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 12, 2000
July 12, 2000 · No Comment

Sarah,
I have a stepsister, ten years my junior, and we’ve had NO relationship for the past eight years or so (I’m 39). The final straw (for me) was a “story” she told my father (the …

The Vine: July 11, 2000
July 11, 2000 · No Comment

Let’s just say I know a girl and I really like her and I ask her out. What should we do on the date? If she says no should I ask her out again in …

The Vine: July 7, 2000
July 7, 2000 · No Comment

Dear Sarah,
Okay, here is my problem. I used to (emphasis on the “used to” part) have a very good friend. When she moved to the other side of the country, we vowed to stay in …

The Vine: July 6, 2000
July 6, 2000 · No Comment

Hello!I went out with a guy five years ago who was just great – he was intelligent, sensitive, attentive, and absolutely doted on me. Unfortunately, I was shallow, inexperienced, and thought any guy I was …

The Vine: July 5, 2000
July 5, 2000 · No Comment

Here is my situation. I was supposed to move into this house. A week and a half before I was to move, I became very uncomfortable with the landlords and how they were handling some …

The Vine: June 22, 2000
June 22, 2000 · No Comment

I just finished taking a course in creative writing at Stanford.Everybody wore black and looked moody.I wore a Hawaiian shirt and shorts – and I was happy.I’ve now signed up for a “fundamentals of acting” …

The Vine: June 21, 2000
June 21, 2000 · No Comment

My best friend of I don’t know how many years started dating a new guy about seven months ago.Within weeks they had exchanged “I love you”s, and within months she had packed up and moved …

The Vine: June 20, 2000
June 20, 2000 · No Comment

I just read the latest Vine, and I have to disagree with you.An invitation to a wedding or any other event in no way obligates you to give a gift.You give someone a gift because …

The Final Frontier
June 19, 2000 · No Comment

A couple of years ago, the Biscuit became mildly obsessed with original Star Trek. A video store near his apartment carried the whole series, and I must say that, while I do miss a few …

Schlemiel World
June 19, 2000 · No Comment

I spent most of the weekend held hostage by a Real World marathon on MTV. At least I had an excuse this time – I had to tape the Boston season in its entirety for …