Why are academics so funny?

That's "funny" in a Mark Twain sense, not "funny" as in "I am a lonely internet user in Tokyo seeking information on amorous hyenas" (see the post below).

Two recent blog entries that made me wish I could write so well:

(1) Dean dad's "compare and contrast" essay on the films Curious George and Brokeback Mountain. I was astonished to discover that both feature an obsession with men in hats.

(2) Richard Scott Nokes, of Unlocked Wordhoard, penning an angry letter to David Horowitz, demanding to know why he had not made the list of The 101 Most Dangerous Academics. Professor Nokes makes a persuasive case for his -- and an unnamed math professor colleague's -- inclusion.