I have a professional photographer friend who spent $25,000 for a digital camera back in the 90s. Now you can get great pro-sumer cameras for under $800. At CES, Sony debuted its $699 Alpha DSLR-A100. Like the Canon EOS Rebel XTi and the Nikon D40, this is a full featured camera with interchangeable lenses sold as a kit with a starter lens. The new Sony camera features a 10 megapixel sensor, the ability to take up to 3 frames per second and the support for ISOs ranging from 100 to 3,200. What that all adds up to is a camera that can perform well in a variety of lighting conditions. Also, like the competition, it has image stabilization which compensates for our shaky hands, especially when using a long zoom.

Casio introduced one of the most innovative cameras at show. It isnt an SLR, but the new Exilim Pro EX-F1 has a 12X optical zoom and what Casio says is the worlds fastest burst shooting performance.

Schedule Takes a Hit

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Racism shame of monkey chants

In the stand at Cowal Stadium that day, there was a crowd to watch the Scottish Youth Club Association (SYCA) league match, made up of players from the under-14s Dunoon team who had played earlier. A few minutes after kick off, Paul got his first touch of the ball - and was promptly greeted by monkey chants from the stand. "I heard the first monkey chant and I did feel hurt and wanted to do something," said Paul. "I was going to speak to the referee at half-time but when it happened again, he put the boys doing it out. He came up and said how sorry he was about it." The referee that afternoon was Ian Cunning, a local man who shared the training facilities with various Dunoon teams. "I thought my ears must have been deceiving me, so I played on," he said. A minute later, Paul sent the ball for a corner and even louder monkey chants pierced the air.

Take our Academy Awards quiz

Of the movies that got five or more nominations, only "It Happened One Night," "Gigi" and "The Last Emperor" pulled it off. "It Happened One Night" went five for five in 1934, "Gigi" went nine for nine in 1958, and "The Last Emperor" went nine for nine in 1987.

Answer: Cate Blanchett was voted best supporting actress in 2004 for portraying Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator." George Clooney won best supporting actor in 2005 for his portrayal of secret service agent Bob Bames in "Syriana." Daniel Day-Lewis was voted best actor in 1989 for portraying artist Christy Brown in "My Left Foot." Tommy Lee Jones won best supporting actor in 1993 for playing U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in "The Fugitive." Philip Seymour Hoffman was voted best actor in 2005 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote.

Economic slowdown beginning to look like deja vu, group says

The figures, in conjunction with downbeat news about manufacturing and a murky employment picture, sent the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 140 points Thursday as investors feared the onset of a recession. Broader indexes also closed lower.Markets had been hoping for economic data to show the economy wasn't shrinking, but signaling enough weakness to spur the Federal Reserve to again slash interest rates in March.Some dour news came from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, which reported a much lower-than-expected manufacturing index for February.While the Labor Department reported a drop in the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits, it was seen as only a temporary improvement. Analysts noted that claims offices in California were closed for a day last week for a state holiday, giving laid-off workers less time to file claims.The four-week average for claims, which gives a better picture of labor market trends, rose to 360,500 - the highest level since claims spiked in October 2005.The Conference Board report came a day after the Federal Reserve released its updated forecast for slower economic growth, higher unemployment and higher inflation.

2007 Holiday Guide

Coinciding with Frosty Friday in downtown Frederick, the market will include holiday activities and, fingers crossed, a visit from Frosty himself.

Bazaart Artful Holiday Shopping, First Dibs 5-8 p.m. Nov. 23, $20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Salmon Chanted Evening for Framestore CFC Framestore CFC scoop two of ...

This year's Imagina Awards, held in Monte Carlo on 31st January 2008, saw Framestore CFC scoop two of the nine awards. The extraordinary CG Click for the lowest price on dmnobieblankanimation');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>animation in the Chemical Brothers promo for The Salmon Dance received the award for 'Best Video Clip'. In addition, 'Best Commercial' went to Smirnoff Sea, for which Framestore CFC provided an array of spectacular VFX.

The awards - in the form of two of Imagina's famous glass teapots - were accepted on behalf of the company by its Director of Computer Click for the lowest price on dmnobieblankanimation');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>Animation, Mike Milne. Receiving the awards, Milne paid tribute to the special place that Imagina has in his heart.