Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times
Alexandra Chunn waited her turn to be introduced. Forty-seven women debuted at the ball on Monday night, 11 fewer than in 2006.

By LISA W. FODERARO

You had to look hard amid the four-foot floral sculptures and the Vera Wang originals to see signs of the economy’s collapse at the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria on Monday night

You can view the photographs at: http://iprissy.com/photo-set-2/

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By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

THE FACTS

With all the open bars, people on the road and rejoicing in the streets, it is easy to imagine that New Year’s is a risky time. Holidays are the most hazardous time for drivers, a result of sharp increases in travelling and drunken driving. And when it comes to New Year’s, research over the years offers sobering statistics.

According to research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which examined accident data in the United States from 1986 to 2002, the day of the year with the most fatalities from accidents is the Fourth of July, with an average of 161. Not far behind are July 3 (149) and Dec. 23 (145). New Year’s Day is fourth, with 142.

By Billy Teo

IF PRINTERS were Star Wars characters, Canon’s Selphy ES3 might qualify as R2-D2.

The ES3 makes a spectacle out of printing, spinning photographs - complete with mechanical noise that might have come from a Transformer robot or Darth Vader.

The dye-sublimation printer delivers consistently solid, smudge-proof and saturated photo prints that is the hallmark of the Canon Selphy series.

As a bonus, the ES3 allows you to save, well, not holograms, but favourite photos and recently printed photos in its 1GB internal memory.

It is fairly fast too: wallet-friendly card-sized prints take just under one minute.

By Tan Chong Yaw

THINK James Bond, the Daniel Craig version. Brutal. Merciless. Now channel that to the Canon PowerShot G10.

There is no mistaking the G10’s serious intent. Swathed in matte black - the colour of all pro-grade DSLRs - the G10 is all hard-chiselled camera with no visual fluff.

At 401g, this retro-looking 14.7-megapixel prosumer camera is heavier than two Ixus 890IS cameras. Its heft though, inspires confidence.

I love the dedicated dials on the top of the camera for mode, sensitivity and exposure compensation.

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