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 7, 2015
January 7, 2015 · 20 Comments
The Vine: January 7, 2015

I would love to ask the readers how I can find luggage that fits the following annoying criteria:

6/31: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
January 6, 2015 · 8 Comments
6/31: <em>The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo</em> (2009)

Nothing beats grudgingly watching one of the “Why’s this on here?”s in the ol’ Netflix queue and having an unexpectedly good time.

5/31: Boyhood
January 5, 2015 · 3 Comments
5/31: <em>Boyhood</em>

I watched Boyhood a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to find a way into my write-up ever since.

4/31: Foxcatcher
January 4, 2015 · 4 Comments
4/31: <em>Foxcatcher</em>

“But it’s still a true crime story bloated into looking significant,” David Edelstein sighs of Foxcatcher in his review, and I concur with the “bloated into looking significant” part while having to take issue with …

3/31: The Art Of The Steal
January 3, 2015 · 3 Comments
3/31: <em>The Art Of The Steal</em>

My father observed years ago that the best you can hope for from the government is a C-plus, an idea I’ve come back to many times.

2/31: In A Town This Size
January 2, 2015 · 3 Comments
2/31: <em>In A Town This Size</em>

Patrick V. Brown’s combination film and testimony, In A Town This Size, is shot short and plain.

1/31: Video Games: The Movie
January 1, 2015 · 2 Comments
1/31: <em>Video Games: The Movie</em>

Video Games: The Movie doesn’t pretend it isn’t enthusiastic about and spirited in defense of its titular medium, and it’s quite effective at shilling for video games; I renewed my GameFly subscription shortly after watching …

31 Films In 31 Days II: Revenge Of The Netflix Queue
December 16, 2014 · 13 Comments
31 Films In 31 Days II: Revenge Of The Netflix Queue

Coming in January: cinemasochism redux!

The Vine: December 12, 2014
December 12, 2014 · 3 Comments
The Vine: December 12, 2014

Two queries that readers might possibly be able to help with. I’ve been trying to remember the name of or anything more about a children’s TV series I watched in the very late ’70s/early ’80s. …

Coming Soon: Keep Calm And Eat A Bee
December 9, 2014 · 7 Comments
Coming Soon: Keep Calm And Eat A Bee

Okay, TN hivemind. If you’re stung that I’m using this design, now’s the time to buzz about it. (Sorry.) (…Not sorry, even a little.)