The Absurd Intellectuals

And now we are two

Posted by The Absurd Intellectuals on 1 January 2011 Modern Life

Jan 012011

Grant initially started this blog in the waning days of 2008, and here we are still going strong after two years. Since he bought the three-year hosting plan when the site got started, we’re going to “guarantee” that we will be around for another 12 months, too. And, since he’s such a sucker for renewal specials, too, we suspect we might just go on and on.

We’re still having fun, that’s the main thing.

So far, in case you’re interested, we’ve made just shy of 2,500 posts — and ya’ll have made just over 3,500 comments. Grant, for one, reads each and every one of them, no lie. And we appreciate that we’ve found or posted something that was significant enough to you that you commented.

Despite the holidays, December 2010 was our best month ever for visitors. It’s gratifying to know that, for a number of you, we’re a regular stop. Thanks!

Happy New Year See ya soon.

(Photo from Flickr user This Year’s Love. Awesome.)

The birth (and death?) of the French Onion Martini

Posted by The Absurd Intellectuals on 13 January 2009 Modern Life

Jan 132009

Behold, the French Onion Martini. A intriguing idea, non?

Behold, the French Onion Martini. Gin, onion, cheese. A intriguing idea, non?

There aren’t a whole lot of drinks inspired by food — unless you count shooters like the Candy Cane, perhaps. But when Keith pitched Grant on the idea of a “French Onion Martini,” something took hold in both their imaginations. Something overwrought, perhaps, but definitely something.

Keith: “Imagine a French Onion Martini. Gin with those sweet pickled onions, and a layer of melted cheese floating on top.”

Grant: “I love it!”

Amy: “Oh, dear.”

Intrigued? More after the jump — click “Continue!”

Reading with my fingers

Posted by The Absurd Intellectuals on 8 January 2009 Modern Life, Vintage/Retro

Jan 082009

So, I’ve just signed on to learn braille. Not too much — just the words “Braille 200.”

It’s a media stunt put on by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, to mark the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, the blind Frenchman who invented the raised-dot alphabet.

Braille, born in 1809 (of course) accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with an awl when he was three. A subsequent infection spread to his other eye and fully blinded him. Later, in an early institution for blind children, he was exposed to primitive touch systems for deciphering letters and other writing. But it was Braille himself who distilled these early touch-systems into the six-dot system that’s still used today.

It’s an interesting story, and I encourage you to Google it. I myself will be too busy running my fingers over those raised dots in practice. The media stunt, you see, pits me against several other sighted people to see how quickly we can recognize “Braille 200″ — in braille. It’s a braille race, and I want to win.

It takes place on Friday, January 16 (Braille’s actual birthday was January 4, mind you) and I’ll be sure to blog about the results. Organizers are supposed to be dropping off a practice sheet for me soon, and I’ll have to find the “Braille 200″ words among at least eight other words and phrases.

I’m looking forward to it — and before the snarky comments start, the reason they have braille on the drive-up ATMs is because it’s cheaper to buy keypads in bulk, rather than just do a special factory run of non-braille keypads for the small minority of ATMs that don’t need them. Obviously.

Welcome to Absurd Intellectual

Posted by The Absurd Intellectuals on 30 December 2008 Everything Else

Dec 302008

This is a placeholder post to get things kicked off. Whoo!