“I wrote 63 songs this year. They’re all about Jeter.” Just kidding. The game we love, the players we hate, and more.
From Norman Mailer to Wendy Pepper — everything on film, TV, books, music, and snacks (shut up, raisins), plus the Girls’ Bike Club.
Helping public schools, winning prizes, sending a crazy lady in a tomato costume out in public.
Monologues, travelogues, fiction, and fart humor. And hens. Don’t forget the hens.
The Tomato Nation advice column addresses your questions on etiquette, grammar, romance, and pet misbehavior. Ask The Readers about books or fashion today!
My piece for Monkey See on The Art of Making Money: The Story of a Master Counterfeiter, and the frustrations of being a currency nerd. The short version: it’s a good book; I spend too much time inspecting my change.
I’ve (re-)discovered a few things over the course of the recent Days Of Rage. Some of them are great!
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a lonely girl in possession of a library card must be in want of a twin. The child who spends a lot of time in books also spends …
Currency nerd-dom! Awesome. I dabble in it some. The only cool thing I’ve ever had happen was, back when Atlanta had the Olympics, there was a suburban county (Cobb County) whose Commission made a “resolution” condeming the “gay lifestyle” or some bullshit. So there was an “Olympics Out Of Cobb” movement, and people also started stamping currency with a big “GAY MONEY” stamp. And I loved it when I’d see those bills. :)
I just have to tell you that I love the word “dorknip.”
How did the facebook comments on the review turn into a debate on whether money is good or not? Weird.
I just love your writing. Now I’m actively looking for star bills. :)
Does currency nerddom include those of us who keep a drawer full of commemorative quarters & other schmancy coins from the US and Canada, instead of, say, spending them? It would be nice to have this tendency qualified.
@cayenne: I think that’s just “collecting.” Or “being my dad.” Hee.
@Barb: And a debate on whether a quotation is correct? I don’t know.
How’s this for currency arcana: before FDR nationalized the production of US currency, regional banks issued bank notes. i.e., the First National Bank of Detroit issued its own $20 bills, as did every other “national” bank. My grandfather was the secretary of one such bank, and my family has old currency (circa 1905 – 1920) with his signature on it. I had the weird pleasure of correcting an eBay listing for an old $20 bill that had misspelled my grandfather’s name in the description of the note.
Sars, speaking of Facebook, do you have a Tomato Nation (‘become a fan’) page on FB? I don’t know you in real life so I’m not going to ask you to be my FB friend (although I’d be glad if I did know you in real life and would be glad to be your friend, FB or 3D, you seem like someone I’d love to hang out with!). But I would love to be a TN fan on FB if there is such a thing. I did a cursory search but didn’t immediately find it.
@Grace: That is cool!
@ChrEliz: Not at the moment, but maybe one of these days. (And thanks!)
I don’t remember what movie I saw on the Land O’TeeVee; it was a while ago, and the lead was a little boy who had somehow gone back in time to the 20’s or thereabouts. He stopped at a newsstand to buy some candy, and was thrilled at what a couple of dollars would buy. When he left the stand, the owner looked at his (1980s?) money, and realized it was totally wrong. I thought that was a fabulous touch.
I always love how you wrap up a column or a story. Nice one.
Have you heard of J.S.G. Boggs http://tinyurl.com/this-artist-guy ?
Pretty cool.
Like the other commenters, I would read this book.
Ah, one of my favorite Girl’s Bike Club exchanges:
Sarah: Oh, no! The ten is my favorite bill!
Wing Chun: You don’t really have a favorite bill.
Sarah: Well, but the ten is cool. Tens are always nice and crisp, and when you pay for something with a ten, you don’t get a wad of change, you just get a little. The best ATMs are the ones that give out tens. Tens are handy, I don’t know.
Wing Chun: Okay.
Sarah: Shut up.
OMG! I, too, am a wheresgeorge.com fanatic.
I also (ahem) have a cardboard commemorative state quarters album that I bought at a toy store.
And second the FB love! I would sign up as a fan of TomatoNation.com (other public figure) in a heartbeat!