The table talking about New Troy nanny-taxation or the table talking about blood and guts? I think Setorius' table probably has the better conversation, but I can well sympathize with finding both a little... grim.
Y'know, it's funny .. but even when the discussion goes south, i have trouble imagining Setorius using crass language, though he probably knows a lot.
I suspect that even when things go quite badly wrong, he will be all polite and civilized, and yet somehow manage to creep everyone out.
Not to mention scare every cassion into hiding in a five mile radius.
A threat from Setorius, no matter how civilized, would be something to be extremely worried about, I'm sure.
Ah sorry I guess I should have been clearer. I meant those glasses of wine are really, really, full in the first panel. So much so that it looks weird to me. Normally wine doesn't really get filled all the way to the top like that. At least in my experience.
I actually have some cool facts on this, my brother-in-law is a sommelier so I hear a lot about it.
The reason the wine glass is usually only half full, or in fact, far less, is because it allows the aroma (bouquet)to properly coalesce. With wine, the smell and the feel are just about as important, actually more so, than flavor.
The partial glass also allows for all the other testing components (such as the swirling, the smelling, etc.) to go on unimpeded.
Now, mind you, cultures like the Romans and the Greeks ages ago drank a lot more wine because, well, it didn't give you cholera. They would more often go for a full glass.
This may be a cultural 'revival' *gag* thing.
No, no there is but a Big Mac costs 10,000 creds, and don't even get me started on mcnuggets. A large soda costs 20,000. Therefore only the uber rich partake of mickey D's as a status symbol.
They have "food squares" in New troy .. they are cheap and nutritious .. and come in a wide verity of festive colors.. that may or may not have anything to do with the food they are meant to be..
I really like Setorius, Of course, the fact that he looks a bit like Grant Morrison (who is my hero) probably helps. Also, I have a thing for mad scientists.
Oh geez.. he does ! - That was unintended :D but it works! Actually him and Dr. Deacon might get along famously .. although Setorious works in Bio tech.. and not normally in hard tech .. He did after all make working Cat girls! He cant be ALL bad :D
The fact that he works in bio would make Deacon get along with him even better (Deacon doesn't get along as well with people who share his disciplines). They could get up to ALL KINDS of mischief... er... I mean SCIENCE!
Ah, but imagine the thing that Setorius, Dr Silver and Calliope Taylor could pull off if politics and their ego's didn't stop them from working together ?
Setorius is actually a surprise! I'm starting to like him. Of course, that other shoe is gonna drop any minute, and he will unleash his next abomination, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, lol.
And as far as Petronilla goes, slave or free, she's awesome! I know waiters at 5 star restaurants that don't keep tabs of what their regulars like as well as she does! Can we keep her? please please, pretty please?
Petronilla is on the staff for the upper echelons of the Black Palace's inhabitants. It's not terribly hard to remember people's preferences when you only serve about two dozen people directly. And Julia's always very nice to the slaves, so they tend to like her and remember her more.
Alcohol, tobacco, and salt are heavily taxed in New Troy. But, is that so shocking? This is merely today's excise taxes and tariffs taken to an extreme.
The average person does not buy tobacco products, so they don't notice the spikes in prices. But, there is a trend among legislators, particularly since the recession, to keep piling on more excise taxes. It meets with much less opposition than raising taxes across the board.
Have sin taxes created a healthier society? Should it be used to regulate our diet and lifestyle? These days we're seeing lots of obesity, diabetes, and addictions to sweets, junk food, and pop. What's next, a tax on soda pop? Well... It sounds like they're trying to do just that.
At least in some countries they spend it wisely. In Sweden the gambling tax is to treat those with gambling problems. And there is talk of using excise to support healthcare. But today? It goes into the general fund to balance the budget. And with an economy where cities and counties can go bankrupt, who can blame them for raising excise taxes yet again?
Here in NYC our former mayor tried to make large sodas (32oz and above)illegal. The people thought that was stupid and told him enough was enough. This was after we let him ban smoking in public parks. That's right there are places in NYC you can't smoke OUTSIDE. Don't get me wrong I'm very anti-smoking I don't think anyone should do it However banning people from smoking outside is ridiculous in my opinion.
You probably have never had to stand at a bus stop next to a bunch of nicotine addicts puffing away. It's especially fun when it's cold or raining and they cram themselves into a bus shelter full of people and proceed to light up :(
I don't smoke. But I have family who does. And I've an idea how hard it is for some to quit. Even with the help of nicotine patches: Someone has to want to quit, or it just won't happen. I've seen failed attempts.
Despite the costs, there's still plenty of alcohol and tobacco use - even among the destitute. Some will even sell their food stamps for it. Remember the Boston Tea Party? At least tea could be considered a luxury. But for someone with a nicotine addiction it's not that simple.
Has the War on Drugs eliminated street drugs? Has the cost made them go away? What about the growing abuse of prescription painkillers? If one outlet for abuse is prohibited, people find another. If cost is the barrier, some might resort to cheaper stuff - like glue or paint.
Perhaps exise taxes are discouraging sales. However, it shifts the cost of living for those who can barely afford to buy food and pay rent. People may go hungry. But, hey, as long as city officials can balance their budget without having to cut expenses or raise property or sales taxes...
On the other hand: If it became so expensive that only the wealthy could afford it, that might actually work (as opposed to outright Prohibition). I don't really like it, but New Troy's solution might be viable.
They keys are to control smuggling and to make it so expensive only the extremely wealthy can afford it.
Controlling smuggling is the hard part, trick is to cut out the lower cost ones. Make it so only the high brow professionals can pull it off.
See: Mr. Black.
oh boy this is gonna get Awkward FAST.....
speciallu when DEci bring out his surprise Of a certain person he plans to punish...and Max Rips his intestines out his nose.
I think their plan is to give us a feel for how the dinner is going aside from drekhead's stupidity. Also, that's a good point regarding the servants. Is the dinner an exception due to the number of people present, or are Maxus' orders being ignored the moment he leaves the palace?
When Decimus is alone, he's only served by males. Specifically, members of the priesthood. They're NOT slaves, and if he tries to mistreat them, he will be in deep shit. Setorius will Look at him! An eyebrow may be involved!
Actually all that is lifted for the dinner because Max and eventually Kali will be here. Deci acts up max will put his ass down. and deci will be seeing stars .. long as deci acts like a human being Max wont lift a hand ..
They should take care that the wine isn't spiked. Or Poisoned. Or spiked and poisoned. And what sort of drunk does Deckhead make?
* "Nobody loves me... *sniff* I'd have you all brutally and publicly slain... but what's the point? *swig* Same again..."
* "<i>Amo amici!!</i> Seriously, I love you all... so much I wanna [acts that are illegal even to describe in most jurisdictions on earth redacted and expunged] aaand- gods its... past midnight... yeah.. you.. 're all such.. such good listeners, too..."
* "I'll take the lot of you on! Who's first? You, sisterbitch? You, hostage girl whatever your name is? You, baldy? You, ashyassassinface robowhore? You want some? You- ha! You nerve-strike like a f-" *thud*
I'm sure Kali is allowed to take charge and manhandle Dec or render him harmlessly unconscious in order to prevent him from coming to harm... >;=)>
Hah, I kinda want to see a drunk Decimus now.
I think the lulz are particularly strong in a Drunk Decimus vs. Setorius "battle".
We are after all talking about a young man vs. an 80 year old with the experience to go along - It would go *so* sideways. XD
An 80 year old man who uses a lot of the "advancements" he invents .. Hes probably in better shape than Maxus. He does not believe him experimentation without achievable goals nor does he believe in throwing away results .. except where nothing can be salvaged.
Watering down the wine works (though today's wine enthusiasts are all crying out in horror right now ;) ). But even with that, someone not used to alcohol at all should be careful. And not drink too much or fast, especially not on an empty stomach.
This before dinner chat brings a whole new dimension to the remark "Let me tell you about my operation." New Troy's following in the footsteps of New York; they tax the bejesus out of anything fun there too.
Just a thought with the glasses, Nehru collared jacket and gloves at all time Setorius is reminding me of a movie villian, want to say Dr. No for outfit and Dr. Strangelove for the shades. Also just reread his comments to Acantha young lady has depths of knowledge not shown before.
Gotta love all this civilized conversation. Then Dec opens his mouth: "Miss Taylor, I've spoken to your mother. What a bitch. She'll have to be neutralized before we get married. Here, have some of these green beans, they're great."
Why, he is a medical professional! It is incumbent upon every such person to be fully informed as to the physiological history of any lifeform taken under care! Are you suggesting there is something inappropriate about this level of involvement?
I suspect that even when things go quite badly wrong, he will be all polite and civilized, and yet somehow manage to creep everyone out.
Not to mention scare every cassion into hiding in a five mile radius.
A threat from Setorius, no matter how civilized, would be something to be extremely worried about, I'm sure.
Dunno why, really, it just seems really funny to me. XD
After all, people tend to get drunk after a while.
The reason the wine glass is usually only half full, or in fact, far less, is because it allows the aroma (bouquet)to properly coalesce. With wine, the smell and the feel are just about as important, actually more so, than flavor.
The partial glass also allows for all the other testing components (such as the swirling, the smelling, etc.) to go on unimpeded.
Now, mind you, cultures like the Romans and the Greeks ages ago drank a lot more wine because, well, it didn't give you cholera. They would more often go for a full glass.
This may be a cultural 'revival' *gag* thing.
Heroin on the other hand ... probably quite expensive!
Ah well, he is meant to be a sort of good guy, right ?
YOU'RE JUST NOT IMAGINATIVE ENOUGH!
(scnr)
*cough* Dolly v2.0! *cough*
Maybe he has a secret fascination of 20th & 21st century comedies ?
Like, he could be a Cheech & Chong fan, but NOONE would know about that. XD
And as far as Petronilla goes, slave or free, she's awesome! I know waiters at 5 star restaurants that don't keep tabs of what their regulars like as well as she does! Can we keep her? please please, pretty please?
Setorius will make sure of that, if nothing else then for the challenge. :)
And maybe she'll be able to benchpress 5 tonnes after he's done with her.
Before Setorius pulled her for Church duty.
He was the reason she got out of that ?
Dang, he keeps showing his good sides off, don't he ?
The average person does not buy tobacco products, so they don't notice the spikes in prices. But, there is a trend among legislators, particularly since the recession, to keep piling on more excise taxes. It meets with much less opposition than raising taxes across the board.
Have sin taxes created a healthier society? Should it be used to regulate our diet and lifestyle? These days we're seeing lots of obesity, diabetes, and addictions to sweets, junk food, and pop. What's next, a tax on soda pop? Well... It sounds like they're trying to do just that.
At least in some countries they spend it wisely. In Sweden the gambling tax is to treat those with gambling problems. And there is talk of using excise to support healthcare. But today? It goes into the general fund to balance the budget. And with an economy where cities and counties can go bankrupt, who can blame them for raising excise taxes yet again?
(In new troy I mean...)
Despite the costs, there's still plenty of alcohol and tobacco use - even among the destitute. Some will even sell their food stamps for it. Remember the Boston Tea Party? At least tea could be considered a luxury. But for someone with a nicotine addiction it's not that simple.
Has the War on Drugs eliminated street drugs? Has the cost made them go away? What about the growing abuse of prescription painkillers? If one outlet for abuse is prohibited, people find another. If cost is the barrier, some might resort to cheaper stuff - like glue or paint.
Perhaps exise taxes are discouraging sales. However, it shifts the cost of living for those who can barely afford to buy food and pay rent. People may go hungry. But, hey, as long as city officials can balance their budget without having to cut expenses or raise property or sales taxes...
On the other hand: If it became so expensive that only the wealthy could afford it, that might actually work (as opposed to outright Prohibition). I don't really like it, but New Troy's solution might be viable.
We have universal healthcare, why not fund it by taxing the stuff that is most likely to send people into the hospital?
Makes sense to me.
Controlling smuggling is the hard part, trick is to cut out the lower cost ones. Make it so only the high brow professionals can pull it off.
See: Mr. Black.
speciallu when DEci bring out his surprise Of a certain person he plans to punish...and Max Rips his intestines out his nose.
Complete with the original latin names 'n' everything. XD
...but I thought that only male servants were allowed in the presence of douchie...?
...and was douchie not about to bring everything downhill?
In this party setting, there are others to kick his ass, should he get out of line .. namely Maxus. :)
* "Nobody loves me... *sniff* I'd have you all brutally and publicly slain... but what's the point? *swig* Same again..."
* "<i>Amo amici!!</i> Seriously, I love you all... so much I wanna [acts that are illegal even to describe in most jurisdictions on earth redacted and expunged] aaand- gods its... past midnight... yeah.. you.. 're all such.. such good listeners, too..."
* "I'll take the lot of you on! Who's first? You, sisterbitch? You, hostage girl whatever your name is? You, baldy? You, ashyassassinface robowhore? You want some? You- ha! You nerve-strike like a f-" *thud*
I'm sure Kali is allowed to take charge and manhandle Dec or render him harmlessly unconscious in order to prevent him from coming to harm... >;=)>
And yes Kali would take charge of anything if Maxus didnt handle it first.
I think the lulz are particularly strong in a Drunk Decimus vs. Setorius "battle".
We are after all talking about a young man vs. an 80 year old with the experience to go along - It would go *so* sideways. XD
I've seen people drunk from two glasses. Adult people.
Though, for all we know, maybe he just wanted an assistant that wasn't a novice that was "dumb as a doorstop".
So much said in so little words...D:
/deadpan
I am, however, suggesting that he does not understand what "inappropiate" is.