The Slice: It takes fun out of channel surfing

Pet sitter Gabi Tilley thinks a cat she knows has found a way to express displeasure with its owners’ prolonged absence.

The feline buried the TV remote in the litter box.

That’ll show ‘em.

“Slice answers: “My handshake is firm, as all men’s handshakes should be,” wrote Glenn Jacklin. “You can tell a lot about a man via his handshake.”

Ken Yuhasz didn’t characterize his own, but he did recall a passage in a novel where someone’s handshake was described as “like squeezing a sparrow.”

“Just wondering: “Every fall, our two small dogs go frantic after the first snowfall trying to find the last possible patch of bare ground when we let them out,” wrote Jody Barbee of Sandpoint. “Then comes spring and they again go nuts, frantically looking for the last small patch of snow. Anybody else’s dogs do this?”

“Speaking of Sandpoint: How many residents refer to their charming lakeside community as “Blandpoint”?

“Just wondering 2: “What is the loudest mammal within the Inland Northwest?” wrote Karen Mobley. “We don’t have howler monkeys but there must be something that isn’t a neighborhood dog.”

“Don’t let the sun catch you aging: Vince Eberly was watching a TV show featuring resurrected British bands that first achieved fame in the 1960s. His wife, Dana, came into the room and asked about the hoary singer on the screen at that moment.

“That’s Gerry, of Gerry and the Pacemakers,” said Vince.

Dana took another look at the performer’s grizzled face and said, “Well, that’s an appropriate name, isn’t it?”

“Question for Spokane area real estate agents: What was the most laughably off-putting thing a neighbor did while you were showing a house to some serious prospects? You know, ridiculously loud engine revving, backyard shoutfest, garage band rehearsal …

“2007 will be no different: Every year, local media note the James Joyce origins of the name “Bloomsday,” and every year people continue to believe it is simply a salute to spring.

Of course, you can tell that some of the TV people don’t really understand it either.

“”Anne of Green Gables,” et cetera: How many people who moved to this area during a long-ago public TV pledge drive still remember what special programs were being aired at that time?

“Today’s Slice question: After seeing a news analyst stumble over the pronunciation of “exculpate” on TV, a question came to mind. How much larger is your reading-comprehension vocabulary than your “words I would ever use in conversation” vocabulary?