I got a new cell phone recently and have been learning how to take pictures with the camera that's (almost) always with me. No, a phone isn't a very good camera, but the pictures can be surprisingly good if you work within your tool's limitations.

David Halberstam remembers an era when the press wasn't the administration's lapdog. What a great piece of writing.

If you think you know how, it's probably because you don't have problem feet. I have wide feet, which makes it impossible to get comfortable bicycling shoes—which are mostly made on narrow Italian lasts. The wide foot lacing solution on the Dick's Sporting Goods site has been a godsend. I'm sure the other lacing fixes work equally well.

Is it in the genes?

One of the best-sounding recordings I've heard in the last few years is Handel's <I>Messiah</I> performed by Jeffrey Thomas and the American Bach Soloists (Delos DE-3360 CD). The sound is spectacularly natural, with realistic dynamics and a wonderful sense of space. If you haven't heard it, I recommend it highly&mdash;but <A HREF="http://www.mil-media.com/homepage.shtml">Millennia Music & Media Systems</A> is now offering you a chance to experience the recording on a completely different level.

On Friday, November 3, <I>The Register</I> published an <A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/03/peter_jenner/">interview</A&gt; with Peter Jenner, formerly manager of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett, T. Rex, The Clash, Ian Drury, and Disposable Heroes, as well as Billy Bragg's current manager. The interview was a challenging (and profane) music insider's rant on a variety of subjects ranging from how the dollar download model killed the record store to proposals for a blanket, DRM-free digital music license that would permit consumers to use the music they purchase however they wish.

As we <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/101606advanced/">reported previously</A>, on Saturday, November 11, retailer Advanced Audio will celebrate its 20<SUP>th</SUP> anniversary with "an open format seminar" at the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel (1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, WA 98402. Tel: (253) 572-3200). Seminar participants will include Richard Vandersteen of Vandersteen Audio; Steve Silberman, Ayre Acoustics's national sales manager; Joe Harley, renowned recording producer and AudioQuest vice-president; Shane Buettner, technical editor of <I>Ultimate AV</I>; and Wes Phillips, a senior editor at <I>Stereophile</I>.

I've been a little remiss in writing about one of the best tools for travel I've experienced recently: Ray Samuels Audio's Emmeline The Hornet ($350), a tiny (3" L by 2" W by 1" H) rechargeable portable headphone amplifier. I tend to travel with my <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/934">iPod</A&gt; packed with hi-rez music files and a pair of low-impedance headphones. That's not a marriage made in heaven, so I also need a headphone amplifier. Over the years, portable headphone amps have gotten better and better while getting smaller and smaller. The Hornet is the smallest I've discovered so far and is my current favorite.