Watching Alone?

One of the most common social outings is going to the movies. Ironically, the process of going to see a movie is inherently antisocial. Think about it: You go into a dark theater where talking of any form is discouraged for two hours and are (hopefully) mesmerized by the film on the big screen. During the movie, you will have virtually no social interactions with the friends that accompany you (I exclude affectionate teen couples from this generalization) besides the occasional shared laugh. In fact, an argument can be made that having friends present detracts from the diversionary experience of the movie by reminding you of reality. Ever go with a friend to a movie who laughs at absolutely everything? Or talks excessively during the movie? This actually detracts from your movie watching experience by preventing complete immersion in the film.

Monday Medley

What we read while they did everything besides read Lolita in Tehran.

• Cynthia Gorney’s New York Times Magazine profile of Rafael Nadal follows in the footsteps of other similar stories done by S.L. Price in Sports Illustrated and Tim Keown in ESPN The Magazine. Gorney’s piece is the most in-depth on Nadal although Price probes deeper into the Nadal/Federer rivalry–as did NPI when it asked, “Is Roger Federer the Greatest Tennis Player Ever?” Of course, any time we read a story about tennis, we can’t help but think of how David Foster Wallace would write it. We strongly recommend DFW’s transcendent “Roger Federer as Religious Experience” from the NYT’s Play and “The String Theory” from Esquire, later included unabridged in Wallace’s A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. We can only wonder what DFW would have written about Nadal now.

• Speaking of DFW, if you’ve always planned on reading Infinite Jest and just never had the time, this summer is the perfect chance to start. We at NPI heartily recommend it.

• Finally, a website dedicated to perpetuating the pretension of English majors! How are you aestivating?

• The origin story of our resident fictional character.

• Ever wonder the daily routine of your favorite writer or artist? The fascinating Daily Routines blog compiles the daily routines of an array of interesting people ranging from Immanuel Kant to C.S. Lewis.

• Do you like to travel… for free? If so, check out this really helpful post on the “Top 10 Ways to Earn Lots of Miles”.

• On a more serious note, Atul Gawande discusses health care in a way that gets beyond the public/private discussion.