I know most of the content of this blog has focused on the Titanic because of the anniversary. In the near future, as soon as I get the crop in, I'll try get more general content posted. In the meantime, it rained and I had a day off so I watched the four part Titanic miniseries by Julian Fellowes during my down time.
Given the boasts that Fellowes made earlier about it being more accurate and better overall than Cameron's film raised the bar quite high. I know reviews talked about how slow this was when it first aired, but I continued to expect quality based on those claims. In short, most of the reviews were right. Overall, this is a slow paced miniseries. However, that doesn't mean that it is all bad either. Each episode picks up dramatically when the ship starts sinking. That's right, each episode starts before the collision and tells the story from a different point of view with the different characters popping up at different times in the segments from other people's perspective. While this is a novel concept, I think the overall quality could have been better if it had been told in a linear fashion.
Performance wise, Geraldine Somerville was great as the Countess of Manton. Toby Jones and Maria Doyle Kennedy were also great as a bickering second class couple. There were a few other decent performances as well, but most of the acting is either overdone or not quite up to par.
There are very few actual shots of the ship sinking. Most of them are done in the background behind main characters struggling in the foreground. The shot of the ship breaking in two behind the men climbing on the upside down collapsible is cool (even though they have the collapsible on the Starboard instead of Port side).
Overall, this was an okay miniseries. Definitely not the best, but certainly not the worst. One thing is for sure, this didn't live up to Fellowes claims.
Rating: 6/10.
As always, thanks for reading.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
I apologize for my recent lack of updates. I've been busy planting corn recently and I haven't had time to make regular posts. For that I apologize. I will resume a more regular posting routine once all the crop is in. Also as a result of my planting activities, I haven't made any more progress on the South Dakota model. I decided to back off of it, and not work on it when I came in tired at night as I thought the quality of work would suffer.
Anyway, for today's blog I thought I'd rank the top five Robert Ballard books that I have read.
5) The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal. Provides stunning photographs of the wrecks at the bottom of Iron Bottom Sound. Unfortunately this one is hard to come by.
4) Discovery of the Bismarck. Follows his search for the Famous German Battleship.
3) Exploring the Lusitania. This book, very much in the same format as his Titanic book minus the discovery, chronicles the events of the last voyage of the Atlantic greyhound. This of course, is followed by the images from his Lusitania expedition.
2) The Discovery of the Titanic. Any Ballard book list would not be complete without the book that chronicles the discovery that made him famous.
1) Lost Liners. This book has information on several ocean liners that have gone down. Of course there is a chapter on the Titanic and Lusitania, but also on the Brittanic, Empress of Ireland, Normandie, Queen Elizabeth, Andria Doria, etc. This book, for me, is the best because it has such a wealth of information about a multitude of ships.
As always, thanks for reading.
Anyway, for today's blog I thought I'd rank the top five Robert Ballard books that I have read.
5) The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal. Provides stunning photographs of the wrecks at the bottom of Iron Bottom Sound. Unfortunately this one is hard to come by.
4) Discovery of the Bismarck. Follows his search for the Famous German Battleship.
3) Exploring the Lusitania. This book, very much in the same format as his Titanic book minus the discovery, chronicles the events of the last voyage of the Atlantic greyhound. This of course, is followed by the images from his Lusitania expedition.
2) The Discovery of the Titanic. Any Ballard book list would not be complete without the book that chronicles the discovery that made him famous.
1) Lost Liners. This book has information on several ocean liners that have gone down. Of course there is a chapter on the Titanic and Lusitania, but also on the Brittanic, Empress of Ireland, Normandie, Queen Elizabeth, Andria Doria, etc. This book, for me, is the best because it has such a wealth of information about a multitude of ships.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Titanic is a Grave
Over the past week I've read a few online articles about the divide amongst historians, archaeologists, etc. about whether the Titanic is a grave or not. While I make absolutely no claim as to belong to any such group, I felt that I should at least voice my opinion.
In my mind, there's no question that there were bodies down there. The laced up shoes and other artifacts that align themselves to a bodily shape didn't just land that way by coincidence. Also, the fact that the shoes were laced up should be an indicator. If no one had them on, then why were they laced up?
Also, there had to have been people trapped inside the sinking ship. All of the workers keeping the lights on and performing other tasks at their stations to aid in the potential rescue of passengers probably didn't make it out. Out of the more than 1,500 deaths, you're not telling me that not even one of them was trapped inside the ship.
Some try to say that the current carried the bodies farther south, and that most of the victims were carried far away from the site. That may be the case, but if only one person either landed in the wreck site or was trapped within the ship itself, then in my mind the wreck is a grave. It doesn't matter if it's for one or the masses, it is still a grave.
Even if the those same people are correct, which I highly doubt, and not a single body ever rested at that sight. Then Titanic becomes a symbolic grave. Many of those that died that night have no other memorial. The ship itself is the only marker that they have. After all, if the ship wasn't down there then they would have lived beyond that night.
I guess all I'm trying to say is that the wreck is a grave and it should be treated with due respect.
As always, thanks for reading.
In my mind, there's no question that there were bodies down there. The laced up shoes and other artifacts that align themselves to a bodily shape didn't just land that way by coincidence. Also, the fact that the shoes were laced up should be an indicator. If no one had them on, then why were they laced up?
Also, there had to have been people trapped inside the sinking ship. All of the workers keeping the lights on and performing other tasks at their stations to aid in the potential rescue of passengers probably didn't make it out. Out of the more than 1,500 deaths, you're not telling me that not even one of them was trapped inside the ship.
Some try to say that the current carried the bodies farther south, and that most of the victims were carried far away from the site. That may be the case, but if only one person either landed in the wreck site or was trapped within the ship itself, then in my mind the wreck is a grave. It doesn't matter if it's for one or the masses, it is still a grave.
Even if the those same people are correct, which I highly doubt, and not a single body ever rested at that sight. Then Titanic becomes a symbolic grave. Many of those that died that night have no other memorial. The ship itself is the only marker that they have. After all, if the ship wasn't down there then they would have lived beyond that night.
I guess all I'm trying to say is that the wreck is a grave and it should be treated with due respect.
As always, thanks for reading.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved
I enjoyed this program so much more than Cameron's. The imagery was great. The experts were likable. The fact that the entire wreck site has been mapped for the first time carries with it a significant weight. Let alone the pieces of the ship that haven't ever been seen before.
The main thing that I take away from this, is that there was nothing wrong with the design or construction of the ship. Rivets were put under stresses exceeding 30,000 tons, causing the steel to break long before the rivets did. Therefore, the inferior rivet theory goes out the window. The reinforced seam that Thomas Andrews added, which subsequently was where the iceberg did her damage, strengthened the ship. The overall message of this documentary was that Titanic wasn't a weak ship, but rather a strong one. It's like Parks Stephenson said, "No structure could survive what the ship went through that night." Even the way the "missing parts" of the ship were in large sections as opposed to being pulverized points to the stronger ship theory.
Other points the documentary makes: The idea that Titanic saved 700 people instead of killing 1500 people is one way to look at it. They even point out that it lasted longer than Thomas Andrews initially predicted.
This documentary comes with the highest recommendation. 9.5/10.
As always, thanks for reading.
The main thing that I take away from this, is that there was nothing wrong with the design or construction of the ship. Rivets were put under stresses exceeding 30,000 tons, causing the steel to break long before the rivets did. Therefore, the inferior rivet theory goes out the window. The reinforced seam that Thomas Andrews added, which subsequently was where the iceberg did her damage, strengthened the ship. The overall message of this documentary was that Titanic wasn't a weak ship, but rather a strong one. It's like Parks Stephenson said, "No structure could survive what the ship went through that night." Even the way the "missing parts" of the ship were in large sections as opposed to being pulverized points to the stronger ship theory.
Other points the documentary makes: The idea that Titanic saved 700 people instead of killing 1500 people is one way to look at it. They even point out that it lasted longer than Thomas Andrews initially predicted.
This documentary comes with the highest recommendation. 9.5/10.
As always, thanks for reading.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
April 14 & 15
Today and tomorrow mark the 100th anniversary of Titanic's collision with an iceberg and subsequent sinking. There is a miniseries airing tonight as well as Nazi Titanic documentary on H2. Tomorrow, the National Geographic Channel will air Titanic Themed shows most of the day, and the History Channel will air their new program based on the new pictures of the wreck site.
If anyone is interested, Ancestry.com is opening up their New Titanic Collection, normally reserved for international members only, for everyone. There is some interesting information there if anyone is a member.
As for my model, its slowly coming along. I've painted the area that I filled in with putty. I've also painted all of the guns that I will use for the rest of the ship. I'll try to post some pictures soon.
As always, thanks for reading.
If anyone is interested, Ancestry.com is opening up their New Titanic Collection, normally reserved for international members only, for everyone. There is some interesting information there if anyone is a member.
As for my model, its slowly coming along. I've painted the area that I filled in with putty. I've also painted all of the guns that I will use for the rest of the ship. I'll try to post some pictures soon.
As always, thanks for reading.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Thursday Morning
The H2 Channel is having a bunch of Titanic themed shows all day today. I'll try to watch if I get time. My cell phone quit, so I have to get that seen about. Plus, I need a few parts for the planter. Naturally, work comes first.
I looked through the new issue of Fine Scale Modeler last night. I saw were Revell has released a 1/400 scale Aida cruise ship model. This will definitely be added to my list of must do items. Also, they reviewed Tamiya's 1/400 Premium Yamato. That model looks like it would be well worth the effort. I just wish the list price wasn't quite so high.
As for my current model, the South Dakota, some of the superstructure didn't fit the best so I had to use some putty to fill in the gaps. I'm currently waiting on it to dry before I continue. Thus far, I've only had one real complaint about the model, and that's how frail the turret guns are when cutting them out of the parts tree. Other than that, the model has been fun. I just wish that I could find a bigger chunk of time to work on it.
That's all I've got for now. As always, thanks for reading.
I looked through the new issue of Fine Scale Modeler last night. I saw were Revell has released a 1/400 scale Aida cruise ship model. This will definitely be added to my list of must do items. Also, they reviewed Tamiya's 1/400 Premium Yamato. That model looks like it would be well worth the effort. I just wish the list price wasn't quite so high.
As for my current model, the South Dakota, some of the superstructure didn't fit the best so I had to use some putty to fill in the gaps. I'm currently waiting on it to dry before I continue. Thus far, I've only had one real complaint about the model, and that's how frail the turret guns are when cutting them out of the parts tree. Other than that, the model has been fun. I just wish that I could find a bigger chunk of time to work on it.
That's all I've got for now. As always, thanks for reading.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
National Geographic program comments
I'll start with Cameron's documentary. First and foremost, the biggest problem I had with the program was when Cameron made his political statement. Whether or not you agree with him is not the issue. The problem I had with it is that he used a program that was supposed to be a tribute to a disaster in which 1,500 people died to make his statement. This simply isn't the place.
As for the rest of the program, if you didn't agree with him, he pretty well let you know it. I felt sorry for Ken Marschall when he kept telling him he'd have to repaint all of his paintings because a COMPUTER SIMULATION showed the breakup at a different angle. I'm not saying the simulation is right or wrong, it very well could be factual, but to me it isn't enough to be the absolute FINAL WORD on the disaster as he made it out to be.
In the end, the documentary was fine if you can stand Cameron and his ego.
Rating: 6/10
Save the Titanic, with Dr. Robert Ballard was much more interesting. It described the damage occurring to the actual ship as a result of all the visits down to the wreck. He goes around to Belfast where the ship was designed, built, and dry docked. He visited with descendants of men who were in the guarantee group, including the nephew of Thomas Andrews. To me, this was a lot more entertaining than watching a bunch of men argue about an event that none of them were even at. Ballard's concept of a "patrol unit" around Titanic was also quite interesting.
Rating: 8.5/10.
I apologize for lack of updates lately. I've been quite busy.
As always, thanks for reading.
As for the rest of the program, if you didn't agree with him, he pretty well let you know it. I felt sorry for Ken Marschall when he kept telling him he'd have to repaint all of his paintings because a COMPUTER SIMULATION showed the breakup at a different angle. I'm not saying the simulation is right or wrong, it very well could be factual, but to me it isn't enough to be the absolute FINAL WORD on the disaster as he made it out to be.
In the end, the documentary was fine if you can stand Cameron and his ego.
Rating: 6/10
Save the Titanic, with Dr. Robert Ballard was much more interesting. It described the damage occurring to the actual ship as a result of all the visits down to the wreck. He goes around to Belfast where the ship was designed, built, and dry docked. He visited with descendants of men who were in the guarantee group, including the nephew of Thomas Andrews. To me, this was a lot more entertaining than watching a bunch of men argue about an event that none of them were even at. Ballard's concept of a "patrol unit" around Titanic was also quite interesting.
Rating: 8.5/10.
I apologize for lack of updates lately. I've been quite busy.
As always, thanks for reading.
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