The spring sunshine's out, but before getting too frisky, remember your mother. Eeew, get your mind out of the gutter! No, seriously, send her Mother's Day flowers. It's the least you can do for growing up to be such a punkass. Melinda offers a few of her favorites as suggestions.

Freesias: "A graceful little stem with kind of trumpet-shaped flowers. They have a very spicy scent."

Roses: "White Virginia roses are a big giant South American rose, very creamy in color, with a nice bud shape."

Lilacs: "Not only bright in color, but smell really good, very heavy in perfume."

Casablanca lilies: "A good standby. Gorgeous, but also very fragrant."

Calla lilies: "Yellow or white. We have some that are grown locally. It's always interesting to get things native to Oregon instead of shipped in."

Alanna Hylton
from Rich's Cigar Store
820 SW Alder

It's never too late to halt the effects of progressive head softening and acute perspective deficiency by keeping up a healthy diet of international and subversive media. That goes for shoes and records too, not just politics. Here's what Alanna uses to fill her head.

The Guardian Weekly: "A publication from Great Britain, it's really unbiased and good for reading what's going on in the world."

Russian Vogue: "Just great to take pictures out of. I wish I could read Russian."

The Nation: "Very liberal. It's what I've been reading up on for the war."

Giant Robot: "An Asian pop culture magazine. It talks about music, art, decoration, things like that."

Adbusters: "You can't really describe it. It basically breaks governmental awareness down into art."