As long as Ben Murphy still lives, the 70's will always be with us.

I actually had exactly the same thought regarding Adam Brody.

You're right, Punky Brewster could be the first comic in history to use the Girl-In-A-Refrigerator trope and have the girl come out alive.

@avclub-5a1c0dcc8243c086c74ee944052f6f0f:disqus  I did mean the Russians, when they followed Napoleon home.  I know the Arc wasn't finished then, I was just using it as a shorthand.

Agreed, but pretty much everyone in the media is a smug douchebag, some are just better at concealing it than others.  That doesn't mean none of them ever say anything worthwhile.

If I recall correctly, grocery stores were open in Paris, but no retail, and even the grocery stores closed early in Switzerland.

I'd consider late night restaurants more entertainment than convenience.   There are no stores open in Paris on Sundays, and nothing in Switzerland is open past 5:00 except on Thursdays (I think).

Sure, but it always has some effect on (what for want of a less trite term I'll call) the national psyche.

The other thing about America, along the lines of tidiness, is convenience.  Shit is just easy here in a way that it isn't even in the rich parts of Europe.  Stores are open late and on every day of the week, etc .

@avclub-c156902f5b20b572848be18c11634dfb:disqus  What's more fun is to ask them to define "socialist," "communist," and the difference between the two.

Have you read any of the recent William Gibson novels? He has a really interesting couple paragraphs on the nexus of those things with the obsession with special forces, and the fashion of having the "right" special forces-style gear.

Just the chorus.  "We Will Rock You" is kind of a downer too if you listen to the lyrics.

So you're arguing that America's long decline means that we can now look back fondly on the shit-storm that was yesteryear?

As (apparently) a Gen X'r, I think we're probably the worst,

Back when they were trying to come up with a name for my cohort, we were too young for Gen X, now apparently we're the tail end of Gen X. 

Be careful, letting people know all of the fucked up things America does is now the crime of "espionage."

"I am" is too generic a phrase to copyright.  If either had ended the phrase with "an insufferable asshole," I'd probably  give it to 'em.

I would have thought that "never forget" is more rooted in the holocaust, and calls to mind Superman's Jewish/golem antecedents, and, though I never thought about it before, the destroyed homeland (planet) could be a metaphor for the holocaust too.

I downloaded an issue and part of another the first time I heard about it. It really is the worst thing ever.  The best/worst part is that the superhero bodies are pretty clearly traced from other superheroes, which means that someone (Caspar Weinberger, I think) basically has Wonder Woman's body and costume.

Because you just crossed Key Bridge?  That's when I pass them.