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Elon Musk's X is still banned in Brazil.
In addition, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has said that any user who attempts to access the former Twitter via VPN faces thousands of dollars per day in fines.
So, Brazilian posters need a new place to, well, post. And it appears many Brazilian X users have found a new online social media platform in the form of X competitor Bluesky.
Last week, just 5 days after Brazil banned Musk's X in the country for failing to appoint a legal representative, Bluesky announced that it had 2.6 million new users join the platform over the previous few days alone.
Bluesky shared that 85 percent of those millions of new user signups were Brazilian.
What a week! In the last few days, Bluesky has grown by more than 2.6 million users, over 85% of which are Brazilian.
Welcome, we are so excited to have you here!
Here are answers to some common questions about Bluesky:
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On Friday, Bluesky announced they hit 3 million new users that morning.
That brings Bluesky's total user base to 9 million, with 50 percent of those users joining the platform just in the past week.
this morning we crossed THREE MILLION new users!
that brings our total size to over 9 million people. welcome everyone! we're so glad you're here 🫶 (and yes, video is coming soon)
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Bluesky is an X rival that received a $13 million investment from then-Twitter before Elon Musk acquired the company. However, Bluesky is much smaller than X and its main competitor, the Meta-owned Threads.
But, even without massive backing from a company that owns both Facebook and Instagram, Bluesky has stayed competitive and is often viewed as the third most popular micro-blogging platform behind X and Threads. Bluesky has become the main platform for certain niches of users like artists and more progressive users who were turned off by Musk's right-wing politics.
Then an invite-only platform, Bluesky amassed 2 million users by November 2023 as some social media users fled X due to Musk's leadership. Bluesky opened to the public and dropped the invite requirement in February of this year.
In May, Bluesky shared that it was approaching 6 million users — having appeared to hit that number in July.
It took roughly 8 months for Bluesky to gain 4 million new users, which took them from 2 million users to 6 million. Thanks to Elon Musk and the company's feud with Moraes, Bluesky was able to add 3 million new users in just one week.
So, what's next for Bluesky? In its post sharing its new 9 million user base numbers, Bluesky promised that a long-request feature – video uploads – would soon be coming to the platform.
Plus, it seems like there's no end in sight regarding Musk's feud with Brazil, so it's likely that Bluesky will continue to benefit from X's ban in the country.
You've likely come across the online sextortion scam before.
An email pops up in your inbox with the sender claiming to have obtained your indiscreet photos or videos, such as nudes or sex tapes. For a price, they offer to keep the content private. But, if you don't give in to their blackmail, they threaten to release the photos publicly and send them to your friends and loved ones.
SEE ALSO: Scammers are using pictures of your home to amplify sextortion threatsDespite being well known, scammers continue to utilize this model across the web, which means they are still finding success. But perhaps the scheme's effectiveness is starting to wane as new updated sextortion scams are starting to roll out.
The latest version of this sextortion scheme has a brand new hook: proof that your spouse is cheating on you. They even use their real name in the scam.
The cheating spouse sextortion scamOne of the earliest public mentions of this new sextortion scam occurred on Reddit just last month.
Reddit user Extension-Bunch9277 posted a screenshot of an email that they received in the r/Scams subreddit. In the email (addressed to Extension-Bunch9277's partner) the scammer uses the Reddit user's real name in the email introduction, and then proceeds to use their spouse's real name. The Reddit user explained that the scammer even included a second last name that they "barely used."
The email claims to have proof that the receiver's spouse is cheating on them and offers to give the user full access to this supposed proof at a linked website. The Reddit user did not click the link, though a replying user posted a couple days later they they had. The sender's email appears to be spoofing an email address attached to 3Bigs, a legitimate healthcare data company.
RedditIn the comments on the Reddit post, other Reddit users report recently receiving these emails too. Some share that they received them after only recently getting married. Users also shared that the scammer had access to not only the names they used publicly, but their maiden names too.
The Reddit post was first noticed by cybersecurity news outlet Bleeping Computer.
This is obviously a scam, an updated version of the aforementioned classic sextsextortion scheme. However, it's not clear exactly how this particular version of the scam plays out when a user falls for it. The Reddit user who said they clicked the link reported being taken to a website's login page. They did not continue from there. It's possible that the scam involves a request for payment in order to receive the supposed data. It's also possible that the links lead to a download for the target, which inevitably installs malware on their computer.
Multiple Reddit users on the thread shared that they had recently used the wedding planning platform The Knot. However, it's unclear if there's any connection between the service and the scam. It's also possible that the scammers are utilizing public background check websites for this information. Just last month, Mashable reported on a massive data breach at background check company National Public Data, which leaked sensitive data for 2.9 billion people.
Just earlier this week, Mashable reported on another new sextortion scam first reported by 404 Media. This version of the scam weaponizes images of the target's home address, likely taken off of services like Google Maps, to threaten people into paying a monetary ransom.
Mashable readers who receive these scam emails should not click on any links included in the message.
Over the summer, Disney's internal communications channels suffered a data breach. We now know that as a result of this breach, guests and employees were affected, with personal information being stolen by hackers.
Earlier this summer, a hacker group called "NullBulge" gained access to over 1TB of sensitive data from Disney after infiltrating the company's internal Slack channels. Now, a new report by the Wall Street Journal, which viewed the leaked files, has uncovered more about exactly what was in the stolen files.
SEE ALSO: [UPDATE: Disney responds] A death at Disney World leads to legal battle over Disney+ terms of serviceThe leak consists of more than 44 million messages found in Disney's Slack workplace channels. This also includes around 18,800 spreadsheet files and 13,000 PDFs. The data leaked by the hackers was limited to files Disney employees posted in a Disney Slack channel, with both private and public channels affected. Private direct messages between Disney employees in Slack are also not found in the leak.
While some of Disney's internal company information and financials were part of the trove of stolen data, the most concerning details involve the private data belonging to Disney's theme park and Disney Cruise Line customers and employees.
Disney crew and guests doxxedThe Disney data leaked by hackers includes private information for Disney Cruise Line staff and guests, as well as theme park attendees.
Physical addresses, birthdates, passport numbers, visa information, and even current assignments belonging to Disney Cruise Line crew members were found amongst the data stolen by hackers.
Another file contained names, addresses, and phone numbers tied to passengers on the Disney Cruise Line.
Information on guests at Disneyland was also discovered in the leaked data. It appears a "cluster" of Disneyland guests who had dining reservations at the park had their names and contact information revealed.
It's unclear exactly how many Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line guests and staff have been affected.
Internal Disney streaming, theme park financialsThe leak includes new financial information for Disney's streaming service, Disney+.
According to internal spreadsheets found in the leaked data, Disney+ made more than $2.4 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2024.
While Disney does publicly report its streaming financial information to investors, as the Wall Street Journal points out, Disney does not disclose exactly how much each of its individual streaming services – Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – contributes to that overall total. The leaked revenue data reveals that Disney+ contributes 43 percent of revenue for Disney's direct-to-consumer entertainment business, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The leak also includes some very interesting financial details for Disney theme parks. Between October 2021 and June 2024, Disney's add-on theme park service Genie+ brought in more than $724 million in revenue at Disney's Orlando, Florida resort complex, Disney World. Genie+ was a paid service that allowed Disney World guests to skip to the front of the line for the theme park's attractions. Disney replaced Genie+ in July with a similar paid add-on service called Lightning Lane.
Mashable has reached out to Disney for comment, and will update this post if we hear back.
YouTube is building tools to detect AI-generated likenesses of artists like actors and musicians, the company's vice president of creator products Amjad Hanif wrote in a blog post this week. Hanif also repeatedly expressed that YouTube is "committed" to the responsible development of AI tools.
The first of the new tools is "synthetic singing" identification within Content ID, a system of identifying copyrighted music that launched in 2007. Mashable reported back in 2016 that YouTube has paid billions of dollars to rights holders through Content ID, and Hanif reiterated that in this post.
The new technology will apparently be able to detect AI-generated voices of musicians' likenesses. A pilot program is set to start next year.
SEE ALSO: YouTube extends limits to body weight and fitness videos for teens in Europe and UKYouTube is also developing technology to detect AI-generated content showing the faces of actors, creators, athletes, and the like.
In addition to this announcement, Hanif addressed YouTube and Google (which owns YouTube) using uploaded content to "improve the content experience" through machine learning and the development of AI tools. The company is "committed" to this being "done responsibly," though specifics aren't given. The post also states that the site has implemented safeguards for the use of YouTube's own generative AI tools like Dream Screen, such as preventing certain prompts that violate its policies (though it doesn't explicitly say which prompts).
YouTube is also (once again) committed to assuring that third-party apps respect YouTube's Terms of Service, which prevent certain uses of creator content like scraping.
"We're committed to working with our partners to ensure future advancements amplify their voices, and we'll continue to develop guardrails to address concerns and achieve our common goals," Hanif wrote.
Celebrated indie writer/director Sean Baker isn't precious about sex. On social media, pearl-clutchers chatter about love scenes being unneeded in media. In politics, our bedroom activities and identities become fear-mongering talking points. Meanwhile, Baker shrugs off such puritanical shame, turning out one critically heralded movie after another that offers a defiantly casual yet humane portrait of sex work in the U.S.
Among his most notable: Tangerine, which won a slew of Gotham Awards, follows two enchanting trans sex workers around during a harried Christmas in Los Angeles. The Florida Project, which features Willem Dafoe in an Oscar–nominated supporting role, centers on the mischievous child of a sex worker, being raised in candy-colored squalor under the shadow of the Disney theme park. Palme d'Or nominee Red Rocket stars Simon Rex as a washed-up porn star looking for a new lease on life with a fresh-faced ingénue. Now, Baker's Palme d'Or winner Anora chases the Pretty Woman dream — a "hooker with a heart of gold" marries a wealthy white knight — to a far less Hollywood ending.
SEE ALSO: Trailer for Palme d'Or winner 'Anora' teases an unexpected love storyRejecting both the Holly Golightly/Vivian Ward version of sex for sale and the gritty thriller route of treating sex work as scandalous set dressing, Baker has made films about Americans living on the fringe of a society that wants yet rejects them. And Anora may be his best yet.
Anora is outrageous, sexy, and hilarious. Mikey Madison stars as Ani in "Anora." Credit: NEONWritten and directed by Baker, Anora stars Mikey Madison (Scream 5, Better Things) as its eponymous heroine (and she would really prefer it if you called her Ani). When she's not getting shit from her sister/roommate in their humble Brooklyn apartment, the twentysomething is shaking her G-string-clad bum at a strip club with a beguiling smile on her face. Like Baker's previous films, sex work is shown with a mix of frankness and humor. So amid a montage of lap dances, Ani is also shown eating dinner out of a Tupperware while arguing with her boss about her rights as a freelance contractor. This snatch at office comedy is a simple way to demystify a job that's such a point of fascination and condemnation for American audiences.
However, Ani soon finds a way out of this grind when a sweet-faced and suspiciously wealthy Russian boy offers her a sugar daddy deal. What begins as a house call soon escalates into a trip to Vegas and a quickie wedding. But this isn't a flat-out love match for either. For Ani, it's a chance to be a trophy wife to a young, hot, rich husband with whom she actually enjoys hanging out. For Vanya (Mark Eidelshtein), Ani is a ticket to a green card that can keep him in the U.S. and away from the tedious demands of his oligarch parents back in Russia. As you might expect with such a setup, their honeymoon is short-lived. Before long, a couple of thick-necked goons come knocking at Vanya's New York City home, demanding an explanation about the rumor he's married beneath his station.
Mafia movies train us to brace for violence in such a scenario. And Baker delivers, but not in the way you'd expect. Rather than showing men brutalizing a beautiful, scantily clad young woman (a real danger for women in sex work), Ani turns the tables — and shatters them — in a sequence that is wild and unnervingly funny.
Far from a frightened mouse, Ani rages at these intruders who aim to bully her out of her dream and into an annulment. What follows is a wonderfully bewildering road trip movie. With Vanya having fled in a juvenile panic, it's up to a reluctant Ani, a motley crew of brooding Armenian brothers (Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan), and a bit of extra muscle in the introverted but emotionally intelligent Igor (Yura Borisov) to find the thrill-seeking heir before his very pissed-off parents land in their private jet.
Mikey Madison is a force of nature.Anora demands a lot of its leading lady.
Ani's work means Madison's body is on recurring display, performing steamy dances and acrobatic pole work in long shots that keep every extension in frame. The emotional arc of the story has dizzying highs and gut-churning lows, while the stunt work includes (but isn't limited to) the previously mentioned fight scene with shattered glass and a broken nose (not hers). On top of all of this, Madison must shoulder the story as every man in the vicinity of her heroine acts like a buffoon or a bully.
All this demands more than being Julia Roberts-level charming, which she is. It demands a smirking self-awareness, an edged brand of humor, and a vulnerability that can flash to defense in the blink of an eye. Madison isn't performing Ani; she's bringing to life a woman in full, from her carefully lacquered pedicure to her tinsel hair extensions. Ani might not be like someone you know, but by the end of the movie you will know her intimately.
It's easy to fall in love with Ani. And we're not the only ones who do.
Yura Borisov is superb in Anora.From Tangerine's Mya Taylor to The Florida Project's Brooklynn Prince to Red Rocket's Simon Rex, Baker has an eye for casting. In his homeland of Russia, Yura Borisov has a sizable filmography. And whether you're familiar with it or not, it's easy to see why from the moment he makes eye contact with Ani. Though Igor is brought along in case there's trouble, his face is not one of aggression or threat. He's not some Goon #2, as his eyes glisten with a sharp understanding of every situation he finds himself in.
While all around him there's hollering and proselytizing and drama, his words are few and his tone is soft. Steadily and subtly, he becomes a counterpoint to the other characters, quietly making space for Ani's feelings and thoughts where others reject them. It's character work that relies so heavily on physicality that every shift of his eyebrow, shrug of his shoulder, or flex of his finger carries weight. And as Ani begins to notice this, the film moves further and further from the conventions of a mafia drama or a Hollywood happy ending, into a path that is Baker's to chart. And where it ends up is at once funny, frustrating, and yet satisfyingly cathartic.
Anora is hands down one of the year's best.Ushering audiences from the back rooms of a sweaty strip club to the silk sheets of a posh condo, to the dazzling, neon-lit promenade of Las Vegas and back to the pungent Russian restaurants of Coney Island, Anora is magnificently alive. Madison is its shining star, her charisma absolute as she wields a Brooklyn accent like a whip to dazzle with or wreak havoc as she sees fit. The supporting cast — including Lindsey Normington as a vicious rival — is terrifically grounded in Baker's Brooklyn of bumbling intimidation and reckless lust, nurturing sharp comments and sharper punchlines. But Borisov proves the perfect foil to Madison, allowing her to glow all the brighter under his gaze. He reflects our own growing awe of this badass broad who won't — to borrow from another 2024 cinematic sex worker — will not accept a life she does not deserve.
Underscoring this passionate tone, the cinematography of Drew Daniels draws us in closer, following over Ani's shoulder as she strides onto a stage or into a challenge. The resplendent colors — rich reds, cool teals — are set off against environments of posh beiges or urban grays, setting Ani apart as extraordinary in every moment. Altogether, Anora is a visceral experience, making its audience not voyeurs but one of the crew. Thus embedded, our pulses race, our eyes grow wide, our hearts dance as our heroes do. Anora offers a glorious thrill, as bold as it is brilliant.
Anora was reviewed out of the Toronto International Film Festival, and will open in theaters on Oct. 18, 2024.
TL;DR: If you need high-quality scans anywhere, anytime, get SwiftScan VIP. A lifetime subscription to this iOS and Android-compatible OCR scanner is only £36.54 with the discount code SAVENOW.
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How is SwiftScan different from other scanners?In the grand colosseum of scanners and scanner apps, SwiftScan may come out on top for a few reasons. First, if you're comparing SwiftScan to a desktop scanner, the app is a great find on price alone. Sure, it can't print your scans like a physical scanner could, but it also doesn't take any desk space and doesn't require expensive ink to access half its functions.
When it comes to scanning capabilities, the app captures premium quality scans starting at 200 dpi, and it even automatically enhances scan quality with colour filters and auto-optimisation. Trembly hands? There's blur reduction. Once you've scanned your documents, you can save them as a PDF or JPEG. The app also lets you do multi-page scans. Combine that with the OCR capabilities, and you can turn a few pages of your textbook into a digital document you can search. You can even annotate your documents, add signatures, redact text, or reorder pages.
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Opens in a new window Credit: Maple Media SwiftScan VIP: Lifetime Subscription £36.54 at the Mashable ShopThe moment even the essence of warm weather hits my skin, it becomes ice cream season. After a sweltering day when the temperature finally breaks, there's nothing like the ritual of getting ice cream as a cold, sweet treat. However, like all little treats, they add up, even when buying pints at the corner store.
So what are you to do? Get a time-extensive ice cream machine that requires long churning? Maybe. But the internet's favorite option offers a more accessible shortcut.
I can't tell you exactly the first time I saw the Ninja Creami on my TikTok feed, but all I know is that my feed is inundated with recipes for this sort of instant ice cream maker. It's unsurprising that it coincides with social media's current obsession with protein, as users are making high-protein ice cream concoctions. The hours I've spent watching people make cottage cheese ice cream are more than I'd like to admit.
So, in the thick of ice cream season, I wanted to get my hands on the Ninja Creami. Not because I'm ready to get my protein ice cream on, but because who doesn't like ice cream on demand?
What is the Ninja Creami?The Ninja Creami is a 7-in-1 or, in the case of the Ninja Creami Deluxe, 11-in-1 ice cream maker. It makes ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and smoothie bowls with just the press of a button. It even includes the option to add mix-ins. In the case of the Ninja Creami Deluxe, there are also a variety of options to make frozen drinks, a perk if you can't get your hands on the perpetually sold-out Ninja Slushi.
How does the Ninja Creami work?With each Ninja Creami, you receive at least two 16-ounce pints that you fill and freeze. The Ninja Creami comes with a recipe book to get started; however, a simple search of Ninja Creami recipes will provide you with endless inspiration.
Once you've prepped your bases, which can be crafted from fruit, yogurt, dairy, or alternative milk bases, put them in the freezer to get solid. Ninja recommends freezing your mixes for at least 24 hours, which is more flexible than they imply. I tried pints frozen for eight and 24 hours, and both worked well. The pint frozen for less time was closer to a Frosty texture than classic hard ice cream.
After freezing, the pints are put into a machine, where a blade comes down and spins through the mixture to churn or whip it into the classic ice cream texture. That process takes anywhere from three to six minutes. Once spun, the ice cream should be scoopable, ready to eat, or add mix-ins.
Texture and taste: Some recipes work better than others I sort of felt like the owner of my own ice cream shop. Credit: Samantha Mangino / MashableWhen starting with the Ninja Creami, I nearly had decision paralysis because there were so many recipes to try. Having received the Ninja Creami Deluxe, I could make ice cream and a bounty of frozen drink options. However, I focused on the ice cream choices that apply to both the standard and deluxe versions for testing purposes.
The three pints I whipped up included frozen yogurt, Ninja's recipe for a perfect ice cream base, and then just a simple base of Fairlife chocolate milk, the latter of which is protein TikTok's favorite base.
Since I was so eager to try out the Ninja Creami, I started with what I had in my house: a base of Greek yogurt mixed with vanilla extract and a little salt. I only let it freeze for about eight hours and had decent results. I used the frozen yogurt setting, which takes the longest out of any of the others I tried at around six minutes. Flavor-wise, it was what I expected, reminding me of my teenage years during the frozen yogurt boom. I mixed in some cookies for a little high protein cookies and cream situation, and the end result was taste and texturally like a tart McFlurry.
The Fairlife chocolate milk in the Creami is giving Wendy's Frosty vibes. Credit: Samantha Mangino / MashableI was more by the book with the Ninja ice cream base and chocolate milk, letting them freeze for over 24 hours. At my partner's request, I made a salted caramel base to add cookie dough as a mix-in. After giving it one spin, I pulled it out, and it had a weird, almost pebbly texture — think Dippin' Dots type of look. I could smooth it out with a spatula to make it more creamy, but I gave it another spin after noticing that the bottom half of the pint didn't really get spun. To finish it, I added the cookie dough and used the mix-in setting. The cookie dough didn't leave chunks as I had hoped. Instead, it was fully blended into the ice cream, but only the top half. It was still delicious and scooped beautifully. However, texturally, I felt it was a little icy and not as creamy as classic ice cream.
The chocolate milk, on the other hand, was fabulous texturally. It also needed two spins, and the texture turned out like a homemade soft serve, creamy and smooth. However, in terms of flavor, the freezing made the mix lose some flavor, similar to what fellow Mashable reporter Leah Stodart experienced when putting a White Claw into the Ninja Slushi.
Each mix had its ups and downs, none of which were perfect, but all were tasty and good enough.
There are plenty of possibilities — accompanied by some limitationsAfter making three batches of ice cream, there are endless ways to use the Ninja Creami. However, with as many options as possible, Ninja also cautions against using specific ingredients.
According to Ninja, the number one no-go is using non-fat dairy products. It's not that they won't mix — they will, as evidenced by plenty of Creami users who use non-fat products with success. However, they will be harder once frozen, take longer to spin, and ultimately be less creamy and more icy than full-fat mixes.
Additionally, unlike pints of your favorite Ben and Jerry's, you can't create ripples of peanut butter, caramel, or fudge sauce throughout. Because of the blending mechanic used by the Creami, it would just get blended throughout. This is the same with soft mix-ins, which I found to be true. Things like sandwich cookies and cookie dough just get mixed into the ice creams or frozen yogurts rather than leaving chunks.
It's loud and tedious After mixing once, I refroze the pints and they were rock hard and in need of another spin. Credit: Samantha Mangino / MashableThe main thing to consider with the Ninja Creami is its loudness. It's so loud. I'd heard so many people say this about the Creami, so I was prepared, but it was still a bit of a shock when I turned it on for the first time. It's better on shorter cycles, but longer cycles, like frozen yogurt, felt extensive. My cat freaked out as if we'd just turned on the vacuum, and I almost expected a text from my upstairs neighbor asking me to keep it down.
The volume of the Ninja Creami is definitely a huge drawback, especially if you're trying to mix up a late-night batch. However, in addition to being loud, it's pretty inconsistent. I had a different experience with each batch, some mixing easily, others only mixing in the top half. Due to those inconsistencies, I always had to re-spin, making the process (and sound) go on for longer.
Plus, you're not done once you spin your pint and get it to the texture you want. If you don't finish the pint and instead put it back in the freezer, you need to re-spin it every time you want a scoop. Don't be like me and try to scoop a refrozen pint—you'll nearly bend a spoon in half.
It's the ice cream makers for meal preppersThe Ninja Creami is a dream for meal preppers who want to cook for the week ahead to avoid takeout or convenience foods. This is because the Ninja Creami requires a bit of prep work. Don't expect to want ice cream and have it ready within the hour (just go to the corner store in that case).
To use the Ninja Creami, you need at least eight hours of freezing time, so you need to think ahead. For the average person, this might be fine. For the meal preppers, this won't be an issue at all; instead, it's just another thing to add to your routine: prepping your points for the week. The spontaneous among us? Maybe not the best fit.
Is the Ninja Creami worth it? Look at that gorgeous scoop! Credit: Samantha Mangino / MashableThe Ninja Creami is fun to use; I get the hype. Rather than going on a trip to get ice cream, you're having a little adventure in your kitchen. If you're a planner and/or an ice cream fanatic, the Creami will be a delightful addition as you plan your pints of the week.
On the other hand, the ice cream from the Ninja Creami will not deliver the rich results you get from classic ice cream. The texture could be a lot better, and you can't get the fun chunky mix-ins or fudge ripples you may expect. It's loud and takes up counter space, and since it is so heavy, it's hard to store.
The Ninja Creami starts at $199.95, the cost of approximately 29 pints of Ben & Jerry's, so it will take quite a while to offset its cost, especially when you consider all the ingredients you need to go into it. However, if you're making several pints a week and you're keen to create pints catered to your diet's needs, it will become worth it far sooner.
For me? I just think it's a fun time.
Ninja Creami $199.99 at AmazonEvery band has its biggest fans. The '90s slacker/alt rock group Pavement is probably the greatest, most vital musical group in existence to someone, but right from its opening frames, Alex Ross Perry's Pavements deflates the grandeur of this idea, sarcastically overstating the band’s stature in its opening text. In an age of musical biopic plenty, this semi-ironic, postmodern take — which runs through Perry's part drama, part documentary, and part mockumentary — may be just what the doctor ordered.
To those with only passing knowledge of the Stockton, California, rockers — Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, Scott Kannberg, Steve West, and Mark Ibold — this approach to the band’s concert footage may seem counterproductive, but it also perfectly embodies their lackadaisical, experimental facade. The unique form of Perry's film has its strengths and drawbacks. However, like Pavement itself, what sets the film apart is its outright refusal to adhere to tradition. It is, for better or worse, unique.
What is Pavements about?Through split screens that contrast the group's late-'90s breakup with its 2022 reunion, Pavements establishes a sense of visual and narrative duality early on. While the film eventually chronicles the lives of its members (and the band's life as a whole) in slightly more linear fashion, this contrast establishes what appear to be the film's dramatic parameters: an early success story later granted a new lease on life. However, the strange nature of the band’s revival soon begins fading into view, revealing just how idiosyncratic this movie truly is.
Much of the movie unfolds in side-by-side split screen, which has become a common technique in musical docs, from Todd Haynes’ Rothko-inspired The Velvet Underground to the self-generating, new-each-time Eno. However, Pavements uses this visual cue for tongue-in-cheek purpose early on. On one side, the band’s frontman Stephen Malkmus espouses his youthful, perhaps naive philosophies in a decades-old video. On the other, actor Joe Keery (Steve Harrington on Stranger Things) begins reciting the very same words, with remarkably similar intonations. This reveals — amusingly, and acerbically — that the movie's real subjects exist alongside fictitious versions of them, a group of young actors (including the likes of Nat Wolff and Griffin Newman) who have been cast in a film called Range Life, a prestige biopic practically designed to win awards.
SEE ALSO: 42 movies you'll want to see this fallThe doc veers between presenting the making of this satirical project and presenting it as a movie within a movie, whose footage is sprinkled sporadically throughout Pavements (rife with its own “For Your Consideration” watermark, as though it were a screener for award voting). Perry really did direct and exhibit this feature-length, Bohemian Rhapsody–style satire in New York last year — starring seasoned performers like Jason Schwartzman and Tim Heidecker in biopic stock roles, like the band’s manager and a record executive — with the intention of including this premiere footage in the documentary.
Soon, Pavements begins documenting not just the band themselves, but the development of three parallel art projects that go hand in hand with the band’s recent reunion: the aforementioned movie, a museum installation dedicated to the group, and Slanted! Enchanted!, a Broadway-style jukebox musical starring Michael Esper and Zoe Lister-Jones that pulls from the band's discography.
Pavements takes a multifaceted approach to its subjects.The film cuts between its four aforementioned trajectories — the band and its performance, the biopic and its making, the museum, and the show, each with its own dedicated, roughly equal screen time — with reckless abandon. However, these subjects can be paired up along two interesting axes. On one hand, old footage of the band, when contrasted with their museum commemoration, serves to contrast the past and present, and eventually creates a chronology, albeit non-chronologically. On the other hand, the biopic project is tongue-in-cheek, as though it were more about the biopic genre than about Pavement themselves, and thus, it embodies the group's ironic musings. But this could not feel more different from the musical theater project, which draws from the group's lyrics and melodies to create a sincere story (this show also really did premiere, in 2022).
While Pavements might seem like it meanders for the first of its two hours, cutting rapidly between these four trajectories helps weave together a complete fabric — about the band's story then and now, and about the conflict between their approach and the meaning behind their work. While watching the movie, you may not feel like you're learning anything about the group or its members, but all that really means is you aren't learning things according to the linear, straightforward language that most music docs and biopics have established.
However, the film's most entertaining segments are undoubtedly those featuring Keery, which chronicle his fictitious preparation process in meticulous detail. More than anything or anyone in Pavements, the actor seems to embody the group's spirit through his Borat-like pranks, in which he sits down with accent coaches to prepare for his role as Malkmus and meets up with various people he thinks might be able to help him stay in character. Fittingly, the only music film Pavements resembles in any fashion is Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
What does Pavements actually have to say about the band Pavement?The film, amidst its head-spinning montage approach, goes to ludicrous lengths with its movie-in-a-movie, all but presenting it in full during its runtime. However, this extended lark isn't really about the band, per se, the way the other segments are — none of which are individually sufficient to make any viewer a Pavement expert. Beyond a few dates and events, you're unlikely to come away from Pavements knowing much more about its members and their college disc jockey days than when you went in, which understandably elicits the question: "What's the point?"
The point, it would seem, lies in the making of the film itself, as an anti-biopic that runs counter to everything a standard Hollywood biopic is — or rather, what it represents. If Pavement was an anti-institution band, then Pavements is its anti-institution movie made with their participation. In presenting a hilariously schmaltzy vision of what a straightforward biopic might have looked like, Perry helps them avoid an overly serious canonization.
SEE ALSO: Play it loud: the 25 best music documentaries on NetflixIn a way, he helps keep them young. Bands, when they reach a certain age or threshold, become nostalgic cover acts for themselves, and Pavements is determined to prevent this from happening at all costs, even if it means crafting a movie on the verge of avant-garde that might alienate half its audience.
Still, even when the various narrative threads in Pavements start to meander, the movie remains an entrancing sensory experience, given just how much screen time is dedicated to performance footage, both real and re-created. At the end of the day, despite the tricks and pranks Perry pulls, he knows full well that the reason people show up to musical biopics in the first place — and the reason they're made to begin with — is music that connects with people's sensibilities. This, he delivers in spades, all while maintaining a reverence for Pavement by being, well, irreverent.
Pavements was reviewed out of its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Déa Kulumbegashvili's April is a bone-rattling drama about what it means to be a woman in the country of Georgia. The nation's laws permit pregnancy termination only up to 12 weeks — before some people even know they're expecting — and even then, rural stigma prevents many of them from accessing care. Kulumbegashvili places her protagonist Nina (Ia Sukhitashvili) against this volatile backdrop, as an obstetrician who risks her career by driving to far-flung villages to help pregnant women in need of abortions.
While the film's focus is the aspersions cast on Nina's character, it tells its story in oblique ways, with stunning confrontations of violence and bodily function that form a visceral fabric. The film presents life as an overlapping showreel of birth, death, pregnancy, abortion, and sex, all facets of female experience that Kulumbegashvili merges into a monstrous beast — not just narratively, but literally, through nightmarish imagery.
All the while, April unfolds with the kind of unrelenting tension that takes it from understated drama to razor-wire thriller, a metamorphosis owed not to speeding up its images, but slowing down and lingering on them for jaw-dropping lengths of time. It's a film that induces revulsion, but at the same time, is too magnetic to divert your eyes away from.
What is April about?The opening sounds and images of April are squirm-inducing, but immediately hypnotic. A humanoid figure wanders in a dark and empty void, naked and hunched-over — either like a fetus, or an old woman — as breathy whispers consume the soundscape. These gradually transform to sounds of laughter and children playing, as though this mysterious being were separated from some phantom family by only a thin layer of reality. Even before the movie presents its subject, it calls to mind images of abortion and of aging, woven together in some nightmare of anxious regret.
Without warning, stray shots of rain and cautious observed natural landscapes yank us into a hospital room, as Kulumbegashvili captures a woman giving birth under harsh fluorescents — but this beautiful, bloody, painful miracle of life ends in death. The mother and her husband launch an inquiry against Nina as to why their baby died, placing the OBGYN under a spotlight of her own, and leaving looming doubts for the audience as to whether she was at fault.
SEE ALSO: 42 movies you'll want to see this fallNina, middle-aged and single, makes for an easy target by men looking to question her character — especially as she's long been the subject of rumors about illegal abortions. Her superiors at the hospital seem willing to look the other way, but only up to a point. Given the investigation, who better to throw under the bus than the aging spinster who already has a black mark against her?
However, none of this stops Nina from continuing to to travel to rural villages on her own time to perform what she sees as her duty toward uneducated women whose lives would be ruined by unmarried pregnancy — thanks to threats from local men — even if they wanted to be mothers in the first place. She represents a choice, or at least an option, when these women have none, even if it puts her own choices at risk.
April is dreamlike, but hauntingly realistic.Just as often as Kulumbegashvili's cuts to the aforementioned, formless creature, it presents lengthy scenes of Nina traveling to the countryside that offer space for viewers to ruminate — and to recover. The tension the movie otherwise holds can be debilitating.
Take, for instance, a lengthy abortion scene. When Nina helps a young mute girl, Nana (Roza Kancheishvili), terminate her pregnancy, Kulumbegashvili's camera — courtesy of cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan — focuses not on any one character, but the meeting of hands and bodies. The procedure itself is obscured, but the frame’s focus is Nana's torso as she lies on a plastic tablecloth. On one side of the frame, Nina works diligently to protect the young girl's future. On the other side, the girl’s mother, Mzia (Ana Nikolava), holds and comforts her. It's a traumatic sequence due to the emotions it expresses and conjures by juxtaposing a mother’s act of love with a daughter’s yelps of pain, through a procedure that could have its own serious consequences, should it be discovered.
The women in April are all caught between a rock and a hard place, and Nina's story embodies theirs in microcosm. She becomes, in the process, a kind of cypher of womanhood, and at times she even imagines herself as the formless creature (especially when she sleeps with one of her superiors), as though her self-perception and fears of aging were tied to pregnancy and sex. Her personal relationship to pregnancy, however, is never clarified — whether she's ever been pregnant, or had an abortion herself — because she seems to wall that part of herself off from other people. Perhaps it's necessary for the job.
In April, there's a violence and beauty inherent to both pregnancy and abortion, just as there is to nature. Kulumbegashvili seems to frequently draw this comparison through transitions that involve thundering rain and lush, flowery landscapes. However, violence of a different kind lurks in every corner, too, and appears suddenly, without warning.
April makes the violence of men feel gut-churning.In an early scene, when the father who accused Nina confronts her, the scene is eerily quiet, until he has an outburst and spits in Nina's face. The sound this makes, and the impact it has in the process, is as visceral (if not more so) than any image of birth or abortion that Kulumbegashvili presents. Although male doctors and administrators claim to be on Nina's side, the frame places them at odds with her even in its narrow, square-ish aspect ratio, seating them at an office table alongside the aforementioned father, as though she were a criminal on trial.
The violence of men, through their actions, and through the constraints they create, is practically the glue that binds April together — even when the movie veers toward empowering carnal pleasures. Nina, perhaps to cope with the pressures ( or maybe she just feels like it) cruises through the night and picks up men to hook up with. However, there's a thin line between pleasure and pain, and not in a sexy way. Men try to take advantage of her, and become violent with a quickness, turning quiet moments oppressively loud, like gunshots echoing through the night.
SEE ALSO: TIFF 2024 preview: 15 movies you ought to know aboutThere's a similarly razor-thin margin between sex and death, if only because of the consequences imposed on sex — or rather, on women for having sex — that manifests in several ways. Sex itself leads to violence. Or it leads to pregnancy, which forces some women to put their lives at risk, whether they have abortions or not. Much of this is implied or referenced rather than shown outright. But the specter of these possibilities is ever-present, reinforced through Kulumbegashvili's frames, which capture the powerful gazes of men through unbroken stares at the camera and the minimized position of women through their miniscule size in frame.
April is a ghostly film that beats with life at its most fragile, contrasted with shots of natural landscapes in ways that suggest (and force) a deeper reflection on the body and spirit. It's deeply discomforting in ways that cinema ought to be when making such a complex point about the ways women's experiences — or experiences defined by gendered violence, from the womb to the tomb — are so intrinsically bound by personal fears and desires, and by the fragility of personal autonomy in a world that so easily legislates it away through shame. It's a masterful work.
April was reviewed out of its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
TL;DR: Watch Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm in the WNBA with WNBA League Pass. Avoid blackouts and watch the WNBA from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The WNBA 2024 playoffs kick off later this month, and both the Phoenix Mercury and the Seattle Storm have now qualified. As they go into this next fixture, each team will be looking to improve their positioning.
If you want to watch Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm in the WNBA from anywhere in the world, keep reading to find out all the information you need.
When is Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm?Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm in the WNBA starts at 9 p.m. ET on Sept. 7. This fixture takes place at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
How to watch Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle StormYou can catch the rest of the 2024 WNBA season with the WNBA League Pass.
However, the WNBA League Pass might not show locally televised games live in the participating teams' local areas. But all you need is a VPN to work your way around this. It works by hiding your real IP address and connecting you to secure servers in other locations. This means you can watch every WNBA League Pass game live, excluding games hosted by Amazon Prime Video.
To access every WNBA League Pass game, follow these easy steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with no broadcast deals for the WNBA
Log in to WNBA League Pass
Stream Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm plus other WNBA games live (except games hosted by Amazon Prime Video)
ExpressVPN is the best choice for hiding your real IP address and streaming more sport, for a number of reasons:
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Up to eight simultaneous connections
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A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 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 Phoenix Mercury vs. Seattle Storm in the WNBA from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream Pegula vs. Sabalenka in the 2024 US Open final for free on 9Now or TVNZ+. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Every top tennis player dreams of winning the US Open, but so few get the opportunity to compete for the prize. Pegula and Sabalenka have made it through round after round of tough competition, and now have a chance of winning the whole thing. It's going to be an absolute battle, and you can watch every shot without spending anything.
If you want to watch Pegula vs. Sabalenka in the 2024 US Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
How to watch Pegula vs. Sabalenka in the 2024 US Open for freeFans can live stream the 2024 US Open for free on these platforms:
These streaming services are geo-blocked, but anyone from around the world can access these sites with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other countries, meaning you can unblock 9Now and TVNZ+ from anywhere in the world.
Access free live streams of the 2024 US Open final by following these simple steps:
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia or New Zealand
Watch Pegula vs. Sabalenka in the 2024 US Open final for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of Pegula vs. Sabalenka without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the US Open finals before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for the US Open?ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the US Open for free, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Australia and New Zealand
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
Fast connection speeds
Up to eight simultaneous connections
30-day money-back guarantee
A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 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.
Live stream Pegula vs. Sabalenka in the 2024 US Open final for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: This like-new HP EliteBook 840 G5 is on sale for $319.97 (reg. $410).
When you’re juggling work or school, it helps to have a laptop that doesn’t slow you down. Whether you’re hopping between meetings, working remotely, or tackling assignments between classes, having a dependable device can really ease the load. This HP EliteBook blends power and portability for a reasonable price, just $319.97 while it's on sale, but it's normally $410.
Specs and expectationsThis laptop has a 14-inch HD display, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, so it's geared up for everything from productivity apps like Microsoft Office to regular browsing, streaming, and everything in between.
Under the hood, the EliteBook 840 packs a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-835U processor, which keeps things running smoothly, whether you’re crunching numbers in Excel or even doing some light photo editing. And since it comes with Windows 10 Pro, you get a suite of enhanced security features that are great if you’re dealing with sensitive work data or just want to keep your personal info safe. One of the best parts? You won’t be glued to an outlet. With a battery life that stretches up to 14 hours, this laptop has the stamina to keep up with you through a full day of work or classes, plus some late-night study sessions or Netflix binges.
The refurbished Grade A rating means it’s in near-mint condition, with barely any signs of previous use. So it'll look and feel like you're taking home a brand-new computer minus the brand-new price tag.
Here's your chance to get an HP EliteBook 840 G5 for $319.97.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Opens in a new window Credit: HP HP EliteBook 840 G5 Core i5-835U 256GB - Silver (Refurbished) $319.97TL;DR: A Koofr 1TB Lifetime Cloud Storage Subscription is on sale for $159.99 (reg. $810).
Opens in a new window Credit: Koofr Koofr Cloud Storage: Lifetime Subscription (1TB) $159.99So many cloud storage services come with a monthly fee. It may feel cheap at first, but it really adds up over the months and years.
The cheaper overall alternative is to get cloud storage that lasts for life without needing to pay more than a one-time fee. Right now, you can get a Koofr 1TB Lifetime Cloud Storage Subscription is on sale for $159.99 (reg. $810).
Pay once for a lifetimeKoofr takes your privacy seriously with top-notch encryption for your files, both when they're being transferred and while they're stored. They also don’t track your activity, so you can rest easy knowing your data is secure and private.
What really stands out about Koofr is how flexible and user-friendly it is. Whether you're on your smartphone, desktop, or using WebDAV, you can easily access and manage your files from anywhere. The interface is straightforward, so even if you're new to cloud storage, you’ll find it easy to use.
Plus, if you’re already using other cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon, or OneDrive, Koofr integrates smoothly, letting you handle everything from one place.
And for keeping your digital space in order, Koofr has some neat features. The Duplicate Finder helps you eliminate unnecessary duplicates, while advanced renaming options let you customize file links. This way, you can keep your files organized and your digital space clutter-free.
Your digital forever homeGive your files a home for life. Get a Koofr 1TB Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription for $159.99.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
TL;DR: Protect up to 10 devices with FastestVPN’s lifetime subscription for just $29.99 through September 29 — and enjoy top-tier speed and security.
When it comes to choosing a VPN, you shouldn’t have to pick between speed and security. With FastestVPN, you get the best of both worlds — blazing-fast internet speeds paired with advanced security features that keep your online activity private and secure. Get lifetime access to FastestVPN for $29.99 until September 29.
FastestVPN lives up to its name, offering high-speed connections that won’t slow you down, even when streaming or gaming. But it’s not just about speed; this VPN is serious about security too. With 256-bit AES encryption, a NAT firewall, and a kill switch, FastestVPN ensures your data stays protected no matter where you are. Plus, its no-logging policy means only you have access to your browsing.
Whether you’re customizing your connection settings or taking advantage of its ad blocker and malware protection, this VPN goes beyond the basics. And with dedicated apps for all major platforms, you can protect up to 10 devices without compatibility worries. FastestVPN regularly updates its software to keep everything running smoothly, and if any issues do pop up, their support team has you covered.
Concerned about compatibility? While it’s true that some users might encounter minor issues on certain devices, FastestVPN offers dedicated apps for all popular platforms and continuously updates its software to ensure everything works seamlessly. And if you do run into a snag, their troubleshooting guides and responsive support team are always ready to help you sort things out.
Get top-tier speed, security, and privacy for a fraction of what other VPNs charge with a lifetime subscription to FastestVPN on sale for $29.99 through September 29.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Opens in a new window Credit: FastestVPN FastestVPN: Lifetime Subscription (10 Devices) $29.99TL;DR: For just $32.97 until September 29, turn your TV into a 4K digital art gallery with Dreamscreens — no complicated setup required.
We all love a good Netflix binge, but when the screen goes dark, your TV becomes just another lifeless box in the room. Why let it sit there when it could be displaying breathtaking art? On sale for $32.97 through September 29, Dreamscreens lets you turn your TV into a stunning 4K digital art gallery, adding a whole new dimension to your space.
With Dreamscreens, your TV becomes the centerpiece of your living room, bedroom, or office. It’s as simple as plugging in a USB — no complex setup, no hassle. Instantly, you’ll have access to a curated selection of iconic paintings, handpicked for their artistic significance and visual appeal. This isn’t just a screensaver; it’s a way to elevate your home’s ambiance with minimal effort.
What makes Dreamscreens even better is its flexibility. Whether you prefer your art in its original aspect ratio or want to enjoy a full-screen experience, it adjusts to your viewing preference. And with 4K resolution, every brushstroke and detail is brought to life, creating an immersive visual experience that rivals traditional art displays.
Dreamscreens is a steal compared to the cost of art prints or gallery pieces. It’s the perfect solution for anyone looking to add a touch of sophistication to their home without breaking the bank. So, next time you’re done streaming, switch gears and let your TV showcase something truly inspiring.
Until September 29, score the Dreamscreens 4K Digital Art Gallery at 34% off, on sale for $32.97 (reg. $49).
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Opens in a new window Credit: Dreamscreens Dreamscreens: Turn Your TV into a 4K Digital Art Gallery $32.97
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