Good morning, digital neighbors! Happy Wednesday! The good blend of humor and discussion was the open door to my following Dave Rubin from Patreon to Locals. It was probably the best decision with social media that I have ever made. It was in 2018 that the censorship issues with Patreon bubbled up and I stopped using that platform to support anyone. Joining Locals opened the door to more humor and more meaningful discussions with different nuances. Each community had its own vibe and subtle expression of free speech and the issues that often appeared in the threads. Over the years I have supported The Rubin Report, Phetasy, Triggernometry, Coffee with Scott Adams, and a few others. Most of them I did not join to offer commentary and conversation but wanted to support their content. I mainly hung my hat at RR, Phetasy, and Triggernometry, and I am thankful for the people those communities brought into my life. More laughter and more meaningful conversations are a blessing. Coffee Talk over at Padre’s is pretty much that every day. Come join us! Anyway, off to the quotes and something beautiful from nature.
You grow up the day you have your first real laugh—at yourself. - Ethel Barrymore
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come. - William Shakespeare
There are three things which are real: God, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third. – John F. Kennedy
Forest photo - Jplenio - Pixabay
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.
Quite apart from the fact that I utterly admire, even love, her, this is the best possible response to an idiot, who, in his defense, asked a pretty good question.
https://x.com/TBifford/status/2087992591279407133/video/1?s=61
The Beautiful
Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”
