Tonight is the “Top Chef” Season 10 (Seattle) finale, and I can’t wait to find out if it was Kristen (who was WAY too nice/willing to take the high road/well-mannered Asian girl when she was eliminated during “Restaurant Wars”, and whose inevitable victory in “Last Chance Kitchen” reminds me that hey, this is “reality” television, not reality television) or Brooke (who is so freaking nice that it’s almost impossible to NOT want her to win, even the fact that she met her husband by hiring him to work for her and clearly is much, much more Alpha than she ever comes across, even though she’s probably still really freaking nice).

It’s also got me thinking. Specifically, about the fact that I am:

1. Stuck at work for at least another hour (meaning, at best, I will start watching the episode late).
2. The Eastern and Central time zones already know who won.
3. #2 means that I have to get home without finding out who won.

Obviously, this isn’t actually that difficult a feat – not many of my friends watch “Top Chef”, and this means that I didn’t have to post up any spoiler warnings to anyone about texting me about who wins (unlike, for example, live sporting events, when I am often texting/gchatting with my good friend Jon, and who almost always seems to be about five seconds ahead of me on the broadcast. I am constantly scolding him for spoiling a good play for me right before it happens. Thus far it has not deterred him.). But it does mean avoiding social media, which has become a moderately significant part of my life – because I do have enough Facebook or Twitter friends that one of them could accidentally spoil the result for me.

The immediacy of these media, combined with our general acceptance of time-shifting as the new normal for television viewing (seriously, what do you watch live anymore other than maybe the news or sports?), however, means that the battle between the screens is no longer just a battle for your attention; it’s a battle for the very way you will consume media in the future.

Are the immediacy and electronic community of social media worth the risk of a spoiler? To a lot of people, the answer seems to be yes. Or, at least, it forces them to watch something live – which really is what old media wants in the first place. The more likely you are to be spoiled by social media, the more likely you are to watch live, so it can’t be spoiled (and so you can also participate in the spoiling inadvertently for your friends who did not choose to watch the show live).

Maybe someday that will be my answer. But for the moment, I’m more willing to cut myself off from social media for a few hours (or, in the extreme case of “The Dark Knight Rises”, I embargoed myself from all social media for three days until I had the opportunity to get to the theater and see the movie) and enjoy a pure, unspoiled viewing experience.

In other words, don’t fucking ruin the Top Chef finale for me. I’m serious.

Recently, I spent a week in New York, crashing on a friend’s couch, for vacation.  I had a few activities planned (an improv show, a play, a taping of The Colbert Report), but other than that, I spent much of my time wandering aimlessly through the city, which helped remind me of a few things:

1. Not Having Regular Access to a TV is Weird:  Although my friend I was staying with had a television and DVR, I wasn’t going to mess with his setup just to watch the shows I wanted to watch.  Instead, I kept up with a couple of shows via my iPad, which wasn’t so unreasonable.  Given how much television I actually consume, however, it did feel a little strange to not have access to the programs I ordinarily consume within 2-3 days of when it airs.

2. People are Awesome:  This may seem like a strange lesson to learn, but in Los Angeles you rarely have an opportunity to strike up a conversation with a stranger – we’re always in our cars, and all that separation from one another via metal and glass (combined with the general stress of having to drive everywhere and being cooped up in traffic and HEY WILL YOU FREAKING MERGE ALREADY?!?) makes us unwilling to open up to random strangers (other than perhaps to give them the finger).

But when you walk and ride the subway, it’s different somehow.  You’re forced to make eye contact with people, even accidentally.  You end up in situations where a person is going to talk to you and you can either be a dick, or you can chat with them for a few minutes and learn something.  I was lucky enough to end up in a few different places where I had the chance to meet total strangers, and they were interesting, unique, and inspiring (if nothing else than as a character I can attempt to portray someday in an improv scene).  I met a (former) graffiti artist, and a rabbi (not the same person) whose six month stint in NYC turned into 43 1/2 years.

3. You Need to See More Documentaries:  One thing about the NYC film scene – there are even more documentaries available to watch than there are in LA.  I took some time to check out The Revisionaries and Brooklyn Castle, two excellent documentaries that really should be seen by more or less everyone.  The former explores the Texas School Board and their effect on national textbook standards, and the latter profiles the struggles of the top Intermediate school in the country for chess as they deal with budget cuts.  Both documentaries are eye-opening, thought-provoking, and well-crafted.  Both are worth your hard earned money.

Or at least a couple hours of your life when they hit Netflix streaming.