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 19, 2007
January 19, 2007 · No Comment

Hi,
I work in a research laboratory, and a coworker of mine from Japan asked me for information on books by famous American authors. I haven’t read any “famous” American authors since high school (which was …

The Vine: January 18, 2007
January 18, 2007 · No Comment

Hi Sars.
A year ago I had $8,000 in credit card debt, on a Visa with 17% interest. I was making monthly payments but not making any headway — I was pretty much just paying the …

The Vine: January 17, 2007
January 17, 2007 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
I’m a chronic nailbiter as well, and the following has helped me manage it:
1. Getting acrylic nails.
2. Twice-monthly manicure/pedicures.
It sounds silly, but when I know I’ve spent a certain amount of money on my …

The Vine: January 16, 2007
January 16, 2007 · No Comment

Sars,
In keeping with the John Denver theme, she could also use “I Guess He’d Rather Be In Colorado.”
K

The Vine: January 12, 2007
January 12, 2007 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
I am putting the finishing touches on the yearly All-Company Meeting in Denver, CO, at the end of this month. One of the last things I have to do is put together the music …

The Vine: January 11, 2007
January 11, 2007 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
Well, I don’t know how reliable it is, but according to this site, “the phrases ‘Broken Arrow’ and ‘Bottle of Rain’ are Native American expressions, meaning (respectively) ‘Peaceful End of Conflict’ and ‘Good Prospects/Good …

The Vine: January 10, 2007
January 10, 2007 · No Comment

The song is indeed called “Walking.” The name of the band is Pocket Size and they’re British.
This song came out when I was big into buying whole albums just for one single and I have …

The Vine: January 9, 2007
January 9, 2007 · No Comment

Come on, too easy! The two songs from my graduation year (we voted on a class song) that divided the cool kids from the popular kids: “These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs and “So Hard …

Made To Be Broken
January 8, 2007 · No Comment

Moving house sucks, no question, but the silver lining to the whole agonizing, cuticle-ravaging process is that, every time you move, you get to start over. You get to launch a hundred grand organizational and …

The Vine: January 5, 2007
January 5, 2007 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
I’m looking to make a Mix CD for my upcoming high school graduation. I’ve found a couple of good songs (“Time of Your Life” by Green Day, “Graduation” by Vitamin C, et cetera) but …