The Illinois Flag Commission recently named its 10 finalists for the state's flag redesign competition. The released designs were... mixed in quality. After @milesmacclure.bsky.social FOIAd to release all the submissions, I found many great designs that didn't make the cut. A thread of favorites:

I think it’s unfair that cats get depicted as evil in movies (American Tale, Lady and the Tramp, Pet Sematary) while dogs are inherently good (Paddington in Paddington, Sid in Ice Age, the big blue one in Jungle Book).

This, it’s because the seasonal shapes raise the likelihood that you get a “fresh” reeses, instead of one where the peanut butter has dried out.

Saxophone inventor: each button plays a different note

Trombone inventor: trombone goes WOOooooOOmp

Saw Die Hard for the first time last night. That may actually be a perfect movie

Call your grandma and ask her how long it takes to microwave a frozen turkey. It’ll be worth it, I promise.

Okay so is wicked good?

Also the “wolves of Isengard/aragon falling off the cliff” plot cul-de-sac is pretty weak too.

Never bought the Aragorn, Eowyn, Arwen love triangle. Maybe the weakest change Peter Jackson made.

What would’ve happened if shadowfax got the ring?

Why did the let a man named wormtongue become an advisor to the king of Rohan?

Bluesky is good, but I think I needs to figure out a unique identity beyond an alt to twitter for it to survive as a platform. People who boycott something usually return to it when the heat dies down, so it’s unlikely Bluesky will survive if it’s all its know for.

The critical re-appraisal of Creed has been a genuinely wild thing to witness

Me and my cats have the same fiber supplements