The Credit Crisis in Plain English

My layman brothers are asking, “What is this credit crisis all about?” I’m sure by now, you’ve heard the term “credit crisis”, financial crisis” and other related terms often enough that your ears start to bleed at the next mention of the word. But, do we understand it really? More to the point, do we need to? The answer for most of us is NO we don’t understand it and YES we need to understand it.

As with the rest of my layman brothers, I want to make a sense out of this mess that we’re all in but I don’t want to spend more precious time going through the boring details. This video I found is very entertaining and highly informative. Presenting, the Credit Crisis in Plain English:

Outsmart-ed!

Can you guess what's in the box?

DSLR is the new iPod

At first I thought it was just a fad. Or maybe, just pure coincidence that I chance upon some people carrying this bulky item hanging around their neck. Until I realize, it’s becoming a phenomenon. More and more people I know (and even people I don’t know) now have it. More and more are aspiring to have it. More and more are getting their hands on their very own DSLR Camera. DSLR is indeed, the new iPod. Let me explain.

iPod is simply a portable digital music player, an evolution of the previous generation’s Walkman. But more than a digital music player, iPod stands for something else, iPod is this generation’s sign of “cool.” Not that everyone likes music but everyone likes the device. You have it, you’re “cool”, you belong. And true enough, almost everywhere you go, it’s not impossible to chance upon someone intimately connected to his iPod and ironically, disconnected from the outside world. But hey, it’s cool. So it’s ok. I bet you have one as well. I got mine when iPod was pretty common already and therefore the “cool” factor has already diminished. Just the same, I still got one, it’s cool.


Nowadays, the sign of “cool” is no longer the mighty iPod but the nascent digital single-lens reflex camera or DSLR. Like a normal camera, it takes still photographs but in a much more sophisticated fashion. The results are images comparable to that of an art or one taken by a seasoned and professional photographer. It’s just beautiful. I cannot understand why there’s a sudden interest in photography nowadays. I can only suspect the rise of photo sharing sites like Flickr, Photobucket and Multiply have something to do with it. I find it amazing because despite the very high cost of this device, almost everyone I know seems to want to have it, if they don’t have it already. I guess it will be fun to take some photos, upload it to your favorite photo sharing site and invite your friends for a visual treat. “Hey buddy, you’ve got DSLR, cool!”

My theory is this: If one or two people are taking a particular liking to DSLR, I call it a fad, a passion even. But if almost everyone seems to want to have it, then I guess there’s a phenomenon again on the rise. With this I dare say, Welcome to the new “cool”. DSLR is the new iPod.

Do you know someone who’s got a DSLR? If you can afford it, would you buy one for yourself? Let the world know.

Supplier from Heaven: Francis' Portraits

Today, we begin a series called “Supplier from Heaven.” Countless are the times when I encountered pesky suppliers whose products or services really, ehem, sucks! Forgive my French but the word is even an understatement compared to the kind of experience I’ve had with some of these soggy little creatures – ehem, my apologies again. This is your typical supplier: Over-promise, under-deliver, over-charge, undercut your authority, over emphasize their strength, under emphasize their weakness, there are a lot of overs and unders going on with them. In the end, what you’ll have is an overdose of stress.

But, once in a while, you will encounter suppliers, whose product or service is so good you feel like you got manna from heaven. In this series, we recognize those suppliers who deserve the title – Supplier from Heaven.

Just recently, we required a Photo and Video Coverage for our wedding. Many of us know that capturing that perfect moment is paramount in any wedding ceremony. Ours is not an exception. Our search was quite extensive given that we are working on a budget. We inquired with the big-named ones in the Philippines but the charge is just too much. We also stumbled on some cheap ones but, of course, we don’t want to get a “cheap” service. Then we chanced upon Francis’ Portraits.

Everything went uphill from there. We met with Francis himself and in the first meeting, we already saw how professional this guy is. He brought some samples of his work then discussed how we can work together. The discussion was light and breezy, even fun. Truth be told, we were quite intimidated with his image as he is one of the most sought after Photographers in the Philippines today. We are just glad we had an opportunity to get his services.

Needless to say, the results were really impressive. We had our pre-nuptial photo shoot last September. Soon after we got the proofs, we saw ourselves getting giddy and excited about the wedding. He was able to capture the love and happy feeling we want to project in a classy and unconventional way. I’m no expert in photography but when a photo evokes some emotion while you are looking at it, something tells me that it’s a good shot, excellent even.

On our wedding last December, the photos were even more impressive. Everyone who got married knows that while you are in that exact moment, you are like in a state of trance where you just go through the motions but not really having a full appreciation of the magnificence of the event. When we saw the photos soon after the wedding, it’s like we were able to go back in time and relive that magical moment, only this time, we have full appreciation of it. A captured memory that we can relive over and over again.

Just yesterday, we got our Wedding Video. It was literally like a transformation of an ugly worm into a beautiful butterfly. We saw the raw video (ugly worm) a few weeks back and we thought, “hey, at least the photos are great.” When we saw the edited video (45-mins long) yesterday… well, let’s just say we watched it total of 8 times, consecutive and non-stop.

Supplier from Heaven: Francis’ Portraits
Type of Service: Photo and Video Coverage
Website: http://www.francisportraits.com/
Contact: Rizal St., Dagupan City
Philippines, 2400
(63) (075) 522 0896
sales@francisportraits.com