OK this has been bugging me ever since Nick got his human body back. I’m not even sure if it’s intentional or just a quirk of your art style, but I just have to say something about that black bump on the back of Nick’s head. At first I thought it was a yarmulke but I never got any impression Nick was Jewish. Then I thought I was just seeing things, but now I’m pretty sure it has to be intentional, and we’re going to find out about it later in the story.
Actually, Nick IS Jewish. He obliquely references it a few times, and in the old blogs that were written in character for Nick it was stated outright. Can’t remember the links for those though.
Nick is Jewish. Don’t know how you missed that – just the other day he was freaking out because his new body is not circumcised like his original one was.
Will also point out that in a visual medium such as a comic strip, someone being drawn in a yarmulke is in fact a way to signal that a character is Jewish.
Huh. I just assumed it was his cyborg brain case sticking slightly out of the back of his human skull. Like, they put his brain back into an armored container before sticking that into a fragile human body. But then I went back and realized he didn’t have it in the first few strips.
They are on Team Annex One! There’s probably enough gear with logos to outfit the whole crew. Well, except Hitty & Moustachio. It might be hard to find a T-shirt that fits them.
Seph nailed it. I’m mildly surprised there’s not some -real world- Annex 1 merch available (either here or, e.g. cafe press.) Seems like a ‘Dept. of Big Leaking Drums” is a natural coffee mug fit. However all a quickie search turned up was a Ginny-with-the-Cobras magnet.
Or she’s disappointed in herself for not adding more of the “improvements” that Tigerlily had suggested.
But if she is disappointed in Nick for entering the tournament, that may be exactly what he needs to hear. Just because it’s the only option he can see to get to Aimee doesn’t mean that it’s the only option there is. Maybe he just needs to get more creative.
She’s not mad, merely slightly irked at this turn of events. I agree with Owlmirror, Ginny should be building him some armor to protect him. Maybe they can work together to put together some non-lethal weaponry to help Nick to win the contest without trampling over his beliefs. Or maybe act as a hacking rig so he can go in without anyone else noticing.
It’s usually defined more broadly as opposition to violence in general—individual pacifists vary in where exactly they draw the line. For example, most pacifists will accept some form of self-defence.
The reason seems to be that the Quakers are pacifists, and as such didn’t take part in the American revolution on either side, but still recognise the legitimacy of the winner.
This is often construed as meaning that the pacifists condone warfare as long as they don’t have to participate, which is just nonsense.
A different argument is that if you are willing to defend yourself, you must also be willing to attack others. And that therefore only someone unwilling to can be a pacifist. I should think that the nonsense in that argument is quite transparent.
It becomes less transparent if you intentionally confuse the differences between personal self-defence, defence of property, defence of political borders, protection of government interests, and protection of private interests.
From the perspective of a pacifist, war is organized mass murder and property damage. Those are things that are usually highly illegal. So from the perspective of a pacifist, a conspiracy to commit those things should also be illegal, rather than funded by taxes.
No, pacifists very often are against self-defence. They tell you that you should just submit to whatever your attacker wants and hope that he doesn’t kill you rather than defend yourself. That they extend this idiocy to national defence should not be surprising to anyone.
That is utter and complete nonsense. And also backwards. (It is exactly the argument that I said should be quite transparently nonsense, and does intentionally confuse state interest with personal ones.)
The definition of a pacifist is someone who opposes war and refuses to participate in it in any capacity. This is not the same as being an anti-militarist, or against weapons in and of themselves. It does mean to oppose wars of aggression, which have nothing to do with defense.
In particular, opposing warfare does not mean opposing self-defense (which, despite the name, is not limited to defending one’s own self).
Per the definition, a pacifist is not someone who extends the refusal to defend oneself to “national” defense. That does not make any sense at all. It is pure and utter garbage. You could maybe imagine a pacifist who extends the refusal to fight for Wall Street to the refusal to fight for themselves (maybe, because I do not see how), but the other way around does not fulfill the definition of pacifism.
Alfred Nobel was almost beaten to death by a group of pacifists for being a war monger. This is not self-defense, and it is not submission.
There is even a historical example of a pacifist army that opposed wars by deterring attackers, but that is a historical singularity.
Maybe winning it will give him the confidence to shtup Virginia, but he seems to be moral enough to insist on a proper wedding, and perhaps insist she convert to Judaism first.
More importantly, Nick’s using this as an excuse to not talk to Virginia about how they feel about each other. They’re not going to get to the sex until they learn how to talk to each other.
Maybe the contest isn’t quite what Nick is expecting. All BM said was “Robot Olympics”. They have fencing in the olympics, but they also have figure skating.
and now she reminds me of Helen being disappointed in Artie.
Gotta say: Virginia is rockin’ that hairstyle
YEs, yes, on the hair-style. Oh NO!! Not the ‘I’m disappointed’ comment….aaagh….
OK this has been bugging me ever since Nick got his human body back. I’m not even sure if it’s intentional or just a quirk of your art style, but I just have to say something about that black bump on the back of Nick’s head. At first I thought it was a yarmulke but I never got any impression Nick was Jewish. Then I thought I was just seeing things, but now I’m pretty sure it has to be intentional, and we’re going to find out about it later in the story.
I dunno maybe I am just seeing things…
Actually, Nick IS Jewish. He obliquely references it a few times, and in the old blogs that were written in character for Nick it was stated outright. Can’t remember the links for those though.
And then of course I promptly find them:
– https://zerhakker.livejournal.com
– https://nickzerhakker.wordpress.com
Because sleep is overrated.
“Obliquely”? He had a mezuzah attached to the fuselage of the Osprey!
Yeah he’s Jewish. Hasn’t come up for a while, but it’s definitely a thing.
Don’t worry, you aren’t alone.
http://skin-horse.com/comic/new-hire-until/
Nick is Jewish. Don’t know how you missed that – just the other day he was freaking out because his new body is not circumcised like his original one was.
Actually, it was over a month ago, but it seems like just the other day:
http://skin-horse.com/comic/so-to-speak/
Actually, that’s a common procedure in America. Or at least it was.
Common for American men to be circumcised, but it’s not a religious requirement for a gentile, it wouldn’t be anything to scream about.
Common yes, however not as part of the cloning process from leftover DNA and organ bits.
(Anyway, Nick has very clearly identified himself as Jewish for a long time.)
Will also point out that in a visual medium such as a comic strip, someone being drawn in a yarmulke is in fact a way to signal that a character is Jewish.
Yeah Nick is totally Jewish.
Huh. I just assumed it was his cyborg brain case sticking slightly out of the back of his human skull. Like, they put his brain back into an armored container before sticking that into a fragile human body. But then I went back and realized he didn’t have it in the first few strips.
No, your first impression was correct, that’s a yarmulke and Nick is Jewish.
I hope she at least kisses him for good luck.
I hope she at least makes him a suit of flying armor for good luck.
Fixed!
Oh, I guess she could kiss him for good luck before he helmets up.
Nick: “Dr. Lee . . .Virginia . . . this is the most boss thing anyone has ever given me! I think I lo . . . Um.” *chokes*
Virginia: “Now go out there, and don’t get killed. Or kill anyone, I guess.” *kiss*
FOR good luck? A kiss would be the RESULT of good luck.
We’re not gonna talk about Ginny suddenly sporting a sweatshirt that matches Nick’s T-shirt?
Good observation! Probably just coincidence… (or is Ginny subtly hinting “we’re together”?)
They are on Team Annex One! There’s probably enough gear with logos to outfit the whole crew. Well, except Hitty & Moustachio. It might be hard to find a T-shirt that fits them.
Note to self: refresh BEFORE comment. Seph already made the point.
Pretty sure that Ramshambler (Do they even have M’s original body?)’s team ident could be handled by a stencil and some spray paint.
(There was a smiley at the end of that comment that got swallowed.
So here’s to the old school ==> *8-) )
It would seem they left his body at the Maragda Building when Hitty & M came over to Annex One to help out.
It’s the Annex 1 logo—the same emblem is on the side of the (building)x robot. I guess there’s a stash of branded clothing somewhere for emergencies?
Seph nailed it. I’m mildly surprised there’s not some -real world- Annex 1 merch available (either here or, e.g. cafe press.) Seems like a ‘Dept. of Big Leaking Drums” is a natural coffee mug fit. However all a quickie search turned up was a Ginny-with-the-Cobras magnet.
Ginny is DISAPPOINTED in Nick?!
*That’s* what he needed to hear…
Or she’s disappointed in herself for not adding more of the “improvements” that Tigerlily had suggested.
But if she is disappointed in Nick for entering the tournament, that may be exactly what he needs to hear. Just because it’s the only option he can see to get to Aimee doesn’t mean that it’s the only option there is. Maybe he just needs to get more creative.
How long have you been waiting to drop that punchline?
Since the beginning of Narbonic?
She’s not mad, merely slightly irked at this turn of events. I agree with Owlmirror, Ginny should be building him some armor to protect him. Maybe they can work together to put together some non-lethal weaponry to help Nick to win the contest without trampling over his beliefs. Or maybe act as a hacking rig so he can go in without anyone else noticing.
A pacifist is someone who is morally opposed to war.
That doesn’t mean they won’t fight you over it.
It’s usually defined more broadly as opposition to violence in general—individual pacifists vary in where exactly they draw the line. For example, most pacifists will accept some form of self-defence.
That because those with even the most rigid anti-violence beliefs still possess the instinct of self-preservation.
It is often mis-represented as such.
The reason seems to be that the Quakers are pacifists, and as such didn’t take part in the American revolution on either side, but still recognise the legitimacy of the winner.
This is often construed as meaning that the pacifists condone warfare as long as they don’t have to participate, which is just nonsense.
A different argument is that if you are willing to defend yourself, you must also be willing to attack others. And that therefore only someone unwilling to can be a pacifist. I should think that the nonsense in that argument is quite transparent.
It becomes less transparent if you intentionally confuse the differences between personal self-defence, defence of property, defence of political borders, protection of government interests, and protection of private interests.
From the perspective of a pacifist, war is organized mass murder and property damage. Those are things that are usually highly illegal. So from the perspective of a pacifist, a conspiracy to commit those things should also be illegal, rather than funded by taxes.
No, pacifists very often are against self-defence. They tell you that you should just submit to whatever your attacker wants and hope that he doesn’t kill you rather than defend yourself. That they extend this idiocy to national defence should not be surprising to anyone.
That is utter and complete nonsense. And also backwards. (It is exactly the argument that I said should be quite transparently nonsense, and does intentionally confuse state interest with personal ones.)
The definition of a pacifist is someone who opposes war and refuses to participate in it in any capacity. This is not the same as being an anti-militarist, or against weapons in and of themselves. It does mean to oppose wars of aggression, which have nothing to do with defense.
In particular, opposing warfare does not mean opposing self-defense (which, despite the name, is not limited to defending one’s own self).
Per the definition, a pacifist is not someone who extends the refusal to defend oneself to “national” defense. That does not make any sense at all. It is pure and utter garbage. You could maybe imagine a pacifist who extends the refusal to fight for Wall Street to the refusal to fight for themselves (maybe, because I do not see how), but the other way around does not fulfill the definition of pacifism.
Alfred Nobel was almost beaten to death by a group of pacifists for being a war monger. This is not self-defense, and it is not submission.
There is even a historical example of a pacifist army that opposed wars by deterring attackers, but that is a historical singularity.
Nick’s just using this tournament as an excuse not to have sex with Dr. Lee.
Maybe winning it will give him the confidence to shtup Virginia, but he seems to be moral enough to insist on a proper wedding, and perhaps insist she convert to Judaism first.
More importantly, Nick’s using this as an excuse to not talk to Virginia about how they feel about each other. They’re not going to get to the sex until they learn how to talk to each other.
Perhaps he can win the contest without fighting through the ancient nerd technique of rules-lawyering.
Maybe the contest isn’t quite what Nick is expecting. All BM said was “Robot Olympics”. They have fencing in the olympics, but they also have figure skating.
We also saw a threatening blender atop a kitchen oven begging for its life, so…
There was a reference to laser fencing, I believe. I’m sure the Baron can find a way to make figure skating deadly as well.
Disfigure skating?
Rules-lawyering is an ancient Jewish technique, too, so he’s got centuries of precedent and the arguments of venerable rabbis backing him up.
OH MY GOD “I’m not a mad scientist, I’m a disappointed one” is SUCH A GOOD JOKE