LOCAL CDs

Ancestor Energy, the jazz-synergy band of poet Louis Alamayhu and pianist/composer Carei Thomas. Their mystical power ignite spirits in any season.

Southern In My Soul, the latest from bluesman Big George Jackson — stripped-down (mostly) originals, renders true ‘roots.’

Marry Me with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough re-mix to RuPaul singing “Love is Love,” a romantic pop-rock-folk sampler of multiple artists. Benefits the ACLU’s efforts for gay marriage. ACLU.org/GetEqual

Sophia Shorai debut album of TC jazz ingenue with smoky sweetness, heard every Wednesday at the Dakota now in downtown Minneapolis.

LOCAL FILMS

“Venus of Mars,” Minneapolis glam-rock band All The Pretty Horses’ lead singer, Venus (aka Stephen Grandell) & his wife, writer Lynette Reine-Grandell. A journey into gender-bending identity and a love story. VenusOfMars.com

“My People Are My Home,” a lyrical tribute to Minnesota’s “prairie socialist” / poet-activist MERIDEL LESUREUR. Made by the Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective.1976. Newly available. DVD/video

Other films available from St.Paul’s Center for International Education: “I’m Sorry I Was Right” about 1968 presidential candidate, MN Senator Eugene McCarthy; PEACEWORKS, an anthology of shorts; and “No Reservations” about Native-American poet/playwright Vietnam Vet Jim Northrup. For complete catalogue: CIE.org 651-227-2240

CURE BLUE-STATE BLUES

Christopher Loch, Twin Cities activist-artist T-shirts. Bush with sign “Will Kill for Oil” sure bet. Many stark graphics in the punk mode. CONTEMPL8.com

Finally, someone points out rightwing Christian hypocrisies, with provocative questions about war, greed and pollution. ThinkAboutItShirts.com

“The Impossible Will Take A Little Longer,” an anthology of today’s most visionary progressives, collected by Paul Loeb. His last book, “Soul of a Citizen” tells of ordinary people’s political victories.

“The Good Fight:” Ralph Nader’s memoir of fiery battles to make real the promise of American democracy, from 1950s to now.

LITERATURE

Lolita Rodriguez takes 21 years working in a Detroit auto plant and creates a luminous collection of characters in “Autopsy of an Engine.” Mark Nowak’s SHUT UP SHUT DOWN are labor poems of dispossession and defiance. The Twin Cities independent Coffee House Press produces quality originals. CoffeeHousePress.org

“Walk With The Devil.” Michael Quinn, a 23-year veteran of Minneapolis cop, combines drama and crucial insights to do real “community policing.”

CALENDARS

From Sierra Club to the War Resisters League, there’s practical inspiration that supports causes—social justice, peace, the environment.

AmnestyUSA.org. Tibetan mandala T-shirt, famous calendar of global faces, more. Supports human rights.

KFAI Community Radio mug, 612-341-3144, and a pound of free trade coffee from a co-op: pleasurable gifts supporting THREE positive things! ||