Posts by Robin Rodriguez5

Was it actually necessary? 😕

Beat? I mean, who on earth was calling him the "Beast"?🤷

Man, that one was solid, back when Beast was still behind the drum kit.

Just wait until the Fed drops interest rates again; you’ll see those triple-digit P/E ratios popping up everywhere in this market once more.

You know, I had two Deans from the MIT Business School teaching me social sciences during my junior year, and one of them is actually the current Dean. Honestly? I wouldn't trust them to watch a single sheep in a pasture. 😁No results coming out of there could ever surprise me.

Arthur Barnes said:It’s hilarious watching everyone dogpile on the education system when they were asking basic general knowledge questions in the first place.

Am I supposed to have learned about the San Francisco Boardwalk in college? Did we take courses called Broadway I and Broadway II? If this study actually proves anything, it just shows what the average business student looks like. And the average profile is someone who doesn't know a damn thing, yet still has the nerve to blame the university...

Well, they tested their actual professional skills too, and those results are even more pathetic.😁

They played in the courtyard at the SKCa venue, which holds maybe 2,000 people when it's packed to the rafters. I don't know the exact headcount, but there's no way it was anywhere near 15,000. It's the same story as that other concert—moved to a smaller space because nobody showed up.

Dragonfly, when Ueshiba passed away without clearly outlining the succession plan—who would represent the art, who would evolve it, or who would lead the charge—it left a massive power vacuum. It’s a classic scenario; you see this kind of messy transition in royal bloodlines all the time, so it shouldn't be any surprise in a martial art. Following strict tradition, the mantle fell to his son. The problem? He wasn't the top student, nor was he the most skilled, nor was he the right-hand man. That role belonged to Tohei for years. Honestly, if we're talking about who actually preserved the legacy, it's debatable whether the son kept the flame alive at all. At that stage, his grasp of the art was shallow compared to Tohei, who was miles ahead in terms of raw knowledge, experience, and pure mastery.

jademarlin26 said:Ki Aikido is merely another cultish approach to a good idea, implying you must belong to a specific group to achieve any level of spirituality (whatever that means to anyone). Ueshiba simply called the system Aikido. It is obvious that by adding "Ki" before Aikido, someone was trying to appear incredibly important and unique, even though "ki" is already inherent in the original term (ai-KI-do); doubling it is both redundant and thoughtless.

Incidentally, Tohei's style is called Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido. However, specifically emphasizing that you are unifying mind and body (shin shin toitsu) is absurd, especially when used to differentiate styles. Every martial art involves the unification of mind and body. Chopping onions for lunch requires the unification of mind and body. Sweeping the floor is an act performed with Kim, because as long as you are alive, you cannot escape it.

Good grief.🙄
Tohei was the premier Ueshiba-esque student and, as far as I know, the only one Ueshiba personally awarded a 10th Dan. After Ueshiba passed away, the leadership of Judo shifted toward his son for traditional reasons (even though he held a lower rank than Tohei). Since Tohei refused to take instruction from someone ranked below him, he "created" his own style, which leaned much harder into the spiritual side and dialed back the combat aspect. Look, after Ueshiba died, Tohei was the most senior living master of Judo on the planet. If anyone was meant to carry the torch, it was him. Calling him a cult leader is tragicomic—who exactly did he split from? Someone who was significantly less skilled than he was?

History is full of examples where a skill, faith, or body of knowledge is passed down to a son, regardless of whether his rank justifies it. We see similar dynamics in many major religions.

Look, I wasn't bashing Aikido. I just meant that the spiritual aspect is way more prominent in Ki Aikido—that’s pretty much the core distinction.

AIKIDO = Aligning with Ki (or, to put it bluntly, tapping into your raw energy)
When it comes to the spiritual side of things, I think we need to be talking about Ki Aikido rather than what most people call "standard" Aikido these days.

Babe's just bored 😁

Peter Jackson4 said:Can anyone recommend a good blood pressure monitor? My old man's readings are creeping up—around 140 over 90. The catch is he can't quite nail the manual ones with the bulb and stethoscope. I'm looking into digital options instead. What's the price range, how reliable are they, which brands actually matter, and where should I pick one up?

Go with A&D Medical. Get an upper arm digital model; they're clinically validated and you'll see them used in doctor's offices all the time. You can actually snag one on sale right now at the Mayo Clinic location near the Manhattan market for $117.

I honestly don't see where they're going to squeeze the new UEFA Cup format into the schedule. They've added an extra knockout round and bumped up the group stage by two matches. It’s just more clutter.

Zagor / Big Black discussion 😁

Elizabeth Palmer2 said:What about Little Pigeon Forhill Blues, folks? Did nobody mention that one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CECbPjS0OvU

They probably weren't even around when this thread was first started.

John Carter21 said:The Witches only played THREE songs. THREE.

Just a quick reality check: The Witches did play three songs after the break, but they were on stage for half an hour before that. There were still about 6 or 7 tracks left on the setlist that they didn't get to, including Dea Dea Mellow. Honestly, Kuzma basically showed up for nothing. 😢

😵
Of course.

Kuzma is joining the Witches on stage for the concert, playing sax.
So, we’re likely looking at a few Dea Mellow tracks in the set, featuring the lineup of Kuzma - Sacher - Kuzma junior on drums.

I have to admit, getting a urethral swab wasn't actually that bad for me. I had mine done at the Mayo Clinic about a decade ago. Honestly, it looks way more intense than it actually feels—just look away 😁