Such poetry aside, there was still a sense of doom permeating the industry, even if it wasn't directly linked to the devices that would eclipse more traditional reading vectors in the not-so-distant future.

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Real estate prices have modestly recovered, alleviating a further sense of doom, if not providing a modest boost of confidence.

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"Any time it's a contract year, there's a heightened sense of doom and gloom just because what the company's going to come for, " he said.

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The impending fiscal cliff may or may not become a reality but the sense of doom is driven by the fear that dividends will become taxable at much higher rates.

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Both are barely altered: if you see a crow you might share Tippi Hedren's sense of doom (though the house where Suzanne Pleshette gets fatally beaked was a set).

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