Cool links

Here's a really neat blog about what people would save if their house was on fire:

http://the-burning-house.com/


And here's the excellent Uni Watch blog where I got the link from:

http://www.uniwatchblog.com/


Uni Watch is great! It focuses on the aesthetics of sports uniforms, but also includes a lot of non sports-related design content.

Intellectuals' attitudes toward sports

Following up on a point from the Bacon essay I just posted, yesterday (28 February 2008) on his excellent Uni Watch blog (http://www.uniwatchblog.com) Paul Lukas wrote a bit about how his artsy intellectual friends don't understand his obsession with sports. I also share this problem. All of of my intellectual/artist friends, including my wife, who is a sculptor, think following sports is a waste of time, and don't understand why I am so passionate about them, especially baseball, which they view as the most boring sport ever (a puzzling viewpoint, since baseball is widely regarded as the most "intellectual" of the four major North American sports [yes, I still count hockey as a major sport]).

I think this anti-sports attitude (which is not simply a lack of interest, but an active dislike of sports) among intellectuals is simply a form of snobbery. Because the less-educated often like sports, sports are viewed as being somehow "beneath" those of us with advanced degrees. This view may stem from a patriarchal privileging of activities of the mind over activities of the body (though sports are, of course, activities of both).