Category Archives: Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic II, Titanic Miscellaneous

Tuesday Musings

*The Brisbane Times is reporting that Blue Star Line, the Clive Palmer company behind the plan to build Titanic II, has submitted paperwork to trademark Titanic, Titanic II, Titanic III, Blue Star Line, and Gigantic. Gigantic was included because Palmer believes it was name considered but never used by White Star. Since trademark does not convey ownership, he sees no problem with his application. Others may differ on that point. 20th Century Fox did trademark Titanic for use when Cameron’s Titanic came out but only for entertainment services, movies and motion pictures. Generally a trademark violation occurs when one party uses it in a way that reminds you of the trademark product. For instance Coca-Cola (and the word Coke) are trademarks of the Coca-Cola company. If you use either of those two to market a soft drink (or in some way to convey a connection to Coke), they can sue for trademark infringement. Cola is a generic term for flavored soda and not trademarked (except when part of a name like Pepsi Cola)

Is Palmer worried about copy-cats? That would be the only reason to trademark these particular words. Assuming this is true, he would want to prevent others from naming their ships Titanic II or III. It is possible other cruise lines out there (like Cunard, for one) see a profit potential in a Titanic replica and could have plans in that regard. There is also just a whiff that all of this might be some grand scheme of something else. What that might be I cannot say but time will tell.

Source:Brisbane Times, Clive Palmer To Trademark ‘Titanic’, ‘Gigantic’,19 Feb 2013

*The Jason Project, founded by Robert Ballard, is a non-profit partnered with National Geographic Society and Sea Reasearch Foundation, seeks to interest students in science. Many schools see this as a way to boost their science and math programs. Find more info at jason.org.

*The recent meteor that landed in Russia causing much damage reminded me of an old Arthur C. Clarke book called Rendezvous With Rama. The opening chapters of the book talked about how the need for monitoring asteroids and meteors came about when a large meteor came crashing down on Earth. Many lost their hearing due to the sonic boom, massive damage resulted from the shock wave to buildings and other things. His book is prescient on how even a small chunk of space rock can inflict a lot of damage. Imagine if it had crashed into a major city. It would look like either a small nuclear device had gone off or the city had been bombed like Dresden in World War II.

*I realize pizza chains seek to draw in customers with new formulations. Papa John’s sent out an advert offering a deal on its—gasp—steak and cheese pizza. According to their website, this pizza has steak, mozzarella cheese, and a creamy garlic parmesan and pizza sauce with an Italian herb seasoning. Those famous Philly steak places are probably laughing while the old traditional pizzerias in New York are just shaking their heads at this. One wonders what is next. Perhaps kung pao chicken pizza?

*You know things are not doing well in the economy when local shops offer “Titanic bargains” just before they go out of business.


Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Belfast Tops IrishCentral Top Ten Things To See In Ireland For 2013

Okay so you are planning a trip to Ireland this year, so what do your put on the list to see? Susan Byron at IrishCentral has put together a list of the top ten places to consider visiting while in Ireland. At the top of the list is Titanic Museum in Belfast. She advises to book tickets online as visitors are limited per hour. She also advises the Galley restaurant on ground floor is pretty busy so book afternoon tea upstairs in the salon by the Grand Staircase where it is much quieter. Or if you want more hearty fare hop a cab to Crown Liquor Salon for beef in Guinness pie and a pint of Ireland’s favorite beer. Here are the other places she recommends:

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park Bunratty, County Clare

Museum of Country Life Castlebar, County Mayo

Croke Park Museum, Croke Park, Dublin

Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, Dublin

Bantry House, Bantry, County Cork

Mizen Head Lighthouse, County Cork

Lismore Castle Gardens Lismore, County Waterford

Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick

Swiss Cottage Cahir, County Tipperary

Source: IrishCentral, Ireland’s Top Ten Tourist Attractions In 2013 – Where To Go And What To See In Ireland, 11 Feb 2013


Titanic Miscellaneous

Perils of Pizza Online-Papa John’s

Papa John’s has taken online ordering and made it slick. They make it easy to set up an online account, make choices from their menu, and have it delivered to your home or office. You can even do it from a mobile phone! While I have had no problems with the local end of Papa John’s, my problem has been with promotional emails and coupon codes not working. Take getting promotional emails. I signed up for them when I first registered yet it took several weeks for it to work. And then suddenly they stopped. I asked about it and they had me change my password and select the email option. That did not work and I reported it as such. And then suddenly they came back on again.

Now before Christmas I decided to turn off getting those promo emails and turned them back on in January. And then nothing, I contacted Papa John’s by email about the problem and was told to call in for assistance. And then presto, I got an email welcoming to Papa John’s online promotions. So whatever the problem was, they were able to fix it. I suspect the problem is software related. It seems to have a problem noticing when you sign-up or in some cases just stopping the emails.

Then came one after Superbowl Sunday promising 50% off the menu. A great deal except the coupon code did not work. An email requesting clarification was sent back the first time as “user unknown” but a resend got through. The response though was quite odd:

———
From: Consumer_Services@papajohns.com
Subject: Re: Please Authenticate 50% off promotion
To: Mark Taylor

xb49mzvvv9zc

Operations Call Center
Papa John’s International
1-877-547-7272

Order Pizza Online @ www.papajohns.com

Please Authenticate 50% off promotion

Mark E. Taylor
to:
consumer_services
2/05/2013 04:13 PM

——-

The message is simply gibberish. I tried calling Papa John’s and incredibly I got a busy signal each time I tried. I gave up and sent an email about the poor response. I also noted the previous problems. Now to be fair they did send out another promotion for a $9.99 large pizza (which is a good deal and I ordered one) but it does not fix the underlying problem that seems to plague their computer system. And it makes me not want to trust ordering online anymore because of it. I recall many months ago they sent out a promotion that had totally inaccurate information on the promotion code and how to use it. They had to resend it with a correction.

It just makes you wonder who is running the place-perhaps those mischievous Cornish pixies from Harry Potter. Or perhaps someone is purposefully mucking up the system (hackers) and they are loathed to admit it. Get your house in order Papa John’s. Such problems left untreated grow and eventually bring down companies. As for me, I think I will give Papa John’s a break for a while. There is nice Chinese restaurant not far from where I live that serves delicious dim sum.


Titanic, Titanic Exhibitions, Titanic Miscellaneous

Wednesday Scramble; The Lozier Car and Titanic Exhibition Opening Soon In Grand Rapids

Until recently, I never heard of the Lozier car. I came across the name in a story from Lozier 1908 Touring CarWZZM 13 about Titanic survivor Dickson Bishop. According to the story, upon returning to American soil, he called up his chauffeur and ordered him to come get him with the Lozier. The Lozier was one America’s early luxury cars that sold between $4,600- $7,750 at a time when the average price was around $750. The company, founded by Henry Abraham Lozier, lasted from 1900-1915. Since its cars were sold to a select few, it only produced a few thousand cars. The high watermark was in 1912 when it produced 600. Competition and defections of important employees to other companies apparently doomed the company.

The cars are not forgotten though. A car identical to the one driven by Dickson Bishop is on display at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan.

Source: WZZM13, Titanic Survivors Returned To Michigan In Style, 6 Feb 2013

Reminder: Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is set to open in Grand Rapids this Saturday (9 Feb) at the  Grand Rapids Public Museum. For hours and admission prices, go to grmuseum.org. The exhibition lasts until 7 July 2013.


Titanic, Titanic Exhibitions, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic News For Superbowl Sunday

Sorry folks for being away for a while. Simply put, got busy and there was not much news to report on. February has finally arrived and it is Superbowl Sunday here in the U.S. For those outside of the U.S., it is a national day of watching two teams battling it out for supremacy. Like our Thanksgiving day, people gather together to eat lots of high caloric foods but not as formal as that day. In fact, according to recent news reports, many food companies see this as one of their biggest days of the year. Pizza ranks pretty high on the list, so those ovens get fired up early in the morning and the prep work is pretty frantic to get those pizzas out the door. If you have not ordered your pizza by now, it will be a long wait for it to arrive in time for the game.

Moving on, here are some Titanic stories you might find interesting:

1. Titanic Show Sails Into Macau (31 Jan 2013, SinoShip News
Professor Palmer said while Titanic was not scheduled to visit China or Asia, Titanic II’s ties with China will be significant. “I have commissioned CSC Jinling Shipyard to build and coordinate the construction of Titanic II in China,” he said. “This signifies the future relationship between Titanic II and China, as Titanic II offers a tremendous opportunity for CSCJinling to showcase their abilities and grow their business, as well as establish China in the luxury cruise ship market.” Palmer said Titanic will be remembered when guests meet to enjoy the same lavish eleven course menu as first class passengers did on April 14, 1912.

2. Treasure Hunter Continues Quest To Recover Gold Buried With Titanic’s Sister Ship(30 Jan 2013, IrishCentral)
According to the Boston Herald, Bayerle sought and was eventually awarded the exclusive salvage rights to the wreck in 2005 by now retired U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner. But the twist in the tale came when another judge scuttled his lawsuit last week against a maritime historian he believes holds blueprints to the ship and the keys to the success of his mission. (Related story at Boston Herald)

3. Titanic Memorial(30 Jan 2013, C-SPAN)
This video is about the Titanic Memorial in Washington D.C. Has some interesting background information about the person who designed it.

4. Titanic’ Exhibit Sails Into The Grand Rapids Public Museum(30 Jan 2013, MLive.com)
 “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” opens February 9 and runs through July 7. Tickets can be purchased at startickets.com or at 800/585-3737. Tickets are timed and limited. Tickets for nonmembers are $17/adults, $16/seniors, $12/children 3—18; and free/children 2 and under. For members, tickets are $12/adults, $11/seniors, $10/children 3—18, and free/children 2 and under. Tickets include admission to the rest of the Museum.

5. Museum To Host Titanic Exhibition(20 Jan 2013, The Northern Echo)
Darlington Railway Museum will hold an exhibition and performance from the History Wardrobe on the famous ship, which sank on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg. There will be displays of costumes, documents and survivor testimonies, with a show telling the story of dress designer Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon, who escaped from the ship when it began sinking in the North Atlantic Ocean. (Show date: 17 Feb at 2:00p.m.)

6. Titanic Museum Debuts New Children’s Gallery(25 Jan 2013, Branson Tri-Lakes news)
More than 2,200 people were on board the RMS Titanic when it set sail on its doomed maiden voyage more than 100 years ago, and the Titanic museum attraction in Branson is making sure people don’t forget their stories. This year, the museum added a new gallery dedicated to the children who were on board. Mary Kellogg-Joslyn, executive vice president of operations for the museum’s parent company, Cedar Bay Entertainment, said the new exhibit is just one way the museum is changing to appeal to new, and sometimes younger, visitors. This year the museum also is adding an additional audio tour aimed at children. The tour, Kellogg-Joslyn said, “makes the artifacts come to life and gives them a voice.”

7. Largest Paper Model Of The Titanic: Ronald Luntz Breaks Guinness World Record(20 Jan 2013, World Record Academy )
Ronald Luntz, 70, spent more than eight hours a day in his Apple Valley home for the past three months and built a 7-foot model of the Titanic which is a foot wide and 3 feet high and sets the new world record for the Largest paper model, according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/. The Guinness world record for the argest model railway engine was set by the Thomas the Tank Engine character ‘James’, which is 264.3 cm high, 149.6 cm wide, 652 cm long (104.05 x 58.59 x 256.69 in) and weighs nearly 1.5 tons (236.2 st).  Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the largest model of DNA; it measured 28 m (91 ft 10 in) and was created by Nu Skin Greater China in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. “People don’t understand how sturdy cardboard is,” he said. “If you give me enough cardboard and glue, I can make you a bridge you can drive across. That’s a fact.”

Some odds and ends

1. James Cameron’s Titanic was a major hit but according to The Inquisitr the Taliban did not like Afghan boys getting haircuts similar to Leonardo DiCaprio’s in the movie. They arrested at least 30 barbers and many Afghan teenage boys who got the cut. Many were beaten and forced to shave their heads. Many tried to hide their haricuts by wearing hats. Underground barbers emerged to give the banned haircuts after hours and outside of public view. Another reason to oppose such regimes in the strongest possible terms.
Source: The Inquisitr, Taliban Hated The Movie Titanic And Banned Leonardo DiCaprio’s Haircut, 29 Jan 2013

2. A “Titanic” cigar measuring 19 feet long and 3 feet wide was recently sold for $18,500. It titanicigarweighs 1,600 pounds making it nearly 25,000 normal sized cigars into one. You have to wonder how this came about. Was it after a few beers where someone mentioned about the largest cigar ever made? Or a wager to see if you could actually make one and sell it. Since it can never be used (except by a giant), it can only be used as a display. Perhaps in the entry way of a building. Or if you really want to poke some fun at the anti-smoking crowd, have it placed outside one of their main offices. Should really get them up in arms. Nanny Bloomberg is probably already outraged and calling on federal agents to seize the offending Titanic cigar (possibly for violating some obscure law).
Source: 8countnews.com,  Titanic Cigar Sells For $185000, 2 Feb 2013


Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Update To Story On Floating Titanic Hotel

The BBC is reporting that the owner, Alfie Bubbles (a former merchant seaman), claims receiving overwhelming public response and never wanted to cause offense. The floating hotel, painted with slanting lines to give the illusion of sinking, is set to open next week. However the chief executive of Liverpool Seafarers’ Centre points out the location is located in view of the Merchant Navy memorial, near the White Star Building, and a Titanic memorial placed by Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Wilson states: “To have an image of something that is purporting to be a vessel sinking, to an active seafarer, if he or she were to see this it would just ring the wrong bells for them.”

Bubbles says it is not in poor taste, just a bit of fun, and already has bookings for it. Sorry Mr. Bubbles, but you are just trying to cash in on your own little Titanic niche. This is exactly what you wanted, free publicity for your three bed hotel. Okay enjoy it while it lasts but I suspect most people will see it exactly for what it is. A trashy way to make money over a tragedy where 1500 people lost their lives.

Source: BBC News, Liverpool’s Floating Titanic Hotel Attracts Criticism, 11 Jan 2013


Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Makes China Money & A Tacky Titanic Floating Hotel

1. Titanic broke all kinds of box office records and dvd sales have generated millions in dvd sales. Of course all that money did not go into private hands. Government got a large share in taxes (in some case income but mostly sales taxes). Most governments do not brag about what taxed items bring in lots of money, China is proudly telling everyone that customs duties on Titanic dvds generated $33.7 million dollars. The surge, according to Xinhua, is due to increased numbers of foreign movies being imported. Of course imports are very controlled in the People’s Republic. There is only one authorized importer of foreign movies ( China Film Group Corp) and Beijing Customs is the only authorized channel for the foreign movie imports. Which explains why they are so adamant about controlling the Internet. Hard to tax a movie from YouTube (but you can shut off access to it).

Source: China.org.cn, Titanic 3D Biggest Foreign Movie Tax Contributor, 11 Jan 2013

2. Okay you have heard about Titanic cruises and dinners but what about sleeping in a floating hostel that is designed to look like a sinking ship? You can at at Liverpool’s Salthouse Dock,where the floating hostel has an uplifted stern and slanting porthole windows to give such an effect. Needless to say, it has drawn sharp criticism and its owner, Alfie Bubbles (yes, Bubbles) has refused comment on his soon-to-open Titanic Sinking Boutique Hotel. We can only hope it financially sinks.

Source: The Sun , ‘Sinking Titanic’ Hotel Fury, 12 Jan 2013


Titanic Miscellaneous

A Note About Irish News Links

According to various news sources, National Newspapers of Ireland now is demanding a fee from commercial websites that link to newspaper articles of its member papers. The group argues that linking to news articles is a violation of copyright. They do exclude personal non-commercial blogs and websites from this policy

It is highly dubious to argue linking to news articles is copyright violation. Normally a copyright violation occurs when you substantially or in whole reprint an article without permission of its owner. No argument on that point but when you start demanding fees for merely linking to news articles, that is going too far. Here in the U.S., it is generally allowed to link to news articles without having to pay a fee to the copyright holder.

This site is outside of Ireland and while they can send a bill to us, we can decline to pay and let the courts figure it out. It is a stupid policy and NNI ought to rescind it. Since they demand money for links, this site will no longer provide them. We will publish the paper name, date, and title of article and nothing else. The rest will be up to the reader.

Anyone else want to comment on this policy?

Sources:

1. AFP, Irish newspapers on defence over sharing links, 4 Jan 2013

2. Irish Independent, Linking to newspaper websites for profit needs licence, says NNI, 6 Jan 2013

3. Forbes.com, It Would Have To Be The Irish NewsPapers Trying Something Insanely Stupid Like Charging For Links To Websites, 3 Jan 2013

4. The Journal.ie, Column: Newspapers are seeking to outlaw the free exchange of ideas, 4 Jan 2013

 

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Titanic Miscellaneous

Ice Sculpting Competition At Titanic Pigeon Forge

It is January so it is time for the annual ice carving competition at the Titanic Museum. Each contestant will work with 250 pound blocks of ice to carve their sculptures. Both professional and amateurs can participate in the event on 19 Jan at 9 a.m. Judges from the National Ice Carving Association will determine the winners at 3 p.m. The top prize is $2,000. The event is free to attend but entrance to the museum requires paid admission. You can get more information at TitanicPigeonForge.com.

Source: Greenville Sun, Ice Sculpting Extravaganza Comes To Pigeon Forge, 3 Jan 2013

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Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Tuxedo Historical Society To Raffle Off Steiff Titanic Bear And Book

The Tuxedo Historical Society will be raffling off a collectible “Polar, The Titanic Bear” produced by the Steiff Company in Germany. According to Times Herald-Record:polar-the-titanic-bear-steiff-682087-s

“Polar” has special significance for the Tuxedo community: Tuxedo Park residents Daisy and Frederic Spedden and their young son Douglas were aboard Titanic on that fateful voyage. On the night of the disaster, Polar, a beloved Steiff bear purchased at FAO Schwarz, was tucked under little Douglas’s arm as the Speddens were lowered down the side of Titanic into a life boat. After the survivors were swung up the side of the rescue ship, Polar was forgotten in the empty lifeboat until a sailor found him and returned him to Douglas.In a 1913 manuscript intended as a Christmas gift for Douglas, Daisy Spedden told this remarkable story through the eyes of Polar.The original manuscript was found decades later by Leighton Coleman, a Spedden relative, in a trunk of family memorabilia about to be discarded. In 1994, Coleman published the manuscript as a book, “Polar, the Titanic Bear,” which went on to win several awards for outstanding children’s literature.

The Steiff bear is 2012 limited edition North American white tag (only 1500 produced). Raffle tickets are $10 and available through Tuxedo Historical Society. The raffle takes place on 9 Dec at the society’s annual Fair Trade Holiday Craft Sale. The drawing will take place on Sunday at 3pm. You do not need to be present to win.

Source: Times Herald-Record, Tuxedo Historical Society To Raffle Steiff Titanic Bear, Book, 4 Dec 2012