SS Ithaka

SS Ithaka was a small freighter, originally built as the Frank A. Augsbury for the Canadian George Hall Coal & Shipping Corporation in 1922. She went on to sail for a variety of different owners, and was renamed Granby in 1927, Parita II in 1948, Valbruna in 1951, Lawrencecliffe Hall in 1952, Federal Explorer in 1955 and finally Ithaka in 1960, before being wrecked on the Canadian coast later that year.

Career

She was built as the lake freighter Frank A. Augsbury for the George Hall Coal Company by Fraser, Brace, Ltd., of Trois-Rivières, Quebec and launched on 21 October 1922.Frank A. Augsbury was 2,051 GRT and 251 ft 2 in (76.6 m) by 43 ft 1 in (13.1 m) with draft of 18 ft 1 in (5.5 m) powered by a 1,400 horsepower triple expansion steam engine fired by two Scotch marine boilers burning coal. She was sold to Canada Steamship Lines in 1927 and renamed Granby. She was taken over by the Ministry of War Transport and managed during the Second World War by France, Fenwick and Company.

Ithaca

Ithaca or Ithaka (/ˈɪθəkə/; Greek: Ιθάκη, Ithakē [iˈθaci]) is a Greek island located in the Ionian Sea, off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and to the west of continental Greece.

Ithaca has an area of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is the second-smallest of seven main Ionian Islands, after Paxi. Ithaka is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. The capital, Vathy or Ithaki, has one of the world's largest natural harbours.

Modern Ithaca is generally identified with Homer's Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, whose delayed return to the island is one of the elements of the Odyssey's plot.

Etymology

The fact that classical Greek authors often used eponymous explanations to explain away names through folk etymology makes it more likely that Ithakos derives from Ithaca rather than vice versa.

Although the name Ithaca has remained unchanged since ancient times, written documents of different periods also refer to the city by other names, such as:

Technology of the Dune universe

The technology of the Dune universe is a key aspect of the fictional setting of the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. Herbert's concepts and inventions have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, The Science of Dune (2008). Herbert's originating 1965 novel Dune is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history.Dune and its five sequels by Herbert explore the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology and technology, among other themes.

The Butlerian Jihad, an event in the back-story of Herbert's universe, leads to the outlawing of certain technologies, primarily "thinking machines", a collective term for computers and artificial intelligence of any kind. This prohibition is a key influence on the nature of Herbert's fictional setting. In Dune, ten thousand years after this jihad, its enduring commandment remains:

Ithaca (film)

Ithaca is a 2015 American drama film directed by Meg Ryan and written by Erik Jendresen. It is based on the 1943 novel The Human Comedy by William Saroyan. The film stars Meg Ryan, Sam Shepard, Hamish Linklater, Jack Quaid, Alex Neustaedter and Christine Nelson.

Cast

Production

On January 29, 2014, it was announced Meg Ryan would direct Ithaca, a film based on the 1943 novel The Human Comedy by William Saroyan, with Ryan, Sam Shepard, Hamish Linklater, and Ryan’s son Jack Quaid starring in the film. On June 25, 2014, Tom Hanks joined the cast.Principal photography began on July 21, 2014, and ended on August 22, 2014. It was filmed in Petersburg, Virginia, & also some opening scenes of the film were shot on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.