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My favorite awards show of the year is the Grammys, because it's all about music and musicians, and except for the occasional backing track, all the performances are live. I've attended the show twice, but aside from the excitement of being with 20,000 of my closest friends at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, I prefer to watch at home, where I can control the volume and see the performers up close in high-def.

This year, the show was held on Sunday, February 13, and I have to say I was disappointed overall, though there were a few worthwhile moments…

Plug and Play

Q: How do you attach an iPod or similar MP3 player to a stereo receiver or AVR to maximize playback quality? I’m a longtime subscriber, but I only remember seeing you give examples of the “minimalist” approach using small speakers and docks designed specifically for iPods.

--Ronald V. Tancredi | Farmingdale, NY

Not long ago, a Northern Irish filmmaker caused a sensation when he posted a video of a “time traveler”: a woman captured on film at the 1928 premiere of the Chaplin silent movie The Circus walking past the Chinese Theater apparently yammering into a cell phone. Now, on one level, this is entirely plausible, as what sane person among us wouldn’t take the opportunity to travel through time in order to get out of a contract with AT&T? But then again, is this a likely mission for a time traveler? “Hmm, I have the ability to project myself into the past and change the course of history. What should I do, take out Hitler? Poison Stalin’s borscht? Prevent the formation of sports talk radio? Or, even though it’s on DVD—I own it, in fact—should I check out that old Chaplin film while speaking into my cell phone, which will be rendered useless because of the lack of cell phone towers in 1928? Why, the choice practically makes itself—1928 Hollywood, here I come!”