The 4th annual Crazy Cardboard Regatta at Voice of America MetroPark (West Chester, Ohio) took place yesterday. Photos for from the event are at WLWT.com.
Update on Crazy Cardboard Regatta
Tag Archives: Titanic
Titanic Newswrap
1. Premier Exhibitions, which bills itself as “a leading presenter of museum-quality touring exhibitions around the world” has announced its first quarter earnings for 2014. Bad news for shareholders. Total revenue was down by 22% compared to last year at this time. Gross profits decreased as well. Average attendance at exhibitions were down and ticket prices decreased by 9.6%. Hurricane Sandy shut down the South Street Seaport in New York City which impacted income. Some new exhibitions being planned: exhibition featuring characters from movie Ice Age and an artifact based one called City of Pompeii, Italy. As for the Titanic artifact sale, this is what was announced:
The previously announced group of individuals (the “Consortium”) that entered into a non-binding letter of intent with the Company on October 15, 2012 to affect a purchase of the stock of RMS Titanic, Inc. remains active. While the Consortium, which is based in the Hampton Roads region of southeast Virginia, has made progress in aligning the necessary resources, the effort is not complete. Given the amount of time that has passed since the LOI was signed, the Company has decided to pursue other strategic alternatives to maximize the value of the Titanic assets in parallel with continued discussions with the Consortium.
In other words, thanks for the interest but we are moving on. Give us a call if you get the money.
Source: Press Release-Premier Exhibitions Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2014 Results(11 Jul 2013,Global Newswire via Yahoo)
2. Marshall Weiss, editor of The Dayton Jewish Observer, was recently awarded The Jacob Rader Marcus Award for Journalistic Excellence in American Jewish History for an article series called “Kosher Titanic – and other Jewish Connections to the Ill-fated Liner.”
The series included stories about a Jewish survivor who returned to Manchester, England, to open a kosher butcher shop; the burial of Jewish survivors at Halifax, and a Jewish baby boy separated from his mother on the night of the sinking, and then reunited with her on the Carpathia. The series was picked up by most major Jewish newspapers across the U.S., and on the Times of Israel website in 2012.
Source: Dayton Jewish Observer Publisher Honored For His Work(17 Jul 2013, Dayton Daily News)
3. Titanic shows up at county fairs and summer events in different ways. Cardboard regattas (or other similar floatable ideas) take place with awards for the most creative and dramatic sinking. Sometimes it shows up as a 12-foot replica at the Sullivan County Fair in Indiana. Rob Overton is an EMT by trade by got fascinated by Titanic when it was found in 1985. He first built a 40 inch model but he did not like it. So using original drawings he made a 12-foot replica which now can be seen at the county fair. While he has other items in his Titanic exhibit, the replica is the centerpiece.
Source: Titanic Exhibit at Sullivan County Fair Features 12-Foot Replica(16 Jul 2013, My Wabash Valley)
4. Titanic musicals are popular too from news reports I have been reading. Titanic: The Musical performing at the Harrisburg Christian Performing Arts Center in Middletown, PA has got some very good reviews.
Source: ‘Titanic the Musical’ staged at Harrisburg Christian Performing Arts Center(16 Jul 2013, Patriot-News)
5. Back in the 1980’s The Bangles were a hot group with four talented female singers. Some of their more popular songs were Manic Monday, Walk Like An Egyptian, Going Down To Liverpool, Hero Takes A Fall, and Eternal Flame. They broke up in the early 1990’s but reunited again around the start of the new century. A recent album Sweetheart of the Sun brings them back to their roots. Their talent has not dimmed over the years and are strong as ever. Susanna Hoffs (incorrectly called the lead singer even though everyone sang in their albums) has some excellent solo work as well. Her album Someday is well worth listening too. Some people wondered if she was any good outside of The Bangles and this album ought to settle any doubts. She is undeniably talented and the range of songs prove it. One song, Picture Me, is a video on Vevo (and can be seen on YouTube).
Titanic:The Experience Coming To Buena Park In August
Titanic:The Experience will be opening in Buena Park, CA on 1 Aug 2013. The exhibition will be at the former Movieland Wax Museum. Bodies: The Exhibition will also be opening at the same time at this location.
Further Information:
Buena Park, CA website
Premier Exhibitions
Source: Buena Park Gains Two New Attractions: Titanic And Bodies(10 Jul 2013,Orange County Breeze)
Jewels of Titanic Exhibit Tour Ends 21 Jul
The three city tour of Jewels of Titanic will end its journey at the Titanic Exhibition at Luxor Hotel in Los Vegas on 21 Jul. According to the press release, after this exhibit ends the jewels will be redistributed to other Titanic exhibitions. Admission to the Luxor Titanic exhibition includes Jewels of Titanic. Admission prices, hours of operation, and other information can be found here.
Source:Premier Exhibitions, Inc. Traveling Display, Jewels of Titanic, Concludes Three-City Tour in Las Vegas on July 21 (8 Jul 2013, Globe Newswire)
Titanic Trivia: Hellman’s Mayo & Titanic
Photo:Wikimedia commons
Hellman’s mayonnaise is a staple in the American kitchen. Though known to many west of the Rockies as Best Foods (a West Coast rival that merged with Hellman’s in 1932 but both are exactly the same recipe), it is a simple recipe of eggs, oil and vinegar. Home made mayo is even better but why make it when Hellman’s or Best Foods makes it so convenient? Richard Hellman used his wife’s recipe at his New York deli. It became so popular he began selling it to the public. And in 1912 set up a factory to produce the mayonnaise. In 1917 he closed the delicatessen to produce the mayonnaise full time.
Now how does Titanic fit in? Well just a tiny bit. It seems Richard Hellman was going to sail on Titanic and decided at the last minute to give it a pass. Thus continuing his work to bring ready made mayo to the masses.
So how has Hellman’s/Best Foods fared over the years? They are still tops in national mayo sales and have different, less fat, versions available as well. However I am not liking the squeeze bottles much and prefer the old fashioned jar to get the mayo out.
Sources:
1. Mayonnaise Turns 100(30 June 2013, Kunc.org)
2. Hellmann’s and Best Foods (Wikipedia)
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Titanic Exhibit Extended At Grand Rapids Public Museum
If you have not visited the Titanic exhibit in Grand Rapids, you now have extra time. Due to popular demand, the exhibit has now been extended to 8 Sept 2013. Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition is open the following hours at the Grand Rapids Public Museum:
Monday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. (last ticket at 8 PM)
Wed-Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission: Adults: $17,Seniors: $16,Child (3-18): $12,Ages 2 & under are FREE
Members: $12 adults / $11 seniors / $10 child (3-18 yrs of age)
Admission price includes Titanic and general museum.
Important note: GR Museum does not sell Titanic tickets online. The museum suggests you buy them ahead of time as only a limited number of tickets are for sale at the museum each day. Titanic Exhibit tickets are timed so you need to choose a time slot to enter the exhibit on that day. Further information is at grmuseum.org.
Source: Source: Titanic Exhibit’s Voyage Extended At Grand Rapids Public Museum(25 June 2013, MLive.com)
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Joel Osteen Compares Titanic & Noah’s Ark
Joel Osteen,televangelist and preacher, posted a comment to Facebook back in April comparing Titanic and Noah’s Ark. The comment has garnered criticism here and there around the Internet. He wrote:
The experts can be wrong. Experts built the Titanic and it sunk. Amateurs built the Ark and it floated. Don’t let the experts talk you out of what God has put in your heart.
Like many who use Titanic for spiritual matters, his perspective is his faith in God. His point is that experts can be wrong while God points in a better direction. He cites Noah’s Ark as an example of a ship built by an amateur that survived. Now many will point out there is no proof of a worldwide great flood and so far nothing has been found to prove such an ark ever existed (occasional tantalizing clues aside). Just like no one has found Atlantis although now it is believed Plato drew upon the ancient Minoans (who were a major bronze age civilization that went into serious decline after the Thera eruption and likely suffered catastrophic damage from the tsunami that followed).
Now he is not saying, as some might suggest, that God punished for building Titanic. It was men who steered the liner right into the place where the iceberg hit Titanic. And men who did not put enough lifeboats for everyone. Just like on the General Slocum, it was men who decided not to have proper safety equipment, no fire drills for the crew, or had lifeboats tied up making them unusable.
His comment is not a cliché but a moral lesson and nothing more.
Source: Joel Osteen Ministries (Facebook, 11 april 2013)
Titanic Survivor Oscar Palmquist To Be Remembered
Oscar Palmquist, age 26, was immigrating from Sweden when he boarded Titanic in Southampton as a third class passenger. He was in lifeboat 15 when rescued. Eventually he ended up living near siblings in Bridgeport, Connecticut where he worked as a tool maker. He died in 1925 under circumstances that many thought suspicious when his body was found floating in a pond. Since many knew he feared water, they did not believe he committed suicide.
Some suspected murder by a jealous husband over an affair with his wife. However officially his death was determined to be accidental and neither murder or suicide. He was buried in Bridgeport’s Mountain Grove Cemetery. His grave was never marked with a headstone and he faded from memory. However his tragic death did apparently strike a chord with many people and was remembered last year during the 100th anniversary of Titanic’s sinking. It also began an appeal by Titanic International Society to put a proper headstone on the grave.
And on 29 June at 11 a.m., a ceremony and dedication at Mountain Grove Cemetery will take place. His great nephew, David Palmquist, and other family members will attended along with Titanic devotees. The public is also welcome to attend.
Sources:
1. Local Titanic Survivor To Be Remembered At Ceremony(21 June 2013, Sheltonherald.com)
2. Encyclopedia Titanica/Titanic Survivors: Mr Oskar Leander Johansson Palmquist
3. A Stone For Oscar-Blog(30 May 2013, Titanic International Society)
Saturday Titanic Scramble
*President Obama was not the only foreign leader to visit Northern Ireland recently. Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, paid a visit as well. And not only did he bring goodwill, but likely new jobs as well.
*Taylor Swift has shared with the world that she and her cat watched Cameron’s Titanic together. Meanwhile James Cameron recently extolled the virtues of veganism. Connected? You decide.
*It is always amusing when local politicians decide to use Titanic to describe how bad something is. Take Graham Galpin, a borough councillor in Kent, UK. Now the issue involves asphalt in a shared space which has become pretty bad owing to trucks using it rather than loading docks and issues with the asphalt itself. This caused Galpin to say, we assume with all seriousness:
“I was interested to see it says engineering was carried out with professional care. It’s a bit like saying the Titanic was well built.”
So the logic here is Titanic is to asphalt as asphalt is to an iceberg. Hopefully no iceberg hits him for using a Titanic cliché.
*Chappy’s, in Nashville, TN that was featured on Kitchen Nightmares, has been shuttered. You probably remember this fellow who wore the oversized toque and disco style pants in the kitchen. His décor was from another time, had a large menu with prices that increased during the day, cooked meat and fish together, had some sanitary issues, and dissed the people of Nashville who panned his food as not understanding Cajun food. His restaurant was seized by the state tax authorities this week for failing to pay state taxes. Of course it is all Gordan Ramsay’s fault as obviously his restaurant was doing just fine until the foul mouthed Scotsman showed up.
Sources:
1. Our New Friend From The East Is Given A Titanic Welcome In Belfast(19 June 2013, Belfast Telegraph)
2.Taylor Swift Posts Video With Her Cat While Watching ‘Titanic’(20 June 2013, New York Daily News)
3. Laying Of Pavement Is Likened To The Titanic(20 June 2013,This is Kent)
4. Another Amy’s Baking Company Drama? Chappy’s Shuts Down After Appearance On ‘Kitchen Nightmares’(21 June 2013, International Business Times)
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Titanic Salvage Sale Appears Either Dead Or Looking For New Buyer
On 28 May, Premier Exhibitions put out its Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2013 Results. 
Deep down in the statement was the following:
Update on Titanic Monetization
As previously communicated, on October 15, 2012, the Company entered into a non-binding letter of intent with an entity representing a group of individuals (the “Consortium”) working to effect a purchase of the stock of RMS Titanic, Inc. Since entering into the LOI, Premier has been negotiating exclusively with this group. The entity with whom the Company is negotiating has been soliciting federal, state, and local government entities, as well as philanthropic contributions, to build support to go public with a broader campaign to secure capital necessary to complete a transaction. They continue to request confidentiality until they feel comfortable that there is sufficient support to go public with the project.
Due to the complexity of the transaction and the many elements that are necessary for consummation, the process has taken longer that Premier had hoped. While the Company continues discussions with this group, Premier also recognizes the uncertainty of their completing a transaction and obtaining funding commitments. The Board is therefore considering the full range of strategic and financial alternatives in this regard, which likely will include retaining an investment bank, and will pursue possible paths in parallel.
The complexity of these assets, and the need to comply with the underlying court orders, require that any transaction or arrangement be more carefully structured and executed than a typical transaction. Timing is certainly a factor, but it is not the only factor. The Board and management, together, remain committed to maximizing shareholder value.
This confirms some speculation about who this consortium might be, a group of investors trying to raise capital both with taxpayer money (that is where government money comes from) and private investors (rich people with lots of money like that guy with the hoodie who heads up a social network). You can guess the problem with raising this capital. Not only is the price astronomical, it comes with a major constraint: it stays under U.S. federal court jurisdiction because you are not allowed to sell off any portion of the collection. That means the court will be over your shoulder all the time wanting reports and details of the collection from what is being stored, how it is being carefully preserved, and when it is on display.
So the upshot of it is this: Premiere is formally notifying that they are looking for other interested parties. This may be the reason, according to Seeking Alpha that Premiere’s stock price has dropped. It dropped from $2.30 to $2.10 ion 28 May and dropped much further since. Premiere might consider appealing the judge’s decision to a higher court. And it is entirely possible down the road one of two things happening: the entire collection being shuttered until resolved or the U.S. government seizing it as a national/international treasure under some obscure international treaty or possibly use a congressional resolution passed years ago as the pretext.
Sources:
1. Failed Titanic Sale Won’t Sink Premier Exhibitions(18 June 2013,Seeking Alpha)
2. Premier Exhibitions Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2013 Results (28 May 2013, Global Newswire-Press Release)