Mashable

Watching The Jinx: Part 2 demands its audience look back — not just on the crimes of its subject, real estate tycoon turned notorious killer Robert Durst, but also on where we were when the first part aired on HBO. In February of 2015, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki had audiences at rapt attention as he unfurled week-by-week six chapters detailing the bizarre "Life and Deaths of Robert Durst." That Durst had committed a string of murders seemed more and more certain as the episodes passed. Could his closeness with the documentarian, who'd piqued Durst's interest by making a loosely fictional film about him called All Good Things, compel this slippery figure to finally confess? Incredibly, yes, and in a way that was as bizarre as "Bob" himself. 

Beyond the burping, the hot mic recording that became a national news story, and the many parodies that followed, The Jinx became a modern true crime flashpoint, along with Netflix's docuseries Making a Murderer and the podcast Serial. Each explored a cold case over a long-format deep dive, often with the reporter confessing to being compromised by their closeness to the accused. Sure, there were (and are) plenty of tawdry true crime shows that would continue to churn out cheap thrills for viewers, but these three shows were so massively popular that they spawned a flood of true crime doc series — for better (the in-depth and humane I'll Be Gone in the Dark and Last Call) or worse (the leeringly exploitative The Curious Case of Natalia Grace and The Tiger King). 

In the years since, true crime has continued to saturate the media, reaching a ubiquity that rivals the heights of London's Jack the Ripper obsession; at the same time, the critique of true crime and its fans has grown sharper, as media critics and enthusiasts alike dissect it from all angles. Telling a good story may attract an audience, but how you go about it may earn filmmakers ire online, where TikTokkers and podcasters pick apart every bit of evidence — often for their own moments in the spotlight. When The Jinx arrived, of course we were shocked by Durst and his bizarre behavior on camera, but what was truly compelling was Jarecki's willingness to show himself and his internal conflict as they approached the final interview. This added a layer of uneasy vulnerability to the show. Returning to the case to follow Durst's capture and conviction, The Jinx: Part 2 continues on with "Chapter 7," as if nine years hadn't passed in the interim. The world has changed dramatically in this span, and yet Jarecki and his team are playing the same game as before. But now it hits differently, as they're coming back with the perspective not of investigation but validation.  

Robert Durst is the leader of The Jinx's 3-ring circus.  Credit: HBO/Max

In the original run, Jarecki spoke at length with friends and family of Durst's missing first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst, who gave a chilling portrait of their marriage. In Part 2, we finally get to meet more of Durst's inner circle. Though Durst's second wife Debrah Charatan once more dodges Jarecki's interview requests, she's depicted through strange anecdotes about how she allegedly ruled her company with an iron fist and a nose that'd literally sniff her employees' armpits to assure they met her high hygiene standards. "Chapter 9: Saving My Tears Until It's Official" dives deeper into the psychology — and potential complicity — of Durst's best friend Susan Berman, who was conspicuously killed before she was interviewed by police over the McCormack case. Through these interviews, Jarecki empathetically explores Berman's mindset, forged by growing up the daughter of a mob boss and a "saintly" mother; she was fiercely protective of the skeletons in the family's closet. Plus, Berman's friends face new evidence that transforms their perspective on her involvement with Durst. 

However, it's the new members of the menagerie who will likely have viewers agog. "Chapter 7: Why Are You Still Here?" introduces Bob's mistress through a talking-head interview and recorded jail-house visits. A surly longtime colleague gives the cops a hard time over the phone, demanding the police pay for his private jet's costs if they expect to interrogate him in Los Angeles. (He practically screams in outrage when they offer him a ticket to fly coach.) But the most attention is paid to Nick Chavin, who counts himself as a best friend to both Durst and the long-ago murdered Berman. 

Chavin is introduced as he blithely paraphrases the opening line of Goodfellas, confessing with a grin, "For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be famous." He then presents Jarecki (and us) with his music, a sexed-up version of country music that includes a track called "Cum Stains on the Pillow." Yes, this man is a clown who — like Durst — relishes the attention Jarecki's cameras can bring. And as was true of the first part, it is darkly compelling to watch such a kooky creep expose himself. You might wonder if Chavin has any self-awareness as he makes statements like "I don't have that same moral hatred of murder and murderers." You might also doubt his veracity, considering his motivations are so nakedly about fame. But he is far from the only cringeworthy character presented in Part 2. 

The Jinx: Part 2 celebrates and mocks the LAPD.  LA Deputy District Attorney John Lewin Credit: HBO/Max

Chapter 7 centers on the weeks leading up to Chapter 6 airing in 2015. At the time, the show's producers were sharing information with the the LAPD, who were tracking Bob Durst to finally charge him in the murder of Susan Berman before he might flee internationally. As the new episode proudly pronounces in a title card, Durst was arrested the day before the famous burping confession aired. 

As this first episode details the process with LA attorneys and homicide detectives, The Jinx becomes blandly bog-standard for a stretch. Artful slo-mo reenactments and archival photos of Durst play under interviews spelling out the chase and anticipation. LA Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, who clearly sees himself as the hero of the sequel season, declares, "This is going to be the biggest thing to hit my office since OJ." Where the officers of Part 1 tended to somber reflections, Lewin can't contain his grin as he cockily exclaims, "I love circumstantial cold cases." In "Chapter 8: Friendships Die Hard," Lewin introduces his "wonder twins," identical twin law clerks whose commentary is so farcical it'd be well suited to the 2017 true crime parody series Trial & Error. 

The novelty of the twin law clerks Michael and David Belcher is emphasized by pairing them up for their interviews; they even share a chyron. Recalling how they got assigned the Durst case, Michael says he got a call from Lewin, and when the name "Durst" came up, the baby-faced clerk said, "Fred Durst? Oh my god!" (In response, the doc cuts to an image of the Limp Bizkit frontman wearing a t-shirt that reads "NOT ROBERT.") After clearing up the confusion, Michael was offered a job, and in turn suggested they hire his twin too. So Lewin did. It's a story that they all seem to regard as charming. 

Like their boss, the duo shares a jarring breeziness about the case, cracking odd jokes and impersonating Durst's nasally voice together in sync. Such interviews feel like a sideshow that exposes a glaring disconnect between the seriousness of the crimes and the arrogant attitudes of this prosecution team. The filmmakers seem eager to expose the ugly vanity of all arrogant fools, no matter what side of the law they are on. Yet at the same time, the first several episodes carry the enthusiasm of sharing in this victory lap. (Critics were given access to the first four episodes of Part 2 for review.) So one moment, you have the "wonder twins" revealing crucial evidentiary phone calls with all the reverence of pigeons over a new Porsche. But in another — among the most moving in the sequel series so far — Chapter 7 shows The Jinx team's viewing party, where McCormack's family finally hears the confession they've prayed for for decades: "Killed them all, of course." 

Here, like the exemplary HBO doc series Mind Over Murder and the mesmerizing movie Last Stop Larrimah, the outrageous details of the case are the hook for something deeply human. As this long-suffering family gets the release of this clumsy confession, we are witness to their world changing. It's not the end of the McCormack family's story, as her brother is quick to point out, but there is comfort in finally closing a terrible chapter. So, the pride that radiates from these newly issued episodes — while arguably gauche in their goofier moments — may be justified and may even be frankly honest. 

The Jinx: Part 2 is hitting while true crime is in transition.  Jim McCormack, Sharon McCormack, Liz McCormack in "The Jinx: Part 2." Credit: HBO/Max

The mid-2010s brought the genre out of the shadows and into the mainstream. And yet after so much popularity and praise, neither Making a Murderer nor Serial could top their first seasons. Instead, they came under scrutiny as many others chased such successes, not only in TV docs and podcasts but also in an avalanche of TV dramas and dramedies, ranging from When They See Us to Dahmer, The Staircase, Dirty John, Inventing Anna, Under the Banner of Heaven, Joe vs. Carole, and not one but two versions of the ​​Candy Montgomery case: Candy and Love & Death. Serial was even parodied in the podcast-centered comedy series Only Murders in the Building. Meanwhile, HBO/Max/Investigation Discovery have offered an endless array of murder shows and documentaries, ranging from thoughtfully thorough (The Lady and the Dale) to absolutely cringeworthy (Mean Girls Murders, which opens every case with a cheeky quote from a teen comedy).  

Amid all of this, there is outcry from audiences and advocates about the ethics of true crime. Some call for such media to focus more on the humanity of the victims, and less on glorifying the killer. Others note the racial bias that favors coverage of stories about white victims, ignoring many, many cases of murdered and missing Black and Indigenous people. Still others note there's a fine line between exposure and exploitation, as filmmakers unearth traumatic and triggering experiences not only for those who agreed to be involved in their productions but also for those who've not consented to participate. So, where does The Jinx: Part 2 fit in this? 

Frankly, it's impossible to say without having seen how it'll end. At present, I'm underwhelmed. Granted, true crime fans or those who were hooked on The Jinx will likely rally around the weekly chance to once again compare notes around the metaphorical watercooler. There's a lot to take in and marvel over. Jarecki and his team have masterfully planted their new chapters with plenty to keep us coming back, from new revelations, unnerving interviews, and the promise of Durst giving one last statement on the case. But having binge-watched the first four episodes, the experience is disorienting. 

Where should true crime go next? Credit: HBO

As egos flash and clash, a few things have already become clear. First off, it takes a village to get away with murder, and The Jinx: Part 2 is here to introduce us to Durst's villagers. Two, the series feels both in awe of its own power but also wary of it. Truly, there's no way the producers could include the more embarrassing interview moments with the prosecution side without an awareness they are in league with them. Yet Durst's defense team is so stringently slippery they are practically caricatures of corrupt lawyers. So, in this bid to show that both sides of this case are peopled by characters that are not just riveting but at times downright ghastly, what is The Jinx saying? 

This possibly shows a self-awareness that no documentary can ever be truly "objective." Maybe it's intentionally drawing attention to the messiness of humanity that makes up every part of our legal system, from the crime to the investigation to the trial and beyond. We can aim to be as rational and objective as possible, but we're all human. And while some of our motives might be noble, we've all got our less admirable motives too — like wanting your fifteen minutes of fame no matter how you get it. In Part 2, you see the fingerprints of this vanity throughout. 

That commonality is what has me itching after these first four episodes. You can easily google and find out what happened next in the case, but what I'm curious about is how The Jinx: Part Two will process those events. In my mind, the best of true crime is not just telling us a riveting story, rich in complexity and character — though that's a good start. It's when a production pushes the audience past understanding the story merely as a cozy cautionary tale, instead examining how and why a crime happened and was investigated (or not, as the case may be), and what that says about society itself. (Again, see Last Call, Mind Over Murder, and the kidnapping doc Chowchilla.) 

While it may be a cliche that money can buy an affluent American out of anything, both parts of the Jinx explore the specifics of this. Not only do they detail how Durst could swiftly lay down a quarter million in bail so he could go on the run again, but also they reveal in ways big and small how his perceived generosity (a car, a college education, a love nest) bought allegiances, whether the receiver consciously understood that or not. So, what does Durst's long con have to say about American justice? What has his post-Jinx popularity — recapped in a spirited montage of comedy sketches, news coverage, and stand-up — say about out hunger for true crime stories? What will his final chapter say about who we were then? And who we are now? 

Truly, I'm not sure how much of this Chapters 11 and 12 can or will answer. Having once defined this genre, could it now reinvigorate it, drawing it more rigorously to profound realizations and away from our tendency toward grisly gawking? Or might it interrogate our macabre interest to guide us to better understand our dark appetite? I can't say. But despite my frustrations with this series veering into familiar areas and perplexing portraits, I confess I will be watching. 

The Jinx: Part 2 kicks off with Chapter 7 premiering on April 21 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. A new episode will air each Sunday, until the finale on May 26. 

Virtual reality (VR) is a relatively new frontier of entertainment that has yet to attract mainstream appeal. But with more industry giants throwing their hats into the metaverse as of late — looking at you, Apple, Sony, and Meta — an intrigue exists for gamers and techies in pursuit of next-level immersion.

After a period of hands-on testing, we've decided to recommend the Meta Quest 2, the PlayStation VR2, and the Valve Index VR Kit. All three VR headsets are consumer-friendly devices that felt comfortable during hours of use, supported a breadth of features and content upon unboxing, and performed well at their respective price points.

SEE ALSO: Should you try a VR workout? We put Litesport to the test.

While sourcing contenders for this roundup, we chose to test VR headsets that are making waves in the small-but-growing market, whether they're known for their libraries, innovations, or both. All of them are true, dedicated VR headsets with built-in screens, as opposed to mobile headsets that require a smartphone. (Some, but not all, are tethered headsets that require a connection to a separate console or PC.) We also excluded enterprise-level units that are designed for business and commercial use.

What about Apple Vision Pro?

Unless you live under a rock, you've either seen or heard about the Apple Vision Pro by now. But, if you're new to the world of VR, you may be asking yourself why it isn't included here. Well, as we mentioned earlier, our recommendations are specifically tailored to gaming-centric headsets — the Apple Vision Pro falls into that "enterprise headset" category, so we didn't consider it for this article.

While still a worthwhile VR category to look into, enterprise headsets aren't designed with gaming capabilities at the forefront. These types of headsets are designed for productivity and business purposes that can help make your daily life easier. If you're all about gaming (and we assume you are because you're here) and want to get into VR, look elsewhere.

What are the best VR headsets for gaming?

Here's a deeper dive into the best VR headsets we've tried. (Note: We're in the process of testing the HP Reverb G2 and will update this guide accordingly with the final results of our trial.)

You wanna hide apps from your iPhone home screen, do you?

First of all, there are plenty of reasons to make an iPhone app more difficult to access, and many of them are perfectly wholesome. Perhaps you want to hide your Venmo/Cash App so it's not easily accessible on your home screen. Or maybe you want to hide your Instagram, TikTok, etc. if you have a little sibling who likes to steal your phone and post embarrassing pics and videos of you on your socials.

SEE ALSO: How to mirror your iPhone to your TV

So now that you know we're not here to judge, here's how to do it:

Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• iPhone

Step 1: Find the app you want to remove from your home screen.

Step 2: Tap and hold the app until a menu pops up with the option to "Remove App".

You can also tap and hold the home screen until the apps start shaking, and then tap the little "minus" sign next to the app you want to hide.

App mini menu. Yes we tried Power Vinyasa and yes it was really freaking hard Credit: Andy Moser / Apple

Step 3: Tap "Remove App".

You'll see options to either delete the app, remove it from the home screen, or cancel the action.

Step 4: Choose "Remove from Home Screen".

The app will be hidden and won't appear on your home screen.

Tap "Remove from Home Screen" Credit: Andy Moser / Apple

Cool! But now...how do you find it again? The app, though hidden from your home screen, is still in your app library.

Check out our piece on how to find hidden apps.

The Oscars was quite a while ago now, but it seems as though a certain former president still hasn't forgotten about it.

On Wednesday Donald Trump took to Truth Social to share an angry diatribe about Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars joke about him, during which he called Kimmel "stupid" and a "fool" and made fun of his "big ratings drop".

"That's weird, because I read in the news that the ratings went up this year," says Kimmel in the clip above (he's right), before diving into Trump's post line-by-line.

The core of what Trump had to say focussed on Kimmel apparently flubbing his announcement of Best Picture, something Trump referred to as a "CLASSIC CHOKE" — but, as Kimmel points out, there was a small problem.

"I didn't present the award for Best Picture," laughs Kimmel. "I was the host, the host doesn't present awards, the presenters present the awards, and the person who presented the award was Al Pacino, not me. We are different people."

Twitch is rolling out its new TikTok-like Discovery Feed later this month, joining a growing cohort of tech companies taking design tips from the popular video sharing app. While select users have had access to Twitch's scrollable video feed test since August last year, the Amazon-owned streaming platform is now finally ready to release the feature to all its mobile users.

SEE ALSO: No more nudity: Twitch is ending the 'topless meta' party.

Detailed in Twitch's Patch Notes livestream on Wednesday, the new Discover Feed is only available in Twitch's mobile app, and will actually consist of two separate feeds: a Live Feed and a Clips Feed. Users will be able to switch between the two via buttons at the top of the screen, similarly to switching between your Following and For You feeds on TikTok.

What is Twitch's new Live Feed?

As the name suggests, Twitch's Live Feed will show live footage from accounts that are actively streaming at the same time you're scrolling through the Discovery Feed. Streams will be collated both from accounts you follow and ones recommended by Twitch's algorithm based on your viewing history. 

"A majority of our viewers do want to discover someone new to watch, but it's not super easy to do right now without spending a ton of time browsing streams or sitting through ads," Twitch's Jess Sung said during Twitch's stream. "This is meant to help you find something quickly to watch without having to sit through a pre roll ad before you even know if that content is something you're gonna like." 

As the name suggests, Twitch's Live Feed will show live footage from accounts that are actively streaming at the same time you're scrolling through the Discovery Feed.

The feeds will still have ads, but just like TikTok they will be scrollable, allowing you to quickly flick past them.

If you see content in the feed that catches your interest, you can tap on the streamer's avatar to start watching the livestream. Sung also stated that Twitch is working on an update that will allow you to join a livestream simply by tapping the screen.

What is Twitch's new Clips Feed?

Meanwhile, Twitch's Clips Feed will show short videos taken from past broadcasts. Twitch already allows users to extract short segments from their livestreams to feature on their pages, known as Clips. The new Clips Feed will serve such videos to users, essentially allowing viewers to see the highlights of creator's broadcasts.

The Clips Feed will also display whether or not the streamer is live, and allow you to join their livestream if they are.

Twitch's Clips Feed will show short videos taken from past broadcasts.

While streamers can't upload videos directly to the Discovery Feed, the algorithm will prioritise clips that are Featured on their profiles. All livestreams and clips which adhere to Twitch's content guidelines are automatically eligible to appear in the Discovery Feed, including mature games and profanity, though Sung stated that "some mature content types" will be restricted. The Discovery Feed will also still show users creators they follow who have used Twitch's Content Classification Labels.

Sung also stated that this isn't the end for changes to Twitch's mobile app, hinting that it may soon look even more like TikTok.

"Next month some users might see the feed as the home page of the app instead of seeing it in the feed tab," said Sung. "Over time as we work toward redesigning our mobile app… you might see more experiments and changes to the feed and the mobile viewing experience."

The teaser trailer for One Hundred Years of Solitude has arrived, giving us a glimpse at the first official screen adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel García Márquez's magnum opus.

One Hundred Years of Solitude follows the Buendía family in Macondo, a fictional Colombian town founded by their patriarch Jose Arcadio Buendía (Marco González). Netflix's 16-episode magic realist series will track multiple generations of the family as they deal with love, war, and a curse which has confined them to a century of isolation.

SEE ALSO: Netflix buys the rights to make first ever adaptation of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'

Originally published in 1967, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely lauded and heavily influential novel which contributed to García Márquez being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. However, the author was reluctant to grant the rights for a screen adaptation up until his death in 2014, concerned that the story would not fit into a traditional movie structure and that it would not be filmed in Spanish.

His estate has now allowed Netflix to adapt the novel, with García Márquez's sons Rodrigo García and Gonzalo García Barcha serving as executive producers on the series.

"[I]n the current golden age of series, with the level of talented writing and directing, the cinematic quality of content, and the acceptance by worldwide audiences of programs in foreign languages, the time could not be better [for a screen adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude]," García said when the series was first announced in 2019.

One Hundred Years of Solitude will be available to stream on Netflix later this year.

Benjamin Bratt's cameo in episode 4 of Loot, "Mr. Congeniality," plays up the actor's heartthrob status while poking sly fun at the surreal nature of cameos themselves.

SEE ALSO: 'Loot' review: Maya Rudolph shines in a sitcom that makes for a great weekend binge

At the beginning of this episode — whose title is a nod to Bratt's role in the seminal action rom-com Miss Congeniality — harried heroine Molly (Maya Rudolph) has sworn off men. Alas, she's only human, and her urges are getting out of control. To get over that, she does what any ultra-rich philanthropist does; she jets off to an elite wellness retreat. It’s going well, and Molly is relaxed, but a latecomer to the meditation session changes everything. Enter Benjamin Bratt.

Benjamin Bratt's cameo plays on his history of advocacy. Credit: Apple TV+

The Poker Face actor smiles and says, "My motorcycle broke down on the way here. I had to drag it the last mile." Thoughts of Bratt dragging a motorcycle does something to Molly, who looks at him as if she’s watching the universe's secrets being unlocked in front of her very eyes. (Here, Rudolph's command of physical humor and over-the-top performance of female horniness, as in her fantastic Prince cover band Princess, becomes key.)

As he approaches Molly, one arm over his head, maintaining his cheeky grin, he says, "I'm Benjamin Bratt."

From the moment Bratt swaggers into the episode (accompanied by the very sexy R&B classic "I Know What You Want" by Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey, no less), his goal isn’t to stand out but to immerse himself in the world of Loot. Often, cameos only have to work in a single scene for a laugh, and aren’t always woven into the narrative, but Bratt’s mission is to be a genuine romantic interest for Molly. And he does it perfectly. 

Molly is a fan of Bratt, and is thrilled (and aroused) by the fact that he’s been assigned as her partner for the meditation. But Loot twists our expectations by making him as big a fan of her work as a philanthropist. Molly can’t believe she’s talking to Bratt, and he can’t believe it, either. There’s a sense of genuine excitement and nervousness as Bratt rattles off information about Molly that a dedicated fan would know, like details about the speech she delivered in the Season 1 finale. Their chemistry is genuinely riveting. Loot plays on Bratt's image as the ultimate sex symbol: What could be hotter than a man who can drag a motorcycle for a mile without breaking a sweat — and who has a genuine passion for your work? 

This is also where knowing a touch more about Bratt in real life comes into play. Like, yes, there's his jawline, but here's an essay he wrote for Esquire about the wisdom of abuelas — now that's swoon-worthy. He's a passionate advocate for Latinx and Indigenous representation onscreen, specifically requesting that his breakout Law & Order character have the same Peruvian American background as himself. (His mother was born in Peru and is of Quechua descent.) He’s taken on challenging and unexpected roles, like poet Miguel Piñero in 2001's Piñero, a role John Leguizamo turned down after learning of the poet's bisexuality. Bratt was a consulting producer on Dolores, the documentary helmed by his brother, Peter, about activist Dolores Huerta. The list goes on and on.

By leaning on his niche as a dashing leading man with heart, his performance plays into the fantasy of him falling for one of his fans. (Fictional millionaires: They're just like us!)

From Al Pacino to Michael Cera, the self-parody is ripe for comedy. 

At their best, a celeb playing themselves is playing a heightened version of their persona. Camp is very much in play as these performers deliver goofy, hyper-violent, or comically out-of-touch iterations of themselves. That’s precisely what makes these performances fun — they provide an element of surprise that plays upon what we think we know, twisting that into something shocking. 

Many actors make a meal of these cameos. In Jack and Jill, legendary actor Al Pacino brings his manic energy to new heights as a passionate Dunkin’ advocate, hamming it up to infinite degrees. In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite with Dogma director Kevin Smith and play up their famous friendship with hyper-bro caricatures of themselves, filming an action-packed sequel to Good Will Hunting. The animal-loving Bob Barker beats up Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore. Most recently, the charming and suave James Marsden taps into an egomaniacal side for his turn in Jury Duty. Perhaps the wildest example is Michael Cera in This Is the End. His film persona (especially before the film was released in 2013) was a bastion of sweet nerdy innocence. This Is the End, however, showcased Cera as a coke-addled sex fiend, playing against type with glee.    

Benjamin Bratt as himself lays on the charm offensive.  Credit: Apple TV+

The two projects that have shaped Bratt’s public persona best are Law & Order and Miss Congeniality. During a four-year stint on Law & Order, Bratt played Detective Rey Curtis, a devout Catholic who was determined to uphold the law to the best of his ability. He was charming and kind, but unafraid to let his inner bad boy out, getting reprimanded for losing his temper on numerous occasions. And in Miss Congeniality, he’s FBI agent Eric Matthews, the love interest of Sandra Bullock’s Gracie Hart. Bratt proves to be a perfect rom-com love interest, serving a lot of the charm that would serve him for decades to come.

SEE ALSO: 24 best romantic comedies to fall in love with on Netflix

Bratt’s performance in Loot challenges our expectations of the celebrity cameo. Audiences have come to expect exaggerated personas doing things we’d never expect to see them do — think of Anna Faris as a coke-addled advocate for gun violence in Keanu as another funny example. But when actors playing crazy versions of themselves becomes the norm for the celebrity cameo, that starts to feel less like a surprise and more like an inevitability. By breaking this mold, Bratt’s gives us a real surprise and true delight. The real magic of his performance is that — whether you know Bratt’s persona or not  — you can believe his character is a largely accurate reflection of who he really is.

Bratt saves the best for last.

At the end of the episode, cracks begin to appear in Bratt’s charm offensive, as he starts to reveal a more egotistical side while wooing Molly. Bratt simply can’t stop himself from mentioning his work, especially when trying to seduce Molly. He compares Molly’s beauty to "the Russian tundra at twilight," adding that he "just filmed there." His role has subtlety — something missing from the vast majority of celebrity cameos — and it plays deliciously into the idea of the narcissistic actor, twisting the initial setup of the romantic fantasy Molly is looking for. Still, Bratt toes the line gently to keep himself an attractive option for Molly. In this way, Bratt puts his own spin on the typically heightened expectations of a celebrity cameo, gingerly dropping hints that he's just like other ego-driven actors without going full-tilt, and delivering a delicate, nuanced performance — one that still lets him be extremely funny and memorable.

Eventually, he tells her exactly what she wants to hear: He’s not looking for anything serious. He could have just said that, but instead he delivers the funniest lines of the episode in a hushed tone, as if he’s whispering sweet nothings into Molly’s ear.

"I'm moving to London next week to shoot a live-action version of Despicable Me. I'll be there for two years."

Of course, a film shoot typically takes a few weeks to a few months, so the idea of filming anything for two years (especially a freaking live-action version of Despicable Me) is outrageous and an obvious lie to avoid future commitment. Bratt voiced Eduardo Pérez and El Macho in Despicable Me 2, way back in 2013, so it's not outside of the realm of possibility that he'd be involved with a future iteration of the series. The time frame and making it a live-action movie is what pushes this particular excuse over the top and into surreal hilarity.

That Bratt delivers this line with complete seriousness is what solidifies the performance. It's a terrific twist on what we’ve come to expect from playing yourself on-screen. Leave it to Bratt to have us swooning and cringing in equal measure.

Loot is now streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes available every Wednesday.

TL;DR: The Mymanu CLIK S translation earbuds are on sale for £72.30, saving you 42% on list price.

Springtime is a great opportunity for a holiday, but you might not get to really experience the culture of a place if you stick to the standard tourist attractions. Knowing the local language may help, but learning a whole language for a holiday might actually be harder than finding a good price on flights.

If you don’t have time to learn the language, then you may want to try out a wearable translator that does the job for you. The Mymanu CLIK S earbuds have been featured at CES and can translate over 37 languages from all over the world. Get these earbuds while they’re only £72.30.

Take a translator anywhere you go. These earbuds may not make you fluent, but they could help you understand individual speakers or groups of speakers in another language. Download the MyJuno app on your Android or iOS device and pick which languages are being used in your conversation. When you need to talk, press the button on your earbud. A translation will automatically play from your phone. 

When it’s your turn to listen, the other speaker just has to talk into your phone for a translation to play in your earbud and appear in writing on your screen. Groups of speakers are limited to text-only translations, but that may still be easier than manually entering everything into unreliable browser translators.

Mymanu CLIK S supports German, French, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, Thai, Japanese, Czech, and more. And when you’re not translating, you can also listen to music or take calls. These earbuds are impressive translators, but they also come with many of the standard amenities you may expect of wireless earbuds. That includes high-quality sound and call functions. 

Planning a holiday? Find the best local spots by talking to the people who live there in their own language. Get the Mymanu CLIK S translation earbuds on sale for £72.30. No coupon needed. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Mymanu Mymanu CLIK S Translation Earbuds £72.30 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal

TL;DR: Watch Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians in the IPL for free on JioCinema. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Cricket fans have been well and truly enthralled by this year's IPL, and it's not over yet.

Three weeks in and things are continuing to heat up, and next up is the Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians. Expect to see players such as Shikar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya as the two teams face off in the 33rd match of the season.

If you want to watch Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians for free from anywhere in the world, here's all you need to know.

When is Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians?

Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians starts at 3 p.m. BST on April 18. This match takes place at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, India.

How to watch Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians for free

JioCinema is offering free live streams of every IPL cricket match this season in 4K resolution on its app.

JioCinema is geo-restricted to India, but anyone can unblock this free streaming service with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in India, meaning you can access JioCinema from anywhere in the world.

Unblock JioCinema to stream the IPL 2024 by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in India

4. Visit JioCinema (you will need an Indian phone number to subscribe)

5. Watch Punjab Kings vs. Mumbai Indians for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) £82.82 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

Most of the best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can watch IPL live streams without committing with your cash. This is clearly not a long-term solution, but it does mean you can watch select IPL fixtures for free.

What is the best VPN for JioCinema?

ExpressVPN is the best service for unblocking JioCinema, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including India

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £82.82 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Stream the IPL for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Watch the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix for free on ORF, ServusTV, RTBF, or RTL ZWEE. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Whether or not the battle for the F1 championship is actually competitive, fans will keep coming back for more. Max Verstappen could win every remaining race this season, and whilst that wouldn't exactly make for great viewing, we're all still watching extremely fast cars going wheel to wheel. Things could be worse.

If you're interested in watching the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, we've got all the information you need.

When is the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix?

The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix takes place over 56 laps of the 5,451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit. The full schedule can be found here:

• Practice 1 — 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. BST on April 19

• Sprint Qualifying — 8:30 to 9:14 a.m. BST on April 19

• Sprint — 4 to 5 a.m. BST on April 20

• Qualifying — 8 to 9 a.m. BST on April 20

• Race — 8 a.m. BST on April 21

Sky Sports is broadcasting live coverage of every race weekend this season, with race highlights of the Chinese Grand Prix available on Channel 4 shortly after the race.

How to watch the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix for free

You can stream the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix live and free on these streaming platforms:

• Austria — ORF or ServusTV (12 races each)

• Belgium — RTBF (every race)

• Luxembourg — RTL ZWEE (every race)

These free streaming platforms are geo-restricted, meaning you'll be blocked if you attempt to connect from outside the country of origin. Fortunately, you can bypass these restrictions with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other countries, meaning you can access these streaming services to watch F1 for free from anywhere in the world.

Unblock these free streaming services by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Austria, Belgium, or Luxembourg

4. Connect to ORF, ServusTV, RTBF, or RTL ZWEE

5. Watch F1 races from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) £82.82 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch F1 live streams for free. This is clearly not a long-term solution, but it does mean you can stream the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix without actually spending anything.

What is the best VPN for F1?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for streaming F1, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is protected

• Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for £82.82 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Watch the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix for free with ExpressVPN.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for April 18's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

One side of something many-sided.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no letters that appear twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter F.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. What's the answer to Wordle today?

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to Wordle #1034 is...

FACET.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for April 18's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Things you'd see in a suburb

• Green: Planning something

• Blue: Units of measurement

• Purple: Golden things

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Sidewalk Sights

• Green: Have in Mind

• Blue: Unit Abbreviations

• Purple: Golden___

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #312 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Sidewalk Sights: CURB, GRATE, GUTTER, MANHOLE

• Have in Mind: AIM, INTEND, MEAN, PLAN

• Unit Abbreviations: CAL, GAL, IN, OZ

• Golden___: FLEECE, GIRLS, PARACHUTE, RULE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

Around this time just one week ago, iPhone users in 92 counties received a bizarre notification on their device.

"Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID," read the notification. "This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do. Although it's never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning — please take it seriously."

Apple posted an announcement on its website giving basic details for why the company would generally send out a notification warning like this. However, the company has been relatively mum on the situation since. And it never quite disclosed the exact threat that spurred Apple to send out that notification to those users at that specific time.

Now, a new report appears to have solved the mystery.

China-linked LightSpy spyware

The Apple news outlet Apple Insider noticed a report by Blackberry — yes, the mobile phone company that was popular in the 2000s and has since pivoted into a cybersecurity firm — that appears to have gotten to the bottom of the spyware notification situation.

According to Blackberry, the spyware that iPhone users were warned about is called LightSpy, which is described in the report as a "sophisticated iOS implant." 

The report points out that this is a concerning development because LightSpy was last seen used in a campaign during the 2020 political protests in Hong Kong. So, this latest attack appears to be a reemergence of LightSpy.

LightSpy is "a fully-featured modular surveillance toolset," according to Blackberry. The spyware can pull targets' private information, which includes pinpoint-accurate location data as well as data from messaging applications, text messages, phone call history, and web browser history. It can even create sound recordings from the device, including recording during VOIP calls. 

LightSpy has been used by attackers to target individuals in Southeast Asia, including India, for the most part, which explains why those notifications were mostly received by iPhone users located in that general region. The messaging apps mentioned in Blackberry's report are among the most popular in that part of the world: QQ, WeChat, and Telegram. In addition, LightSpy can pull payment history from targets from the WeChat Pay service.

Blackberry believes this attack was once again perpetrated by China-based or native Chinese-speaking actors, as with previous LightSpy campaigns, and there's a potential for state-sponsored involvement as well.

The report recommends that users who have reason to be targeted, whether due to their employment or activism, utilize Apple's Lockdown Mode, which the iPhone-maker describes as a feature used to "protect devices against extremely rare and highly sophisticated cyber attacks."

There's a new app in town, according to Wired and Bloomberg, if you consider Silicon Valley a town. A by-invitation-only audio-based app called Airchat is reportedly being "hyped in tech circles," with invites making the rounds among the Valley's top brass.

The app combines elements of X (formerly Twitter) and voice notes, with a main feed populated by text transcripts of voice notes from other users, which you can play, heart, or repost.

SEE ALSO: BeReal has 10 months left before it runs out of money

The "hype" for AirChat has been magnified by reports from Business Insider and a contributor at Forbes, who declared that you'd have to have been "under a rock" to have avoided an invite to the app. And it's no coincidence that Airchat cofounders Naval Ravikant (co-creator of AngelList) and Brian Norgard (former chief product officer at Tinder) are tech insiders themselves, or that investors include the likes of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who "threw in a check, kind of blindly," according to Ravikant.

But the numbers may tell a different story. Both Bloomberg and Business Insider cite data from Sensor Tower that claims Airchat has been downloaded just over 45,000 times since launching in mid-2023, with 30,000 of those downloads occurring only after a relaunch this month. That lackluster showing could be chalked up to the app's current exclusivity, but Airchat is also losing steam fast. Bloomberg reported that the app was ranked no. 29 in the App Store's ranking of top social networking apps just yesterday. As of publishing today, the app has fallen to no. 42.

If the term "social audio app" rings a bell, you may be remembering Clubhouse, which shot to fame in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was valued at $4 billion. But Clubhouse gained popularity at a lonely time, when most people were sheltering inside and desperate for human interaction, and last year, the app laid off half of its staff.

Perhaps Airchat can do what Clubhouse could not. For now, it seems like just another place tech execs can hear themselves talk.

When iOS 18 launches later this year, the Notes app could be useful for a lot more than just lazy celebrity apologies.

AppleInsider reported on Wednesday that iOS 18 could come with a revamped Notes app that includes two major new features: voice notes and math. If Apple sticks to its usual launch pattern, iOS 18 will be unveiled at WWDC 2024, so expect to hear about official updates from the mothership in June.

Which features are reportedly coming to iOS 18 'Notes'?

The two new features are pretty self-explanatory. Voice notes would allow users to record and store voice memos within the Notes app itself, complementing any text or images they wish to include alongside them. Folks could then put their voice notes in iCloud and access them from different Apple devices.

SEE ALSO: How to mirror your iPhone to your TV

As for what AppleInsider called "Math Notes," these would tie into the iOS Calculator app and would theoretically allow for users to perform complex math equations with proper notation within the Notes app.

Both features would probably be most useful for people in academia and business. As AppleInsider pointed out, similar features are already available in Microsoft's popular OneNote app, a competitor to the native Apple Notes app. It would make sense, then, for Apple to crib a couple of key components from OneNote for its own app.

It also wouldn't be the first time Apple has taken "inspiration" from other companies for big features or ideas. Such is the way of things.

Hate emptying the cat's box after your furry friend does its business? Check out these deals on self-scooping litter boxes at Amazon as of April 17:

Best self-scooping litter box deals Best overall deal PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Smart Self-Cleaning Litter Box $229.95 at Amazon (Save $40) Get Deal Best front-entry deal PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Plus Front-Entry Self-Cleaning Litter Box $184.95 at Amazon (Save $45) Get Deal Best odor control deal PetSafe ScoopFree Clumping Self-Cleaning Litter Box $99.95 at Amazon (Save $20) Get Deal

Cats are absolutely adorable. The entire internet agrees. What isn't adorable is having to clean up after your feline sidekick. While cats are arguably cleaner than most dogs since they relieve themselves in a litter box, you're still left with the responsibility of emptying it.

If you've had your fair share of scooping your cat's mess out of the litter box and want a better solution, there is one! We present the self-scooping litter box. It collects waste and empties it into a reservoir that you don't have to see or touch (mostly), which means a much more pleasant experience for you and a clean and happy cat. Automatic litter boxes are the cat's meow, so to speak.

Now's a great time to make the change because Amazon has select self-scooping litter boxes on sale for up to 20% off right now, with one available for just $99.95 — so, no, you don't have to spend upwards of $700 to get one. If you're ready to bring home a new litter box for your favorite fur baby, grab one of our picks of the best self-scooping litter boxes below.

Best overall deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Smart Self-Cleaning Litter Box $229.95 at Amazon
$269.95 Save $40.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Smart Self-Cleaning Litter Box connects to its companion My PetSafe app to let you check on its status wherever you are. Its hands-free cleaning cycle is set to automatically rake any solid waste 20 minutes after detecting your cat has left the box. That means you only have to swap in a fresh tray once per month. With its leak-proof trays, you never have to touch anything unsightly, and pre-filled crystal litter helps keep those unpleasant smells as undetectable as possible. Plus, you'll get a notification when your cat uses the litter box, so you know exactly how your pet is doing, complete with an activity log to show the vet should you run into any health concerns.

Best front entry deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Plus Front-Entry Self-Cleaning Litter Box $184.95 at Amazon
$229.95 Save $45.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Plus Front-Entry Self-Cleaning Litter Box is a great front-entry option if that's what your cat prefers. It has a nice domed entry that your furry friend can feel secure in. You don't have to clean or refill your cat's litter box for weeks thanks to this box's automatic scheduling. It also has disposable trays with plastic lining that you simply throw away instead of replacing with additional litter. The crystal litter it uses can reduce most of the smell, and since you dispose of everything at once, that cuts down on odors as well. There's also an included health counter to help you keep track of how many visits your cat makes to the litter box in case you need to know.

Best odor control deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon PetSafe ScoopFree Clumping Self-Cleaning Litter Box $99.95 at Amazon
$119.95 Save $20.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The PetSafe ScoopFree Clumping Self-Cleaning Litter Box is compatible with clumping litter if you prefer that over crystal, but it uses most types of litter without the need for trays. It will automatically rake through your cat's litter with an eye on keeping waste and odors at bay. You can empty its attached waste bin once a week and refresh the litter occasionally, and that's about all you really need to do for this setup. You can use it with one cat or let multiple felines do their business here. Whatever you choose, it cuts down significantly on the smells you might get from a regular litter box.

Android 15 is set to revolutionize how devices charge by potentially enabling NFC (near-field communication) technology.

Commonly used for contactless payments and to charge phones wirelessly, this addition was discovered in the latest Android 15 Beta release by Android Authority. Dubbed "NfcCharging," it could introduce wireless charging capabilities to a wider range of devices, particularly budget models that typically lack Qi charging (the current standard for wireless power).

SEE ALSO: Google Pixel 9 is rumored to steal this iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 feature How would 'NFC charging' work?

Although NFC charging offers a slower charging rate, peaking at just 1W, it could still prove beneficial in emergencies. For instance, it would take around five hours to fully charge a 5,000mAh battery — making it a less efficient, yet convenient alternative. Primarily, NFC charging could be more useful for smaller devices like earbuds, styluses, and smartwatches due to their low-power requirements and smaller battery sizes.

This emerging technology promises to make wireless charging more accessible, especially for devices too small to support Qi's larger antennas. With NFC antennas being significantly more compact, they could easily fit into a greater variety of devices.

While the concept of NFC charging has been around for some years, its implementation has been limited. However, if integrated into Android natively, it could set a new trend for device charging, potentially paving the way for replacing Qi charging if the speed and efficiency of NFC can be enhanced. This would simplify the internal design by reducing the number of required antennas and allowing for larger batteries or additional features within devices.

Expected to debut between August and October 2024, more insights into NFC charging and other Android 15 updates are likely to be unveiled at the Google I/O 2024 event on May 14.

SAVE $124.98: The Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet (128GB) productivity bundle is on sale for $279.99 at Amazon, down from the normal bundle price of $404.97. That's a 30% discount. The bundle includes the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet, keyboard case, and stylus pen.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet (128GB) productivity bundle $279.99 at Amazon
$404.97 Save $124.98 Deal includes the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet, keyboard case, and stylus pen. Get Deal

Working from home or the local cafe can be a welcome break from the office — especially when you have the right equipment to make it easy. If you're looking to upgrade your work set-up for when you're away from the office, Amazon has the perfect deal.

As of April 17, the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet productivity bundle is $279.99 at Amazon, marked down from the standard bundle price of $404.97. That's a 30% discount or a savings of $124.98. The bundle includes the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet (128GB), a magnetic keyboard case, and a stylus pen.

SEE ALSO: The best tablets: iPads are great, but have you tried literally anything else?

The Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet earned a Mashable Choice award, with SaVanna Shoemaker giving the tablet a high rating of 4.6 out of 5 in her review. "The Amazon Fire Max 11 has a large, 11-inch display and is blazing fast, making it a good alternative to pricier tablets for streaming and games," writes Shoemaker.

Thanks to today's deal, you'll get the 11-inch tablet with 2.4 million pixels in addition to a setup that makes it ideal for working away from the office. The included keyboard case has a built-in trackpad that's capable of gestures like pinch to zoom and scrolling with two fingers. The integrated back cover not only serves as protection but also includes a stand. And the keyboard doesn't require charging, simply plugging into the Fire Max 11 tablet.

You'll also get an Amazon stylus pen with the productivity bundle. Take notes, draw, or mark up a PDF with ease thanks to the stylus. If you're nervous about losing the stylus pen, have no fear: it attaches magnetically to the side of the tablet.

If you prefer to work from home or you'd love to not lug a heavy laptop with you while traveling, the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet productivity bundle could be ideal for streamlining the process. Thanks to today's deal at Amazon, you can grab the bundle for 30% off.

Carrie Bradshaw is a narcissist. She's a terrible friend. She's delusional. She's the problem. She's problematic. Gen Z can't handle her.

The internet has been throwing around these opinions since Sex and the City arrived on Netflix, ushering in a new wave of Carrie Bradshaw discourse nearly 26 years after the groundbreaking HBO series premiered. The show and its iconic heroine still strike a chord with viewers. Gen Z icon Olivia Rodrigo even weighed in during one of two sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, wearing a bedazzled tank top that read "Carrie Bradshaw AF." (The second night, she donned another embellished tank; this one said "And just like that.")

SEE ALSO: Why the internet stans Ireland

Sex and the City has long been a source of inspiration for meme culture, something Sylvia Sierra, associate professor of communication and rhetorical studies at Syracuse University, attributes to the breadth of material fans have to play with. "People get really into referencing media where they can imagine themselves in that world," she told Mashable. Throughout its six seasons, viewers get immersed in Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte's lives as single women in New York City, and each episode includes memorable characters like Charlotte's friend who steals her baby name and oddball plots like Miranda crushing on a sandwich. 

There are longstanding Sex and the City memes, like refashioning the structure of Carrie's voiceovers to fit the current moment — starting with popular Carrie-isms like "I couldn't help but wonder" and "And just like that." Carrie's outsized reactions are also endlessly reposted to react to headlines, especially when that news concerns New York City.  

Recently, a new meme has emerged: Big is moving to Paris. It's mainly used to illustrate how consumed Carrie was by her own problems, specifically her relationship with Big. Twitter / X users write out a conversation in the voices of the three other protagonists of the show, ending with Carrie announcing, "Big is moving to Paris." For instance, after an earthquake shook New York City one user wrote: 

Charlotte: It was 4.8 on the Richter scale!

Miranda: The Richter scale is a totally outdated method for measuring magnitudes and everyone knows it.

Samantha: Let's just say it wasn't the only thing making my walls shake this morning.

Carrie: Big is moving to Paris

Similar posts circulated after the solar eclipse. Soon, Carrie announcing Big's move left the confines of Sex and the City's world making other popular characters, like Dune's Paul Atreides, say "Big is moving to Paris."

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

Unlike other often-quoted moments, Carrie never actually says, "Big is moving to Paris." In the now infamous Season 2 episode that finds Samantha taking the girls to a S&M-themed restaurant, Charlotte getting involved with a shoe salesman with a foot fetish, and Miranda sleeping with an exhibitionist — that's real television — Carrie breaks down at brunch with the girls. Big casually told her he might move to Paris for seven months. At brunch, she says, "I wanted to kill him. And he's standing there giving me the 'what's the big problem' eyes."

She doesn't even say "Big is moving to Paris" in the next episode when the girls stage an intervention with Carrie for excessively talking about their breakup.

Despite its absence, the phrase gets at a central tension of the series.

Why we're still talking about Carrie Bradshaw

The meme "tickled" Sienna Axe, a 23-year-old in Seattle, so much that she changed her display name on X to "Big is moving to Paris." It just made sense, she said. "I saw 'Big moving in Paris' and I was like, yeah Big is moving to Paris. She's always saying that shit," Axe told Mashable. "The world could be ending, and Big would still be moving to Paris and that would still be the most important thing in the world to Carrie Bradshaw."

Axe first got hooked on the show after watching it with her mom, specifically the episode after Carrie and Big broke up and she has a brief fling with an overzealous jazz musician. "I thought it was just so crazy that I sat down and watched the rest of the show," she said. 

Katherine Morgan, a 30-year-old writer and Powell's Books employee in Portland, Oregon, recently wrote a thread defending Carrie against her critics but still laughed at the "Big is moving to Paris" meme. "She does that a lot when someone has news or is talking about current events and then she refocuses the conversation on Big," she said.

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In 2013, writer Emily Nussbaum examined how Sex and the City played with the romantic comedy form by pushing back against viewers' desire to identify with Carrie. For The New Yorker, she wrote, "It switched the romantic comedy’s primal scene, from 'Me, too!' to 'Am I like her?' A man practically woven out of red flags, Big wasn’t there to rescue Carrie; instead, his 'great love' was a slow poisoning. She spun out, becoming anxious, obsessive, and, despite her charm, wildly self-centered—in her own words, 'the frightening woman whose fear ate her sanity.'"

One could argue that Carrie's reaction to Big moving to Paris exemplifies Big's poison driving her to insanity. As one X user wrote, "This is the most down bad anyone's ever been btw."

Tweet may have been deleted

"​​People often look to the media for examples of how to behave and do things in their everyday life and what personalities to have or behavior to enact," said Sierra. Memes are a way for viewers to negotiate those examples. "People use memes to circumscribe the boundaries of what is acceptable and isn't acceptable." 

The "Big is moving to Paris" meme rejects Big's hold over Carrie. "They're distancing themselves [from Carrie] and communicating that this is not what we want to be by ridiculing and laughing about that character," said Sierra. 

"There's so many stereotypes, and ideologies embedded in the media that we consume. In this case, it's a stereotype about a certain woman who's very self-centered. When you recirculate it, you're bringing that stereotype to mind, but by making fun of it, you're rejecting that way of being, and presenting an ideology that's not acceptable," she continued.

By making fun of it, you're rejecting that way of being, and presenting an ideology that's not acceptable.

But even during Sex and the City's cultural heyday, Carrie and Big's relationship was a point of contention for fans. In 2002, Joke Hermes, a professor of media, culture, and citizenship at Inholland University, conducted a study of conversations about the show on Jump the Shark, an internet forum for discussing when a television show fell off. "People reacted strongly against the Carrie and Big storyline early on," Hermes told Mashable. 

Like Sierra, she sees the memes as reacting to something bigger than just the characters. "[Carrie and Big] explore women's condition. We have the jobs we want to do, we are our own women, and then there's this old dream of finding the right guy to be a complete person, which is — as we used to say in the 1980s — the complete myth of patriarchy," said Hermes. "It's an ongoing discussion about how we think about men and women today and whether we're still invested in thinking about femininity and masculinity as total opposites."

It's easy to reject Carrie, but there are those like Morgan who embrace her chaos. "It's freeing to have a model for being loud and wrong because sometimes you have to be a little bit loud and wrong and say what you think so your friends can correct you," Axe said. Being loud and wrong is an essential part of growing up, and in an era where so many women are growing up publicly — whether that be Rodrigo or your average TikTokker in NYC — Carrie Bradshaw is relatable. When Rodrigo calls herself "Carrie Bradshaw AF" she's embracing the messy side of love and womanhood.

While the internet continues to wrestle with issues we've failed to resolve in the past 26 years via Carrie and Big, every New York City transplant on TikTok will continue to battle it out to be "the next Carrie Bradshaw."

Amazon deals of the day at a glance: OUR TOP PICK Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS + Cellular, 41mm) $433.30 at Amazon (save $265.70) Get Deal BEST TV DEAL Samsung 75-Inch The Frame LS03B Series QLED 4K TV $1,895 at Amazon (save $1,102.99) Get Deal BEST EARBUDS DEAL Amazon Echo Buds with wired charging case (2nd gen) $54.99 at Amazon (save $65) Get Deal BEST SECURITY CAMERA DEAL Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera $77.99 at Amazon (save $51.99) Get Deal BEST COMPUTER DEAL Mac Mini (M2 chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) $499 at Amazon (save $100) Get Deal

In the highly oversaturated world of e-commerce, Amazon consistently comes out on top — not just because of its convenience, but largely due to its array of deals. If you're a sucker for a sweet discount, we've scoured the lengthy list of daily deals at the mega-retailer and handpicked some of the most impressive ones we could find. While it may not be a major shopping holiday, there are plenty of price drops on big-name products, including the Apple Watch, The Frame TV, and Echo Buds.

Here are the best Amazon deals of the day for April 17. And don't miss out on our picks from April 15 and April 16 — many of those deals are still live.

Our top pick Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Amazon deal of the day: Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS + Cellular, 41mm) $433.30
$699.00 Save $265.70 Get Deal

If you've had the Apple Watch Series 9 on your wishlist since its debut, your patience has been rewarded with an all-time low discount. Despite its rocky start to the year (Apple removed the blood oxygen sensor from its watches due to a patent dispute), the Series 9 is alive and thriving. It comes with a few fancy new features like Double Tap and a 2,000-nit display, which makes it more readable in sunlight (one of Mashable Senior Editor Stan Schroeder's favorite features). The 41mm version with GPS and cellular connectivity is typically $699, but you can save 38% as of April 17 and snag it for just $433.30.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 75-Inch The Frame LS03B Series QLED 4K TV $1,895.00 at Amazon
$2,997.99 Save $1,102.99 Get Deal

Thanks to Samsung's The Frame TVs, gone are the days of staring at a boring black rectangle on your wall when your TV is switched off. These TVs feature a unique ambient "Art Mode" that displays paintings and photos when the QLED screen is not in use. Many images come pre-loaded onto the TV, but you can also upload your own or subscribe to Samsung's Art Store for more options. The 75-inch version is down to an all-time low price of $1,895 as of April 17 — that's 37% off its usual cost.

Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera $77.99 at Amazon
$129.98 Save $51.99 Get Deal

If you're looking to add a second set of eyes outside of your home, the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera lets you see what's happening in crisp HD at any time of day. It features 700 lumens of motion-triggered illumination and two-way audio, plus advanced motion detection via the Blink subscription plan. At 40% off, it's back down to its all-time low price of $77.99 (reg. $129.98).

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Echo Buds with ANC (wired charging case) $54.99 at Amazon
$119.99 Save $65.00 Get Deal

Some of our favorite wireless earbuds, the second-generation Echo Buds, are on sale at Amazon for just $54.99 as of April 17. While that's not the lowest price we've seen — that honor goes to the $49.99 deal from March 2022 — it's still an incredible deal on a pair of noise-canceling earbuds. Compared to the first-generation duds, Amazon's second iteration "deliver good sound quality, effective ANC, and a slimmed down build." Mashable's Alex Perry was impressed with them upon testing, calling them "a steal for anyone who wants to dip their toes into the world of ANC without setting their wallet on fire."

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Mac Mini (M2 chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) $499.00 at Amazon
$599.00 Save $100.00 Get Deal

If you're looking to upgrade our work-from-home setup without breaking the bank, the M2-equipped Mac Mini is a solid place to start. The ultra-portable desktop computer offers a zippy performance, support for up to two displays, upgraded graphics from its predecessor, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports for advanced connectivity. Better yet, it's just $20 shy of its all-time low price as of April 17. Snag it on sale for just $499 at Amazon.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.