I love things they told me not to like

[sovay]

I did not get decent sleep last night, but on the other hand my face does not appear to be doing anything hopelessly out of the ordinary for an underslept person, so I suppose I should take it. Have a couple of links and a complaint.

1. I wish it were possible to find transcripts of audio commentaries. They have been staple features of home video releases for decades. By default, I own quite a number, generally of movies I care about. I can't listen to them. I've tried. Like the overwhelming popularity of podcasts, it's one of the normal permutations of media that can still remind me that general society is not designed for my brain. It doesn't stop me wanting the information contained in the commentary tracks, which is not necessarily duplicated in the written work of the people who record them. I get that it doesn't qualify as an accessibility issue, but I still feel it shouldn't be so weird to want to read what a person who knows what they're talking about is saying. I always enjoy the essays that come with nice editions.

2. Courtesy of my other friendlist: what type of zoo enclosure should you be kept in? I was not actually aiming to be rated "open sea exhibit":

really big tank with 360 views. you can coexist just fine with other species – in fact you actually do better with them. the occasional diver or mermaid show is also welcome enrichment. lots of space to move around in and if you get bored you can probably eat one or two other inhabitants (i genuinely don't know what the staff do if that happens but it has to, right?). when you're feeling up to the crowds you can get real close to the glass and they'll go fucking bananas but if you just want some me time you can stay close to the middle where no one can tap you. this is the life.

I could definitely go for a small kelp forest right now.

3. I was charmed to run across this profile of Clint Conley, two-time bassist of Mission of Burma, motive force of Consonant, and mainstay of WCVB Boston's Chronicle. I saw him perform in that olive shirt he's wearing in the third photo. I don't believe I'm in the audience of that gig, but I would have been in the farthest back row, wearing earplugs, having a very good time. I miss live music so much.

Comments

[sovay]

I'm glad your face is getting back to normal!

Thank you! I still have no idea what caused the initial swelling, but I will be just fine if it doesn't repeat.

I wonder if some of the commentaries might have close captioning to go with the audio track? (I suspect not, unfortunately)

Huh. I don't know—I don't ever remember seeing subtitles for commentary tracks included in the same directories as subtitles for the films themselves. I am also skeptical, unfortunately, but I suppose I could fire a couple of discs up and see. Thank you for the suggestion no matter what!

That kelp forest looks neat! (I got the terrarium)

What kind of text and image do you get with the terrarium?

[aurumcalendula]

The image is this photo and the text is this:

glass walls, heat lamps, piped-in water, all the branches you can climb and hollowed-out logs you can burrow into. something about glass does make people wanna tap, that can't be avoided, but yours is not a high-traffic area of the zoo. mostly you get the weird kids who wanna sit there and stare for a LONG time, and people who zoom past on their way to the penguins. privacy central - even the keepers don't really interact with you that often. it's not the most spacious but it's all your space, no roommates, and you even have your own pool. find a nice warm spot to sit and stare unblinkingly while people read your plaque from ten feet away like you're about to break through the glass.

[sovay]

find a nice warm spot to sit and stare unblinkingly while people read your plaque from ten feet away like you're about to break through the glass.

That doesn't sound bad, either.

[kore]

find a nice warm spot to sit and stare unblinkingly while people read your plaque from ten feet away like you're about to break through the glass.

LOL, that's what I was trying to remember. It doesn't soudn that bad! Private, minimal keeper interaction, no roomies, pool, nice fresh running water....

[kore]

I think I've seen some text files that are subtitles for films but typically it's just stuff like this:

Run!
How did it get there?
I don't -- Look out
Where did hat from?

[sovay]

I think I've seen some text files that are subtitles for films but typically it's just stuff like this

If the disc is formatted with subtitles and you're playing it off a computer (e.g. our trusty Linux box), the usual file extension for subtitles is .srt and it will be visible as a separate file from the film itself. I just can't remember ever seeing subtitles for a commentary track and I can't see where I would have missed them. But I'll try anything once! (This is not remotely true, but I will try looking to see if I just missed a subtitled commentary on a DVD I own.)

[edit] Sorry, I realize you were complaining about a different problem than finding the subtitles for a film if it has them.

[kore]

Oh yeah, that's it! Altho a lot of the time the subtitle files are kind of terrible....badly formatted and with no context. We are both a bit hard of hearing now (mostly tinnitus) so we are now very used to subtitles like "(fighting grunts)" and "(Foreign language)" and "(Dramatic music)". Lolsob.