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The City of Vancouver (Canada) chose the lowest local bidder to design their new logo. They got what they paid for. Local designers were so horrified they wrote an open letter to the mayor and city council. Yesterday the mayor's office halted the rollout of the wordmark.
posted by AFABulous at 8:09 PM PST - 99 comments

The state of the State Department The once bustling halls of the U.S. State Department are now quiet, as staff find themselves cut out of the loop and without direction.
posted by bitmage at 8:07 PM PST - 31 comments

To defuse some of the recent anti-mexican sentiment provoked by 45, talk show host and cheese merchant Conan O'Brien went to Mexico City to tape a show with an all-mexican cast and crew.
posted by Omon Ra at 7:40 PM PST - 11 comments

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - The 3 Rules of Living Animation [SLYT by creator kaptainkristian; captioned]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 7:18 PM PST - 20 comments

The Before Trilogy: Time Regained - Film writer David Lim's essay on Richard Linklater’s "Before Sunrise", "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight" - recently released as a Criterion Collection set.
posted by davebush at 7:05 PM PST - 24 comments

Norwegian public broadcaster NRK is testing out a novel way to civilize its online comment sections: a multiple-choice quiz about the content. The feature, introduced last month, seems to be successful at keeping the trolls at bay and improving the quality of conversation in the comments section of the site.
posted by roolya_boolya at 5:22 PM PST - 28 comments

I look code up on the internet all the time. Some experienced & well-respected programmers find whiteboard algorithm hazing a grueling and not necessarily useful interview process.
posted by theora55 at 2:54 PM PST - 159 comments

Some of the most beloved hit-songs the world has listened to för the past 20 years were written by a swede – Martin Sandberg. He is better known as Max Martin, but few out of the music-business knows who he is. Until now. For the first time Max Martin tells his story in a world exclusive interview.
posted by josher71 at 1:23 PM PST - 23 comments

Can You Name 5 Women Artists? The National Museum of Women in the Arts is issuing the challenge. With female artists representing only 3-5% of artists collected by major museums, the campaign highlights ongoing issue of sexism and gender parity in the art world. Follow all month on Instagram, Twitter, and participating museum feeds.
posted by Miko at 12:14 PM PST - 110 comments

Tell us your birthday, and we’ll show you how the world has changed during your lifetime. The Atlantic has released a tool that highlights generational experiences by walking through world events that shaped the thoughts and memories of Americans worldwide. All you need is a birthday.
posted by sciatrix at 12:00 PM PST - 56 comments

Only a handful of cities can afford the two-week-long, über-expensive bonanza that is the Olympic Games. Unless something changes, angry citizens who don’t want to pay for a bunch of useless stadiums are going to force the IOC to decide on a semi-permanent set of hosts.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:27 AM PST - 78 comments

47 ingots of a copper (80%) and zinc (20%) based alloy with small traces of lead and nickel, two Corinthian helmets, archaic amphorae and a Massaliote round-bottom flask (ie., from the ancient Greek colony of Marseilles in France), have recently been recovered off the coast of Bulala, near the ancient Greek colony of Gela, in southern Sicily. This is the second recovery of a collection of this ancient alloy, the first brought up 39 ingots in 2015, when the metal was first called orichalcum, and with it came references to Atlantis. But what is orichalcum, a mined metal or an alloy? [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 11:14 AM PST - 19 comments

"Sodas south of the border have their own unique quirks and singular traits, drawing tropical inspiration from traditional drinks served in Mexico for millennia."
posted by MrJM at 9:59 AM PST - 38 comments

Erik Thurman's Leaving North Korea, a long-form comic about how difficult it is to escape the Hermit Nation.
posted by Etrigan at 9:23 AM PST - 9 comments

AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) is going to disable access to its network for third party messaging apps like Adium as of March 28, likely ending the era of having a single client* for multiple chat platforms and being able to actually tell people you are unavailable. [more inside]
posted by zenon at 8:53 AM PST - 51 comments

How much pee is in our swimming pools? A new urine test reveals the truth. Perhaps that's not your biggest worry, however, because in addition to pee, the next pool you dive into will probably contain a wee bit of fecal matter, a dollop of human sweat and some guy’s skin cells floating around. But if you're into that sort of thing, pop on over to the Experience Project and read about the folks who admit they always pee in the swimming pool.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:44 AM PST - 84 comments

A startup is working with pet stores around the country on leases for expensive purebred pets. Wags Lending claims that this expands credit to people who would otherwise be unable to afford the pet they want, but lessees are surprised to find they don't own their own pets, and frustrated by monthly payments that total more than double the sticker price. It's also not entirely clear that a lease for a pet is legal. No official word on whether the financialization of the emotional bonds between humans and animal companions is likely to be a good idea in the long term.
posted by Copronymus at 8:33 AM PST - 74 comments

"...nearly everyone who approached the candy while Kevin was present emitted some sort of noise before opening the jar, even if it was just a primal “oooooh!” or “mmmm.” The sweet psychology behind the office candy jar, including why no one wants to be caught taking the last piece.
posted by redsparkler at 8:12 AM PST - 40 comments

The watercolor sketches & captions of Diana Sperling (1791-1862) depict vibrant, witty scenes of comfortable Regency life. Her sketchbook was published as Mrs Hurst Dancing & Other Scenes from Regency Life 1812 – 1823, recording for posterity such moments as her younger sister falling off a donkey and the extended family playing with electricity.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 6:52 AM PST - 11 comments

I mean, why on earth are there two buttons, one for closing the door, one for locking it? When does anybody ever want to just close the door, without locking it? They obviously realised the little red light above the padlock button wasn’t clear enough, so they added a honking great padlock light further up – but I speak from experience when I say, even with the second padlock light, you have absolutely no trust that the door is actually locked.
posted by veedubya at 3:18 AM PST - 87 comments

A YouTuber named Steve1989 collects, eats (usually), and reviews old and obscure military rations (MREs) from around the world. Far from being stunt posts, they're more like excited unboxing videos with interesting histories. A sampling: 1944 WW2 British Special Ration Type C MRE Review, 1969 Food Packet, Survival, Abandon Aircraft Ration MRE Review, 1985 Dutch 24hr Ration MRE Review, 2015 French RCIR Ostrich & Cranberry Sauce 24 Hr Ration MRE Review [via Munchies]
posted by Room 641-A at 12:59 AM PST - 21 comments