Baseball

“I wrote 63 songs this year. They’re all about Jeter.” Just kidding. The game we love, the players we hate, and more.

Culture and Criticism

From Norman Mailer to Wendy Pepper — everything on film, TV, books, music, and snacks (shut up, raisins), plus the Girls’ Bike Club.

Donors Choose and Contests

Helping public schools, winning prizes, sending a crazy lady in a tomato costume out in public.

Stories, True and Otherwise

Monologues, travelogues, fiction, and fart humor. And hens. Don’t forget the hens.

The Vine

The Tomato Nation advice column addresses your questions on etiquette, grammar, romance, and pet misbehavior. Ask The Readers about books or fashion today!

The Vine: January 27, 2016
January 27, 2016 · 13 Comments
The Vine: January 27, 2016

Assuming you aren’t utterly sick of him, I was wondering if your opinion of Pete Rose has changed since it came out he bet on games not just as a manager, but as a player? …

Batkid Begins: Doing The Wave
January 22, 2016 · 2 Comments
<em>Batkid Begins</em>: Doing The Wave

I think perhaps Netflix should consider bundling DVDs of Kurt Kuenne projects with those purse packs of Kleenex.

The Vine: January 20, 2016
January 20, 2016 · 4 Comments
The Vine: January 20, 2016

There are a number of books I read as a younger woman that I wish I could find and read again, but for whatever reason, this one has been bedeviling me of late.

The Vine: January 13, 2016
January 13, 2016 · 5 Comments
The Vine: January 13, 2016

So, there’s a short story I read in high school that I remember very little about, except for a few key details:

Film Fiber: Jaws
January 7, 2016 · 14 Comments
Film Fiber: <em>Jaws</em>

Roy Scheider is the most underrated actor of his generation. I am NOT a crackpot.

The Vine: January 6, 2016
January 6, 2016 · 12 Comments
The Vine: January 6, 2016

I adopted 3 littermates very recently. I’ve known them since they were 5 weeks old; they are now about 5 months old, and since day one with me have been settling into their furever home. …

The Vine: December 16, 2015
December 16, 2015 · 20 Comments
The Vine: December 16, 2015

I’m writing to you with yet another cat question as I know you’ve introduced new cats into your house at different times over the years.

The Poppy-Fields Movie Couch Of Fame: Working Girl
December 11, 2015 · 22 Comments
The Poppy-Fields Movie Couch Of Fame: <em>Working Girl</em>

A head for business and a nom for sin.

The Vine: December 9, 2015
December 9, 2015 · 18 Comments
The Vine: December 9, 2015

There’s a scene from a film that I saw, perhaps in the ’90s, perhaps earlier, that I can’t get out of my head due to its sheer irreverence and ballsiness, but for the life of …

The Vine: December 2, 2015
December 2, 2015 · 15 Comments
The Vine: December 2, 2015

This is a book my mother used to read with me back in the day (late ’70s, early ’80s), and we used to laugh and laugh. Somewhere along the way I lost the book. I …