Grace Notes @ Snarkattack

A lovely, lazy afternoon on Sunday.

I’m spending it watching documentaries, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to watch any, the ones that interest me are always on at odd times.

Ah, pay/cable TV. First, a doc on the horrendous 1971 Attica Prison riot in New York. Complete and utter massacre - the prison has been sieged by inmates demanding better conditions (this prison holding prisoners of a generally non-Caucasian heritage) - we’re not talking about anything unreasonable but things like wanting more than one shower a week, less pork on the menu, a constant supply of toilet paper. It’s appalling how humans can treat one another like animals. The state sends troopers in, shoots down about 300 or so inmates and 10 hostages (correctional officers). The media reports that the inmates are responsible for killing the hostages. Truly appalling.

Next one - about how the first 48 hours of murder investigations are the most crucial. Nothing too ground-breaking, except for learning about this curious religion that blends voodoo and Catholicism, Santeria; but it’s worth mentioning this link. Some person practising this religion had tried to do a love spell to get the object of his affection and was found hog-tied (what is this American criminal obsession with hog-tying humans?) and decaying in his house.

Then we have an ancient Roman doc - it had started already and was up to Claudius having become emperor after Caligula went and slaughtered the ruling house’s inhabitants. Claudius had an appetite for women and was killed by one of his ambitious wives - the sister of Caligula and therefore Claudius’ niece. Her son Nero becomes the next emperor. As most people know, he was a right nutter, who burnt a third of his city so as to create these gaudy palaces for himself. He had his mother killed, and killed himself. Next up, the first non-Roman emperor Vespasian (of Spanish origin) knocked down Nero’s hideous palace, built the Colosseum - which was funded on Jewish treasure plundered from Jerusalem. The slave labour who built the public arena were actually Jewish captives. Not very nice. There were all sorts of entertainments viewable at the amphitheatre which had its own revolving roof but the one that amazes me is the mock naval battles - they would fill up the bottom of the arena and stage these spectacles. Makes MTV look extremely boring by comparison.

Gah, brain is overloaded with information, getting drowsy. Time to end the blabbing.