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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!

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Articles by Sarah D. Bunting

The Vine: December 7, 2012
December 7, 2012 – 11:47 AM | 72 Comments
The Vine: December 7, 2012

My family always had advent calendars growing up, and I am looking for suggestions for good advent calendars to purchase now. I am open to reusable or non-reusable ones.
There is also one particular advent calendar …

The Vine: December 5, 2012
December 5, 2012 – 10:03 AM | 158 Comments
The Vine: December 5, 2012

I’m looking for book suggestions for my just-turned-thirteen niece. It’s a very in-betweeny age, where her Christmas list is mostly clothes, but she still doesn’t want me to cancel her American Girl magazine subscription. Though …

The Imposter: The past isn’t past
November 30, 2012 – 4:40 PM | 6 Comments
<em>The Imposter</em>: The past isn’t past

Though [Bourdin] emphasized his cunning, he acknowledged what any con man knows but rarely admits: it is not that hard to fool people. People have basic expectations of others’ behavior and are rarely on guard …

The Vine: November 30, 2012
November 30, 2012 – 12:17 PM | 17 Comments
The Vine: November 30, 2012

A Vine question from my brother…who is single. And lives in Seattle. And needs a girlfriend. But anyway, he had a movie question, and as my normally encyclopediac movie brain has failed me, I’d like …

The Vine: November 28, 2012
November 28, 2012 – 10:44 AM | 39 Comments
The Vine: November 28, 2012

My husband and I are at an impasse with holiday hosting plans, and I’m hoping you might be able to make a ruling for us.
For each of the last several years, about half of my …

The Vine: November 21, 2012
November 21, 2012 – 10:02 AM | 28 Comments
The Vine: November 21, 2012

Happy American Thanksgiving, Nation. I’m thankful for all of you, and your hilarity, generosity, and insight. The Vine is off on Friday as I recover from my annual date with poultry, but if you have …

X-Files Rewatch: Season 4
November 20, 2012 – 6:08 PM | 5 Comments
<I>X-Files</I> Rewatch: Season 4

So, I started rewatching The X-Files from the beginning — or, really, “watching it,” because during the series’ run, I came in late and only watched casually. It holds up pretty well almost 20 years later, despite …

Half a Life: When too much is enough
November 20, 2012 – 9:52 AM | 2 Comments
<I>Half a Life</I>: When too much is enough

It’s written too well, Half a Life. And that’s understandable. Darin Strauss’s “memoir” — a poor fit, that word, but the closest available — concerns the death of a girl half (his) lifetime ago; Celine …

The Vine: November 16, 2012
November 16, 2012 – 10:06 AM | 41 Comments
The Vine: November 16, 2012

I have a heel spur and plantar fasciitis (damn turning 40!) in my right foot. I am going to a podiatrist and getting medical attention. For a variety of reasons, I can’t get a steroid …

The Vine: November 14, 2012
November 14, 2012 – 12:46 PM | 39 Comments
The Vine: November 14, 2012

The good news first: I found out two days ago I will be offered my dream job. I have a boyfriend whom I’ve been dating for almost a decade and have lived together with for …