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The Slice: This guy’s truly a ‘Mad Men’ man

The Slice managed to snag an interview with The One Guy in Spokane Who Admits He Watches a Lot of TV.

As always, you won’t believe some of the answers.

Q: Aren’t you supposed to pretend that your life is so dynamic and action-packed that you don’t have time to sit in front of the television?

A: Maybe. My life is fine. But I do watch a lot of TV.

Q: Only PBS though, right?

A: No, can’t say that. I check out a fair amount of stuff on KSPS and Idaho Public Television. Some of that is news and public affairs. But that’s not all I watch.

Q: You realize, of course, that it is more fashionable to say you devote hours and hours to surfing the Web.

A: I guess so. And I do spend time on the computer. But I also watch a lot of TV — movies, sports, certain classic reruns, old Westerns and a smattering of current shows like “Friday Night Lights” and “Mad Men.”

Q: So you are a classic watch-whatever’s-on coach potato?

A: No. Are you listening? I selectively record programs and then zip through them when I have time.

Q: Are you aware that Spokane’s slogan is not “Near the DVR, Near the Remote”?

A: Don’t worry. I spend time outdoors. But I grew up watching a lot of TV, and it has always been a comforting activity for me. And now, with a zillion channels and hundreds of hours of program offerings, I can really zero in on core favorites.

Q: So you admit that you are a loser addicted to passive absorption of mindless drivel?

A: Look, there’s plenty of time-wasting stuff on TV. I don’t dispute that. But if you are at all thoughtful about it, you can watch a lot of television and almost entirely avoid the truly moronic stuff.

Q: So you’re a snob?

A: Not really. It’s just that you’d have to be an idiot to watch much TV without thinking about what you’re doing.

How to tell Spokane zombies from regular zombies: “They would arrive early, line up and patiently wait their turn in line to dine,” wrote Todd R. Whipple.

Today’s Slice question: What local grandchild is in the most grievous danger of being spoiled rotten?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098; e-mail pault@spokesman.com. Thanks for reading The Slice.

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