I am not a typical Redditor so please forgive me if the info isn’t up to par to others.
A little about me first, I have had no female intimate experience in my life, not even one of those middle school “relationships” or anything close. I grew up as a chubby kid and stayed big all the way into early college, and caught little to no one’s interest. As a result I’m decently oblivious to certain cues and signs woman can give. I lost 100 pounds recently and am honestly looking substantially more attractive. In this new form, I’ve noticed it’s easier to make friends with new people and have interests from women especially. I also am a big overthinker, so this conflict has been revisited in my head at random times for almost two weeks.
This woman and I have just graduated college together in the same major. We have known each other for just this last semester, being randomly paired for our group senior design project with two others. She sometimes during our time working together would be talking to me, asking questions about me(she always thinks I give funny or interesting answers), and joking with me. We became good friends bc of our common interest in fashion. She worked for a fashion magazine on campus, would model and design clothing lines in it. She lets me know about fashion shows in town she could get me a seat at and also would invite me to her friend’s parties which I love! We also share the same life milestones right now; relating in difficulties of finding our first career job.
Towards the end of the semester I thought I might have had a slight interest in her, but I would notice she never gave me definite signs of interest that could make it past my oblivious brain. Not feeling too strong for her anyway, I just thought “we’re friends only” and stuck with it. I even began to go as far as develop an interest in her dual close friend and roommate, texting the roommate frequently in the end of the semester. However, her roommate-friend started to text less, I now think because she might have spoken up to the roommate about me, calling dibs or something with girl code.
She asked to come to the graduation ceremony together and sit with me. At the time I thought she were just coming as a friend to crack jokes with in the ceremony, even high fiving her at the end of it. I thought we were going to part ways at night as she seemed to want to meet some of her friends at a club and I was certain I was going to drink at bars with my roommates. She ended up deciding to come with my group and I to the bars with her other friend(not her roommate). We pregamed some and hit the town, buying both of them a drink once inside. After a while of dancing, we sat down and a guy came to talk to her. She started holding my hand, rubbing my hand with her thumb. Having two older sisters I thought may be it was a self defense tactic that I had to play along with. That wasn’t it because the rest of the night we would be holding hands and even cuddling up to me when watching TV at my house after. All of this really blindsided me.
This is when the conflict in me began. I really liked her friendship and was fine as friends, but her hand and physical touch felt good to have. I’m not sure if it’s my history of lack of attention from women or if I really enjoy her intimate presence specifically. I do like her personality but I have a history recently of being very picky appearance wise. I look at her IG and just am not that excited by her looks. Definitely is not my typical ideal type.
Since then we’ve gotten together twice; to watch a movie and to go for walk at night downtown. During which we still only hold hands and talk like normal to each other. On our walk, I asked her how she was thinking about us continuing to hold hands and act this way to each other. She flipped it on me first and I said “it blindsided me that night, not in a bad way, just surprise. I worry though because things like this grow and eventually die where both people never speak again. I don’t want to ever have each other on a blocked list because of something like this”. I asked what she thought, she said something like “I think it’s something that just grew naturally closer. I find myself getting drawn to you, you make me feel safe and protected, and I don’t have to be someone I’m not around you.” The seriousness of the conversation died after, and I don’t think we learned too much of our thoughts of our coming future from it.
I am not sure how I feel about her. Physical attraction is a huge deal for me. Part of me wants to tell her to just be friends because of my high standard and the fact that she’s such a cool person so we’d not have to risky a bad ending from a relationship. I also wonder if I really like her because my gym crush still catches my eye(I’ll never go up to her there obviously) and her roommate-friend still does also. However, I also fear if I friend her, I’ll miss spending time with her often AND the feeling of physical touch. Worst of all, I fear friending her will cause her to ghost me anyway, bye bye joking around, and the fashion and friend event invites.
I know right now she’s liking me more than I like her romantically. She’s leaving for a month in about a week or two from now. I could explore her romantically to see if I could overcome this initial lack of physical attraction in this time. Then, While she’s gone, reflect on if I like HER or the only the TOUCHing and ATTENTION from her. However, if I lead her on more, there’s even less of a chance i can pick up the pieces and rebuild the original friendship after. If I carefully and respectfully friend her now, there’s better odds we still have our friendship and I can always keep looking for a woman who is more my ideal type.
Any advice on this?
Yes I know, I’m rubbing off as shallow with my emphasis on attraction, that’s how my life and history growing up shaped me.

Hello everyone,
I was hoping for any input , help or ideas regarding my story.
My grandfather from my father's side was engaged to a woman who was considered a witch in his village. He met my grandma at a local fair and he fell in love with her. He broke it off with the other woman and married my grandma. 3 days after their wedding this woman went to my grandfather's house , and cursed " I curse your children to be in marriages they will never be happy with and your grandchildren to never have the one they want and to never be able bear children themselves. This curse will die with your grandchildren and will be the end of your name". She died in my grandfather's arms and although he was begging her to take it back she did not.
Indeed both my uncle and my dad were in unhappy marriages .My grandpa died quite young feeling guilt and blaming himself until his very end. His grandchildren, me, my brother and one cousin, we have not been able to have children . And all of us are currently single,significant others cheated on us or lost interest suddenly. All 3 of us are heartbroken and starting to believe that this curse may indeed be true and we will all die alone without leaving any of us behind. My grandfather's family name is very unique, as far as I know not one person in my home country has the same name and it will indeed die with us.
I am at a desperate point to be honest and that is why I am reaching out to you here. Thank you for reading

This may be a little immature but bear with me. All my life my sister and I would always match as that was what my mother and father liked, they think I enjoy it but no, I am so tired of having the same thing, buying the exact same thing and whenever I have something she has to have it too. I don't exactly hate my sister to grave though, we get along most of the time but what I don't like is how she constantly has to do things I do, follow and copy what I do, sometimes unintentional but it just infuriates me for some reason. She goes to the same school as me and now for college, I chose this specific track (she already decided on something and told me what so I told her what I wanted) and she just looked at me and told my dad "Oh I'm still thinking" and obviously will go pick that same major. Maybe I'm just being selfish and petty but I just really want to try being by myself, I'm a very shy person and I think having her around makes it even more awkward to try and have friends. I get it though she doesn't know what to do so she follows me but whenever I urge her to do something and look for a way, for example get something specific from classmates or teachers, she just looks at me and sits around until I do it.

Sorry to anyone who has to read this long story to get to the question I just feel it's right to give context and see what the general populace thinks.
I used to work at this restaurant (21) and I became friends with this hostess (17). The age may play a big part in this who knows. I worked here once a week and over the course of a few months, the hostess and I became really close friends. She'd tell me about her family problems, her new boyfriend, her life worries, etc. Yada yada yada one day she says she's quitting soon. I get this gut wrenching feeling and for the rest of the day, I'm depressed and I told her that we should just stop being friends for the rest of her time here because I don't think we'd be friends outside of work because
a. She's 17,
b. She seems like a busy person and I don't really see her making time for me so like why bother right? She'd just become a memory later on that I reminisce about
But she breaks down and I try to reconsider but at the end of the day I told her that my decision was kind of made. Fast forward to a day I'm off, and I really do feel bad because the image of her just crying really guilt tripped me sort of so I came to work to try and make up with her. When I got there she started bawling her eyes out for a good half hour before I could talk to her again and once I was able to I tried to joke around and say sorry. What I really wanted to know was what I meant to her? What does she see in me that she'd go as far as to cry and tell me about these things about her, etc. I wrote that on a note and told her to give it back because I gave it to her at a somewhat emotional low so I knew she would be somewhat truthful.
Fast forward a few weeks, she hasn't given the note back but she did write a "tldr" version saying how I'm important because she rarely lets people in, etc. I really didn't vibe with this because I just wanted the original, this seemed somewhat false to me. The original could have said "you're a fucking creep, leave me alone" and I would've been fine with it but I was obsessed with a guaranteed truth I made up in my head I suppose.
**Oh right let's side note a few things she trusted me with so I can show how nonsensical this sounds to a sane person. She trusts me with her address, her phone password, she would literally leave me alone with her phone cause I asked her jokingly. I know it isn't weird unless I make it out to be but this is some unusual trust she has in me. I see her as like a sister I must protect sort of, someone I want to see happy no matter what or so I think anyways, everyone says I had romantic feelings for her. And she also got a boyfriend about a month and a half into me befriending her.
I made this stupid thing where I would call her or text her once a week and asked her how she was doing. The intention behind this was to make it seemed as if nothing had changed for me. I'd still be talking to her once a week. This works out for a couple weeks but eventually she stops responding. In hindsight, I guess this does seem like a chore to her and I should've seen that this type of relationship is kind of forced and just does not work. She stops responding, ghosts me and blocks me. I'm not sure but I think the following situation had to do with it : She wasn't responding to my texts at a usual time when we would talk. I called her and she said she was feeling depressed and we talked for a bit and she asked me "What's the best thing to ever happen to you." I asked her if she wanted the cliche answer because if I said it outright it would actually seem serious. She said yes and I said you guessed it "you." Though I guess in truth, she is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Before I met her, life was sort of dull and gray but little by little I guess she made it a bit more fun and interesting but I did not mean anything by this answer, I thought it was only a joke to be honest. But yea she blocked me a few days or a day after this call I'm not sure. This drove me crazy because she gave no signs that anything had gone bad. No communication that she felt uncomfortable about what I said or whatever this thing is that I've set up. So I spam called her with a no caller ID for a bit before her boyfriend told me to stop. Yea I went really batshit crazy.
I know I fucked up and that we may never talk again and that this is all my fault but I wouldn't like to end things on a bad note especially with her. Her birthday is coming up and I told her way back I would give her a present. Is it wrong to give the present still and try to reconcile / reconnect?

Sorry to anyone who has to read this long story to get to the question I just feel it's right to give context and see what the general populace thinks.
I used to work at this restaurant (21) and I became friends with this hostess (17). The age may play a big part in this who knows. I worked here once a week and over the course of a few months, the hostess and I became really close friends. She'd tell me about her family problems, her new boyfriend, her life worries, etc. Yada yada yada one day she says she's quitting soon. I get this gut wrenching feeling and for the rest of the day, I'm depressed and I told her that we should just stop being friends for the rest of her time here because I don't think we'd be friends outside of work because
a. She's 17,
b. She seems like a busy person and I don't really see her making time for me so like why bother right? She'd just become a memory later on that I reminisce about
But she breaks down and I try to reconsider but at the end of the day I told her that my decision was kind of made. Fast forward to a day I'm off, and I really do feel bad because the image of her just crying really guilt tripped me sort of so I came to work to try and make up with her. When I got there she started bawling her eyes out for a good half hour before I could talk to her again and once I was able to I tried to joke around and say sorry. What I really wanted to know was what I meant to her? What does she see in me that she'd go as far as to cry and tell me about these things about her, etc. I wrote that on a note and told her to give it back because I gave it to her at a somewhat emotional low so I knew she would be somewhat truthful.
Fast forward a few weeks, she hasn't given the note back but she did write a "tldr" version saying how I'm important because she rarely lets people in, etc. I really didn't vibe with this because I just wanted the original, this seemed somewhat false to me. The original could have said "you're a fucking creep, leave me alone" and I would've been fine with it but I was obsessed with a guaranteed truth I made up in my head I suppose.
**Oh right let's side note a few things she trusted me with so I can show how nonsensical this sounds to a sane person. She trusts me with her address, her phone password, she would literally leave me alone with her phone cause I asked her jokingly. I know it isn't weird unless I make it out to be but this is some unusual trust she has in me. I see her as like a sister I must protect sort of, someone I want to see happy no matter what or so I think anyways, everyone says I had romantic feelings for her. And she also got a boyfriend about a month and a half into me befriending her.
I made this stupid thing where I would call her or text her once a week and asked her how she was doing. The intention behind this was to make it seemed as if nothing had changed for me. I'd still be talking to her once a week. This works out for a couple weeks but eventually she stops responding. In hindsight, I guess this does seem like a chore to her and I should've seen that this type of relationship is kind of forced and just does not work. She stops responding, ghosts me and blocks me. I'm not sure but I think the following situation had to do with it : She wasn't responding to my texts at a usual time when we would talk. I called her and she said she was feeling depressed and we talked for a bit and she asked me "What's the best thing to ever happen to you." I asked her if she wanted the cliche answer because if I said it outright it would actually seem serious. She said yes and I said you guessed it "you." Though I guess in truth, she is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Before I met her, life was sort of dull and gray but little by little I guess she made it a bit more fun and interesting but I did not mean anything by this answer, I thought it was only a joke to be honest. But yea she blocked me a few days or a day after this call I'm not sure. This drove me crazy because she gave no signs that anything had gone bad. No communication that she felt uncomfortable about what I said or whatever this thing is that I've set up. So I spam called her with a no caller ID for a bit before her boyfriend told me to stop. Yea I went really batshit crazy.
I know I fucked up and that we may never talk again and that this is all my fault but I wouldn't like to end things on a bad note especially with her. Her birthday is coming up and I told her way back I would give her a present. Is it wrong to give the present still and try to reconcile / reconnect?

Sorry to anyone who has to read this long story to get to the question I just feel it's right to give context and see what the general populace thinks.
I used to work at this restaurant (21) and I became friends with this hostess (17). The age may play a big part in this who knows. I worked here once a week and over the course of a few months, the hostess and I became really close friends. She'd tell me about her family problems, her new boyfriend, her life worries, etc. Yada yada yada one day she says she's quitting soon. I get this gut wrenching feeling and for the rest of the day, I'm depressed and I told her that we should just stop being friends for the rest of her time here because I don't think we'd be friends outside of work because
a. She's 17,
b. She seems like a busy person and I don't really see her making time for me so like why bother right? She'd just become a memory later on that I reminisce about
But she breaks down and I try to reconsider but at the end of the day I told her that my decision was kind of made. Fast forward to a day I'm off, and I really do feel bad because the image of her just crying really guilt tripped me sort of so I came to work to try and make up with her. When I got there she started bawling her eyes out for a good half hour before I could talk to her again and once I was able to I tried to joke around and say sorry. What I really wanted to know was what I meant to her? What does she see in me that she'd go as far as to cry and tell me about these things about her, etc. I wrote that on a note and told her to give it back because I gave it to her at a somewhat emotional low so I knew she would be somewhat truthful.
Fast forward a few weeks, she hasn't given the note back but she did write a "tldr" version saying how I'm important because she rarely lets people in, etc. I really didn't vibe with this because I just wanted the original, this seemed somewhat false to me. The original could have said "you're a fucking creep, leave me alone" and I would've been fine with it but I was obsessed with a guaranteed truth I made up in my head I suppose.
**Oh right let's side note a few things she trusted me with so I can show how nonsensical this sounds to a sane person. She trusts me with her address, her phone password, she would literally leave me alone with her phone cause I asked her jokingly. I know it isn't weird unless I make it out to be but this is some unusual trust she has in me. I see her as like a sister I must protect sort of, someone I want to see happy no matter what or so I think anyways, everyone says I had romantic feelings for her. And she also got a boyfriend about a month and a half into me befriending her.
I made this stupid thing where I would call her or text her once a week and asked her how she was doing. The intention behind this was to make it seemed as if nothing had changed for me. I'd still be talking to her once a week. This works out for a couple weeks but eventually she stops responding. In hindsight, I guess this does seem like a chore to her and I should've seen that this type of relationship is kind of forced and just does not work. She stops responding, ghosts me and blocks me. I'm not sure but I think the following situation had to do with it : She wasn't responding to my texts at a usual time when we would talk. I called her and she said she was feeling depressed and we talked for a bit and she asked me "What's the best thing to ever happen to you." I asked her if she wanted the cliche answer because if I said it outright it would actually seem serious. She said yes and I said you guessed it "you." Though I guess in truth, she is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Before I met her, life was sort of dull and gray but little by little I guess she made it a bit more fun and interesting but I did not mean anything by this answer, I thought it was only a joke to be honest. But yea she blocked me a few days or a day after this call I'm not sure. This drove me crazy because she gave no signs that anything had gone bad. No communication that she felt uncomfortable about what I said or whatever this thing is that I've set up. So I spam called her with a no caller ID for a bit before her boyfriend told me to stop. Yea I went really batshit crazy.
I know I fucked up and that we may never talk again and that this is all my fault but I wouldn't like to end things on a bad note especially with her. Her birthday is coming up and I told her way back I would give her a present. Is it wrong to give the present still and try to reconcile / reconnect?

Looks like there's another issue with Remote Access.
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-24919
Information disclosure issue - https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk182336

The Check Point Research Division CP discovered a vulnerability in Security Gateways with remote access VPN or mobile access blade enabled (CVE-2024-24919). The vulnerability potentially allows an attacker to read certain information on Gateways once connected to the Internet and enabled with Remote Access VPN or Mobile Access. The attempts we have seen so far, inline with what we alerted to our customers on May 27th, are focusing on remote access on old local accounts with unrecommended password-only authentication.

​

Lately this influencer Kapitan Yano have been frequently mentioned in my fyp due to his nonsense “Men Validation” wherein he dropped a response about ‘if you were left in the woods, who would you pick, a man or a bear?’ & kesyo it was the women's fault for them to experience S@.
I want to share my opinion in that too.
Women wouldn't choose the bear over the men if only they acted right. I'm not saying that it's the men's fault, but what I'm trying to say is— if one man fucked up, people will think everyone is too. Because of the constant assault of men they encounter, they think everyone is the same as them.
As far as i know, they did this shi(t)z for y'all to raise awareness for S@. It isn't about invalidating the opposite gender, but to raise awareness that a lot of women/people are experiencing it.
They didn't say that all men are sexually thirsty, you wouldn't even react negatively if you're open and matured to understand their side— you will only be defensive if you yourself did it to women, ika nga “if the shoe fits then wear it”
And as for posting your body online (which they call it ‘thistraps’)..
Women post their body as a sign of confidence, they must've been proud to achieve or have that type of body. Some may post their body to attract men's attention, but please know the difference between a person posting their body for attention and for confidence.
Nasa itaas ang utak, wala sa talampakan.

Hello can use some feedback on this song called “copy and paste”I’d appreciate it Thanks!
Ay Que calor When you see me you want a little more que paso so so so I Thought You needed some space or no? Dancing on me , like you don’t know
You were done with me , yet wanna a lil repeat May I speak? Why did you leave me? I won’t change a thing I am who I am but who are you What can you do to prove That I’m meant for you
But You wanna be chased This is very copy and paste
You can’t want both Stop posting quotes I wanna hear your voice on the phone This is you and I The one that was there those unspoken times How easily we forget Three little words, got us settling for less
Giving my heart a race This is very copy and paste
Ay Que calor When you see me you want a little more que paso so so so I Thought You needed some space or no? Dancing on me , like you don’t know
Last thing you said was lo siento baby lo siento Where did all the time go ? You’re still looking like a queen Aging like a fine wine What’s on your mind I wanna know your problems So I can solve them Whatever for us Uh oh oh oh There I go go go Looking for another go go go But you’re not exactly telling me no no no
But you wanna be chased This is very copy and paste
Tell the dj to play something nice and slow oh oh oh Maybe this time we take it nice and slow oh oh oh
You love Giving my Heart a race This is very copy and paste
Ay Que calor When you see me you want a little more que paso so so so I thought You needed some space or no? Dancing on me , like you don’t know
Giving my heart a chase This is very copy and paste
Ay Que calor When you see me you want a little more que Paso so so so I thought You needed some space or no? Dancing on me , like you don’t know

Gusto ko lang mag-rant because I feel like all the efforts and energy I put into this relationship is really, in fact, useless. Nakaka-frustrate.
Me (F19) and my boyfriend (19) had been in literal hell through the 1-year course of our relationship. Sobra-sobrang betrayal na-receive ko from him and he kept on promising me that it's the last time. Bobo ako for believing him, I know. Pero I really don't have the heart to tell my family and his family how much he jas been hurting me.
The thing about him is he's a pathological liar yata. He lies even about the smallest thing. Tapos hindi niya aaminin kahit hinuhuli ko na siya. And I kinda got used to the drive of finding things out. Ang pathetic. And I keep forgiving him kasi sabi ko, as long as hindi about sa babae, okay na siguro. Kasi hindi ko alam pano mag-cope sa breakup.
He claims that he doesn't watch prn anymore because ayaw niyang ma-addict daw uli. Hindi rin daw siya nanonood ng mga babaenh nagsasayaw sa different socmeds, especially tiktok, because he finds them cringe and maasim which is funny now kasi kanina, magkasama kami and I jokingly took his phone and went to his profile to check his likes. Confident siya na wala akong makikita so ang balak ko nun, lolokohin ko lang siya na may makikita ako. Kaso ako 'yung naloko. There, third from his recent like, was a girl dancing. I know that girl was his type. Chinita na maputi tapos matangkad/slender. Wala. Nakaka-frustrate lang. Nakailang bigay na ako ng chances. Akala ko kahit, pag-consider na lang sa feelings ko, magagawa niya. Haha. Tapos ang explanation niya sakin dun, hindi daw niya alam bat may ganon. Lagi niyang explanation na hindi niya alam.
Hay, nakakapagod na.

Advice appreciated here folks, really taken aback and unsure of how to proceed.
I went back to the office yesterday after a month of being on sick leave due to stress (because of my toxic office atmosphere), all covered with doctors certs. It's a small office and my boss and manager didn't even talk to me or ask how I was doing when they came in. A couple of hours of them whispering in the office next door I was asked to join them and was given this notice of redundancy, that our industry is struggling at the moment. I have been told to come back in next week for a meeting of an outcome. Obviously this is all box ticking and part of the process but my question to them yesterday which was ignored was "am I being let go because I was out sick", not one of them would look me in the eye and they just kept repeating that they'd talk to me next week.
It all feels very sneaky but I don't know where I stand either as a week into being out sick my boss text me asking for my laptop password as "someone was covering for me while I was out", I gave it, it's a company laptop and didn't think too much about it. What I forgot is that I had a very long email in my drafts that I was going to send to my boss, basically outlining why I had been struggling in the office and was going to propose full time wfh. My boss was already well aware of my struggles with my colleague as I actually went to him about a couple of years back about it. They're related by marriage by the way. I had been with the company before her, and it got very toxic as soon as she joined, she really diminished my confidence as time went on by being sneaky, doing my work for me and never talking to me.
I am going to assume they saw this email in my drafts. So now I have 2 reasons to think they are making me redundant.
Is it worth pursuing unfair dismissal here or do I just take what they offer (if anything) next week? Can I even do anything if I can't prove the reasons why I they are letting me go? I also asked yesterday if someone covered me when I was out and I was told no. Not sure if that has any bearing on anything after asking for my laptop password.
Also, they have said they will review any other possible positions (bullshit), and will welcome any suggestions I have. If I don't give any suggestions can they withhold offering redundancy pay out? The kicker here is I have always had a great relationship with my boss and gave many years to the company, it's a real reminder that at the end of it all, work really don't give a fuck about you. I feel like they're going to try their best to not give me redundancy pay.
I contacted the WRC earlier and they guy was lovely but they can't really give me much info until the outcome of my meeting next week.

In my humble opinion (no financial advice), I’m no expert whatsoever.
This CEO is a veteran financial guy,(look him up) I feel good about this company, I have spent a lot of time and money in these stores, great good ol’ American brand. These Algorithmic 🤖 Wallstreet traders (like the GME shorts) are stripping the life and emotion out of this stock so they can suck on another large Manhattan steak for their masters at the end of the week 🥩 at the expense of Mainstreet.do I think they care…nope, their motto: Greed is good.
Anyhow, someone here posted the 8k filing.
I just picked an Excerpt from the May 23rd Form 8k:
“If any Subscription Rights remain unexercised upon the expiration of the Rights Offering after accounting for all Over-Subscription Rights exercised, the standby purchasers led by Immersion, Outerbridge Capital Management, LLC and Selz Family 2011 Trust will collectively purchase, at the Subscription Price, up to $45 million in shares of Common Stock not subscribed for by the Company’s stockholders.”
Look at these money managers or activist investors who delivered a preliminary recapitalization proposal to BNED’s board. (probably where the last huge price bump came from)…I mean it makes no logical sense ….what do they know???
Look at the freaking market cap on BNED, they noted on the latest preliminary unaudited 8k, “Consolidated fiscal year 2024 GAAP revenue of approximately $1,567 million, compared to $1,543 million in the prior year period. Dam, that’s approximately $1.57 Billion….I don’t see why Apple, Amazon or even Walmart, Google are not looking at these guys.
I hope the management does the right thing for the company’s shareholders and employees. Anyways, do your own research 🧐 and whichever side of the fence you are on this stock, I still wish everyone does well. It’s a good group out here. 🐈💎💎 I’m staying 🦍 and holding. Take care and remember to smile, coz it’s free!!

Long ass post but I think it is a good read. (I was bored enough to translate it).
Most of it has been discussed already but I am mostly interested in the title of this reddit post.
So I have been very out of the Kpop world until recently and I came across a post on theqoo today that mentioned few things that I happened to agree with. (i originally linked it but it got deleted(?) as i was writing this so here is the source that was linked there). I for real dont know shit, so I am curious to hear the opinions of those that do know more of how shit works.
Disclaimer: This is a translation that will most likely have mistakes. I am not a Korean or English native speaker but I am trying. Excuse any errors/typos
Disclaimer 2: I like all Hybe's groups (casual fan to most) and I am not trying to attack any of the members. Specific members are briefly mentioned in the original post.
TL;DR from chatgpt: Hybe prioritizes quick debuts and marketability over intensive training, unlike companies like SM and YG, which invest heavily in trainee skills over several years. Hybe leverages their successful BTS formula to minimize investment costs and maximize returns by producing groups with decent skills rather than exceptional talent. This approach enables frequent debuts but results in idols with less refined singing and dancing abilities. Hybe focuses on creating appealing concepts and high production values, relying on fandom loyalty and global promotions to sustain profitability. This profit-driven model contrasts with the skill-centric approach that initially helped K-pop succeed internationally, particularly in Japan, where talent was a key differentiator.
Original post:

Theqoo's original title: The reason why Hybe's artists lack singing/dancing skills when compared to other companies.
The members that can't dance/sing are more popular that the ones that are good at it. From a company's position, the trainee system is an investment that involves lots of risks and uncertainty.
But Hybe now has all the knowledge and information that made BTS the world's best idol group. So they have probably analyzed and recalculated all formulas over and over. So using all that knowledge that has already worked in the past, the have probably built a business model that brings the best results while minimizing the investment costs of the idol training system. And that's the very reason why these days Hybe is able to debut one or two new groups every year.
Look at SM and YG's idols: From Red Velvet's debut to Aespa's debut: 6 years. From BLACKPINK's debut to BABYMONSTER's debut: 8 year.
For major agencies that care about skills, It takes about 5 years to carefully create a new group. And that's only natural. It is not only the production of a song, concept, and varied content; in order to make a high quality group, each member needs to be competent/skilled enough on their own. Hundreds of people from all over the world become trainees, and after selecting and eliminating, the final picks are about 4-7 people. The main focus is in investing in the trainees.
But Hybe seems to have stopped using this method that has been around for all of 2nd and 3rd gen. In other words, they are not focusing on training idols/trainees to have the necessary artistic skills Instead, they make a new group based on a preplanned concept and song, and train them until they are decent enough ( "digestible"), then they immediately debut.
Even from my pov, all Lesserafim members (except sakura) could get wayyy better if only they trained live singing while dancing for 2~3 years. Just go watch Lesserafim at the 2022 MMA awards, they are being praised for tearing up the stage. But it is all just AR and lip sync. Yet in the comments people are saying that it was an impressive performance and that they are the next BTS. If the members can't sing you can just hide it with AR, but even those who know nothing about dance can notice when someone can't dance and is moving awkwardly. So for this kind of kpop environment/ecosystem, it is more beneficial to invest on dancing that vocals.
Even after a long time of being an active artist/group they might still be criticized by the general public for being awful singers, but the general public won't be important if they have a propeconsistent fandom. Because then they can just tour overseas and gain enough money to sustain themselves for another 3 years ( not 100% sure this is the right meaning) And even if the demand dies, the company can just disband them and bring in new young kids that they can add to a new group, as if it was an idol mass production factory.
Hybe, who has reached the peak of the Kpop industry, already has the knowledge/data of what image and producing is necessary to make a group successful.
In simple terms, they can just bring in a pretty female highschool student that likes hanging out at karaoke rooms, make her fix her body and face + make her only dance to death. Then whatever cool group concept the agency workers can come up with, high quality debut song and expensive MV, good hair style and makeup, huge investment in promotions, viral tiktoks, etc. It is very quick and easy to make a new group that follow today's trends, by just following the system of what currently works. After all, idols are just a temporal business. And even if one or two members get biggepopular with their solos, by then the agency profits will be way less. So there is no need to invest in any individual member's artistic skills.
But doesnt this sound like something that has been seen many times before. It is very similar to Japan's idol system.
After bringing in some cute looking kids, they dont train them and just make them debut while in elemntary/middle school. So that they can dress them like prince/princess and have them sing songs for little children. No one really expects/wants them to be Mariah Carey, so they are good as long as they can sing decently and behave cutely to fans (good fanservice).
Then they can sell until their middle 20s. Because they are young and pretty. But the fans dont consume that idol's content because they are artistically talented,. It is kind of the same thing as when liking a youtuber because they are funny and you are loyal/used to them.
What is interesting too: In the year 2000, BoA was the first idol born from the trainee system newly introduced by SM. And other groups that followed that system, TVQX, BIGBANG, SUPER JUNIOR, SHINee, SNSD, KARA, 2NE1 (etc) were able to break into the Japanese/Chinese market. And then, BTS, BLACKPINK, SEVENTEEN, TWICE etc in the 3rd gen were able to globalize Kpop by entering into the US market.
The success in Japan, which is number 2 in the global music market, was a huge help in expanding into the US. But what Japanese Kpop fans are currently saying is: "Idols that cant sing live can exist, we dont really expect big live singing abilities" "But..." "The main reason why we/I started liking Kpop was because of the skills" "I think the strongest point of Kpop are the skills and the quality"
In summary, Japan was the one that made the Kpop boom truly expand in countries with a bigger music/economic market. And even now they are the biggest consumer of Kpop (1st japan, 2nd the US). And the reason why they accepted the Kpop when they used to just ignore Korea before, is simply because of the overpowered skills/talent that is incomparable to their domestic idols.
Looks are subjective, and Korea and Japan have different and very subjective beauty standards, but as long as you have ears and eyes, you can distinguish between bad and good skills. Beeing able to notice/appreciate good dancing and singing is not a personal preference, it is the reality in front of someone's eyes. Someone may actually like/appreciate even the bad singing but that still wont make it sound good to everyone else.
So the reason why Kpop is a success in Japan is clearly because of the talent difference.
But now Hybe has come into this situation with their profit driven business system, and has stopped being a company that makes music as a form of art. It has instead chosen to become a company that sells idols as their product.
In my opinion, isnt it a bit like ripping open the belly of the goose that laid the golden eggs?
Had the new idols that have come out of HYBE in the last 2~3 years been from SM, JYP, YG, I wonder how many would have been able to debut after following those three agencies strict evaluation training.

edit: format

"What distinguished the Indian system from that of the ancient Western world is the absence of slavery. The caste system made formal slavery unnecessary in ancient India." - from The Two Classes of the Four-Fold Caste System, by Sudheer Birodkar.

In Nikken's Threefold World, which is "the world of unenlightened beings who transmigrate within the Six Paths" [Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity and Heaven] ... the 1st chapter describes the structure of Nikken's World of Heaven.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Roles

1. The Hindu Caste System and Brahminism
2. The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood and Nikken Abe

Part II: The Actors

1. The First Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Brahmin Caste - Priests and Teachers)
2. The Second Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Kshatriya Caste - Warriors and Proxy Rulers)
3. The Third Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Vaishya Caste - Farmers, Merchants, Artisans, etc.)
4. The Fourth Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Shudra Caste - Laborers)
5. The Fifth Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Untouchable Caste or Eta - Polluted Laborers)
6. Definition of Heaven (Ten)
7. Getting Some Help
8. The Survivor Gita

As Nikken Abe's successor Nichinyo moves ever closer to the moment that he will no longer be the high priest of Nichiren Shoshu ... those interested in the future occupants of Taisekiji will have in mind a question ... how will events unfold ?
What I will attempt to do in this polemical series laced with satire, is to give a view from which the seeming random or enigmatic quality of the various moves made by the priesthood, can be revealed to be more predictable and easy to understand.
In the analytic method that I have chosen, the grid for analysis, is the Hindu caste system.
The theme that will be employed to portray the flow of events to come is the "Survivor" series from CBS.
Think of it as the "Survivor Gita".

1. The Hindu Caste System and Brahminism

First, let's get a cursory understanding of what the phenomenon of "Brahminism" is all about.
From "The Caste System and the Stages of Life in Hinduism", by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D, (abridged):

The Bhagavad Gita says this about the varnas (color):
Brahmins (white) - Priests and Teachers: The works of a Brahmin are peace; self-harmony, austerity, and purity; loving- forgiveness and righteousness; vision and wisdom and faith.
Kshatriyas (red) - Warriors and Rulers: The works of a Kshatriya are: a heroic mind, inner fire, constancy, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and noble leadership.
Vaishyas (Brown) - Farmers, Merchants, Artisans, etc.: The works of a Vaishya are trade, agriculture and the rearing of cattle.
Shudras (Black) - Laborers: The works of the Shudra are service.
Untouchables (Outcastes - no color) - Polluted Laborers.
[chapter 18, Juan Mascaró translation, Penguin Books, 1962]
Associated with each varna there is a traditional color. These sound suspiciously like skin colors; and, indeed, there is an expectation in India that higher caste people will have lighter skin -- although there are plenty of exceptions (especially in the South of India).
So, there are these visibly separable classes of people, which perform specific functions, and which form the basic hierarchical structure of ALL theocracies, explicit and implicit.

An explicit Brahminist theocracy would be the Vatican, where the Pope and Cardinals = Brahmins, the Bishops = Kshatriyas, the Priests tending the flocks = Vaishyas, the Monks, Nuns and the Laity = Shudras, and finally the poor = Untouchables, except for once a year when the Pope washes a foot or two.
An implicit Brahminist theocracy would be the a 10-year-old high tech firm, where the Founder and the Board = Brahmins, the corporate officers and top managers = Kshatriyas, the middle management and technical leads = Vaishyas, the line managers and churn and burn salaried workers = Shudras, and finally the hourly, temp and out-sourced workers = Untouchables.
You get the picture. The need, which is held by all humanity, to improve their own and their family's condition ... is used to betray and undermine their own humanity and render the effect of slavery within a system that appears personally voluntary, however socially coercive it may be in reality.
Ross goes on ...

The twice born [Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas] account for about 48% of Hindus. The rest are Shudras and Untouchables. The Shudras may represent the institutional provision that the Arya made for the people they already found in India. The Shudras thus remain once born, and traditionally are not allowed to learn Sanskrit or study the Vedas. Their dharma is to work for the twice born. But even below the Shudras are the Untouchables, who are literally "outcastes," without a varna [color], and were regarded as "untouchable" because they are ritually polluting for caste Hindus. Some Untouchable subcastes are regarded as so polluted that members are supposed to keep out of sight and do their work at night: They are called "Unseeables." In India, the term "Untouchable" is now regarded as impolite or politically incorrect (like Eta in Japan for the traditional tanners and pariahs).

These kinds of divisions of people only become more bitter, over time, as more and more distinctions need to be drawn to demonstrate clearly that one is not a part of a lower group. (Like the insanity of "Colored" water fountains in the South, when I was a child.)
Following the ritual tenets of animality and thereby preserving the pecking order become the overriding preoccupation of anyone desiring a better life. These demonic activities will ultimately attempt to occupy 100% of all human effort, since this particular evil is determined to undermine humanity's true mission of Kosen Rufu.
Ross finishes with ...

The Untouchables, nevertheless, have their own traditional professions and their own subcastes. Those professions (unless they can be evaded in the greater social mobility of modern, urban, anonymous life) involve too much pollution to be performed by caste Hindus: (1) dealing with the bodies of dead animals (like the sacred cattle that wander Indian villages) or unclaimed dead humans, (2) tanning leather, from such dead animals, and manufacturing leather goods, and (3) cleaning up the human and animal waste for which in traditional villages there is no sewer system. Mahâtmâ Gandhi referred to the latter euphemistically as "scavenging" but saw in it the most horrible thing imposed on the Untouchables by the caste system. His requirement on his farms in South Africa that everyone share in such tasks comes up in an early scene in the movie Gandhi. Since Gandhi equated suffering with holiness, he saw the Untouchables as hallowed by their miserable treatment and so called them "Harijans" (Hari=Vishnu). Later Gandhi went on fasts in the hope of improving the condition of the Untouchables, or at least to avoid their being politically classified as non-Hindus. Today the status of the Shudras, Untouchables, and other "scheduled castes," and the preferential policies that the Indian government has designed for their advancement ever since Independence, are sources of serious conflict, including murders and riots, in Indian society.

If you had a difficulty in understanding precisely what tied together the "Gandhi, King and Ikeda" exhibits around the country ... perhaps the point will become abundantly clear after reading this article, since all three of these men fought to end the exploitation and oppression of a large number of hard-working common people, who supported a parasitic caste system.
Gandhi, King and Ikeda are the three Anti-Brahminist heroes of the Common People, for the modern era.
Some argue that the SGI has Brahminist tendencies, and like all human organizations, that is surely exists ... but it is also true that those tendencies are sporadic, impermanent and rapidly shifting as the SGI undergoes it's own human revolution with the broadening of the Soka Gakkai activities to include all places where Dai-Rokuten-No-Mao (the Devil King of the 6th Heaven, or arrogant authority) might appear in the leadership of any organization, or group.
But let's go a little further in understanding the phenomenon of Brahminism. And then we will talk about the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, Nikken and his successors.
From "The Two Classes of the Four-Fold Caste System", by Sudheer Birodkar:

The Brahmin-Kshatriya combine was thus the appropriating section as against the Vaishya-Shudra combine who represented the productive section. But although the two appropriating and the two appropriated sections of society performed different functions like the ritual worship undertaken by the Brahmins, warfare by Kshatriyas, cultivation by the Vaishyas and menial work by the Shudras they were essentially two broad economic categories with antagonistic interests of sharing the social surplus product which only the Vaishyas and Shudra created.

Dai-Rokuten-No-Mao is defined as the function of rapturous exploitation of the efforts of others, while grinding those others underfoot.
There is always a gloating rapture present. (Remember the gleeful pictures of those happy Southern men standing around a burning black corpse in the lynchings of last century? Remember how much they are enjoying themselves proudly in the Abu Ghraib pictures? It is the same function, the same demon.)
And there is always a hierarchy being enforced, which is a denial of the Lotus Sutra's universal equality.
Birodkar goes on ...

... Dana along with dakshina (a voluntary payment made to Brahmins for religious services which they rendered), has been represented as an offering to the clergy at our innumerable religious rites. Thus the spiritual clasp of the clergy on the general population came to play a vital role in appropriating the surplus in favour of the clergy, rendering coercion unnecessary and in perpetuating social practices which had lost relevance with day-to-day life.

The reference to day-to-day life and social relevance is indicating that those activities which were initially tribal social functions involving redistribution of food in an agrarian tribal culture, were no longer serving the function of allowing farmers to survive a bad year, or a flood in one part of the locality not affecting another part.
Birodkar goes on ...

The clergy firmly rooted in the minds of the masses, ideas about Karma - faithfully carrying out of duties assigned to each person on virtue of being born in any particular caste. Ideas about rebirth fostered a belief that sufferings of this life were a result of deeds of one's past lives and the faithful execution of duties that fell upon one in one's present life would hold a promise of rebirth in a higher caste. With their minds enmeshed in such dogmas, the masses mutely accepted a secondary status in the social hierarchy for centuries together.

The idea of waiting until the next time around, instead of enjoying this one and only precious instance of YOU, which will not recur in anyone's religious tradition ... this is the worst slander of humanity: wasting one's life, voluntarily, for the foul rapture of another.

2. The Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood, Nikken Abe and His Successors

There are many complaints about the behavior and activities of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, related to their pursuits of having a good time with bad women and expensive food, drink and parties with the member's money. It is not my intention to defend those activities, but my view of those activities is frankly, sociological. Impossibly bad and flagrantly unacceptable social behavior is to be expected when great evil is enthroned.
So, I do not expect Nichiren Shoshu priests, especially the priesthood elite, to behave well. This is secondary. It is an effect or symptom, or think of it as the warning label on a pack of smokes, or the nuclear symbol on a container of Plutonium. (It lets you know that you should keep your distance, for safety.)
Indeed, in all cases when the correct practice of Nichiren's Buddhism is considered, secular issues fade into insignificance.
From Nichiren Daishonin's Gosho "On Prayer", WND p. 345:

It makes no difference if the practitioner himself is lacking in worth, defective in wisdom, impure in his person, and lacking in virtue derived from observing the precepts. So long as he chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they [the protective functions] will invariably protect him. One does not throw away gold because the bag that holds it is dirty; one does not ignore the sandalwood trees because of the foul odor of the eranda trees around them; and one does not refuse to gather lotuses because the pond in the valley where they grow is not clean. If they ignore the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, they will be going against their vow.

The issue is the correct practice. THAT is my complaint against Nikken and his Nichiren Shoshu successors like Nichinyo.
From "Moral Philosophy and Dealings With Priests", written by myself (sorry about the self-quote):

1. Nichiren Shoshu and the Hokkeko have always called themselves followers of Nikko's Fuji School, but from the beginning (1912) they have followed priests that disobey the 25th Admonition against sexual abstinence, and they have followed priests that were trained by Nichiren Shu (5 Senior Priests) at Rissho University - disobeying the 2nd Admonition, and hence according to Nikko they are not his followers, but are instead followers of the Five Senior Priests. (Nikko would have kicked them out of the Fuji School just for training at Rissho.)

From the end of Nikko Shonin's 26 Admonitions:
"I have set forth these 26 articles for the sake of the eternal salvation and protection of humankind. Those who violate even one of these articles cannot be called disciples of Nikko."
In 1969, Daisaku Ikeda founded Soka University to train the future leaders of the Soka Gakkai, among others. This was a necessary move, because of the corruption seen in attitudes of Japanese Academics, and their determined resistance to recognizing the Soka Gakkai as a valid religious organization and worthy of respect. Witness the academic quotes in the LOOK Magazine article (1963) by the President of Rissho University, Rev. Shobun Kubota, D.T. Suzuki of Zen, and other academics, that the Soka Gakkai "can not be Buddhism".
' The Rev. Dr. Shobun Kubota, vice-president of Rissho University of Tokyo, concurs. "The principle of Buddhism," he says, "is to restrain man's desires, such as sex, hunger, wealth and fame, but Soka Gakkai promises the possession of these desires. It uses man's weaknesses as a tool for its own expansion. It has the same characteristics as Nazism. Finally, it is a corruption of Buddhism."' - LOOK Magazine, September 10, 1963
This from academic Buddhists who signed up unanimously, institution by institution, to bear the Shinto Talisman, and promote Imperial Way Buddhism and Imperial State Zen militarism for the God-Emperor. In support of that self-same Nazi Reich, while Makiguchi and Toda alone bore the brunt of oppression to the end. Such evil-doers call themselves Buddhists. Their tongues should rot in their mouths.
Soka University has created at least one academic environment where the Soka Gakkai can be viewed with objectivity by students. This was and remains an absolute good.
Nichiren Shoshu continued to allow the training of their future leaders by the Nichiren Shu Minobu Sect at Rissho University, even though they were aware that this was a slander of Nikko's school, and made them not followers of Nikko.
Excerpts from http://www.geocities.com/smimoza/vol275.html, the "Fake [High Priest]" Newsletter: "My view of the teachings of Nichiren Shoshu has been polluted with Minobu's wicked teachings," Nikken confessed at the opening ceremony for the Fuji Gakurin School (Dai- Nichiren, May 2000 edition).
Fuji Gakurin is the school that Nikken started to belatedly replace Rissho University as the source of priest trainees for Nichiren Shoshu. Apparently, he only took this action after people started talking about the 26 Admonitions publicly (Living Buddhism article by Daisaku Ikeda in 1998). The sad fact is, that Nichiren Shoshu has violated all 26, most by the letter of the admonition, but all 26 by their intent.
In relatively short order after being rebuked in 1998, Nikken officially opened the Fuji Gakurin School on April 10th, 2000. Many attended and heard his statements: Nichijun Fujimoto, Nichiyu Yoshida, Nitto (Juken) Ohmura, Nichijo (Gikan) Hayase, Nissho (Shinei) Yagi, Chief of the Overseas Department Kotoku Obayashi, Chief of the Public Relations Department Kogaku Akimoto and Vice Chief of the Study Department Kosho Mizushima.
Nikken went on to state that "he had been contaminated by Minobu's teachings"...
"I once attended the University run by Nichiren-shu. The hardest thing for me in my campus life was that the teacher said many false things about the teachings and history of Nichiren Daishonin. I had always thought that I should refute these false ideas. However, I cannot say that that was my true intention, because I was only a student."
"When we constantly hear false things, we will be caught up in false ways of thinking, or I can say, we will be trapped in it. As I recall my early days, false ideas did exist in my view of Nichiren Buddhism, especially regarding the legitimate teachings of Nichiren-shoshu. At that time, I was not able to straighten out my thoughts sufficiently from the viewpoint of faith, action, study.... If I were young now, I could study with you, young fellows, in these classes, taught by these engaged teachers."
But his distorted views from Rissho were not left there at the University.
We are reminded of Nikken's words on October 8th, 1985, when he attended the completion ceremony of Komyoji Temple, Hachioji City, Tokyo. Kotoku Hirayama, the chief priest of the temple, asked Nikken, "What is the biggest obstacle you had in your practice?" Nikken answered, "It is that I could not truly believe in the Gohonzon. I cannot believe truly now. I have to really try."
Also, we are reminded of Nikken's statement that "Daigohonzon is a fake" from the Kawabe memo. This statement seems to be influenced by the author of "view of wood honzon is false", Minobu priest Bentetsu Yasunaga, who is an associate professor at Minobu's Rissho University and chief priest of Zenshoji Temple.
'In recent years, the exchange of Minobu priests and Nikken sect priests has become more frequent. Monks of the Nikken sect make pilgrimages to temples of Minobu sect with Hokkeko members, or they invite Minobu monks to Taisekiji. General chief of the Hokkeko federation, Kisoji Yanagisawa, made a pilgrimage to Kuonji Temple, the general head temple of the Minobu sect. We [the Fake Newsletter] have mentioned this issue before, and even "Emyo," one of organ papers of Nikken sect, could not argue against this. Taisekiji priests Kaido Seki, Jikei Maekawa, Kosho Mizushima, Sonfuku Ochiai, Gishu Funabashi, all made visits to Minobu's temples themselves. They later made excuses during lectures at their temples or in their temple newsletters, saying, "We went and saw the temple but did not chant."...etc.'
The proof of Rissho's heritage is on their own website, the page on "History of Rissho":.
'Over 120 Years of Tradition and 70 Years of History as a Modern Educational Institution'
'No other institution of higher education in Japan has a longer tradition than Rissho University.'
'Our founding dates back to 1580 when the "Iidaka- Danrin School" was established to educate student priests of the Nichiren sect of Buddhism. The school took its name from its location, Iidaka Town, which is now Yoka- lchiba City in Chiba Prefecture. Some of the ancient wooden structures have been carefully preserved and form part of the Hanko-ji Temple. These structures include the lecture hall, gate, drum tower and bell tower, which are designated as "Important Cultural Assets" by the Government. The school closed its gates in 1875. During its 295-year history, it produced a great many talented figures who made prominent contributions to promoting Buddhism and education in Japan.'
'Shortly before it [Iidaka-Danrin School] was closed, the "Nichiren-shu Shukyo-in" (Nichiren Religious Academy) was established in 1872 at the Jokyo-ji Temple in Takanawa, Tokyo, to succeed the "Iidaka-Danrin School" in modern times.'
'In 1904, the Academy was moved to Osaki,Tokyo, the present site of the main campus of Rissho University.'
'Authorized by the Government ordinance concerning colleges issued that year [1904], it opened its gates as "Nichiren-shu Daigakurin" (Nichiren Religious College).'
'When the Government issued an ordinance concerning universities in 1924, the University was reorganized into Rissho University with Faculty of Letters newly opened. Its doors were opened to both Nichiren priests and ordinary students.'
Hence, Nikken is more than simply an enemy of the Soka Gakkai and a very bad High Priest at the Fuji School.
Nikken is clearly not a follower of Nikko's School and never has been at any time. He is a follower of the Five Senior Priests and a minion of Minobu, in spite of what his conscious mind tells him. Consciousness is, after all, only one of Five Components.

THAT is my problem with Nikken and Nichiren Shoshu priests, in general. It is not that they hang out with bad women or good women.
Nikko's intent on that is absolutely clear in the 25th Admonition:

25. My disciples should conduct themselves as holy priests, patterning their behavior after that of the late master. However, even if a high priest or a priest striving for practice and understanding should temporarily deviate from [the principle of] sexual abstinence, he may still be allowed to remain in the priesthood [as a common priest without rank].
(from Living Buddhism 4/1998)

Nikko did not want the priesthood to be a self-sustaining community, where priesthood positions could be handed down to the kids, like a family business. He clearly intended that every priest should come from a family of lay believers, or spring forth spontaneously from the new membership.
This is abundantly clear, since abstaining priests cannot even donate to a sperm bank for artificial insemination. THEY CAN HAVE NO CHILDREN.
Frankly it is not my concern that that imposes an unhappy restriction on priests. Nichiren, Nikko, Nichimoku and Nichikan followed all 26 Admonitions abundantly well, and I only need to have those four priests in my life. I don't need any false priests that are lay-person wanna-bes.
And I am not the author of these restrictions, Nikko is. Argue with him (heh).
For myself, I have ABSOLUTELY no argument with Nikko, I follow all 26 of his admonitions, even the 2nd and the 25th: I will not lower his standards on training at Nichiren Shu or in accepting a priest who does not practice abstinence. PERIOD. Never. Not for anyone.
I will accept a priest that has never had any contact with, or priest-training from a follower of the Five Senior Priests (Nichiren Shu or Shoshu, or any other slanderous funeral Buddhism), and who practices abstinence and follows all 26 Admonitions of Nikko. From an excommunicated (Gakkai) family or off the street (common mortals are the true Buddha, according to Nichiren), either source is fine.
It is Nikko's undying determination in action ... that having violated any of the 26 Admonitions in a clear and obvious way ... one will then proceed to violate all the rest, including Admonition #1, which requires us to practice Buddhism in exactly the same way as Nichiren.
They may erect statues of Nichiren at Taisekiji and worship them, in the same way that the Tendai and Nichiren Shu worship statues of Shakyamuni, but there is ultimately no difference between these two slanders. Idolatry is not Nichiren's Buddhism. The Gohonzon is the "supreme object of devotion in all of Jambudvīpa."
From "The True Aspect of All Phenomena", WND p. 384:

A common mortal is an entity of the three bodies, and a true Buddha. A Buddha is a function of the three bodies, and a provisional Buddha. In that case, though it is thought that Shakyamuni Buddha possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for the sake of all of us living beings, that is not so. On the contrary, it is common mortals who endow him with the three virtues.

"A common mortal is ... a true Buddha". And Nichiren and Shakyamuni are endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent BY the common mortal, who is the true Buddha.
If Nichiren and Shakyamuni are somehow "special people", then we cannot match their accomplishment, and attain their Buddhahood.
They are NOT special humans. And we CAN attain their fierce determination for Kosen Rufu, which is no more and no less than their Buddhahood.
Indeed, we MUST attain that determination, or we shall surely fail to accomplish the ultimate intent of the Thus Come One (our true self).
This is why it is a slander for common mortals to worship statues of provisional Buddhas (they are all just humans, not objects of devotion).
This is why we have the Gohonzon, which reflects the Thus Come One inside our very own Sense Field = Six Components in Three Realms.
This is why we do shakubuku. The common mortal (true Buddha) we shakubuku endows the three virtues upon us, and that is our provisional Buddhahood. Without shakubuku, there is no Buddhahood.
So ... slander of Buddhism will always identify itself, by raising one person over another: over the common mortal. In the end, slanderers of the Law all make the same appearance, by worshiping statues of someone or other. (And, by the way, appreciation of your mentors: those who helped you along ... is NOT worship, it is merely showing your gratitude. We need to discard that fallacy.)
Next in Part II, we will apply the grid of the Hindu caste system to the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. We will talk about some of the priesthood's socially unacceptable behavior, but really ... I only mention these instances to show pattern and connections between priest families.

Hi everyone, I need to use rc-time-picker in my project with react-hook-form. However, I receive errors every time I open my form and another error when I click on the field with the time. Can someone explain why I am receiving these errors and provide recommendations on how to solve them? Thanks a lot
"react-hook-form": "^7.50.1", "rc-time-picker": "^3.7.3", "react": "^18.2.0",

export const appointmentSchema = yup.object().shape({ time: yup.string().required('Time is required.'), }); Export const Appointment = ({ name, avatar_url, toggleModal }) => { const { register, control, handleSubmit, formState: { errors }, } = useForm({ resolver: yupResolver(appointmentSchema), }); const onSubmit = async (appointment) => { try { await postAppointment(appointment); toast.success( 'Appointment was made sucessfull. Please wait a call from our manager.' ); toggleModal(); } catch (error) { console.log(error.message); toast.error( "Password is incorrect or user doesn't exist. Please, try again." ); } }; return ( ..... 
  ( } placeholder="Meeting time" value={field.value} onChange={(value) => { field.onChange(value); }} /> )} /> ..... );} console.js:273 Warning: Legacy context API has been detected within a strict-mode tree. The old API will be supported in all 16.x releases, but applications using it should migrate to the new version. Please update the following components: Trigger2 console.js:273 Warning: Using UNSAFE_componentWillReceiveProps in strict mode is not recommended and may indicate bugs in your code. See https://reactjs.org/link/unsafe-component-lifecycles for details. * Move data fetching code or side effects to componentDidUpdate. * If you're updating state whenever props change, refactor your code to use memoization techniques or move it to static getDerivedStateFromProps. Learn more at: https://reactjs.org/link/derived-state Please update the following components: Animate2 console.js:273 Warning: findDOMNode is deprecated in StrictMode. findDOMNode was passed an instance of Select2 which is inside StrictMode. Instead, add a ref directly to the element you want to reference. Learn more about using refs safely here: https://reactjs.org/link/strict-mode-find-node 

TL;DR at the end.
^{Just to preface my post.. This problem sort of borders between professional and personal, so please bear with me because the crux really does relate back to how to manage my work. I totally understand this is a professional subreddit, and want to highlight that I'm not after personal advice here. I've gone into detail about everything in this post because I feel like it's relevant to any potential management strategies for making sure I don't get PIP'd. I'm sure I can't be the only person here who's had to manage a career and life at the same time so I'm hoping to receive some thoughts from people who have been in similar situations.}
I've mostly worked in deeply technical support roles prior to this - so ad-hoc bug fixes, minor feature implementations, troubleshooting, etc. It's been "dev-lite" work, where I act as a sustaining engineeSRE-for-hire.
My new job is a huge step up in that I'm joining a team of developers who wanted someone with more of an ops background. I've been doing out of scope development work for years now, so I'm thrilled that I can now fit that into my work day as part of my assigned duties.
This is awesome, since it's exactly the challenge I was hoping for. I've never been in an actual development team before, though, so I'm picking things up a tiny bit slowly as I'm spending a lot of time on making sure I learn good habits from the get-go.. Rather than just pushing something out because it works, I'm spending a day or two researching my solution and trying to figure out whether there's a better one, or whether there's already an established process or pattern within my new org.
My main issue here is my entire personal life has sort of imploded. Major breakup saw me moving in with my brother & his wife. Long story short, I may have been too optimistic about our compatibility as roommates and we're no longer on talking terms. Both of our faults. This has caused us both a lot of distress. I'm no longer on speaking terms with his wife and I'm not sure I ever will or want to be again. An old friend who I reconnected with recently committed suicide, and one of my best friends is overseas and has recently attempted his own third suicide. I'm not even going into everything, either - Stress just seems to be growing from every angle. In the last two months I've lost almost everyone close to me. I know the solution to all this is to keep moving forward and making positive decisions, but the weight just keeps getting heavier and I'm increasingly distracted at work. I can't afford to lose my job.
So on top of the breakup and fissure in my family life, I'm trying to find a forever home. I've been looking to purchase an apartment since the breakup.. Which leaves me now bouncing between Airbnb's while searching for a flat share that doesn't mind an incredibly vague potential 1-12 month lease. This has been harder than I thought it'd be, nobody wants to deal with that and I can't really blame them. Every 3 - 8 days I pack up my entire life, drive to the next Airbnb, unpack everything, and start work. It's exhausting, and more importantly to this post, distracting me from being able to put in anywhere near 100% at work.
I'm running around to inspections constantly too, which adds another layer to everything here.
I've had to leave my dog at my ex girlfriends place, since any Airbnb that is pet friendly in an area close to my property search is steeply more expensive.
Look, I get it's messy. As I said, I'm not here for advice on my personal life. I understand the answer to a lot of this is therapy and self improvement. The issue is, my quality of work is significantly worse because of all this and I'm worried I'll end up getting fired immediately after signing up for a mortgage. No amount of therapy or gym memberships will fix that, and if I lose my job I'll go from "I'm homeless, ha ha" to "I'm homeless, I sleep under a bridge", so I've got to find a solution to this incredibly inconvenient problem at the worst possible time. It sucks but it is what it is.

TL;DR:

• I'm after any thoughts about how to maintain a productive professional life in the midst of abject chaos. None of this is ideal, and I know the solution isn't "do better at work", but I can't really afford to lose my job.
  
• I've mentioned to my manager that I'm facing.. Non-standard personal circumstances, and that I feel I'd normally perform at a higher level. He responded positively. I still have to work with my peers - how much should I let on, when for example collaborating on a 1 week project has taken 3 weeks and I can sense they're getting a bit annoyed? "Hey man, really appreciated your patience over the last few weeks.. I know I've been picking this project up slowly, just moved to my third airbnb this week so trying to get everything sorted. Hopefully within the next month or two things should stabilize and I can put more into my work" - Is this too much?
  

Okay, to start off I live in Canada. I’m 33 years old and grew up on dirt bikes until I sold them off for college. I have had many bikes throughout the years, purchased lots of used bikes. I also rode street and had a Yamaha R6 10+ years.
I’ve only ever purchased 1 new dirt bike, a YZ250F back in 2008, which I was able to paid cash for at the time. It was honestly the best, and most hassle free bike Ive ever owned.
Last year I was put in a position (laid off and paid a rather large severance) to purchase cheap used bikes for my wife and I to start a fun hobby together. I was laid off from a car dealer service department, so I thought it’d also be a good way to keep my hands wrenching, and keep my mental state good with an old passion of minwhile I looked for other work.
I purchased a running 2011 YZ250F for about 1800$ CAD and a 2017 running CRF450R for $3200 CAD I wanted projects thinking I’d fix them up to ride.
Now once again I live in Canada, so my online parts retailers have insane mark up. US parts have conversion rates, shipping and customs. I have sourced many of my parts used from eBay that are shipped from the US with international shipping. Most parts I purchased were used other than internal engine parts.
Everything for my 2011 YZ250F has been on back order from Yamaha, no stock online for my year range which is why I sourced used lol. I just wanted to ride. It has a new vertex top end kit $370, and valves adjusted by me with amazon AHL shims. It needed a rear suspension rebuild but I cheaped out with used oem rear KYB suspension, which needed a lower bearing once I received it so like 280$ total. New fork seals, cleaned the carb out, new sparkplugs etc. endless hours of my time is what it’s starting to feel like. Now my wife barely rides it, and prefers our YFZ450 atv I recently rebuilt.
My 2017 Honda CRF450R on the other hand I purchased from a younger guy who really wanted cash for a truck he found. When the rad started leaking he thought something was seriously wrong with it, so it was a very easy negotiation and it only needed a right side rad - 80$ for a set of used oem radiators with free included hoses and bonus Connection Works rad braces, no leaks. I Replaced the spark plug, and the dented exhaust was replaced with a used yoshimura RS9 dual full system for $380 and 55$ for new RS9 stickers. It’s worth a pretty penny on marketplace from what I can see, and could sell for an easy profit, like a flip bike.
When I rode for the first time last year, I instantly caught the bug again, and have been riding quite a bit since. The only issue is I honestly think the CRF450R has a bit too much power for me since I’m born again from my 10+ year off road riding hiatus. I recently started riding a bit of track and can feel the young me in my head saying I can do the things I know adult me really can’t anymore. The temptations are what’s going to hurt me, it’s too easy on that bike.
The Yamaha’s fuel line tore at the carbs fuel inlet on our last ride dumping fuel, had no good way to re attach the hose. After getting it home and replacing the fuel line, my carb starts leaking at the fuel inlet nipple to the carb which is only 3 orings but it translates to 2 weeks away and another 35$. I am working again and it’s starting to feel like constant little things, tear down, diagnose, repair, repeat. I can break even if I sold it now at market value.
While I was at the Yamaha dealer today ordering the o rings, the brand new bikes started to catch my eye. Never would have considered one but I do plan on riding as much as casually possible both track and trail for as long as possible. I made the mistake of talking to a sales guy about my situation and honestly he got me pretty stoked on a 2024 YZ250FX, I don’t have very much cash up front I told him, it’s a dream I told him.
He mentioned open ended financing, 72 MONTHS @ 6% with loyalty applied. And with a lil down payment my payments become less than I’m putting into these used bikes I got every month.
The “promotion” ends on may 31st and all I have is the down payment or deposit and good credit. Finance rates go back to 10.99% and 60 months is the longest term after the end of the month.
Would it be wise to finance the longest term to keep the payments affordable while I wait for my current bikes to sell on marketplace? Then I’d still have a full summer to ride before the snow returns.
Once sold I feel like the value of both my bikes would cover a large chunk of the difference anyways? Have one new bike that’s maintenance is known from the start? Or is this unwise financially, and I should just keep what I have?