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!

Barney’s Version
February 22, 2011 · 4 Comments
<I>Barney’s Version</I>

Sarah 42, Death Race 14; 18 of 24 categories completed
“Barney’s Version” is not a movie to be loved from start to finish. I was annoyed by it, then I liked it, then it irritated me, …

Hereafter
February 21, 2011 · 6 Comments
<I>Hereafter</I>

Sarah 37, Death Race 19; 17 of 24 categories completed
I liked it more than I’d expected to, but the guiding structural principle — the three plot strands that converge at the end — felt like …

Tangled
February 21, 2011 · 22 Comments
<I>Tangled</I>

Sarah 36, Death Race 20; 16 of 24 categories completed
Super-likable and fun, especially Pascal the chameleon, Maximus the bloodhound horse, and the song in the highwaymen’s pub — until the end, where it loses its …

The Way Back
February 20, 2011 · 5 Comments
<I>The Way Back</I>

Sarah 36, Death Race 20; 16 of 24 categories completed
It’s a good yarn, in theory — a bunch of guys escape from a Siberian gulag during World War II and walk all the way to …

Inside Job
February 18, 2011 · 5 Comments
<I>Inside Job</I>

Sarah 33, Death Race 23; 15 of 24 categories completed
I got impatient with it at first. It misspells two key names in chyrons right off the bat — former Fed chairman Paul “Vocker” and IMF …

The Vine: February 18, 2011
February 18, 2011 · 28 Comments
The Vine: February 18, 2011

I am on a quest to find corduroy pants. Specifically, I’m looking for thin-wale, mid- to high-rise, straight-leg corduroy pants.
Unfortunately, I have so far failed in my quest to do this. I’ve tried J. Crew …

Winter’s Bone
February 18, 2011 · 22 Comments
<I>Winter’s Bone</I>

Sarah 33, Death Race 23; 15 of 24 categories completed
I spent part of the day on Tuesday watching screeners for Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. It’s the sort of show that makes me irremediably irritated almost …

Outside The Law
February 18, 2011 · 6 Comments
<em>Outside The Law</em>

Sarah 33, Death Race 23; 15 of 24 categories completed
Hey, fight for Algerian independence that tests the love and loyalties of three brothers: be less clichéd and plodding! Don’t have exchanges like
“Money means freedom.”
“I am …

In A Better World
February 16, 2011 · 2 Comments
<I>In A Better World</I>

Sarah 31, Death Race 25; 14 of 24 categories completed
The press materials for In A Better World include a statement from director Susanne Bier, in which she asserts that the film “sets out to explore …

The Vine: February 16, 2011
February 16, 2011 · 10 Comments
The Vine: February 16, 2011

I have a quick question on blog etiquette. On personal blogs, should every comment be acknowledged?
For the new year I started to blog regularly. They aren’t long or even very interesting posts. My posts are …