Sidney Robert Nolan
Salome
Lithograph ed. 3/150, 102 x 66.5 cm, ca. 1981
31 notes
·
View notes
His virtue was the brainstorm of a dreamer!
He died a fool. And may his fall pull down
his friend and all his century! We shall see
how they get on without me. For one evening,
the world belongs to me still. [...]
King Philip II of Spain, Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller, Act V scene ii. Translation by Robert David MacDonald.
16 notes
·
View notes
Right, yes, the morality post. For brevity's sake, I'm going to leave this for the more developed characters here, but with the exception of Graham, nobody should be easily answerable in a binary "yes/no" poll whether or not they're a good person.
Ockham is not particularly kind. Heshethey does not go out of hishertheir way to be cruel to anyone without direct provocation (petty is still on the table, mind you), but Ockham is primarily concerned with Ockham. Ockham is relatively steadfast with people heshethey favours, but at the end of the day, the selfish option will always win out. Ockham has low emotional empathy and tends to feel a degree of distance from others (a mixture of the surface sailor living a relatively unattached life and the parabolan elements comprehending existence on an entirely different plane of reality). Heshethey doesn't actively get involved in any broader causes or try to influence things on the macro scale for better or for worse, unless it somehow directly affects himherthem. Ockham has a relatively good degree of self-awareness about it: Ockham's not trying to be a good person or a bad one, heshethey're just trying to be.
Roberts initially started out willing to step on whomever he needed to (himself included) in order to secure comfort for himself. But despite that, if it won't impact him negatively, his instinct is still to be kind (how he's received is a different story). These are traits that carry over to Nite. Being dawnpilled, however, seemed to have turned his priorities onto a grander scale. It's no longer primarily about him, but about the New Sequence and their goals. He's working towards a greater good here, but is also more likely to do smaller acts of individual kindness, unrelated to the grand scale of things. On the other hand, he has absolutely committed several atrocities in the name of that greater good. He does recognise them for what they are and holds negative feelings over them, but is still able to write it off as something that had to be done for the net benefit. This is also a mindset that carries over to Nite, who believes that the steep cost of the LoN is a necessary one for the overall greater good. Both of them want to be a good person, and think they're doing it as best they can. Roberts does acknowledge that he's made many unpopular decisions, and is also at peace with playing the villain if that's what it takes to achieve the overall good. Let his subordinates hate him. Let him dirty his hands so that the Commodore doesn't have to. It's all worth it in the end.
Jones wants to believe that he's a good person. He thinks that he used to be, back when he could actually stand for something he believed in. Nowadays, he feels more like a husk. He's done awful things for the Great Game, and would do them again. But for as many things he's done that have caused harm, there are things he hasn't done, paralysis and indecision, also causing harm. Those are the ones that weigh on his conscience--when his fear, his inaction, have negative consequences. Maybe if it were for something that he actually believed in, it would be easier. But there's nothing left in him to keep that flame alive, were it ever rekindled. His favourite part of the job is administering the Rites of St Joshua. At least he can feel like he's done some good, unburdening someone of their troubles or secrets. He wants to be a good person. He hopes that he is.
6 notes
·
View notes
Gilligan's Return: Leitz 90mm Tele-Elmarit-M Thin Review Part II
by Johnny Martyr
Since Molly Kate kindly featured it on 35mmc, my Leitz 90mm Tele-Elmarit Thin Review has been getting alot of traffic.
The review concluded with my decision to throw Gilligan overboard and invite The Skipper to join me on the top deck. Quick recap: I was lead to believe that all Thin Canadian 90 TE’s (Gilligan) are plagued with an unrepairable haze problem and so Fat German 90…
View On WordPress
2 notes
·
View notes
English Protestant martyr Robert Barnes, executed in 1540, was a prominent figure in the English Reformation, supporting Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and later becoming a key advisor to Anne Boleyn.
Link: Robert Barnes (martyr)
0 notes