A vacation is a respite from unpleasantness, and since
consciousness of death and decay are unpleasant, it may
seem weird that the ultimate American fantasy vacation
involves being plunked down in an enormous primordial
stew of death and decay. But on a 7NC Luxury Cruise, we
are skillfully enabled in the construction of various
fantasies of triumph over just this death and decay. One
way to 'triumph' is via the rigors of self-improvement
(diet, exercise, cosmetic surgery, Franklin Quest time-
management seminars), to which the crew's amphetaminic
upkeep of the [ship] is an unsubtle analogue. But
there's another way out, too: not titivation but
titillation; not hard work but hard play.
