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December 5, 2008 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

eveningsout

Something to curl up with on a cold winter night

by Anthony Glassman

As the snowbells ring while the sleigh skids on the ice, and the menorah sets the garlanded tree on fire in the corner, one thought should comfort us all: At least we knew what to get the women in our lives.

I mean, it really is easier to get a guy a present. There are so many coffee-table nudie books out there, it's pretty much a nobrainer; but for women, a certain finesse is required.

There is, of course, Ani DiFranco's new album, Red Letter Year. With a wider variety of guests helping out musically and just a broader range of musicians working on the album, it should be a nice expansion of her repertoire.

Fans of DiFranco will, of course, love the album as a matter of course. Those with a passing affinity or familiarity with her will be very pleasantly surprised, so her album is a good gift choice.

Speaking of new albums, although this one on more of a jazzy-bluesy tip, there is Mary Player and Swank's new album, Swanktified.

Fronted by the immensely talented Mary Player, the band is comprised of Marcia Houston, Jeff "MaddMann" Melton, Terri Lewis and Michael Doss, and they can have any room enraptured in the space of three or four bars of music.

The new CD is available through their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ maryplayerswank or can be purchased at their shows, including the December 6 CD release party at the Nickel in Cleveland.

Of course, there are senses other than sound. If you want something visual, there's the perfect book to fill the gaping void left in your heart by the lack of Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For.

That would be The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For.

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The subtitle, "The lives, loves, and politics of cult-fav characters Mo, Lois, Sydney, Sparrow, Ginger, Stuart, Clarice, and More," seems a little long, but it serves to fairly encapsulate 20 years of a comic strip that gave hope to generations of LGBT people. Who doesn't remember the first time they stumbled across the strip in their local gay newspaper, giving that little bit of humor to the gravity of the news of the day?

And it's all here, two decades of romance, politics, snarkiness, child-rearing, transitions, environmental spazz-outs and sestinas entitled "Suck My Left One, Slobodan Milosevic." Seriously. Just check out page 172, frame 3.

In fact, while these are difficult economic times, I would have to recommend splurging and buying at least two so you can keep one for yourself.

Another interesting tome is Invert(e): Flagrantly Queer Culture, Politics, Sex and Dish. While not specifically female, the first issue of this new journal from Suspect Thoughts Press covers the spectrum of the LGBT community in everything from memoirs to paintings, and has a piece by two of the new spoken word artists on the Sister Spit: The Next Generation tour.

Now, combine the visual with the auditory and you've got The L Word: The Complete Fifth Season DVD set, with the full

dozen episodes on four disks.

Relive all the happenings of the season, or catch up on what you've missed. Hmmm... courts martial, affairs, sex, love and rock and roll, plus some really crabby club owners. There, that shouldn't be too much of a spoiler.

Get it now before the unfortunately brief last season begins in January. Of course, creator Ilene Chaiken said that they are trying to get an L Word movie made, so there may be more coming, but if you don't watch this, you'll never know what is going

on.

As a bonus, there's a music video, a Continued on page 10

2009

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