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!

Due Respect
May 29, 2008 · 74 Comments
Due Respect

“Everyone except me is just so STUPID.”
I like finding out that people or institutions don’t suck as much as I’d thought. It happened three years ago, during the writing of the TWoP book; I had …

Ad-min
May 28, 2008 · 46 Comments

You may have noticed the new ad bar at the top there; I haven’t decided whether to leave it where it is.   Unfortunately, I will have to have an ad bar somewhere, at least …

The Vine: May 28, 2008
May 28, 2008 · 56 Comments

Dear Sars,
After long pining for it, I received Garner’s Modern American Usage for my birthday. In the entry on pronunciation, he claims that “almond” should be pronounced without the L. What is he smoking?
Confusedly,
Language Nerd …

In The Realm Of The Senses
May 24, 2008 · 5 Comments

Assessing a movie like In The Realm Of The Senses is tricky, because the subject matter — and the unstinting presentation of same — makes it difficult to render an opinion that doesn’t seem like …

The Vine: May 23, 2008
May 23, 2008 · 17 Comments

Dear Sarah,
Hoping you or the readers can help me before I become even more out of shape…
After my son was born in March 2005, I Tivoed some yoga programs that I would do for 20 …

The Corner
May 22, 2008 · 8 Comments
<I>The Corner</I>

the historically underrated Khandi Alexander as Fran Boyd
[NB: When I refer to “Simon” or “Simon’s” hereunder, co-author Ed Burns is also implied. I don’t know which man was responsible for which portions of the narrative, …

The Vine: May 21, 2008
May 21, 2008 · 44 Comments

Dear Sars:
My younger sister (she is 25) and her fiancé are to be married this fall. It will be a brief, non-denominational ceremony followed by dinner and dancing, held in a fancy restaurant. My sister …

Never Enough
May 20, 2008 · 5 Comments
<I>Never Enough</I>

If you’re going to hide the body, try…actually hiding it.
I’ve read nearly everything Joe McGinniss has written. The Selling of the President is great, straight-ahead reporting; it has a new-journalism twist to it, I guess, …

Gentlemen prefer Sars
May 19, 2008 · 75 Comments
Gentlemen prefer Sars

Sorry for the sporadic updates of late; between Bean’s wedding, the cold I came down with the very minute she was safely married, AIDS Walk fun times (awesome job, Angela and Team Supersnack!), bleaching my …

Stay golder with this additional footage, Ponyboy
May 17, 2008 · 5 Comments

My take on The Outsiders: The Complete Novel is up at The House Next Door (I’d have linked sooner but I just found out today that it had gone up).