I think we've answered some serious questions in this thread. We've addressed O Sensei's spiritual influences, brought to light some lesser known ashi sabaki, how to deal with a variety of weapons, touched a little on verbal Aikido, and even determined something about whether the pen is mightier than the sword. I'm afraid this all begs one very serious question though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWlUu54muOs