Tag Archives: William Murdoch

Titanic, Titanic 2012

Titanic Artifacts Linked To First Officer Murdoch

The Associated Press reports today that certain artifacts recovered from Titanic have been identified as William Murdoch’s. The AP notes: The artifacts — including a shoe brush, straight razor and pipe — are the first to be specifically linked to Murdoch, who gained added notoriety after James Cameron’s polemical portrayal of him in the 1997 blockbuster movie “Titanic.”

You can read the full article and see a photo of the artifacts by clicking here.

Source: Associated Press, Titanic Artifacts Linked To Officer, 3 April 2012

Titanic

Titanic Monday Short Notes

1) Julian Fellowes, who has penned a new Titanic miniseries for BBC, has decided to call out James Cameron for making William Murdoch a coward in his movie. Fellowes is late to the party. Murdoch’s family and many in the Titanic community were outraged at the depiction resulting in an apology. So why do it now? Well of course to drum up interest in his upcoming miniseries. “I don’t think you can take someone who was moral and decent and make them do something immoral and indecent,” says Fellowes in the interview. He then goes on to say that while Murdoch is depicted with a gun, that the record is set straight. Good to know but Titanic historians are going to be looking at a lot more than that when they judge whether his miniseries is good, okay, or bad history.

2) Meghan Cox Gurdon offered up some Titanic books for kids in a recent Wall Street Journal column. She offers up some excellent choices for parents to consider. Often we forget that there are good Titanic books for kids and not that hard to find.

3) You can view many of the Titanic artifacts up for auction by visiting this link .

Sources:

1) Press Association, Fellowes Slams Cameron’s Titanic, 19 Mar 2012

2)Wall Street Journal, When The Great Ship Went Down, 17 Mar 2012


Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Musings;The Great Expedition, Motley Fool Does Titanic, and a Memorial for Harold Lowe

*The Great Expedition to Titanic had to depart early due to a hurricane but got some real neat photos of the wreck. And it showed the wreck still is quite visible demonstrating the decay rate is slower than some speculated.

*Over in Belfast a developer in the Titanic Quarter went after a man who put down money for an apartment but could not complete the deal due to being unemployed. Three years ago Neil Rowe put down money for a £265,000 apartment. Alas the poor economy cost him a job and he cannot get a mortgage. The developer though wanted him to pay the balance and took him to court arguing although broke he still owed the money. In simple terms, they wanted to the court to recognize he owed the debt but the judge turned them down. They can still seek damages if they choose.

*Motley Fool did an analysis of Premiere Exhibitions (the owner of RMS Titanic, Inc.) in light of the recent salvage award. They write: “In sum, we’re not sure exactly what PRXI is worth at the moment, although we think its pretty safe to say its worth a lot more than its current price (paraphrasing Buffett, you don’t need a scale to tell a man’s fat!). Seems like an easy lay-up that will likely generate an outsized return over the next six months with very little risk (and better yet regardless of what the general market does as a whole). That said, its possible an investment today may require some patience but given Sellers commitment to monetizing his stake in the near-term, the significant and undisputed embedded value in the titanic assets and the progress to-date regarding the company’s turnaround efforts, our guess is that good things will happen sooner rather than later.”

*Fifth Officer Harold Lowe of Titanic does not get a lot of notice and Maddie Mathews, a Harold Lowe16 year-old schoolgirl, thought that was wrong after seeing Cameron’s Titanic. So she launched a campaign to get Lowe, who also hailed from Wales, to be properly commemorated. She wrote letters to local councils and historical associations asking for their assistance. The town of Barmouth, where Lowe spent much of his youth, is setting up a committee and invited Maddie to sit on it. The purpose of the committee will be to erect a memorial in time for the 2012 centenary. Descendants of Lowe have been contacted and delighted by the news. Good work Maddie!

*If you saw Cameron’s Titanic, then you saw William Murdoch depicted as a coward. This bothered many Titanic enthusiasts and historians saying it was inaccurate. Scott Murdoch, a nephew of William Murdoch, demanded an apology for how the movie depicted his uncle. He got one from Scott Neeson, vice president of 20th Century Fox, who said it (the movie) never intended to show William Murdoch as a coward and any implication was inadvertent. Scott Murdoch passed away in August and was in his 90’s. RIP

On Non-Titanic:

*Top Chef Boring continues on to Singapore. They had to make meals in the final challenge that could be freeze dried and eaten by astronauts. The highlight was Buzz Aldrin, a man who has walked on the moon. Anthony Bourdain was there and actually criticized Ripert’s (who he calls Ripper) criticism of Ed’s dish as too complicated. There are critics of Ripert who say he is too bland or too exacting in his standards. He is much better than that walking cliché Toby Young. Young must have had flash cards to memorize dozens of totally useless cliches to throw out during his tenure on Top Chef. Michelle Bernstein put him in his place and his totally weird comment about wine and hairy armpits (which caused Tom C. to put his head down on the table in disbelief) probably was the nail in the coffin. Ripert at least is constructive in his criticisms. Bourdain would make a great judge (and has done well as a guest judge in the past) but he is too busy to be there full time.

*Top Chef Masters? Former cheftestants are back! Yes we will bring back some of the favorites of past seasons who flamed out at the end or near the end. Oh please tell me this is just some sick publicity joke. We do not need a season of former cheftestants battling out to see who amongst them is SECOND TOP CHEF (which is what they are since they were beaten). Perhaps for fun they ought to allow failed cheftestants from Chopped or Next Food Network Star to compete as well. Hey maybe that bankrupt gal from that New Jersey show could toss a table over as well. 😉