MICHAEL SWAN: PAPPI SWARNER’S JUKEBOX >>>

It’s Friday afternoon at the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters. The editorial staff is off to some happy hour. I suspect the sales staff, too. I can hear knitting needles in The Steno Pool. The production staff receives the shaft once again, buried in a pile of work. I’m manning the phones. And our fearless leader Pappi Swarner is, as he does every Friday afternoon, hole up in his office blaring some ‘70s pop tune dreaming of the good old days of leisure suits, gas lines, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, geodesic domes, exploding Ford Pintos, fears of overpopulation, streaking, and pet rocks.

Pappi always argues that the '70s were a time of fundamental change: Women's liberation, gay rights, and alternative spiritual paths may have all gained traction in the ‘60s, but they didn't fuse into the zeitgeist until the '70s. He's right, but we play dumb.

Speaking of change, Pappi seems to be in a good mood today, illustrated by the fact that The Steno Pool is in the house. He’s down with the funk. His jukebox rattles with Rare Earth’s “Hey Big Brother,” yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, no. He’s headed toward The Steno Pool with platform shoes. This is not good.