The Perfect Man Wouldn’t Be Reading These Magazines

If you’re wondering how best to figure out whether a particular man is someone you might want to spend time with, just check out the magazines that he reads.

That, at least, is the theory put forth by the editors of Marie Claire magazine. Responding to a Marie Claire invitation, three different men’s magazines offered up their idea of “the perfect date” for the Marie Claire woman.

Physical traits: Men’s Health and Esquire were specific (6 feet, 178 pounds and 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, respectively). Details magazine was less so - “Tall enough,” the editors wrote. “Taller than Tom Cruise.”

The bank book: Men’s Health man makes $60,000 a year, Esquire man makes $200,000. Details? “Does that include Mom and Dad’s contribution?”

Dream date: Men’s Health listed Susan Sarandon as the actress its fantasy man would most want “to spend an evening with.” Esquire chose Kristin Scott Thomas, while Details opted for “a Liv Tyler/Traci Lords combo.”

Ultimately, the man who reads GQ magazine may have come out on top, if only because of the mystery factor. “Alas, I fear I shall come across as an imperfect man, but I must decline your kind offer,” wrote editor-in-chief Art Cooper.

It’s sure not bliss: Ignorance, it is said, is the only true slavery. If so, then the Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium is fighting the good fight for freedom.

In distributing 2,500 free “Safety First” posters, the private, non-profit organization is both publicizing its theme (“Ending Violence Begins at Home”) and providing the means to carry out its message.

Each poster both lists signs of “domestic/intimate partner violence” (everything from outright sexual abuse to humiliating jokes and insults) and the phone numbers of various resource agencies, from the Domestic Violence Crisis Line/Shelter (326-CALL) to Child Protective Services (456-4451).

“Simply putting this poster up in your workplace or business is one way individuals can help begin to stop violence,” says Jennifer Pearson, the consortium’s executive director.

For further information, 487-6783.

, DataTimes MEMO: Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Rebecca Nappi and Dan Webster. Write to them in care of The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Fax at (509) 459-5097, and e-mail at Rebeccan@Spokesman.com or Danw@Spokesman.com.