - its mine.


Here is my latest book list. I'm behind on reading.

Books

Personal Fun Reading (Yea I'm a geek so what)

• 1 of: The Cross-Time Engineer by Frankowski, Leo a.
  Sold by: www-thriftbooks-com
• 1 of: The Radiant Warrior by Frankowski, Leo a.
  Sold by: www-thriftbooks-com
• 1 of: The Flying Warlord by Frankowski, Leo a.
  Sold by: www-thriftbooks-com
• 1 of: Lord Conrad's Lady by Frankowski, Leo a.
• 1 of: The High-Tech Knight by Frankowski, Leo a.
  Sold by: www-thriftbooks-com

Self Improvement books

• 1 of: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference [Paperback] by

• 1 of: The Alchemy of Finance: Reading the Mind of the Market by Soros, George

• 1 of: On Dreams [Paperback] by Freud, Sigmund; Eder, M. D.
  Sold by: more_for_u
• 1 of: Einstein : His Life and Universe [Hardcover] by Isaacson, Walter

Here are a few numbers

1.5 - the number of pounds I lost this week
10 - the number of people we have turned away for 2008
11- the number of people I interviewed for an editor position in our compnay
14 - the number of appointments I did last week
246.8 - my weight as of March 26 2007
40.8 - how my I have lost
200- when I am going to have a huge juicy steak
185 - my ultimate goal
43- the number of days till we go back to Florida


2 - how many incredible beautiful kids I have
1- amazing wife

Its Rosh Hashanah!

And I got myself some sunglasses. Yves Saint Laurent Sunglasses just to be cool. My glasses are soo scratched from rubbing on the eye piece and me cleaning them that the enamel was taken off. So I'm back to contacts. Nice to see the world shine so bright, and my perpetual head ache is gone.

We had a very successful weekend. The show was packed with people and no less than 3 couples bought me black coffee. Much appreciated. Being around all the vendors made me realize how long I have been a photographer. We are entering into our 11th season! Part of me still thinks its all so new, I guess with us opening the office in Boca Raton, Florida this past March it is all new.

We have signed on to do 2 shows. One in Miami and the other in West Palm Beach. Of course, they are tiny compared to the Toronto bridal shows. We had over 2000 ballots in 3 days and gave away 3 $2995 videos. (congrats) But in Florida the show is only 5 hours long and you meet 200 people.

Anyhow the site is a work in progress and I will post a link when its show ready. In the meantime, we are opening an office in Buffalo next week. I had planned to go sign the papers tomorrow but forgot about the holiday. So if you try to reach me tomorrow I'll get back to you on Thursday.

Back to the show. Throughout the year we meet different vendors, DJs, Hall managers, florists etc and its nice to have the time at the show to sit down and talk.It kinda hard at the wedding.

For those of you looking for a DJ - let it be known that Good Vibrations are my favorites. Not only are their DJs all experienced but the owners Gino and Christine are the nicest people in the world.



Since today is the Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah a jewish joke.

Moishe was passing by a florist when he saw a sign in the window saying, "Say it with Flowers."
He went into the shop and said to the assistant, "Wrap up one rose for me."
"Only one?" the assistant asked.
"Just one," replied Moishe. "I'm a man of few words."

Rosh Hashanah in a Nutshell

To learn more please follow the links of the highlighted words

The festival of Rosh Hashanah --the name means "Head of the Year" --is observed for two days beginning on Tishrei 1, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind's role in G-d's world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G-d and humanity: our dependence upon G-d as our creator and sustainer, and G-d's dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, "all inhabitants of the world pass before G-d like a flock of sheep," and it is decreed in the heavenly court, "who shall live, and who shall die... who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise." But this is also the day we proclaim G-d King of the Universe. The Kabbalists teach that the continued existence of the universe is dependant upon the renewal of the divine desire for a world when we accept G-d's kingship each year on Rosh Hashanah.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn, which represents the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac's place as an offering to G-d; we evoke Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, the shofar is sounded 100 times in the course of the Rosh Hashanah service.

Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year's blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.) in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea." And as with every major Jewish holiday after candlelighting and prayers we recite Kiddush and make a blessing on the Challah.