I WAS UP UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF OTHER FORCES: Was what Sun Ra said about the way he lived his life. From Birmingham by way of Saturn, the jazz master was a self-proclaimed cosmic shaman who build a sonic bridge over Big Band and bebop, traversing swing and all that jazz that came after it, to arrive at a free-form space sound all his own. Now, a latter-day member of Sun Ra’s extraordinary Arkestra is a new Birmingham transplant, looking to celebrate the bandleader’s life with a video series at Bottletree. High delights.

Meanwhile, the current hullabaloo on Goat Hill suggests that certain members of the Alabama State Legislature may also be from Saturn, or at least using Saturnian governance practices. We’ve never seen such antics on this planet anyway. (Although the atrocious Alabama Constitution of 1901 is the longest document of its kind on Earth. For real.)

If you don’t grow your own, at least you can meet whomever grows what you eat. Pepper Place Market is open again in Lakeview every Saturday, there’s a produce stand open every weekday afternoon at the Gardens at Park Place and the fabulous producer-only East Lake Farmers’ Market opens on Saturday, May 26. You are where you eat, you know.

Preservation ain’t easy in a place that’s forever trying to forget its history, but still and all some people manage, and some of them will be honored this Thursday, May 17, when the Birmingham Historical Society will present its 2007 Preservation Awards. And besides the buildings we managed to save over the years, we also salvaged some air time, as will be evident when Terry “Motormouth” Young hosts a riveting five-hour tribute to the high-water era of Birmingham’s WSGN radio. (Time was when Magic City radio stations actually played good music. Back then, you might have heard that era’s equivalent of Mac McAnally on the radio before his concert here.)

And for those of you who’d rather look into the future than dwell on the past, J’Mel Davidson has done some exceptional stargazing this week. He’s like a chocolate Rob Brezsny.