Tag Archives: Ed Kamuda

Farewell, 2014

640px-Pendleton_Sinking_Ship2014 was going to a be a big year for Titanic II. Clive Palmer wanted to bring back the glamor that was Titanic with a new ship based on the original design. He hired experts to do planning and testing. He set up a company called Blue Star Line that would be the new ship’s owner. And he made contact with a shipyard in China in the hopes it would be built there. And things seemed to hum along but things started going amiss along the way. The shipyard said no formal contract had been signed and even doubted they could do the job. Palmer started looking for investors in China to help shoulder the enormous construction cost. People in the cruise industry weighed in and wondered if such a ship could make money today. China began construction on its own Titanic, one that will be part of a theme park and designed to shake and rattle in the way the ship did during that fateful night when it sank. Clive Palmer got into a row with the Chinese over some business dealings. Unpleasant words were spoken and legal action began over royalties he claimed a Chinese company owed him. Despite assurances that ship construction would start late in 2014, nothing happened. And so it appears, unless things change, that Titanic II is kaput. If it gets resurrected, it likely will not be built in China. Perhaps an oil rich state in the Middle East?

Robert Ballard has moved on from Mystic Aquarium. His long term association with them has come to an end. Ballard decided to focus his energies on other projects. Mystic Aquarium has decided to open up a space by closing its Titanic exhibit which featured Ballard.

The Titanic Historical Society lost Ed Kamuda this year. A founder of that group and one of those who kept alive memory of the disaster. He lived to see Titanic get more widely known, its wreck found, and having annual get togethers with survivors and enthused amateurs. He and his wife Karen even got parts in Cameron’s Titanic as part of the many people walking on deck. His stance against salvage made him unpopular with some but no one ever said he did not like Titanic. He will be missed. RIP.

Titanic Belfast continues to grow strong. Visitors keep coming and recently exceeded 2 million. Quite a feat. Belfast, which had kind of downplayed Titanic, now embraces it. A whole commercial area called Titanic Quarter is getting shops, people, and businesses to live, work, and shop there. Aside from one snide comment from a television personality, most in Belfast seem happy with the tourism and new business.

Not one but two Titanic hotels are now in Liverpool. One is at the old White Star offices (Albion House) and the other at Stanley Dock.

The Silver Cup given to Captain Rostron of Carpathia was auctioned off  by his descendents.

A rare British Pathe film with Titanic footage and interviews was found quite by accident. A lucky one since it now has become a valuable part of Titanic history.

Titanic still gets used as a cliché for politicians, pundits, and news analysts. But it was Arianna Huffington who gets the top prize for using Emperor Nero, the burning of Rome, and Titanic all in one mashed up sentence. When you mix idioms and cliches together, no good ever comes of it.

Non-Titanic

Over at Undercover Boss, the owner of Bikinis Bar and Grill (a place I never heard of till I saw the episode), has gotten into some hot water over what happened during the reveal part of the show (where he reveals he is the boss). Now this guy, Doug Culler, is unabashed about what his restaurant chain is all about: breasts (and not chicken). At his place, women wear bikini tops, denim shorts, and cowboy boots. One gal decided not to wear her top for the camera, a major no-no for him. More serious is that she kept serving alcohol to a guy who was intoxicated. And where was the manager? Oh he eventually showed up to cut him off and safely home (strict liability these days means businesses can be held responsible if someone who gets intoxicated on your premises and causes damage or injury). The gal also said she was looking for other jobs. So at the reveal Doug canned her–in front of millions of viewers. While firing her may have been right, it ought not to have been done that way. And it might come back to haunt him. Trust me some attorney out there is going to make hay about it and perhaps a lawsuit. To make it more tacky, he offered another gal a boob job if she did her job well for the next couple of months. Sleazy? You bet it was. And it fired up lots of angry tweets as well. Congratulations Guller! You wanted attention and you got it. Considering that business has been mixed of late, this might turn off a lot more potential customers.

MasterChef Junior season 2 has ended with Logan, the bow-tied wonder winning it all. Congrats Logan! Now we are getting ready for season 3 on January 6. Not much of a break between seasons so the producers are wanting to strike hard and fast. But maybe they know something we do not: that the clock is ticking on this show so they want to maximize as much ratings and earnings potential as they can. They are up against both NCIS on CBS and it only loses ratings when in reruns. And it will be starting back up on the same night and time as Masterchef Junior. So which do you watch live or record? Kids making fancy dishes or an action series? If the previous numbers are an indication, NCIS will get more live eyeballs.

I like the movie The Santa Clause. I watched The Santa Clause 2 and about the only good thing about it are the home scenes and Elizabeth Mitchell. It was a really stunningly dumb idea to come up with a robot Santa. The elves are not little kids (most are older than Santa) and could easily understand why Santa had to be away for a while. So you have the ridiculous idea of a real bad Santa-one that reminds you of those leaders of an impoverished nation who wear spectacular military outfits to show who the boss is. In first movie Bernard could just materialize when he needed to visit Allen’s character back home. Which means he ought to have been able to quickly to do the same in this movie. Nope. Instead Curtis has to fly down (literally) using the jet pack from The Rocketeer to tell Santa what the bad Santa was up to. It gets worse so I will stop here. Stick with the original and skip part 2 and do not get me started on part 3. Yikes, now that is a really bad mess there and no amount of talent will save it.

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Titanic 102nd Anniversary News

Each year it is always interesting to see what Titanic news is generated on the anniversary of Titanic’s sinking. As usual we have the memorials. And usually we get at least one story of someone claiming a new take on Titanic. This year it was researchers at Sheffield University who proclaimed that 1912 was not so bad a year after all for icebergs. I guess when you have run out of things to say (which seems impossible considering Titanic), your left debunking whether or not the icebergs of 1912 were really unusual or not. Missing so far, but it still early, is some conspiracy theory. I was at least hoping someone would make a Bermuda Triangle link of some kind or that it had something to do with the lost continent of Atlantis.  Bigfoot has yet to make an appearance and of course Nessie (Loch Ness monster) could also be made part of Titanic lore.

Before the news roundup begins, the Titanic community recently lost Ed Kamuda. Ed was one of the founders of Titanic Historical Society back in 1963. He was drawn to Titanic forever after he saw the 1954 movie Titanic starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. He began corresponding with Titanic survivors and getting them to share their recollections of what happened aboard Titanic that night. The organization attracted other Titanic enthusiasts and researchers and began publishing its own magazine, the Commutator. And he Ed got to know Dr Robert Ballard, who in 1985 helped discover the wreck. He was a vocal opponent of salvage and joined with Ballard and others trying to preserve the wreck as a grave. Perhaps the greatest adventure was being asked, along with others from the society, to consult with James Cameron on his Titanic film. He and his wife were cast as extras in that movie. Ed considered a dream come true to walk on the decks of the ship created for the movie. He was 74 when he passed away last Sunday after suffering a long illness. He will be missed by the Titanic community and he has made a lasting impact inspiring many to learn the Titanic story. Although he would have been too humble to ever admit it, it was because of organizations like Titanic Historical Society that kept Titanic alive and now more well known then ever. RIP.

Canada
Remembering the Titanic in Midland(16 April 2014,News Barrie)
Conroy is the Captain of the S.S. Keewatin and says the ship has played an important role in opening up northern Ontario and connecting eastern Canada to the prairies. In addition to raising money for the Keewatin, part of Tuesday’s event is to welcome an exact replica of the Titanic – a model ship that took 30 years to build and will now become the centerpiece of a new museum aboard the S.S. Keewatin. “When people come to the museum they can get a feel for maritime history through all these model ships,” adds Conroy. There will be about 110 model ships in the museum, all donated by people from across the country. The S.S. Keewatin opens for the season on May 10th and all of the proceeds raised from Tuesday night’s dinner will go towards repairing and restoring the old steam ship.

Tale Of Halifax Titanic Survivor Told Through Song(14 April 2014,Truro Daily News)
That was all she needed to narrate the sinking of the Titanic as lived by Hilda Mary Slayter.Peppard’s performance Living Titanic was part of an event put on by the Titanic Society of the Atlantic at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in downtown Halifax to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the luxury liner’s sinking. Born and buried in Halifax, Slayter was the only Atlantic Canadian survivor aboard the ship that went down April 15, 1912.Peppard, a musical oral historian focusing on women’s truth, discovered Slayter’s story and decided to make history come alive. She brought the performance to Colchester County back in the summer of 2012. She blended her training as an artist with her research skills to create the musical. Slayter’s family gave Peppard access to Slayter’s journals, allowing her to narrate the performance in Slayter’s own words.

UK/Northern Ireland
Titanic Hotel Liverpool To Open In June At Stanley Dock(17 April 2014,Liverpool Echo)
Confirmation that the much-anticipated Stanley Dock hotel will open in the summer has been welcomed by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson – but fellow hotel-owners remain wary. The 153-room site has faced criticism from local businesses for its chosen name, The Titanic Hotel, which bears obvious similarity to the rival 30 James Street – The Home of the Titanic. That city-centre Signature Living hotel, which opened recently, has claimed Stanley Dock’s choice of name will confuse visitors. Lawrence Kenwright, owner of the Home of the Titanic, said: “We have no links to this other venture. “I’m concerned that people arriving in the city will confuse the two hotels, and in the end that could be bad for business for both.” Stanley Dock development director Pat Power said the name Titanic Hotel Liverpool “cements” the project’s link to the Titanic Visitor Centre in Belfast and other themed hotel’s to be opened across the UK.

For information about the 30 James Street hotel (formerly known as Albion House where White Star Line had its offices), go to http://www.rmstitanichotel.co.uk/

Titanic Disaster Dead Remembered(15 April 2014,Belfast Telegraph)
Each year on the day of the April 1912 tragedy, a solemn ceremony is held at the memorial garden where all 1,512 victims are listed on bronze plaques. As well as relatives of Irish victims, relations of a number of international passengers who died travelled to today’s event in Belfast. President of the Belfast Titanic Society John Martin, whose great uncle Dr John Edward Simpson – one of the liner’s two doctors – died on board, said many people retained an interest in the ship. “Some with a direct family connection to people on board, some who were perhaps related to people who built the ship and then there are others who are more interested in why she sank and all the disaster management type of aspect of the story, so it’s important for a lot of people,” he said.

United States
Titanic Remembered On 102nd Anniversary, Echoes Some Of The Deadliest Maritime Disasters In The Last Century(17 April 2014,Tech Times)
As the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic is remembered on the 102nd anniversary of its sinking, it’s worth looking back through history and understanding how notable maritime disasters have long plagued us. While the scale of the Titanic disaster should not be discounted — more than 1,500 lives were lost when the “unsinkable” liner hit an iceberg and sank into the cold Atlantic waters — it has been dwarfed by some other sinkings, even in the 20th century. For the acknowledged deadliest ship sinking in history, you have to look at World War II, when around 9,000 people died in the torpedoing and sinking of a German ocean liner, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Tasked with evacuating both German military forces and civilians as Soviet forces moved toward East Prussia in the waning days of the war in 1945, it ran afoul of a Russian submarine on January 30 and was sent to the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Coast Guard Reflects On Titanic Anniversary(16 April 2016,DVIDS)
During the annual ceremony, Coast Guard Cmdr. Keith Shuley, chaplain of the Coast Guard Academy, dedicated floral arrangements in remembrance of the more than 1,500 passengers who died. Every year, the IIP conducts a ceremony to remember the passengers and crew who lost their lives as a result of the Titanic sinking.  A special moment of silence was held to honor Edward Kamuda, president and founder of the Titanic Historical Society, who died April 13, 2014.

Titanic 102nd Anniversary: A Look At How Safety Features In Ocean Liners Have Developed Over The Last Century(16 April 2014,Tech Times)
The Titanic sank 102 years ago, on 16 April 1912, killing more than 1,500 people, becoming one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history.  The “unsinkable Titanic” was plagued by several design flaws that led to revolutions in ocean liner safety.  Over 2,200 people were on-board the Titanic when the largest ship of the day set out on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Late on the night of 14 April, the ship famously hit an iceberg, creating a gash cross the bow of the craft. The mighty ocean-going vessel began taking on water, as passengers scrambled for life rafts.  White Star Line, the company that operated the ship, decided only 20 lifeboats would be carried on the craft, enough for just 38 percent of the full capacity of the Titanic. Legally, the company was only required to carry just 16 of the life-saving devices.  The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, passed in 1914 in the wake of the Titanic disaster, requires all passenger ships to carry enough lifeboats for all passengers. Mandatory lifeboat drills of all passengers aboard ships is also required due to the Titanic tragedy.

Remembering The Victims From Ireland’s ‘Titanic Village’ At Absecon Event(15 April 2014,Press of Atlantic City)
Jim Curley has a small family link to the Titanic – his uncle married the niece of one of the 1,500-plus victims of the “unsinkable” ocean liner that didn’t survive its first Atlantic Ocean crossing. Curley’s distant relation by marriage, Mary Mangan, was one of 14 young people from the same area of Ireland who sailed on that doomed trip; 11 of those natives of “Ireland’s Titanic village” died when the ship rammed an iceberg and quickly sank 102 years ago today. But Curley, who lives in Long Beach Island’s nautical-sounding town of Ship Bottom, knows that millions of people with no personal ties to the disaster still have an enduring fascination with history’s most famous shipwreck. So when he gives a talk about the Irish connection to the Titanic – as he will tonight in Absecon, at a meeting of South Jersey’s Irish American Cultural Society – Curley can draw a crowd.

Local History: Titanic Survivor Died Mysteriously In Akron On Second Anniversary Of Disaster(13 April 2014,Akron Beacon Journal)
Fate caught up with Elizabeth Hocking as she stepped off a curb in Akron. Exactly two years after surviving the sinking of the Titanic, she met her destiny. A streetcar conductor flagged down two pedestrians at about 6 p.m. after seeing a woman sprawled on East Market Street in front of Akron City Hospital. The men were surgeons, Dr. Charles E. Norris and Dr. Charles W. Millikin, who carried the woman into the hospital. “When discovered, the woman was lying on what is known as the ‘devil strip,’ the space between the car tracks,” the Akron Evening Times reported April 15, 1914. “The only wound on her body was a deep cut on the back of the head. She was unconscious and never regained sufficiently to talk before the end came early this morning.” Police initially thought she was a mugging victim. Officers identified her after finding a water bill in her pocket. Eliza Hocking, 54, a widow who lived at 195 Gale St. on West Hill, was the matriarch of an English family who had sought a better life in the United States. They packed up their belongings in Penzance, Cornwall, and booked second-class passage in Southampton aboard the Titanic on April 10, 1912.