and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

Phase no. 1 of "The Urban Productive Garden" (aka turning Dan's backyard into a magical realm of green zebra tomatoes, rhubarb, cauliflower, cherry trees, &c, then making sure the dog doesn't pee on it all.)





Urban productivity!



When all is said and done, it'll look a lot less like a green highway to nowhere.



This urban gardening session sponsored by Corona and the inimitable flavor of Tony Toni Toné.

trees of the blvd. (spring edition)

logan square typography

UNFROZEN (project)

Friends: In a gesture of making something out of nothing, I am putting together a humble (handmade, likely stapled) publication about reemerging from Chicago winter. If you would like to participate (and I really hope you'd like), please send me something that has something to do with this theme: photo, essay, story, list, drawing, collage, review, mix cd (I will burn copies), etc., ad infinitum.

Topics and interpretations may include, but are not limited, to:

1) flora & fauna
2) field notes and field recordings
3) weather reports
4) trail maps
5) where in Chicago you find your “nature” fix
6) field trips in + around Chicagoland
7) mojito recipe (just kidding…no, not really kidding)
8) spring outerwear: the ongoing conundrum
9) things you do differently this time of year, or intend to do; things you don't do, or intend not to do
10) fictionalized conversation between baby bunnies
11) the hissing of summer lawns

Those are some just ideas—and semi-hokey ones at that!—but you can expand upon them, do something else, or make them hokier still. This is a low-pressure situation. If you want to contribute (deadline: May 13), email me at laurahelenpearson@gmail.com, and I'll let you know where to send whatever!

Pls. include your address, and after I put it all together, I will send you a humble copy through the mail. If you don’t have time/interest, no worries, but feel free to spread the word to anyone who might be interested. (Also, if out-of-towners feel inclined to contribute, I’m fine with extending the theme beyond Chicago.)

bloom where you are planted

I learned that there had been many ice ages. That they came and went. I learned there were no mammals original to New Zealand. I learned that space was not just adrift with cold, flammable rocks. Here and there a creature was riding one, despite the Sufic spinning of the rock. The spores of lightless life were everywhere. I think I learned that. —A Gate at the Stairs



This one orange tulip popped up by way of reminder that DESPITE THE SNOW MASQUERADING AS APRIL SHOWERS THAT JUST FELL FOR A SECOND IN CHICAGO, spring is a sure and eventual thing. Despite a certain ambivalence due to a certain disorientation as of late, I just know that something good is going to happen. (Just saying it could even make it happen!)

Now's the time that we ("we" being Midwesterners who've, alas, outgrown winter) begin to see natural beauty return to the city but still have to look sort of selectively for it. Instead of flowers, I guess I could have also chosen, as totems of spring, the dirty Walgreens bags, fast food cups, or old issues of the Spanish daily Hoy Fin de Semana, strewn across yards. They're as emblematic of the season as anything. When the snow melts, we're suddenly reacquainted with yesterday's litter. (The receipt inside the Walgreens bag said November.)

Speaking of yesterdays, I just passed the five-year mark of being a Chicago resident. Moved here without a clue about this city and have stayed here—admittedly, much longer than I thought I would—obtaining clues. There's a lot more to it, I know, but like any long residency/winter, I suspect that I just need a bit of newness and busyness and at least one mini tulip to reorient. Dan said, "This city's what you make of it," which is something I clued into right away, but it's still good to be reminded by someone who's living proof.

highway run

On the road with HP>>L.A. to Detroit.



How does her garden grow?



Rob's stash of vitamins & supplements.



Tour is no excuse to skimp on the D3.



SF thai.



San Jose with Lisa.







World's greatest gas station in Eugene, OR!





Reed College.



Pre-show fire juggling at Reed.



Best soy latte that you ever had??



Lovely host, Jae.



Portland looks nice in spring.



For the roses.



KEXP in Seattle.



Kory & Rob at Rob's BD brunch.





Kilby Court in SLC.





MJ & Val at Slowdown in Omaha.



Checking NBA stats on phone.



***EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW***INTERNET INTERVIEW***WEB EXCLUSIVE***IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW***

While on tour, I had the exclusive opportunity of interviewing the High Places for the Internet. The High Places are a band with two people in it. The two people are Rob Barber and Mary Pearson. If you want to learn about the band High Places made up of two people, Rob Barber and Mary Pearson, then read on. I asked them some in-depth questions about their jangly, tangled, mangled, wrangled, trippy, blippy, drippy, new-fangled, bassy, spacey musique. Read on to read the questions that I asked and the answers that they gave.

What is the best thing about music that you like?
Mary: The sound of it.
Rob: It tickles me.

Why is L.A.?
M: My answer is because in French it means “the.”
R: Shopping at the mall.

Favorite thing?
M: Nope.
R: My earlobes.

Given that the latest album takes a more narrative approach, thus narrowing the lyrical lens song by song, while at the same time refocusing, album-wise, to encompass all mankind—simultaneously providing a distinctive and as of yet unparalleled specificity that feels, by some strange token, universal, and, come to think of it, refreshingly fresh—where are you touring next month?
M: Europe.
R: April.

And how have you been?
M: Vs. mankind.
R: In lockdown.

Say I’m making a sandwich, say, and I only can use three ingredients, but it needs be a good sandwich—like the best sandwich ever made, like a sandwich that could take on mankind—what are my three ingredients?
M: Peace, love, and understanding.
R: Peanut butter, fluffernutter, and jelly.

What is the favorite thing about me?
M: Interviews.
R: Powerful, skull-crushing thighs.

What is the favorite thing about malls?
M: L.A.
R: Payphones.

If you could call one band/musical artist at the mall to collaborate with you, who would it be?
M: Paramore.
R: Henry Rollins.

Name your top 50 albums from 1982–85.
M: Nope.
R: No.

Name your least favorite 50 albums from ’85 on down.
M: Nope.
R: I love the Jeff Foxworthy records.

Why did you name your music that?
M: It sounded right.
R: It was just born that way.

How do I look?
M: Prepared.
R: Powerfully prepared.

How many High Places does it take to screw in a light bulb?
M: A couple.
R: One. Rob does everything.