Michelle Obamas's Short Shorts Spark Long Talks

So here we are again. The biggest scandal to hit the White House: How much skin is really in?

Hours upon hours have been spent talking about what a first lady should or should not wear. First, it was whether or not she had the right to “bare arms,” and now, pictures of Michelle wearing “short” shorts while on holiday with her family during yesterday’s trip to the Grand Canyon are sparking a similar debate. While most women would agree that shorts (at any length) are often tough to pull off, I think we should line up with hands raised to offer her a high five. And since she is gifted with those long legs, I beg the question — wouldn't all shorts be "short" on her?

So to be “short” and to the point (pun intended), what do you think about Michelle dressing relaxed like the rest of us? Is it OK for her to be casual and comfortable with her body? Or do you feel she should be more conservative, offering a polished reserved example at all times?

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Cannes, day two: Adapt or die

Some people lead fascinating lives—but that doesn’t mean they’ll make for fascinating movies. Two celebrated directors took their shot at docudrama yesterday, both stumbling through the chronic malaise of true-life stories: inevitability. What is the takeaway when history’s already been written? Jane Campion, director of The Piano, sunk her teeth into the romance of doomed poet John Keats in the swooning but shallow Bright Star, while Ang Lee dropped a tab of bad acid for his hopelessly square look at an iconic baby boomer moment, Taking Woodstock. Deft hands have elsewhere worked reality into cinematic epiphanies; what went wrong here?

The better of the two is Campion’s Bright Star, mainly because her sensual camerawork makes the tortured love affair between sensitive soul Keats (a pallid Ben Whishaw) and uptight Fanny Bawne (Abbie Cornish) downright palpable. Languid strolls through fields of violet, tender recitations of illuminating stanzas and stolen glances from one amour to another make this otherwise static costume drama linger in the heart longer than it should. (Horndogs trying to score with lit-major crushes, take note.)

But the clear-eyed will see a superficial summation of one young woman’s devotion to a dying young man, dressed up in costume-drama icing and a sheen of feminist harrumphing. Complicating the attraction is Keats’s Scottish writing partner, Brown (Paul Schneider, bleating an aggressive brogue), whose overprotective bromance with his friend adds a certain frisson in light of Bawne’s advances—but not enough to supply emotional heft. Overall, it’s stuffy treacle. You can see the SNL parody already.

Hardly groovier is Taking Woodstock—but would you expect any less from auteur Ang Lee, master of buttoned-down longing and quiet reserve? His take on the counterculture’s August 1969 festival is a watered-down theme park tour. Throw in a few naughty glimpses of free-love nudity (these long-haired hippies are straight from central casting) and a rose-tinted slice of milquetoast emerges—safe enough for a grandma to gum without any risk of sharp, pointed insights.

Comedian Demetri Martin, making his acting debut as upstate gatekeeper Elliot Tiber, does a yeoman’s job carrying all the nonsense on his lanky frame as the young innocent whose plan for a classical-music concert balloons beyond his control into three days of mud-soaked peace, love and music. His emotional conflict with an overbearing Jewish mother (scenery-chewing Imelda Staunton, practically spitting matzoh in people’s faces) is tiresome and makes Elliot’s inevitable break from parental control all the more obvious. Most perplexing is his timid emergence out of the closet. In the book upon which Lee’s movie is based, Elliot lives an aggressively gay double life in New York City. But Lee would have you think that it’s his contact high with the far-out festivalgoers that gives him the strength to discover his attraction to men. The Oscar-winning director of Brokeback Mountain dialing down gay content? Truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction.

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The new NIKON D3000

Combines Proven Technology with Easy-to-Use Interface to Create Affordable, Approachable Entry-Level D-SLR Camera.

Nikon Inc. announced the D3000 digital SLR camera, an affordable answer for users looking to experience the superiority of digital SLR photography or enthusiasts seeking a capable, compact D-SLR. The 10.2-megapixel D3000 has features that make it easier than ever to take great pictures, including the new Guide Mode, which lends a smart helping hand to new D-SLR users, and an extensive Retouch Menu, enabling consumers to edit photos, even without a computer. The D3000, which offers an 11-point autofocus system, also leverages proven Nikon D-SLR technologies, including the exclusive EXPEED™ image processing, Active D-Lighting system and 3D Color Matrix Metering II, enabling entry-level D-SLR shooters to take stunning pictures.

"The D3000 combines the best of both worlds, providing picture takers with the ease-of-use currently offered in point-and-shoot cameras alongside the speed, precision and exceptional results that have made Nikon D-SLRs so popular," said Edward Fasano, general manager for Marketing, SLR Systems Products at Nikon Inc. "The D3000 offers everyone the ability to discover the superiority of D-SLR photography at an affordable price point. We look forward to enabling more consumers to explore the possibilities of D-SLR picture taking and, more importantly, capture life's memories faithfully."

Intuitive Assistance On-the-Fly

The D3000 includes the all-new Guide Mode with an easy-to-use interface to help new photographers build confidence in using a D-SLR with step-by-step instruction and inspiration. The Guide Mode, easily accessed by the Mode dial on the top of the camera, displays a variety of shooting situations via the LCD screen, indicating the most appropriate settings for a particular scenario. Users can also see sample photos on the LCD screen, which illustrate the effects of different photo-taking techniques. The Guide Mode also helps users easily review, organize and delete images.

Whether new to D-SLR photography or simply mastering new shooting techniques, the D3000's Guide Mode assists users in exploring effective picture taking solutions at their own pace to make capturing great pictures even easier.

Small in Size, Big on Features

With elegant ergonomics, softly rounded corners, and a comfortable grip, the D3000 packs powerful technology into a compact form factor. Though the D3000 is tiny when compared to professional D-SLR cameras, it boasts a large, bright three-inch 230,000-dot LCD screen, and now features an easier-to-read font size, 20 percent larger than in previous Nikon D-SLRs.

Quick performance and response are at the core of the D3000's design and its 11-point Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus system makes it easy to find and focus on a subject. Also, the D3000 offers split-second shutter response, eliminating the frustration of shutter lag, as well as the ability to capture images up to three frames per second, allowing users capture every moment. Users can enjoy the benefits of Nikon's advanced 3D Subject Tracking, which continuously focuses on a fast moving subject throughout the frame.

The D3000 provides multiple ways for users to engage with their pictures, post capture. It uses Nikon's extensive in-camera Retouch Menu, which allows users to easily apply a variety of fun and dramatic effects to their images even when away from a computer. The D3000 introduces a new Miniature effect, which changes the appearance of distant subjects to look like close-ups of miniature models. The D3000 also inherits the Soft Filter and Color Outline Retouch options from the D5000, allowing users to express their photography in a new and artistic way. As with all Nikon D-SLRs, the camera creates the new retouched image, while preserving the original.

For users who want to take their creativity to the next level, the D3000 also includes the ability to capture images in the NEF (RAW) format, in addition to traditional JPEG. Images captured with D3000 in the NEF (RAW) format include a greater amount of image data, which in turn, affords finer image control and higher uncompressed lossless image quality. With NEF (RAW) images, users can fine-tune the appearance of an image with simple adjustments to things like exposure, color saturation, brightness, and overall tone – especially in the post-production process. Users can use Capture NX 2, Nikon's powerful image editing software, to achieve these desired effects.

Nikon extends the creativity with Stop-Motion Movie Mode. With this mode, users can choose a collection of images within the D3000's Retouch Menu, and the camera then compiles and stitches them into a fun and creative video file.

Renowned Nikon Technology

The D3000 leverages proven Nikon technologies to create the most positive picture taking experience for consumers. The D3000 delivers highly detailed images with vibrant color reproduction and low noise across a broad ISO range, due to its 10.2-megapixel CCD image sensor coupled with Nikon's exclusive EXPEED image processing system. The D3000's normal ISO range extends from ISO 100 to 1600, allowing for low light versatility. Additionally, the D3000's ISO range can expand to a Hi-1 setting of ISO 3200, furthering the opportunities for shots that other cameras miss.

The D3000 also makes use of Nikon's Active D-Lighting system, which automatically compensates to reveal veiled details in shadows and highlights in high-contrast situations. For instance, when selected, Nikon's Active D-Lighting can improve the appearance of fine detail in a person's face that was previously hidden in dark shadows or bring out the highlights in a beautifully backlit landscape.

Nikon's exclusive 3D Color Matrix Metering II, in conjunction with the EXPEED image processing system, contributes to the D3000's ability to capture breathtaking images by instantly evaluating the exposure elements of each scene and comparing it to an onboard database of information from more than 30,000 images. These split-second calculations allow the D3000 to ensure beautiful exposures-even when conditions are extreme.

The D3000 also incorporates Nikon's Integrated Dust Reduction System, which offers a comprehensive solution that combats the accumulation of image-degrading dust from the camera's image sensor. The system not only utilizes an active sensor cleaning function that activates whenever the camera is turned on or off, but also the Airflow Control System to redirect dust particles, limiting their ability to reach the sensor.

System Expandability

Photographers and enthusiasts alike can also appreciate the D3000's system expandability, as the camera can work in conjunction with a variety of Nikon accessories, including a broad assortment of legendary NIKKOR AF-S interchangeable lenses. While the D3000 offers a versatile built-in flash, the camera is also compatible with Nikon's Creative Lighting System and capable of Advanced Wireless Lighting when using the SB-900 Speedlight or the SU-800 Wireless Commander.

The D3000's design also supports Eye-Fi memory card functionality, enabling the convenient wireless transfer of images from the D3000 to a computer, when using Eye-Fi memory cards.* Additionally, photos can be securely written to readily available SD cards, high-capacity SDHC cards and Eye-Fi memory cards, offering users a range of data storage options.

Price and Availability

The D3000 outfit, including the versatile AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR image stabilization lens, is scheduled to be available at Nikon Authorized dealers beginning in late August 2009 at an estimated selling price of $599.95.

** For more information, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

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