Another thread - the Bad Penny

Here are the references I noticed:

"I guess what they say about a bad penny is true." - Sandecker
"Better to turn up than not." - Pitt
Cyclops (42)

"The bad penny always turns up." - Giordino
Cyclops (76)

"The proverbial bad penny." - Pitt to Colonel Levant
Sahara (57)

"Bad pennies always turn up." - Pitt to Pochinsky
Valhalla Rising (22)

Clive Cussler said, "I would sit in algebra class... and stare out the window. While the teacher lectured, I was on the deck of a pirate ship or with Custer at the Little Bighorn... (Ashgrove Biography).

The Pirate ship theme is there:

*Dirk Pitt confronts the villains in the Pirates of the Caribbean rider at Disneyland in Iceberg (Chapter 21).

*Dirk Pitt makes a reference to Disneyland and makes the remark that they are about to enter the Pirates of the Caribbean in Trojan Odyssey (Chapter 20).

p:

Valhalla....

name of the book and it was part of the plot of TO..
and I swear there was another book about it...maybe a Kurt Austin book?

Sheesh! :lol:

Yes, the Kurt Austin adventure Blue Gold.

Brynhild Sigurd has her main headquarters- Valhalla- in Lake Tahoe.

Francesca Cabral and Gamay Trout were abducted and taken there.

Another thread - the Andrea Doria

 Boland - "No job too large, no job too small ... we could almost raise the Andrea Doria if they turned us loose on it." Pacific Vortex (7) p.87

 'The excitement rose to s crescendo over a human interest story not seen since the sinking of the Andrea Doria in 1956.' Deep Six (62) p. 376

 St. Julien Perlmutter has crystal wine glasses from the former Italian luxury liner the Andrea Doria. Dirk Pitt brought up the rack of wineglasses on a dive he made on the wreck and gave them to him as a gift. Flood Tide (26)

 The Andrea Doria is rammed by the Stockholm and sinks. Serpent (Prologue)

 Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala dive on the shipwreck in Serpent (42)
t:

Pitt shook his head. "You're talking sheer fantasy. The Titanic lies in nearly two and a half miles of water. The pressure at those depths runs several thousand pounds to the square inch, Mr. Seagram; not square foot or square yard, but square inch. The difficulties and barriers are staggering. No one has ever seriously attempted to raise the Andrea Doria or the Lusitania from the bottom . . . and they both lie only three hundred feet from the surface." Raise the Titanic

A new thread for fun j: - the Fortune Teller

Pitt to Sandecker - "At this point my crystal ball gets foggy." Iceberg (7)

"Based on what?"
"Intuition."
"Are you using tarot cards or a crystal ball?"
"Actually, I favor tea leaves." Treasure (48)

"You missed your calling by not becoming a palm reader." Sahara (34)

Maeve - "how can you possibly read my thoughts?"
Pitt - "It's a gift. I have Gypsy blood running in my veins."
"You, a Gypsy?"
"According to the family tree, my paternal ancestors, who migrated from Spain to England in the seventeenth century, were Gypsies."
"And now you read palms and tell fortunes." Shock Wave (26)

A nw thread - Dear Heart

Pitt to Summer - "You're not with Naval Intelligence, dear heart." Pacific Vortex (3)

Pitt to receptionist - "OK dearheart," Pitt said menacingly. "You get up off your well-rounded little bottom and you go and inform the Director that Major Dirk Pitt is waiting to keep the appointment set by Inspector Zacynthus." The Mediterranean Caper (Tally)

Pitt to Tidi - "Where did they hurt you, dearheart?" Iceberg (17)

Pitt to Dana Seagram - "Sorry, dear heart, it's the best I can do at the moment." Raise the Titanic (66)

Pitt to Julie Lee - "Dear heart, you're in big trouble." Flood Tide (25)
Pitt to Julie Lee - "Dear heart, I'm always in big trouble with the government." Flood Tide (54)

Pitt to Epona - "Not a smart move, dear heart." Trojan Odyssey (39)

After all those dear hearts, Clive Cussler finally names a boat ...

Dear Heart, a sailboat in Trojan Odyssey (43) b:

James Bond B)

Brian Shaw - "Who are you?"
"Pitt. Dirk Pitt." Night Probe! (50)

Bond. James Bond

"James Bond would have been proud of you," Pitt said dryly.
"Bond?"
"Yes, I hear the two of you were quite close."
Shaw exhaled his breath in a long sigh. "He exists only in fiction." Night Probe! (86)

Toshie is described as looking like "she'd stepped put of a James Bond
movie. Dragon (18)

Pitt - "Are James Bond and Jack Ryan coming, too?" Atlantis Found (12)

"It was like something out of James Bond!" Yuri had a broad smile on his face. Fire Ice (16)

As jargon, 'bad penny' denotes a person who turns up a disproportionate number of times over a long period of one's life. In Dirk Pitt's case, he beats adverse odds again, and again, and again...

Giordino - "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to turn up."
"Bad pennies usually do," said Pitt
Deep Six (58)

"That damned guy is like the bad penny that always turns up," said Giordino, fighting to control his emotions.
Inca gold (60)

w:

A different penny line thread -

In for a penny, in for a pound (UK): Something you say which means that since you have started something or are involved in it, you should complete the work although it has become more difficult or complicated than you had expected. (dictionary.cambridge.org/cald)

The old line "In for a penny, in for a pound" ran through Shaw's mind.
Night Probe! (15)

"In for a penny, in for a pound."
Sahara (58)

'Whatever scheme Pitt devised, no matter how insane or ridiculous, Giordino was in for a penny, in for a pound, without the slightest protest.'
Atlantis Found (8)

w:

Another theme I just noticed is Boy Scouts. Probably cause Dr Cussler was an Eagle Scout.

There's two that I can think of, but I'm sure there's more.

Golden Buddha p.65 - "The soggy flags on the stern were pivoting on their staffs as fast as a determined Boy Scout trying to light a fire with a stick."

White Death (don't remember the pg.) - Kurt and Joe are talking by the side of a ravine right after Joe pulled a rope out of his pack, and Kurt said something like "And I thought I was prepared by having my Swiss Army knife." To which Joe responds something like, "Well, before you nominate me for a Boy Scout merit badge..."

Also, Dirk and Al were both Eagle Scouts.

I'm sure there are more references somewhere...

You are right about the Boy Scouts hiramyeager! th:

Dirk Pitt was the Eagle Scouts with Al Giordino. Valhalla Rising (38)

Pitt - "As the Boy Scouts say - Be Prepared." The Mediterranean Caper (4)

Pitt - "My life is guided by the Boy Scout motto." Treasure (54)

And Clive Cussler was an Eagle Scout too! w:

I knew I was missing a biggy!!

How about the painter DeRossett.I have no idea how many books he is mentioned in but I know he is in Lost City which prompted me to write this without the other research.
I am sorry it will never happen again :o

In chapter 21 of Valhalla Rising, there is a reference to Richard DeRosset.

Richard DeRosset, a contemporary American artist.

Dirk Pitt has four seascape paintings by Richard DeRosset in his hangar apartment. Flood Tide (28)

Clive Cussler has marine paintings by Richard DeRosset of ships NUMA has discovered in his condo in Scotsdale, AZ. CC and DP Revealed

t:

Back to the Scout thread -

Giordino - "Scouts honor." Sahara (17) p.164

Perlmutter - "Scouts honor." Flood Tide (47) p. 443

;)

Miscellaneous cent lines -

Pitt - "In for a dime, in for a dollar." Dragon (44)

Giordino - "A dime to a dollar an army of guards checks every freight car." Sahara (32)

Pitt - "We came up a dollar long and a penny short." Dragon (17)

:)

Another thread - Any port in a storm

"Any port in a storm ," Pitt shrugged. Iceberg (10)

Shannon - "You promised us a four-star hotel and a refreshing ho bath. Certainly not a rusty old work boat."
Pitt - "A rose by any other name. Any port in a storm ..." Inca Gold (9)

Giordino leaned across the table and murmured, "Is this your idea of a night on the town?"
"Any port in a storm ," said Pitt. Sahara (25)

"Is it safe to drink?"
Pitt held his glass up to the light before taking a healthy swallow. Then he jokingly crossed his eye and said, "Any port in a storm ." Flood Tide (32)

"What is it?" Skye whispered.
"Any port in a storm , " he [Austin] whispered. Lost City (23)

cop:

Back to Scout Thread again!

"Do you always carry a survival kit?"
"Since my Boy Scout days."
Shock Wave (32)

Kurt Austin was a Cub Scout.
Fire Ice (5)

Pitt takes a four-day hike in the Sierras with his Boy Scout troop.
Iceberg (18)

Gamay was a Brownie.
Serpent (26)

Pitt goes on a weekend camping trip with the Boy Scouts in the Mojave Desert at age twelve.
Sahara (39)

Mel Donner - "Scouts honor."
Raise the Titanic! (43)

hat:

Here are a few references to Horatius :

Lazard smiled suddenly. "And I'd like to be the first to express my gratitude for your Horatius -at-the-bridge act." Iceberg (21)

Willover ran the Executive Branch like Horatuis standing against the entire Etruscan army defending the bridge to Rome. Sahara (35)

Giordino - "Believe me, he never passed up an opportunity to play Horatius at the bridge." Inca Gold (8)

:)

Here are some references to grades:

Lee Rafferty - "Pretty slick guesswork, Mr. Pitt. I admit it. Not one hundred percent mind you, but a passing grade." Vixen 03 (43)

Dirk Pitt to General Velikov - "You get a passing grade for creativity, General, but you fail accuracy." Cyclops (27)

Loren to Dirk- "Not bad. I'll give you an 'A' for creativity." Dragon (26)

Dirk Pitt to Qin Shang - "I'll grade you with an A for wishful thinking, and an F for practicality." Flood Tide (25) j:

The first time I really noticed this phrase was in Cyclops, but couldn't find the reference to it in my notes. yike: And I have been looking for weeks. <_<
I finally spotted it again! hat:

"In for a penny, in for a pound / It's love that makes the world go round."
Cyclops (60)

The name Specter appears in two books:

The name of the greatest art thief in history was Mansfield Zolar - the Specter. He sired a dynasty, Zolar International, to carry on the tradition.
Inca Gold (30)

Mr. Specter, the founder of Odyssey, a giant scientific research and construction empire. Trojan Odyssey (5)

Hmmm. Is it coincidence that James Bond's nemesis is SPECTRE?

Another thread - Every move a picture


"Every move a picture," Pitt grinned back. Pacific Vortex! (18)

"Every move a picture," Pitt muttered loftily. Treasure (54)

Pitt - "Every move a picture." Shock Wave (35)

"Every move a picture," Pitt said... Flood Tide (3)

And a little fun with paraphrasing:

"Every word a virtue, every move sublime," Pitt said airily... Sahara (24) ;)

Zac - "How did you know that?"
Pitt- "I'm psychic." The Mediterranean Caper (12)

Gene Seagram - "It would seem, Mr. Pitt, that dramatic entrances are a habit with you. Did you also conjure this electrical Storm?" Raise the Titanic! (16)

Giordino gave Pitt a sideways look. "The great soothsayer has spoken." Raise the Titanic! (36)

"That's up to the weather oracle," Giordino turned to Farquar. "What about it, O Great Seer of Meteorological Wisdom?" Raise the Titanic! (40)

"And now the great seer of the future, Dirk Pitt, ..." Raise the Titanic! (57)

"He [the admiral] must be psychic," mused Pitt. Dragon (8)

Stacy - "For living under water for four months, you have a good tan."
Pitt - "My gypsy blood." Dragon (26)

"See any jazz in your crystal ball." Treasure (46)

"Does all this just strike you out of the blue?" Giordino complained. "Or do you come from a long line of soothsayers?"
"Consider me your friendly neighborhood plot diviner," Pitt said condescendingly. Sahara (24)

Cabrillo - "Now all you need is a crystal ball to predict where Qin Shang intends to sink her..." Flood Tide (21)

Sally- "I didn't know you can read the future"
Pitt - "The Great Dirk Pitt sees all, knows all, and I see..." Valhalla Rising (58)

Marie [Sheldon] closed the front door and stared up at him [Mel Donner] curiously. "Any port in a storm. Is that it, handsome?'"
Raise the Titanic! (43)

This excerpt from Dirk Pitt Revealed sheds light on Clive's use of Gypsy related inclusions in his books.

Mom was vivacious and humorous and always teasing Dad and me. She also had a creative side that was never fully nurtured but was passed along to her son. She often told of going to a carnival when she was sixteen with her bevy of girlfriends and paying twenty-five cents to a Gypsy lady to tell their fortunes. The obvious question among young girls was: Who will I marry? The Gypsy fortune-teller told Mom she would have a famous daughter. A near miss on that one. As for her husband, the Gypsy said he was tall, dark and in the Army, wearing a gray uniform. Mom and her friends laughed at the revelation. America had just entered World War I, and they all knew that the American doughboys, as soldiers were called then, wore khaki uniforms. Little did Mom know that her future tall and dark husband was born and raised in Germany and was serving in the Kaiser's army on the Western Front. And, oh yes, the Germans wore gray uniforms.

Great! th:

The Valhalla Project in Atlantis Found

"Your security system is good - not great, but good enough to discourage most burglars and juvenile vandals."
"That mean I flunked the test?"
"Not entirely. I'd grade you a C-plus." Deep Six (24)

AND

"Nicely done, Mr. Pitt. A clever touch, waiting until my gun hand was holding a glass. That shows you were thinking. I'll have mark you up to a B-minus."
Deep Six (24)

Pitt slowly shook his head in defeat. "They've been two steps ahead of us from the beginning. I have to give them an A for planning." Valhalla Rising (30)

Valhalla

In Atlantis Found, Carl Wolff names the old-German Antarctic Base -- now the Gold Plant for Wolff Entrprises : Valhalla (Around the page 300 mark.)

Blue Gold--The villain's HQ was an elaborate manor house shaped like a Viking longboat (or something to that effect) called Valhalla.

In fact, Blue Gold came out right before VR, and when I first heard the name, I was almost certain that VR would be a sequel to BG. Alas, there was no connection at all

Mermaids


"Minnie the Mermaid" Dragon (7, 11)

"I can't take you anywhere," he [Zavala] said. "I let you out of my sight for a minute, and you show up with a real live mermaid." Serpent (6)

"Let's get our mermaid back to the ship before she turns into a frozen fish stick." Serpent (6)

A Russian ship captain named Popov wrote a book called Life on the Black Sea in 1936. One chapter in entitled "The Little Mermaid" in which he describes rescuing a little girl, Maria. Fire Ice (22, 25)

St. Julien Perlmutter - "Copenhagen, the city of Hans Christian Anderson and the Little Mermaid." White Death (21)

'The Mermaid's Gate' White Death (10, 12)

"I'm just a bad penny,* Dirk replied. Black Wind (54)

Hmmm ... "Dirk" seems to have picked a phrase from "Pitt" ;)

"Horatius at the Bridge, Custer standing alone at Little Big Horn, that's me," Pitt said. Flood Tide (8)

"I'll come with you." Giordino said firmly.

Pitt shook his head. "You're the best man to repel boarders before the ship slips away."

"Horatio at the bridge - that's me." Valhalla Rising (19)

<_<

Not sure about the name change from Horatius to Horatio, but have you noticed other references to a Horatio as well?

Moran is described as a Horatio Alger type character. Deep Six (6)

And then there is the Horatio Nelson eye-patch referenece.
Trojan Odyssey (21)

:lol:

I think Clive had a hand in writing that in.