Ten Years Later- Remembering the Australian Tourist (Part One of Two)

"She died alone and all her family got was a letter" was the headline of a story that ran in the Aug. 7, 2007, edition of "The Brisbane Times," which had published a "Sydney Morning News" story from that day about Amanda Rigg.

I had never met Rigg, who was a 22-year-old Australian tourist traveling in Istanbul. But, we walked down the same street in the busy Taksim district of Istanbul near a Chinese restaurant on Sept. 10, 2001, some 10-15 minutes apart.

I was in my since-deceased aunt's apartment that we heard the blast around 5:00 p.m. At the time, we were packing to go Buyukada, an island off the coast of Istanbul. The blast would turn out to be from a suicide bomber, though we weren't entirely positive of that at the time. In fact, I had read in a Turkish newspaper the next day, a mere 20 minutes before I found out about the Twin Towers, that the suicide bomber was a woman. While researching this piece, I found out that the bomber was actually a man named Ugur Bumbul.

Bumbul died in the blast as did two Turkish police officers whom I had seen alive just a quarter-hour before their untimely, unexpected deaths.

Rigg turned out to be the third victim of the blast, but she did not die on the moment of impact. She had lost one of her arms, and she went to a hospital. I would not know of Rigg's death which happened a few days after Sept. 10th until a shopkeeper in ther resort town of Kusadasi, some seven hours south of Istanbul, informed me of the tragic news.

Long before arriving in Turkey, we had planned to go to Kusadasi. And even in the nice tranquil Aegean beaches of Kusadasi, it was hard not to think about what happened and then what happened next.

PERSONAL NOTE: This is the end of Part One. For the sake of the privacy of my family members and brevity, some personal details, such as the fact that we were at a bank before going to my aunt's apartment, were not included.

Tomorrow, I hope to post information about the struggles that Rigg's family faced in Australia in the aftermath of the Sept. 10th Istanbul bomb blast through Internet research.

Initially, this was planned to be a three-part series, but I've decided to shorten it to two simpler entries.

Things We Learned on Google Today- Juventus FC's Star Player Is...

While researching this piece which is continuing to look at famous soccer teams from around the globe, we learned that current Juventus FC star Alessandro Del Piero, 36, holds the team record for most appearances in a team uniform at 635 and team goals scored at 281. Del Pietro is also the team's captain. Juventus FC will face rival Parma on Sept. 11th.

The Italian powerhouse Juventus FC plays its home games in Turin, and the team has a new stadium which is one of the main subjects of discussion amongst European soccer fans.

Del Pietro's teammates include fellow Italians Simone Pepe and Fabio Grosso as well as Serbian star soccer player Milos Krasic.

But, Del Pietro will have to continue playing for five more years to be the oldest player ever to wear a Juventus FC uniform. That distinction belongs to goalie legend Dina Zoff who played until age 41 when he retired from soccer in 1983. Zoff was also the oldest player ever to captain a World Cup-winning team. When he was 40, he tended goal for the 1982 Italian team which won it all in Spain.

Juventus FC won the UEFA Champions League by defeating Ajax Amsterdam in 1996.

SIDEBAR: Starting tomorrow, I will start a three part series on an Australian tourist named Amanda Rigg, who was killed as a result of a suicide bombing by far-left terrorists in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sept. 10, 2001. I happened to walk on the exact same street that she did on that fateful afternoon, which was alas sadly forgotten because of the even more horrific events of the next day.

The series will also discuss my feelings about being so close to one terrorist act as another one happened in my home country the very next day.

SIDEBAR TWO: They were finally able to play tennis today at the U.S. Open in New York. We had mentioned Russian up and comer Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has perhaps the longest surname in the tennis world. Today, she lost to Serena Williams. But, we wish her well in her seemingly very promising career.

The Last 10 Films I've Seen_ Project Nim Stands Out

Here are the last ten films I've seen; I will write a brief commentary on some of the films after they have been listed:

1. "The Tillman Story (doc. 2010. Dir-Amir Bar-Lev)

2. *Project Nim (doc. 2011. Dir- James Marsh)

3. *The Guard (Ireland. 2011. Dir-John Michael McDonagh)

4. Man Push Cart (2005. Dir- Ramin Bahrani)

5. The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008. With Farsi subtitles. Dir-Cyrus Nowrasteh)

6. Days and Nights (Egypt. 1955. Dir-Henry Barakat)

7. Benny's Video (Austria. 1992. Dir- Michael Haneke)

8. * Another Earth (2011. Dir- Mike Cahill)

9. #% Summer Love/O Da Beni Seviyor (Turkey. 2001. Dir- Baris Pirhasan)

10. Bhutto (doc. 2010. Dir-Duane Baughman)

*-Films I saw at a cinema

#-Previously viewed film

%- Not released in the United States

Many of the films I saw dealt with the Middle East or Central Asia in one form or another.

One of the exceptions is film number two "Project Nim," yet another amazing documentary from the director of "Man on Wire." Like his last film, this one also deals with radical risks and the obstacles they pose for those who undertake them. In this case, those risk-takers are a group of people, as opposed to one man in particular, as the film examines the reasons why many people tried to humanize a chimp named Nim and the results which ensued.

The fifth film "The Stoning of Soraya M." is an American movie by a right-wing director who had helmed the highly controversial "Path to 9-11" tv docudrama. This time he surprisngly takes on human rights and female oppression, two subjects that have been usually involved liberal filmmakers. Though no one would argue that the stoning executions of women in Iran for alleged infidelities are ever justified irregardless if the woman engaged in such affairs or not, the film felt very much like a '70s Turkish melodrama with a forced script and considerable over-acting. Nonetheless, since the film has a 7.9 rating on the IMDB, it apparently has its fans.

"Benny's Video" is yet another wonderful and disturbing film by Michael Haneke, which was the director's second film. Like both versions of "Funny Games," this film explores how fake violence on tv and in film can influence young people towards dasterdly deeds.

"Summer Love" has its production flaws, as is common in Turkish cinema, but it is a moving coming of age story with brilliant cinematography and tremendous acting by its young cast. And, unlike most films from my late father's country, this one actually has a happy ending!

Quote of the Day- Ingmar Bergman

This month, we are featuring quotes from famous film directors and Scandanavians, and perhaps it is fitting that we begin wtih the late, iconic Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman ("The Seventh Seal, "Persona," "Fanny and Alexander").

Here is the quote:

"I am so 100 percent Swedish....Someone has said a Swede is like a bottle of ketchup_ nothing and nothing and then everything at once_splat! I think I'm like that."

For more information on the famed director, we suggest that you read about Bergman in the Australian web journal "Senses of Cinema" (sensesofcinema.org). I was going to try to write a selection on the American film director Stanley Kramer ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?") for them, but I never got around to it.

SIDEBAR: We love people with long, difficult names, so we were delighted to watch Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova,20, (we checked the spelling of her name four times!) advance in the U.S Open tennis tournament by defeating Francesca Schiavone, another person with a tricky name, over the Labor Day weekend.

Alas, for the young Russian tennis star mother nature is preventing her next match with American superstar Serena Williams as rain forced postponements of matches in New York for a second misreable day in a row.

The Backpackers Are Beside BestBuy (entry 6 of 6)

NOTE: This is the final entry in the series. The odd-numbered ones can be found at Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time (www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.com)

Tuesday, August 16, had been a dreadful day though it was less hot than it had been in the days and weeks prior to it, if my recollection is accurate on that.

But, as evening struck, I was ready to take a photograph of the seventh and final sculpture in the public art displays as part of Art in Roanoke's civic campaign.

That seventh sculpture was "The Happy Wanderers" (pictured here, but obviously not in its present location) by Floyd County artist Charlie Brouwer, who was an art professor at my alma mater Radford University for 21 years. The sculpture was located near BestBuy at Valley View Mall. It consists of two backpackers, one is a man and the other is a young child (yes, it is the reason for the name of this series).

According to the Art in Roanoke web site, Brouwer was inspired by a hike he took with his 3-year-old grandson. He has made similar sculptures, including "The Pursuit of Happiness" that depicts a man carrying what appears to be a birdhouse. Brouwer has also made "Together," conveying what appears to be a mother holding her infant daughter.

"The Happy Wanderers" is made from locust wood, screws and preservative staining.

I knew the piece was near Valley View Mall, which is arguably the most congested part of Roanoke, Va., a city that has somehow not changed population in fifty years. In fact, an article in "The Roanoker" magazine said the city had just gained 68 people from the 1960 U.S. Census Report. Those 68 people are probably all working at Valley View Mall, which was built circa 1985.

At first, I expected that I would see the sculpture from the road. After all, it seemed improbable that one could not see a wooden sculpture, even if SUVS or Humvees were tail-gating one's bumper. But, that wasn't the case.

So, I went into Dick's Sporting Goods Store, and an employee said these words: "The backpackers are beside BestBuy." In all actuality, they are between Target and BestBuy, but it was those directions which eventually lead me to the sculpture. Though I had to circle the parking lot of the adjoining mega-stores to find it.

"The Happy Wanderers" is a nice sculpture, but of the seven, it seems to be the one that is the most misplaced. But, I can imagine the folks at Art in Roanoke had a difficult time finding a place suitable for it given that it seems to be a piece that would go better with a rural landscape.

Amazingly enough, even though Roanoke has not grown much in population, there seem to be very few open spaes left in the city. But, there are several eye-sores and vacant buildings as is seemingly the case just about everywhere else in the region.

SIDEBAR: The answer to last week's quiz about the distance between Murphy and Manteo, NC, two cities in the same state which are actually worlds apart is
d) 9 hours, 25 minutes.

The Backpackers Are Beside BestBuy (entry 4 of 6)

We had great difficulties finding an image of "In Flux" by All Creations, which consists of two Wyoming artists Matt Rink and Bland Hoke, so we also went with this image of a big black dog, since the public art display is located behind Black Dog Salvage off Memorial Avenue in Roanoke, Va.

The fourth image of Art in Roanoke that I photographed is also the hardest one to find as there is a sharp curve behind the Black Dog Salvage antiques store which leads to Vic Thomas Park where "In Flux" is located. The turn comes right after one passes Memorial Bridge, and if you literally blink you will miss it.

The artists state that their mission is to: "Try to make constantly evolving work that adapts to a landscape."

"In Flux" is perhaps the most complicated of the seven sculptures, and it is one that makes the passerby study and scrutinize it more closely than some of the other pieces.

SIDEBAR: We are happy to report that DJ Cigdem Arca is returning to WUVT (90.7 FM-Blacksburg, Va.) with "The Turkish Music Hour," from 1:00-2:30 p.m. on Saturdays this fall. WUVT-FM is the student-run college radio station of Virginia Tech. The station also airs "The Greek Show" from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Thanks to "The Turkish Music Hour," I have become more aware of contemporary pop singers like Nil Karaibrahimgil which is quite refreshing given that the likes of Sezen Aksu ( who has been called The Turkish Madonna) and Tarkan, the internationally-known singer who has dominated Turkish pop for well over a decade.

The Backpackers Are Beside BestBuy- Entry 2

Actually, this entry was supposed to be on "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time," our sister blog, but we got mixed up. Perhaps because we are posting this blog from a local library where there are all sorts of distractions; I'm sooooo glad I don't have kids! (Entry One in this series is on that other blog)

At any rate, I left off the first entry in downtown Roanoke where I had taken several snapshots of "Connect," the second of the seven art pieces from Art in Roanoke, that I had photographed.

My next destination was to go to Williamson Road to rediscover "Starburst" by Greeley, Pa., artist Tom Holmes. The piece is one of the easiest to find around town as it is located beside the Williamson Road Library.

There was a bit of annoying traffic on Williamson Road, which is known for being a place where teenage boys and girls cruise in search of potential members of the opposite gender. It is sort of like the Discovery Channel in that aspect, I suppose.

According to the "Art in Roanoke" web site, Holmes likes to make his work unique to its environment, and the sculpture is made out of wood.

I noticed that the landromat across the street from the library was filled with patrons. If I were an intrusive professional photographer, I would've seized the opportunity as if I were a crocodile pursuing a zebra in the jungles of Zimbabwe. But, I simply had other things to do.


SIDEBAR: Only in America, will one see a liberal blogger plugging a gun show, and that is the case here. The VFW 115 Flea Market and Gun Show in Hillsville, Va., is somehow the largest event taking place in Virginia on Labor Day weekend even though Hillsville is in southwest Virginia, far away from the DC and Richmond-metro areas.

But, the event draws 500,000 visitors into Carroll County from Friday until Monday. The Town of Hillsville is strongly advising those interested to come early.

I should add that there are many great antiques (full dsclosure: it is the family business) at the flea market.

Those coming in from Roanoke and points east should know there is also a Virginia Tech football game against Appalachian State in Blacksburg, which will likely bottleknock traffic from Salem to Christiansburg en route to Hillsville. The game starts at 12:30 p.m.