Titanic, Titanic II

Titanic News: Antique Dealers Accused Stealing Titanic Memorabilia, Titanic II Keel Might Be Laid Soon, And How To Recycle Old VHS Tapes

gavel1. The New York Post reports that Noelle Hollander, daughter of late nautical expert Frank Braynard, has filed suit against two antiques dealers accusing them of stealing her father’s trove of ship memorabilia which includes Titanic memorabilia. The suit alleges Kerry McCaffrey and Richard Faber looted the memorabilia during a visit when her father was suffering from dementia. Also alleged is that he sold them a valuable painting at a bargain basement price which a gallery is now selling for $125,000. Hollander claims her father was unaware what the antiques dealers were doing because of his illness. Both dealers deny any wrong doing.
Source: Titanic Items Swiped From Seaport Museum Founder: Suit(25 Mar 2014,New York Post)

2. Cruise Ship News hopes that everything is going well and that the keel for Titanic II will be 31 March. That has symbolism since the original Titanic keel was laid on the same date in 1909. Of course there are nagging reports of problems between Clive Palmer and the Chinese shipyard. And some believe the whole thing is a publicity stunt.
Source: Titanic 2 Keel Expected To Be Laid March 31(25 Mar 2014,Cruise Ship News)

3. In the category of what will they make Titanic out of next comes this story. Five students with a charity called Butterfly Project decided to recycle old VHS tapes in a novel way. So they obtained 1,000 old VHS tapes, disassembled them, and used the materials to construct a 12 foot replica of the famous ship. Sadly no picture accompanies the story, which is a bummer since it would be something worth seeing. Hard to remember but VHS tapes were state of the art tech for viewing movies not so long ago. At least the typewriter still has a use when power goes out and you need to get a letter out the door.
Source: What Do You Do With 1000 VHS Video Cassettes – Make A Titanic Model Of Course(25 Mar 2014 ,Gloucester Citizen)


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Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic News: Tinian Plans Titanic Themed Resort, Titanic Halloween Masquerade and Titanic Irish Whiskey Loses A Year

Map of the islands of Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands along the Marianas Trench (east of China and the Philippines). Image: Public Domain (US Geological Survey)
Map of the islands of Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands along the Marianas Trench (east of China and the Philippines).
Image: Public Domain (US Geological Survey)

1. Tinian, one of the principal islands in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is planning a multimillion dollar Titanic-themed hotel and resort. The planned resort will be built on a 40,000-square-meter property on Tinian harbor. It will be built to look like it is sitting on water but built on land. Aside from the usual amenities resorts have, it will include a casino and banquet room. The decision to use a Titanic theme is due to the world-wide fascination created by Cameron’s Titanic. It is particularly popular in China, where the movie and soundtrack are very popular. And that is the goal of the resort, to attract tourists from Northern China. So many Chinese tourists will have a choice in a few years: go to a Titanic themed hotel and resort in Tinian or head into the interior and stand aboard a Titanic simulator.
Source:$130M Resort On Tinian OK’d(24 Mar 2014,Saipan Tribune)

2. If you are looking for Titanic themed Halloween masquerade party that will be on a ship, consider one in San Francisco for 2014. According to SFgate.com:
Prepare for the ultimate Halloween party cruise that will be transformed into a haunting Titanic, filled with over 300 Ghosts & Ghouls raised from the dead of the historic Titanic that sank hundreds of years ago.You will be picked up in the San Francisco Bay at Pier 40, where you’ll board the beautiful Fume Blanc Commodore Yacht. You’ll hit the city-lit bay on a 4 hour cruise, with some of the most vivid views of Treasure Island, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, Nob hill, the Golden Gate GateBridge, and the magnificent San Francisco Skyline. There are 3 amazing decks on the spacious 350 passenger Fume Blanc Commodore vessel. Seating will be ‘first come, first serve’ on the lower decks, but there will be some reserved seating on the 2nd level so that table service can have the best views of the all the gorgeous scenery.

Sounds fun but costumes/mask required to attend and tickets must be purchased in advance. Ghosts (real ones) admitted free. 🙂
Source: Titanic Masquerade Halloween(22 Mar 2014, SFgate.com)

3. Bad news for fans of Titanic Irish Whiskey. The five year old blend is being reduced down to four years reports The Spirits Business. Their current supplier will not supply a five year blend and with only 300 cases left to be divided on the international market, they made the business decision to drop to a four years or risk running out of whiskey. Okay so this is not strictly a Titanic news item but I happen to know many whiskey drinkers out there get upset when a whiskey maker lowers the aging. It costs approximately $47 for 700ml.
Source: Titanic Irish Whiskey Reduces Age Over Scarce Stocks(24 Mar 2014,The Spirits Business


Titanic

Titanic News: Survivor Letter Translated On Reddit

A letter written in French dated 8 Aug 1955 written by Rose Amelie Icard was recently put on Redditt for translation assistance. What was revealed, if true, is a striking account of what happened that fateful night in 1912. Miss Icard likely was a maid to first class passenger Martha Stone. She recounts how they were shaken out of bed and initially told there was nothing wrong only to learn it was very serious. And she witnessed Ida Strauss saying she would stay with her husband, Isidor.

“She put her arms around the neck of her husband, telling him: ‘We have been married 50 years, we have never left each other, I want to die with you.”

She also heard Captain Smith order “Women and children first” and that Benjamin Guggenheim helped women and children. Icard passed away in July 1964.

The letter was written to a Madame Ausein, possibly a daughter of a woman that survived the sinking. The Reddit user claims he bought her letters and passport at an auction. The letter has not yet been authenticated.

Source: Titanic Letter Reveals New First-Hand Account Of Disaster(21 Mar 2014,The Telegraph)


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Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Autistic Boy Asks Lego For More Bricks To Construct Titanic

An 11-year old Icelandic boy named Brynjar Karl has a dream–to use Lego bricks to build his Titanic masterpiece. With the help of his mother, he has made a plea via YouTube to Lego for more bricks. Let’s hope his dream comes true!

Source: 11-Year-Old Boy With Autism Is Asking Lego To Help Him Be Even More Awesome(18 Mar 2014,Huffington Post)

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Miscellaneous

Spring Equinox Is Today

Colorful Spring Garden Photo:Anita Martinz(Flickr)
Colorful Spring Garden
Photo:Anita Martinz(Flickr)

Spring officially begins today at 12:57 PM EDT (16:57 UTC). Equinoxes occur twice a year, in March and September. When these events happen, the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night are nearly the same. However below the equator the season flips so it is the beginning of autumn in Sydney, Australia. The first full day of spring (or autumn) will be 21 Mar 2014.


Titanic

Irish Independent: Titanic Belfast Is “Captivating and Moving”

Titanic Belfast (side view) Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)
Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

Madeline Keane, writing for the Irish Independent travel section, had this to say about Titanic Belfast:

From your first view of it, designed to look like the famous prow – in the shadow of the great Harland and Wolff shipyard, framed by the massive twin yellow cranes, Samson and Goliath – Titanic Belfast is captivating and moving. Brilliant 3D visuals bring you from the bowels of the boat through the bow to the bridge – we both felt slightly seasick. And there’s a magnetic journey to the ocean floor in the company of oceanographer and former US Navy officer, Professor Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck in 1973. He’ll deliver a lecture there on March 20. And yet, for all the fantastic touch screen galleries, faithfully recreated state rooms and exceptional archive material, ultimately it is the human tales of courage and cowardice which break your heart.

She also notes if you are planning a visit to Titanic Belfast, book ahead of time because thousands are showing up to see it.

Source: Titanic Odyssey Records Tragedy That Still Haunts(16 Mar 2014, Irish Independent)

Holidays

St. Patricks Day 2014

St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland. Photo:Andreas F. Borchert
St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland.
Photo:Andreas F. Borchert

The Feast of St. Patrick is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church, the U.S.Episcopal Church, as a commemoration by the Evangelical Lutherans, and venerated in Orthodox Church. It is a public holiday in Ireland. The shamrock was used by St.Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity. In Ireland it is celebrated by families getting together for a meal. If the day falls on a Friday during Lent, observant Catholics receive dispensation to eat meat. If the feast day falls during Holy Week (and it does occasionally), the feast day is moved to avoid conflicting with the Holy Week calendar. A more recent occurrence are public festivals in Ireland and use of the day to promote Irish culture.


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