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 Hurt Locker
February 6, 2010 · 12 Comments
<I>The Hurt Locker</I>

A very good movie with very good acting, weakened a bit by the two sequences at the end — but only a bit, which is a testament to how well built the rest of the …

The Vine: February 5, 2010
February 5, 2010 · 26 Comments

Dear Sars,
Yes, I know, it’s another “can you and/or your wonderful readers find this book” question.But, you know, there’s a little weight to it here, I think, at least for us.
You see, my husband and …

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
February 5, 2010 · 3 Comments

About what you’d expect, structurally, and the end feels a bit abrupt — although I suppose that, once the Chinese government decides it doesn’t care to deal with an issue, that’s that.
The first half is …

Oscars 2010 Death Race
February 5, 2010 · 42 Comments

Welcome to The Tomato Nation Oscars 2010 Death Race, in which I will attempt to see all the nominees before Oscar night.Yes: all of them.Best Live-Action Short, prepare to be boarded.
“But that’s crazy!Even Sarah wouldn’t …

The Vine: February 3, 2010
February 3, 2010 · 65 Comments

Sars,
I have a co-worker with a superior attitude and jealousy streak who cannot separate her personal life from her professional life. She will yell at someone for misusing the copier because her husband lost his …

The Vine: January 29, 2010
January 29, 2010 · 42 Comments

Hi Sars,
I have seen how wonderful the readers are with hunting down elusive shoes, and the time has come where I must throw myself upon the mercy of the readership to see if they can …

The Vine: January 27, 2010
January 27, 2010 · 134 Comments

Dear Sars,
I have fruit trees in my yard.Most of them are in the back behind a tall locked gate, but I have a tangerine tree in my front yard behind an unlocked (but gated) 3-foot-tall …

TV Question Qorner: Goodbye Walkers, Hello Fleissmore
January 26, 2010 · 27 Comments
TV Question Qorner: Goodbye Walkers, Hello Fleissmore

Brothers & Sisters. Did y’all bail out on it weeks ago? Just wondering if I’m the last one out the door on B&S, which at very long last I have kicked to the curb. The …

The Vine: January 22, 2010
January 22, 2010 · 71 Comments

After reading the Twilight saga I am hooked on the “offbeat romance” angle!I am currently reading A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb and hoping your readers can recommend some additional books that fit …

The Vine: January 20, 2010
January 20, 2010 · 58 Comments

I don’t know if I’m writing this more as a question or for therapy. All I know is life does not seem right and I’m not sure what right is anymore.
I’ve had three cats …