Sander Hicks wants to be your US senator. He doesn’t seriously expect to win. But the Green Party candidate does expect to be listened to—and what he has to say is worth a trip to Hallwalls at the Church on Sunday afternoon. Hicks will show his new film, 9/11: History Hijacked, which posits that a new, “open source” history of that day reveals what some people have always believed: that the attacks were either allowed to happen or made to happen. Hicks presents a wealth of documented facts, including interviews with FBI officials and informants who were silenced or ignored in the months before September 11, 2001. Hicks is joined by folksinger Holley Anderson, whose music will give the event—and those who attend it—a little drive.

Born in the coastal city of Karachi, Pakistan, and raised in New York City, author Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi knows what it’s like to be a Pakistani woman growing up in the vastly different culture of the United States. This shows through in her new book, The Colour of Mehndi, which is the story of Nazli Akram, a woman who, like Pasha-Zaidi, was born in Pakistan and raised in the States. The difference is that Akram grapples with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (mental illness is a taboo subject in South Asian cultures). Akram struggles to maintain her religious and ethnic identity while dealing with a failing marriage, suppressed ambitions and mental illness. On Saturday evening, Pasha-Zaidi will read from her book at the Elizabeth Peirce Olmsted, M.D. Center for the Visually Impaired. The reading will be accompanied by South Asian foods, a traditional dancer, Mehndi—Henna hand painting—and an open discussion on women’s issues in regards to culture and religion. The discussion will be led by guest panelist Dr. Jane Fisher, Chair of the Women’s Studies Department at Canisius College.

This Earth Day neighborhood and park clean-ups are scheduled throughout the city and surrounding areas. Here is a brief overview of the area’s Earth Day events.

To aficionados of hip-hop and electronic music, artistry can be created using a palette of two turntables, a mixer and a computer. DJ RJD2 has mastered this art, but he’s only one half of the Soul Position tandem. The other half, Blueprint, is a prolific emcee in his own right. With their sophomore offering, Things Go Better With RJ and AL (Rhymesayers) now in record stores, hip-hop and turntablism fans are going ga-ga, period. With a repertoire of funny, personal rhymes, Blueprint speaks on everything from beer-goggles (“Blame It On The Jager”) to friends who waste their cell-phone minutes with pre-9pm telephone calls (“I Need My Minutes”). RJD2, one of the most sought-after underground hip-hop producers this year, consumes more samples than a freeloader at Wegman’s. This is their only WNY stop on their nationwide tour. It may not be Sunday Night Mass, but it could be a religious experience nonetheless—especially now that chocolate bunny season is over. One Be Low opens the show.

Internationally renowned jam band Government Mule returns to Buffalo for the second time in less than a year. Last summer, GM graced Lafayette Square when the band headlined at the Artvoice Street Festival, bringing a very healthy crowd out to see them play (thanks, GM). Founded by former Allman Brothers bandmembers Warren Haynes and Allen Woody, the band draws on its many influences to produce a powerful Southern-style rock sound. With fresh lyrics and a unique sound, GM serves as an ambassador for a genre that seems bound to continue thriving into the future. Woody, who passed away in 2000, was eventually replaced by Andy Hess. The band’s last full-length album, Déjà Voodoo (ATO Records), was released in 2004 (although they did follow it up with the Mo’ Voodoo EP in 2005). The band’s reputation is going strong thanks to dynamic touring and a huge and loyal fan base. Perhaps it’s time for another release.