Library Hideout

Without the benefit of a functioning air conditioning system in my dorm, I've taken refuge in the climate-controlled rooms of Butler Undergraduate Library. Thinking that the cool air of the library might help me focus on my studies, I was proven woefully wrong, this blog-post sufficing for evidence. But maybe sounding out some of my thoughts is just what I need to do in order to focus on my studies of the social sciences...

But first I want to tell you about an extremely handy website I just discovered: Posterous! It's basically your online bulletin board, and it's extremely easy to use. Just e-mail something to post@posterous.com and it is instantly uploaded for you. No more complicated logging in and logging out everywhere I need my files. I can't wait to make good use of this site!

Now then, I'm supposed to write this research essay for my prose writing class on the topic of American luxury. The direction I have taken has been dealing with the fantasy of having your every need fulfilled, as seen on luxury cruise ships. Fantasy is clearly a natural human behavior, as described by Tolkien and others, but what makes this fantasy valid? For one, we can talk about escapism(wiki), and the benefits this has for anybody with a stressful life (e.g. all Americans who are daily propelled to work harder by the American desire to earn more and the promise of increased prosperity). Escapism is also useful for people that are in tough situations, like impoverished children in Brooklyn or a degenerate Native American tribe in Alaska (examples from an article by author T.A. Barron). These are compelling reasons why escapist fantasy like a luxury cruise is (in a Utilitarian sense) useful. There is another dynamic with the fantasy that the cruise is presenting, because the cruise experience is not just a fantasy that you or I enjoy, but it is a prepared fantasy that comes complete with its own guide book. I do not think the guide book is problematic, because you are still actively enjoying your fantasy. Thus, all of us with the means to should go enjoy a luxury cruise and forget about this economic recession! (I'm kidding, kind of)

Sources:
Barron, T.A. "We Are What We Imagine." Journal of Youth Services in Libraries: 12(2): 10-12.
Brooks, David. "Why the U.S. Will Always Be Rich." New York Times Magazine: June 9, 2002. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/09/magazine/why-the-us-will-always-be-rich.html.
Mehta, Jigar. "Recap: Fall Fashion Week, New York." New York Times. April 28, 2009. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/02/20/fashion/1194838010547/recap-fall-fashion-week-new-york.html.
Tolkien, J.R.R. "On Fairy-Stories." Tree & Leaf. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965: 3-84.
Wallace, David Foster. "Shipping Out." Harper's: 292(January): 33-56.