The Widow (aka, La veuve Couderc and Ticket of Leave) was first published in 1942 and has been reprinted several times. Simenon’s story of a stranger called Jean who arrives in a small French town and enters into a relationship with Tati, a widow, fascinated critics like Andre Gide and Paul Theroux. Theroux provides an insightful Introduction to The Widow and puts the novel in context with the hundreds of other novels Simenon wrote. It becomes clear after the first page of Theroux’s Introduction that he’s read plenty of Simenon and admires the prolific writer. Theroux points out that Simenon distrusted critics and scholars. Most scholars dismissed Simenon as a commercial writer and hack. Yet, as Theroux notes, The Widow, published the same year as Camus’s The Stranger, is a deeper and more profound work.

Tati lives with her father-in-law who abuses her. Tati’s sister-in-law plots to oust her brother’s widow and take over the family homestead. Amid all this drama, Simenon explores guilt, love, and desperation. For a slim, 152-page book, The Widow packs a wallop that will stay with you for a while. Do you have a favorite Simenon book? GRADE: A

During the 50th World Science Fiction Convention, MagiCon, in Orlando, Florida in 1992 attendees were asked to vote for their favorite Hugo Award winning stories. Of the 4000 members, 1000 turned in their Best of the Hugos ballot. Joe Siclari and Edie Stern’s essay on the voting provides all the details of the voting. Isaac Asimov was to provide an introduction to this volume, but in 1991 Asimov was gravely ill. He died shortly before this volume was published. Charles Sheffield and others stepped in to complete the project.

I had never seen a copy of The Super Hugos (1992) until last week when I bought it at a Library Book Sale. Of course, all the stories in this anthology are familiar to me. I read many of them in their original publications. Do you have a favorite story among this group? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1 • Introduction (The Super Hugos) • essay by Charles Sheffield
7 • Sandkings • [Thousand Worlds] • (1979) • novelette by George R. R. Martin
55 • The Bicentennial Man • (1976) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
101 • Enemy Mine • [Dracon] • (1979) • novella by Barry B. Longyear
173 • The Star • (1955) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke
183 • The Big Front Yard • (1958) • novella by Clifford D. Simak
244 • “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman • (1965) • short story by Harlan Ellison
261 • Weyr Search • [Dragonriders of Pern short fiction] • (1967) • novella by Anne McCaffrey
327 • Neutron Star • [Known Space] • (1966) • novelette by Larry Niven
349 • I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream • (1967) • short story by Harlan Ellison
369 • Flowers for Algernon • (1959) • novelette by Daniel Keyes
403 • About the Super Hugo Voting • essay by Joe Siclari and Edie Stern
413 • Appendix: The Hugo Awards • essay by uncredited

I bought Music From Big Pink 50 years ago in a long vanished record store in Niagara Falls, NY. Of course, it was a vinyl album. My first rock concert was a 1965 performance by Bob Dylan. Some of the performers in Dylan’s backup band later formed The Band and released this unusual album. Music From Big Pink isn’t your typical Rock & Roll album. The songs vary from folky tunes like “Long Black Veil” to uncatagorizable songs like “Chest Fever.” At the time, I had nothing in my meager record collection (maybe a dozen vinyl albums in 1969 and a couple dozen 45s–remember them?) that sounded like the music The Band put on the original 11 tracks.

This 50th Anniversary Edition has been remixed and remastered and sounds great! The Bonus Tracks features some outtakes and alternate versions which are fun to listen to. Were you a fan of The Band? Do you have a favorite song of theirs? GRADE: A
TRACK LIST:
1. Tears Of Rage
2. To Kingdom Come
3. In A Station
4. Caledonia Mission
5. The Weight
6. We Can Talk
7. Long Black Veil
8. Chest Fever
9. Lonesome Suzie
10. This Wheel’s On Fire
11. I Shall Be Released
Bonus Tracks:
12. Yazoo Street Scandal (Outtake)
13. Tears Of Rage (Alternate Take)
14. Long Distance Operator (Outtake)
15. Lonesome Suzie (Alternate Take)
16. Key To The Highway (Outtake)
17. I Shall Be Released (A Cappella)

Read More: The Band’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ Expanded for 50th | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-band-music-from-big-pink-reissue/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Wonderland: An Anthology of Works Inspired By Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland offers a diverse mix of stories based on Lewis Carroll’s classic. I enjoyed Genevieve Cogman’s “The White Queen’s Pawn.” I’m a fan of Cogman’s Invisible Library series so I appreciated her off-beat approach to Alice’s Wonderland. Jonathan Green’s clever “The Hunting of the Jabberwock” blends elements of Lewis Carroll’s universe with a tricky scam. I’m reading George Mann’s Newbury and Hobbs steam-punk mysteries so I was intrigued by his approach to Wonderland in “About Time” where reality is fluid. L. I. McKinney’s “What Makes a Monster” dabbles in the Dark Side of Wonderland. Events spin out of control in “The White Queen’s Dictum” by James Lovegrove. If you’re looking of an off-beat anthology of surprising stories, give Wonderland a try. Do you have a favorite Wonderland character? GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane 1
“Alice in Armor’ by Jane Yolen 5
‘Wonders Never Cease’ by Robert Shearman 9
‘There Were No Birds to Fly’ by M.R. Carey 35
‘The White Queen’s Pawn’ by Genevieve Cogman 57
‘Dream Girl’ by Cavan Scott 73
‘Good Dog, Alice!’ by Juliet Marillier 97
‘The Hunting of the Jabberwock’ by Jonathan Green 117
‘About Time’ by George Mann 143
‘Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em’ by Angela Slatter 161
‘Vanished Summer Glory’ by Rio Youers 189
‘Black Kitty’ by Catriona Ward 207
‘The Night Parade’ by Laura Mauro 221
‘What Makes a Monster’ by L.L. McKinney 243
‘The White Queen’s Dictum’ by James Lovegrove 267
‘Temp Work’ by Lilith Saintcrow 281
‘Eat Me, Drink Me’ by Alison Littlewood 299
‘How I Comes To Be the Treacle Queen’ by Cat Rambo 317
‘Six Impossible Things’ by Mark Chadbourn 329
‘Revolution in Wonder’ by Jane Yolen 351
About the Authors 353
About the Editors 361
Acknowledgements 365

I know it’s early, but Rene Zellweger has my vote for the Best Actress Oscar after watching her astonishing performance as Judy Garland. Based on Peter Quilter’s play, The End of the Rainbow, and adapted for the screen by Tom Edge, Judy is mostly set in 1969 in London, England. Judy Garland, living on a toxic diet of uppers, downers, booze, and nicotine finds herself homeless and broke. She’s burned her bridges in America because of her erratic behavior and unstable life-style. No one will hire her.

In a desperate attempt to pay off her debts and provide a home for her children, Lorna and Joey, Garland agrees to travel to London to perform nightly at the Talk of the Town nightclub. Director Rupert Goold weaves in flashbacks to Judy’s early days at MGM. We see her manipulated by Louis B. Mayer, fed diet pills, and forced to work 18-hour days. It becomes apparent why this 47-year-old Judy Garland is so brittle, bitchy, and desperate.

As Judy’s life spirals out of control, Rene Zellweger’s performance–nuanced, credible, and deeply emotional–takes us down into the darkest levels of psychology and despair. We see one of the great Hollywood stars turn into a black hole before our eyes. Do you have a favorite Judy Garland song or movie? GRADE:A

TRACK LIST:
1 That’s Entertainment!
2 More (Live)
3 Come Rain Or Come Shine
4 It’s Yourself
5 Lucky Day
6 I Could Go On Singing (Till The Cows Come Home)
7 Day In – Day Out
8 A Foggy Day (Live At Carnegie Hall/1961)
9 Medley: Almost Like Being In Love/This Can’t Be Love (Live At Carnegie Hall/1961)
10 Fly Me To The Moon (Live)
11 Battle Hymn Of The Republic (Live)
12 Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart
13 You’ll Never Walk Alone
14 Old Devil Moon
15 Maggie, Maggie May
16 You Made Me Love You/For Me And My Gal/The Trolley Song (Medley)
17 The Man That Got Away
18 Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody
19 As Long As He Needs Me (Live)
20 Over The Rainbow

“[Teachers] told me their students don’t understand the difference between a country and a continent, or between a city and a state. One kid in an SAT pre class–one of the better students…was surprised by the term South America when he saw it on a map, apparently for the first time: How could it be called America if wasn’t in America?” (p.21).

Natalie Wexler covers education issues for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Forbes.com. Wexler shows that much of the average American school day is taken up with “process” rather than teaching knowledge. Reading is often taught through a regimen of repetition and drills. History is seldom taught (too controversial). Students graduate High School and find they have to take a year (or two!) of remedial classes at the College of their choice.

Wexler presents a convincing case that more “content” might help students get a true education. Doing spelling or math drills on a computer isn’t much of an advance over the old-fashioned worksheets. Actually learning multiplication tables instead of resorting to calculators would be useful. Learning cursive writing (which isn’t taught in our local schools anymore) instead of only printing would be a plus. And “teaching to the test” both fatigues teachers and students and steals motivation. Our students are falling behind most First World countries in education. That will result in a messy Future for all of us. What was your favorite subject when you went to school? GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Part 1 The Way We Teach Now: All You Need Is Skills
Chapter 1 The Water They’ve Been Swimming In 3
Chapter 2 A Problem Hiding in Plain Sight 24
Chapter 3 Everything Was Surprising and Novel 45
Chapter 4 The Reading Wars 64
Chapter 5 Unbalanced Literacy 82
Chapter 6 Billions for Education Reform, but Barely a Cent for Knowledge 104
Part 2 How We Got Here: The History Behind the Content-Free Curriculum
Chapter 7 Émile Meets the Common Core 129
Chapter 8 Politics and the Quest for Content 150
Part 3 How We Can Change: Creating and Delivering Content-Focused Curriculum
Chapter 9 The Common Core: New Life for Knowledge, or Another Nail in Its Coffin? 171
Chapter 10 No More Jackpot Standards 194
Chapter 11 Don’t Forget to Write 217
Chapter 12 Scaling Up: Can It Be Done? 243
Epilogue 260
Acknowledgments 265
Notes 271
Index 309

The 3-0 New England Patriots take on the 3-0 Buffalo Bills this afternoon before a sold-out New Era Field. Tom Brady is 30-3 against the Bills so it’s not a surprise that the Patriots are favored by 7 points. It will be the 42-year-old Tom Brady against the 23-year-old Josh Allen. If the Bills can keep the score close, anything can happen. But the Patriots Defense hasn’t given up a touchdown since before their Super Bowl win. How will your favorite NFL team do today?

Tina Fey has been seen visiting some local Buffalo diners and chicken wing salons. Fey’s touring company launches its performances of Mean Girls: The Musical this week at Shea’s Performing Arts Center. Diane and I attended a sold-out matinee with an audience of mostly teen-age girls and their mothers. Mean Girls: The Musical, based on the 15-year-old movie written by Tina Fey (based non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman) featuring high school cliques and bad behavior. The movie made Lindsay Lohan a star.

This musical was loud and energetic. There’s plenty of dancing and gymnastics to Jeff Richmond’s music with lyrics by Nell Benjamin, The plot pretty much follows the movie. Danielle Wade, who plays “Good Girl Gone Bad” Cady Heron, delivers a sparkling performance. Super-popular Regina George and her posse (The Plastics) exert their peer pressure on Cady to change her from a transparent and honest teenager into a fashionable dream girl.

I’m not sure Diane and I are the target audience for Mean Girls: The Musical. Maybe you are. Did you like the movie version of Mean Girls? GRADE: B-

When I was growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s, one of my weekly delights was the arrival of The Saturday Evening Post especially if the cover was a painting by Norman Rockwell. I didn’t know much about painting (I still don’t) but I knew those Rockwell paintings resonated with me. Rockwell captured the essence of the subjects he explored: American Life, family life, workers, children, Christmas, and romance. Somehow, Rockwell’s creations seemed real to me and captured Life at that time. Critics dismissed Norman Rockwell as a commercial artist who painted the banality of American Life.

I don’t own many art books, but I do have a copy of Norman Rockwell’s America (1975) in my book collection. I enjoy the dozens of examples of classic Rockwell artwork that still have the power to tap into my emotions. This is high-test nostolgia at its best!

Do you remember Norman Rockwell’s paintings? Do you have a favorite? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Opening Photographic Essay by John Bryson
Introduction 15
The Setting 33
Growing Up in America 47
Young Love 76
Home and Family 95
Growing Old in America 119
The American Past in Fact and Fiction 139
Democracy 161
So You Want to See the President 177
Americans in Uniform 193
Americans at Work 205
The Sporting Life 225
An American Gallery 243
Christmas 255
Post Covers 267
Biographical Outline 307
Index to Illustrations 309

Is “Godzilla” by Blue Öyster Cult one of the Greatest Hits of Classic Rock? Is “Jane” by Jefferson Starship even the best Jefferson Starship song? (I would vote for “Miracles”) Despite the dubious adjective of “Greatest” there were enough recognizable and listenable songs on this 2008 Rhino Records collection for me to spend a buck to buy it at a garage sale. There seems to be no order to these songs, not chronological, not by genre. And a lack of women artists and top tier groups. This 3-CD set is a real grab bag of random songs.

Do you remember any of these “hits”? Any favorites here? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
Disc: 1
1. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
2. Blinded By The Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
3. Slow Ride – Foghat
4. All Right Now – Free
5. Dirty White Boy – Foreigner
6. Highway Star – Deep Purple
7. Bad Motor Scooter – Montrose
8. Stay With Me – Faces
9. Lonely Boy – Andrew Gold
10. Jesus Is Just Alright – The Doobie Brothers
11. Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
12. No More Mr. Nice Guy – Alice Cooper
13. Smokin’ In The Boy’s Room – Brownsville Station
Disc: 2
1. Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple
2. Bang A Gong (Get It On) – T. Rex
3. Hot Blooded – Foreigner
4. We’re An American Band – Grand Funk Railroad
5. What’s Your Name – Lynyrd Skynyrd
6. Fool For The City – Foghat
7. Long Train Runnin – The Doobie Brothers
8. Long Distance Runaround – Yes
9. Love Is Alive – Gary Wright
10. Rock Candy – Montrose
11. Must Of Got Lost – J. Geils Band
12. Double Vision – Foreigner
13. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
Disc: 3
1. Free Ride – The Edgar Winter Group
2. The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy
3. Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas
4. (Don t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Öyster Cult
5. American Woman – The Guess Who
6. Peace Of Mind – Boston
7. Hold Your Head Up – Argent
8. All The Young Dudes – Mott the Hoople
9. Mississippi Queen – Mountain
10. Raise A Little Hell – Trooper
11. Jane – Jefferson Starship
12. Two Tickets To Paradise – Eddie Money
13. Godzilla – Blue Öyster Cult
14. Rock And Roll All Nite – Kiss