| Point, shoot, store and organize
In a digital world, shooting, organizing and sharing high-quality photos and videos keeps getting easier and more affordable. Whatever your budget, a slew of cool bells and whistles makes the newest cameras, camcorders, multifunction photo printers, photo-editing software, and portable photo-storage devices worth getting to capture and preserve your special travel moments. While pocket-size, point-and-shoot digital cameras are popular for their handy size and competitive pricing, bulkier, more sophisticated digital SLR cameras, which have higher resolution and accept interchangeable lenses, are gaining customers, thanks to big price drops. A well-performing digital SLR can be had for less than $500, half of what it cost a few years ago. Brag-factor fanatics, take heart. Top-of-the-line models with 20-plus- megapixel resolution can go for $7,000 or more - if you must.
Sports Columnists
RISING Louisville Louisville has won six in a row and eight of nine to climb into a first-place tie atop the Big East. The Cardinals have beaten Marquette, Georgetown and Syracuse — heady accomplishments for a team that lost to Seton Hall last month. It gets harder from here: Louisville plays at Pitt on Sunday and then must face Notre Dame, Villanova and Georgetown. The latter game, to be staged in D.C., could decide the conference title. FALLING Oregon An Elite Eight team last season, Oregon is in real danger of not making the field of 65. The smallish Ducks are 15-11 and 6-8 in the loaded Pac-10, and they've lost seven of 10. Ernie Kent has called his team one of the nation's best offensive units, but Oregon managed only 43 points in losing at Stanford two weeks ago. The Ducks fell to USC on Thursday and play UCLA at Pauley Pavilion today.
Holiday gift guide
For the diehard jazz lover on your list, consider signing them up for the 35th annual International Association of Jazz Educators conference being staged Jan. 9 to 12 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Aimed at education, teacher training and professional development, the event features an intriguing array of live interviews, panels, workshops and more than 100 concerts. The 2008 lineup includes a U.K. showcase helmed by British saxist Courtney Pine, performances by singer Kurt Elling (below), guitarist Lionel Loueke, The Tierney Sutton Band and trumpeter Christian Scott. Advance registration and membership costs about $540; lower for students. Visit iaje.org. - Ashante Infantry FOR THE FILM BUFFCool gifts for movie fans this season come in both small and big packages. Let's work our way up: iPod Touch: The latest extension of the category-killing Apple gizmo looks like the skinny brother to the iPhone, the super cell that still hasn't come to Canada.
Jesus Christ rock star
Furter in the Clinton Street Theater troupe that mimics the on-screen action of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Yet Gray chose him from the 30 actors who filled Gaiser Hall for the audition a few months ago. "I was looking at the core of who (the actors) are, and Nick stood out," she said. "He was the person meant to do this role." When Krieg received the call offering him the prized - yet unpaid - part, he responded, "Hell, yes! Who doesn't want to be Jesus?" Sacrifices Krieg took the opportunity despite not knowing how he would fit such a demanding task into his already hectic schedule. It was still dark when Krieg set out at 6:30 on a recent morning for Scappoose, Ore., to begin an 11-hour shift of repairing and servicing commercial dishwashers for Auto-Chlor.
Scandal tarnishes academy program
One of the midshipmen and two civilian women who say they were unwittingly videotaped have hired an attorney who said he will file a lawsuit, which would likely examine the academy's oversight of the vast program, as well as a number of dark episodes in its past.
Whatever the outcome of either case, both will highlight what critics said they believe has long been apparent: Some sponsors have too cozy a relationship with midshipmen and have become too permissive.
"The sponsor program started out as a great program, and it was originally very limited to when you could visit," said W. Minor Carter, a 1962 graduate and Annapolis resident. "Now, it's obvious that a lot of midshipmen are allowed free access to liquor and privacy with the opposite sex. While the thought of the sex tapes is horrific, the fact that a guy was openly providing an opportunity for midshipmen to have sex at his house is outrageous."
Academy officials admit that they don't have the funding or staffing to closely monitor what happens in sponsor homes.
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