TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : ****Excellent ***Good **Fair *Poor : TECH FLASHES

Everything’s up to date at the AFL-CIO. The union’s 66-minute “Democracy at Work” videocassette, hosted by actor Ned Beatty and sent to 285 union organizations to be viewed by members, includes looks at (and answers from) 13 presidential candidates--but not Gary Hart. . . . Frank Zappa has started his own video company, called Honker--named after his nose, he says. Cute. And if you think “Baby Snakes” is a cute moniker, too, super--because that 1979 musical movie, co-starring Frenchy the Poodle, will be Honker’s first release. . . . Tired of flipping channels? There’s another kind of channeling that’s pretty trendy these days, where people summon spirits--or something like that. It’s the subject of a video, “The Complete Guide to Channeling,” $49.95 from Penny Price Productions. If we’ve caught the eye of a few “new age” folks with this item, they should know that the Bodhi Tree book store has an extensive selection of new-age and other videocassettes and audiocassettes. Information: (213) 659-1733. . . . For those who like their transcendental experiences more down to earth, Republic Video has added four more videos to its “Travel Tips” series--on New York, Hong Kong, Alaska and Boston ($24.95). Sixteen other tapes are available. Information: (213) 308-4040.