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: July 31, 2001
July 31, 2001 · No Comment

So, I’ve been single since I was 18 years old. I’m now 25. Single’s not bad, but I’ve been alone also. My last date was two years ago (a disaster), and there have been no …

The Vine: July 27, 2001
July 27, 2001 · No Comment

Okay, Sars, what would you do here?
Well over ten years ago, when I was finishing up college, I started seeing someone. We’ll call him “Dolt.” Dolt and I had a rocky relationship and an even …

The Vine: July 26, 2001
July 26, 2001 · No Comment

Okay, Sars, I don’t know is this will make the Vine, but I’m at a loss and being that this problem involves one of my best friends, I can’t exactly go to her for advice …

The Vine: July 24, 2001
July 24, 2001 · No Comment

Hi Sarah,
In recent weeks I discovered both Mighty Big TV and Tomato Nation, and, boy, has my productivity at work suffered as a result. Anyway, after perusing the archives of The Vine and nodding my …

With A Smile
July 20, 2001 · No Comment

I had no choice. I’d already tried running Scan Disk in Windows, running Scan Disk in DOS, running Scan Disk on an Amiga, defragging the drive, bellowing the word “NOT!” at the monitor in various …

The Morning After
July 20, 2001 · No Comment

Stomach: Psst. Hey. Hey, you guys. Psst. You guys, wake up.
Liver: [Mrfflle.]
Stomach: Hey, wake up, you guys!
Liver: Shhhh.
Stomach: You guys?
Lower Intestine: Shhhh!
Stomach: You guuuyyyys…I’m huuuuungry.
Kidneys: SHHHH! God!
Stomach: Well, it’s eleven-thirty, and —
Liver: Dude, shut up. …

“Love” Among The Ruins
July 20, 2001 · No Comment

A.I. doesn’t work. It can; it could. For reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, I very much wanted it to. But in the end, it just doesn’t. Why not?
Let’s look at the accusations …

The Vine: July 19, 2001
July 19, 2001 · No Comment

Hey Sars:
First of all, the usual kudos for your very fine writing — I think I’ve laughed at or enjoyed everything I’ve ever read that you write — and that includes your editorial comments over …

The Vine: July 18, 2001
July 18, 2001 · No Comment

Dearest Sars,
A friend recently decided to quit her job to be a freelance writer. I heard she was struggling a bit, so I offered her some work for my company. I wasn’t that desperate for …

The Vine: July 17, 2001
July 17, 2001 · No Comment

Two months ago, my boyfriend of two and a half years, with whom I had been living for a year, broke up with me, claiming we had become incompatible sexually, which he felt would never …