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: November 3, 2005
November 3, 2005 · No Comment
The Vine: November 3, 2005

Ooh! Ooh! Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich by William Shirer! I got into it after reading Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl for the first time a few years back (I …

The Vine: November 2, 2005
November 2, 2005 · One Comment

Hi Sars,
My car is in Delaware and I’m moving to
Alaska — I have thousands of miles to cover, and I’m giving myself
about a month to make the trip. No hurry. I know you drove US …

The Vine: November 1, 2005
November 1, 2005 · No Comment

Hey Sars,
I was in an African History class last semester and I
came across a weird question while I was studying for
the map test. Why are there so many countries that
have the word “Guinea” in their …

Dink Cycle
October 31, 2005 · No Comment

Dear Tweety T-Shirt,
If you speak English — which I know you do, because I’ve heard you muttering offendedly in the direction of a People magazine story on Nick and Jessica for the last fifteen minutes …

Staff Picks
October 24, 2005 · No Comment
Staff Picks

It’s kind of a scattershot entry today; the job is alternating between “very busy” and “very slow, but alert to the possibility of very busy,” so a cohesive piece is not happening. Instead, I’ve put …

The Vine: October 21, 2005
October 21, 2005 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
I have recently moved to a brand new town, a brand new
apartment, and a brand new set of roommates. It
sounded ideal when I was signing the third year lease
on my last apartment, and for …

The Vine: October 20, 2005
October 20, 2005 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
My problem?I feel like, and possibly am, a COLOSSAL ASS.The story?On an otherwise normal Sunday evening, one in which the fiancé was out of town, I settled in with a couple of glasses of …

The Vine: October 18, 2005
October 18, 2005 · No Comment

After arguing with my word processor’s dictionary for a while, I called
a time-out and came to you.
“Toward” or “towards,” Sars? “Backward” or “backwards”? “Inward” or “inwards”? I’m
guessing “toward” and “backward,” because ‘”he moved forwards” sounds
stupid. …

Office Space
October 17, 2005 · One Comment

So, I’ve got an office job now. Well, in the sense that it’s a job for which I go to an office. It’s not an IBM cube-farm situation where I have to wear pantyhose and …

The Vine: October 14, 2005
October 14, 2005 · No Comment

I’ve seen several letters to several advice columnists (I’m addicted to them all, and welcome links to others not on my daily read list) regarding inappropriate questioning.For example, you recently ran a couple of letters …