The World is not enough

To continue the questions surrounding 'thematic' groupings (what goes with what and why) I have just had a thought based on Matt's post here. This line:

Maybe we have to unite 'conventional' and 'extreme' tourism with a series of proposals and parasitic structures.

Is this important? It's about putting the extreme back into the now conventional 'attractions'? We take tourist attractions which were once splendid and awesome, but which are now maybe not enough to satisfy our greedy contemporary appetites for experience, and we pimp them with extreme parasites. We add bling. It's a new lease of life for under-appreciated or unfashionable monuments/structures/venues [whatever].

Perhaps the point is that we need ever greater magnifications of 'thrill' just to feel, well thrilled, or inspired, or elevated out of everyday life. Get away from it all... Once upon a time the Eiffel Tower was properly impressive [I still think it is btw, so on some levels this becomes a critique], but now people need bigger and better attractions/distractions. We have virtual worlds in which to escape. If we add an extreme element to something that should be inspiring enough in itself, are we strengthening or weakening the ideas? Are we reinventing iconic monuments/structures/venues in order to change their profiles into something new and exciting again? Changing the familiar into the unfamiliar once more, so we can see it again with a refreshed sense of wonder?

The World is not enough.

A late night rambling thought. Feel free to condemn on the grounds that we don't need overarching themes just yet. Sorry.