Day of Burning: 9/11 Ten Years On

In 2001, when the Manhattan's twin towers came down in the wake of a terrorist attack, I was eight years old. I have two vivid memories of this time. The first is sitting in my lounge room, my breakfast in my lap, turning on the TV to watch some cartoons before school. Instead, all I see are two, very tall, buildings. One is still standing, intact, but in the other there is a massive hole with smoke pouring from it. Distressed, I turned off the TV and went to find my parents. My next memory is of sitting with my friends on the floor of my primary school classroom, listening to my teacher tell us that something bad had happened in America and a lot of adults would be worried. One of the boys asked what had happened and my teacher said 'two planes flew into a building'. My thoughts: It must have been an accident.

Ten years on, I still struggle to understand how anyone, regardless of their religion, race, or political beliefs, could kill over three-thousand innocent people in one fell swoop. The footage of this terrible event  is shocking, and disturbingly graphic. The towers belch smoke, a massive fireball where the plane has struck the building explodes out of the images, those videos of the attacks are accompanied by the soundtrack of people screaming and general panic. As an eight year old, I couldn't understand it, so I put it to the back of my mind. As I grew older, the events of September 11 itched like an allergy and I would re-examine them from time to time. Like everyone else I asked the question: Why? Why would anyone do something like this? I think we will continue to ask this question as long as their is terrorism in our world. Now, as an eighteen year old with more of an understanding as to what the world is really like, I can no longer put the events of that day to the back of my mind. These events have been the catalyst to, what I believe, has become World War Three. But, this time, our enemy is not a nation (although the United States and its allies, Australia included, continue to cause unheard of damage and loss of life in their fruitless campaigns in the Middle East), but an idea: terror. Unfortunately, even with the death as al-Queda leader Osama bin-Laden, I do not believe we are any closer to wiping out terror than we were ten years ago.

The events that unfolded on September 11 2001 were to this century what the outbreak of World War One was last century, a baptism by fire, and a catalyst to spreading fear, hate, and intolerance. But we must never forget September 11, if only to remember that over three thousand innocent people lost their lives.

American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46am; 92 lives lost.
American Airlines Flight 175 stuck the South Tower at 9:03am; 65 lives lost.
American Airlines Flight 77 stuck the Pentagon at 9:38am; 64 lives lost.
American Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania at 10:06am after passengers and crew overwhelmed the hijackers; 45 lives lost.
The Towers collapsed at 9:59am (South Tower) and 10:20am (North Tower); 2734+ lives lost.

Note: the above figures to do not include the hijackers aboard the planes, they are the innocent lives only.

~ Australian Kiwi

Goodbye Greek Mythology, Hello Arthurian Legend

Well, Australian Kiwi is sad to announce that the time of studying Greek myth at university is (sob, sob) over! Yes, it's heartbreaking, I know, but I think I'll survive. Somehow, I will get through this.

The lecture this morning was on the context of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This is probably one of the most famous legends of all time, but I have to admit that it is not one of my favorites. I find the round table to be lacking in something very important: PEACE! The round table is essentially a war council, run by a king who, although he is loved by his people and has united his kingdom, has killed many men do to it and won't hesitate to kill even more should the need arise. He even tries to kill his wife and his friend when he finds out they are sleeping together. Rational discussion? Please! Arthur would rather grab a sword and kill the nearest thing than talk to Lancelot and Guinevere about how their behaviour was inappropriate.

Of course, not all portrayals of Arthurian myth and legend are quite so bad. I have to admit being quite fond of the TV series The Adventures of Merlin which deals with the exploits of Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere and other important characters before mythology takes hold. Currently having completed three seasons, this highly successful, popular portrayal of Arthurian myth and legend is due for a forth season to come out early-mid 2012. I am looking forward to that.

But now, getting back on topic, if this morning's lecture was anything to go by, King Arthur is going to be pretty boring. The lecturer was dull as they come, constantly stumbling over her words and her powerpoint left much to be desired. When powerpoint is used well, it can really add to a lecture. The lecturer that I had on Greek mythology used powerpoint extremely well and this really added to the quality of information he was giving. But this powerpoint was sloppy with bad animation and poor timing. She used a red background with yellow writing that made my eyes sting and water and (horror or all horrors!) she read off her slides! Although, as my friend and I agreed at the end of the lecture, it will get better because it can't possibly get any worse! Hopefully Jennifer can liven things up in the tutorial tomorrow.

Alright, I'd better go and finish writing my assignment. Check in tomorrow to hear if Arthur got any better.

See ya!

~ Australian Kiwi

Wear It Purple Day!

Good morning followers!

Did you know that today, the 2nd of September, is Wear It Purple Day?

In September 2010, a young man threw himself to his death in the United States after his roommate posted footage of him and another man having a sexual encounter. After this event occurred, the media went into something of a frenzy and report after report poured in about young people committing suicide because of homophobia and homophobic bullying.

Wear It Purple was started by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams, in response to these alarming statistics. In just a few short weeks, the event went viral and now Wear It Purple Day is an annual event in many parts of the world.

Here's a picture of me (and the flowers in the garden) Wearing It Purple!

Wanna get involved? It's easy! Just wear something purple today. A purple hat. A purple bandanna. A purple t-shirt. A pair of purple shorts or a purple skirt. Purple thongs or tennis shoes. A purple wristband. Maybe even a purple ribbon in your hair. Also, make sure you check out the Wear It Purple website (click on the link above) and their facebook and twitter pages.

Hope to see you Wearing It Purple!

~ Australian Kiwi