Monitor Picks

A ball for everyone

Cinderella, the 1950 classic, has been restored and rereleased on DVD. (No, Gloria Steinem isn't going to help wedge her foot into that glass slipper.) The terrific fairy tale has lovely animation and songs, cute mice, and an icily malevolent villain. And at 74 minutes, it's a model of story-telling economy. Deleted scenes, unused songs, and a tribute to Disney's original animators are among the highlights.

Rereadings, the second collection on reading by writer Anne Fadiman, is as pleasing and accessible as her first, "Ex Libris." This time, she's invited 17 writers to revisit beloved books from their youth - stories like "Franny and Zooey." Each essay traces the meandering memories of the writer's younger self alongside newer insights brought about by age.

Rumpled hair + bushy mustache = icon of genius. Sorry, wrong formula. Try E=mc2, the focus of Einstein's Big Idea (PBS, Tuesday, 8-10 p.m. ET). The special highlights the brilliant insights that led Albert Einstein to a breathtaking idea - that matter and energy are essentially one and the same.

It's taken several decades, but Cream has risen to the top once again. In May, the seminal blues-rock trio (Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton) re-formed and recorded a live album and DVD, "Live at Royal Albert Hall." Though Clapton's playing isn't as gritty as it once was (blame his switch from a Gibson SG guitar to the more elegant sounds of the Stratocaster), his fiery fretwork is boosted by the presence of Bruce's sonorous voice and the rolling thunder of Baker's drums.

Pumpkinnook.com is a patch for all things pumpkin - from recipes to tips on carving to dates of US festivals. Gourd fun for all.