Happy Thursday Digital Neighbors! Good Morning ADD Irregulars, Friends & Refugees, PHAM, Triggeratti, Seekers and Common Sensers and all other wanderers at Locals. How about a little departure from Endangered Words and a visit back with The Little Book of Lost Words by Joe Gillard. Off we go!
I pity the ninnyhammer!
NINNYHAMMER - noun - Sixteenth Century - A fool.
What makes one a ninnyhammer? When I used to teach at parish grade school I would often tell the older students that it is far better thing to acknowledge oneself as being ignorant and not stupid. To be ignorant is not to know and for most people can be remedied by learning and remembering. Unassailable Ignorance is not a good thing, to find oneself ignorant is an invitation to grow, to remain in that state (especially about something relevant - not something trivial or niche') is to venture into the realm of stupidity. To call someone stupid, something I would caution the children from using so freely, was to acknowledge they knew better and did it anyone. Far better to acknowledge your own stupidity and alter your thinking, course or attitude and to remain stupid. A ninnyhammer is somewhere on that spectrum between being an ignoramus or being stupid, I suspect more of an ignoramus than advocating stupidity.
I leave you with 1980's more memorable ninnyhammers. Not that memorable, but certainly not forgettable, knowwhatimean?
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
