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If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.
Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on MashableBy providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer hints for October 2 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for October 2 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Fresh out of the ovenThese words are delicious.
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explainedThe answers are baked goods.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer todayToday's spangram is Pastries.
Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for October 2Croissant
Strudel
Pastries
Muffin
Scone
Danish
Galette
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.
TL;DR: For a limited time, get Microsoft Visual Studio Professional for Windows for only £26.30 — usually £375.32.
Virtually any profession finds itself intertwined with at least one Microsoft application. Writers live and breathe Word, data analysts often use Excel, and many working in a remote or hybrid setup are familiar with Teams. Meanwhile, developers have found a home in Visual Studio, an integrated development environment (IDE) that allows for easy coding, debugging, deploying, and managing all sorts of programs and applications.
Securing a Visual Studio license usually requires a hefty investment of £375.32, making it out of reach for many developers. Luckily, through Oct. 27, it's on sale for £26.30 at the Mashable Shop — no coupon necessary. You'll only have to pay once to install and use the program on a single computer. Once you have your device license, it never expires.
This deal nets you the full capabilities of Visual Studio Professional 2022 for life. Whether you're writing a simple "hello world" program or a complex project, the platform has an advanced suite of tools and integrations to help you churn out high-quality code more efficiently. You can use it to build cross-platform mobile and desktop apps with .NET MAUI, create responsive Web UIs in C# with Blazor, build, debug, and test .NET and C++ apps in Linux, and more.
To help you code smarter, its IntelliCode function understands your code context down to the variable name and functions and completes it automatically. If you're collaborating with a team, you can expedite your edit and debugging cycles with custom settings. It also offers access to information like changes, authors, tests, and commit history, allowing for full transparency throughout the development process.
It's worth mentioning that this version of Visual Studio can only be installed on computers with Windows 11 and up, those with a minimum of 4GB memory, as well as ARM64, x64, or Quad-core processors.
A lifetime license to Visual Studio Professional 2022 normally goes for £375.32, but you can get it on sale for £26.30 until Oct. 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 for Windows £26.30 at the Mashable ShopTL;DR: A wide range of online courses from Harvard University are available to take for free on edX.
Lovers of learning should check out edX. This popular platform hosts a large bank of free online courses from some of the top educational institutions in the world, including Harvard University.
You can find online courses on a wide range of topics, including coding, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and much more. We have checked out everything on offer and lined up a standout selection to get you started. These are the best free online courses from Harvard University this month:
Building Personal Resilience: Managing Anxiety and Mental Health
The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches us about the Good Life
These free courses don't include a certificate of completion, but that's the only catch. Students can still enroll at any time and start learning at their own pace, so what's stopping you?
Find the best free online courses from Harvard University with edX.
Opens in a new window Credit: Harvard University Harvard University Courses Free at edX Get DealTL;DR: Live stream Lille vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free on Tabii. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
All eyes will be on Real Madrid in the second round of Champions League fixtures. The champions are always the team the beat, but that's easier said than done. Lille will need to be at their best if they stand a chance of taking something from this game, as they look to bounce back after losing their first fixture against Sporting.
If you want to watch Lille vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Lille vs. Real Madrid?Lille vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. BST on Oct. 2. This fixture takes place at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
How to watch Lille vs. Real Madrid for freeLille vs. Real Madrid is available to live stream for free on Tabii.
Tabii is offering free live streams of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League for the next three seasons. Tabii is geo-restricted to Turkey, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Turkey, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Champions League from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Lille vs. Real Madrid for free on Tabii 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 Turkey
Sign in to Tabii
Watch Lille vs. Real Madrid for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Lille vs. Real Madrid (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live football is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for Tabii?ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Tabii, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Turkey
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 free from throttling
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 includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Lille vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League for free on Tabii. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Benfica are taking on Atletico Madrid in the second round of Champions League fixtures. Not everyone is a fan of the new Champions League format, but it does seem to be resulting in more big games between top sides, and that can only be a good thing for fans. The players? Not so much.
Benfica and Atletico Madrid won their first fixtures in this year's competition, so will be looking to build momentum and start strongly.
If you want to watch Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid?Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. BST on Oct. 2. This fixture takes place at the Estádio da Luz.
How to watch Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid for freeBenfica vs. Atletico Madrid is available to live stream for free on Tabii.
Tabii is offering free live streams of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League for the next three seasons. Tabii is geo-restricted to Turkey, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Turkey, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Champions League from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid for free on Tabii 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 Turkey
Sign in to Tabii
Watch Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live football is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for Tabii?ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Tabii, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Turkey
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 free from throttling
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 includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream Girona vs. Feyenoord in the Champions League for free on Tabii. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The Champions League returns with another batch of exciting games between the best sides in Europe. The second round of fixtures has thrown together some really interesting matchups, including Girona vs. Feyenoord. Both sides suffered defeats in the first round of fixtures, so there's some added tension in this game.
If you want to watch Girona vs. Feyenoord in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Girona vs. Feyenoord?Girona vs. Feyenoord in the Champions League kicks off at 5:45 p.m. BST on Oct. 2. This fixture takes place at the Estadi Montilivi.
How to watch Girona vs. Feyenoord for freeGirona vs. Feyenoord is available to live stream for free on Tabii.
Tabii is offering free live streams of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League for the next three seasons. Tabii is geo-restricted to Turkey, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Turkey, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Champions League from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Girona vs. Feyenoord for free on Tabii 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 Turkey
Sign in to Tabii
Watch Girona vs. Feyenoord for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Girona vs. Feyenoord (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live football is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for Tabii?ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Tabii, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Turkey
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 free from throttling
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 includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Girona vs. Feyenoord in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream Liverpool vs. Bologna in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The Champions League is back and you can watch select fixtures for free. And no, we're not talking about those dodgy streams that flood your screen with even dodgier adverts. We're talking about a quick and easy hack that provides access to free live streams from around the world.
If you want to watch Liverpool vs. Bologna in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Liverpool vs. Bologna?Liverpool vs. Bologna in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. BST on Oct. 2. This fixture takes place at Anfield.
How to watch Liverpool vs. Bologna for freeLiverpool vs. Bologna is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.
RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Champions League from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Liverpool vs. Bologna on RTÉ Player 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 Ireland
Sign in to RTÉ Player
Watch Liverpool vs. Bologna for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Liverpool vs. Bologna (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTÉ Player, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Ireland
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 free from throttling
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 includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Liverpool vs. Bologna in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich in the Champions League for free on RTL ZWEE. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
There are a number of exciting matchups in the second round of Champions League fixtures, but Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich might be the best. Both sides picked up three points in the first round of games, with Bayern Munich winning 9-2 against Dinamo Zagrab. We don't think that'll happen again, but you never know.
If you want to watch Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich?Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. BST on Oct. 2. This fixture takes place at Villa Park.
How to watch Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich for freeAston Villa vs. Bayern Munich is available to live stream for free on RTL ZWEE.
RTL ZWEE is geo-restricted to Luxembourg, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Luxembourg, meaning you can unblock RTL ZWEE to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich for free 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 Luxembourg
Sign in to RTL ZWEE
Watch Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for RTL ZWEE?ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTL ZWEE, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including 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 secure
Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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 includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.
TL;DR: Live stream Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien in the Conference League for free on Tabii. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The Champions League obviously gets most of the attention, but the Conference League produces some thrilling contests between sides that don't always get to compete on this stage. And you can watch select fixtures from the exciting competition without spending anything.
If you want to watch Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien in the Conference League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien?Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien in the Conference League kicks off at 3:30 p.m. BST on Oct. 2. This fixture takes place at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium.
How to watch Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien for freeIstanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien is available to live stream for free on Tabii.
Tabii is offering free live streams of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League for the next three seasons. Tabii is geo-restricted to Turkey, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Turkey, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Conference League from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien on Tabii 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 Turkey
Sign in to Tabii
Watch Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Conference League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien (plus more Conference League fixtures) before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live football is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for Tabii?ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Tabii, for a number of reasons:
Servers in 105 countries including Turkey
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 free from throttling
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 includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.
Live stream Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Rapid Wien in the Conference League for free with ExpressVPN.
This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
Faster and more performant than just about any hard drive on the market, a solid-state drive — better known as an SSD — is vital if you want a highly functioning laptop or computer for gaming or editing.
Whether you’re hoping to improve the speed of your computer or you just want something that’ll ensure your documents and data are as secure as possible, a solid-state drive will do the trick.
But how do you find a great SSD? What makes one SSD better than another? That's part of the problem with buying hardware — there are so many specifications that the jargon is hard (unlike with an SSD) to keep stored in your brain. The good news, we've done most of the hard work for you and pulled together a list of the best SSDs available right now.
What is a solid-state drive?An SSD is a storage device that uses blocks of memory cells to store data for easy access. SSDs tend to use flash memory, which makes them faster and more efficient than the HDD. Consequently, SSD has become the more popular means of storage — synonymous with the latest gen PCs and laptops.
What's the difference between SSD and HDD?It's a matter of inner workings. Whole SSD uses memory chips and flash memory, the more traditional HDDs are built with mechanical moving parts, which is what makes them slower. It's worth remembering, however, that HDDs are cheaper and hold significantly more data than SSDs.
How much data can an SSD hold?The amount of storage ranges from model to model — and each model tends to have multiple capacity options — but most of the SSDs you'll find on this list range between 1TB and 4TB.
Do you need an SSD?The great thing about SSD technology is that it's a simple way to upgrade your PC and laptop. But it's always worth asking yourself if you actually need the upgrade. SSDs are especially good for laptop users because they're small, portable, and eat up less power.
SSDs are also good for gaming and video editing because they have fast load and response times and reduced lag. The only drawback is they have limited storage (and less storage for your cash) than HDD. Serious gamers might want to combine both SSD and HDD, using the HDD for files that are access less frequently.
What are the different types of SSD?There are different kinds of technology that you'll find inside SSDs. It's worth knowing some of the jargon so you have a basic idea. The easiest way to say it is that there are two types of SSD – SATA and PCIe/NVMe SSDs. SATA is the older technology, which is fine for basic needs but not as fast as PCIe and NVMe. PCIe is a type of flash storage, while NVMe isn interface that accelerates data transfer speeds.
What is the best SSD?Thankfully, with prices going down and quality going up, finding a high-quality SSD has become easier than ever. We did the research, keeping in mind functionality, storage, and price to bring you some of the top options on the market.
These are the best SSDs in 2024.
The tale of a vicious cartel boss who undergoes gender-affirming surgery, Emilia Pérez places women front and center in a traditionally male-led gangster genre. But rather than subverting its visual and tonal hallmarks, French filmmaker Jacques Audiard compliments them with a liberating sense of expression through song and dance.
SEE ALSO: New York Film Festival preview: 10 movies you ought to know aboutThe Spanish-language Cannes title not only won Audiard the Jury Prize — the festival's third most prestigious accolade — but it was also awarded the Best Actress trophy to not one but four of its central performances, each of which brings a unique thoughtfulness and passion to the screen. Part throwback musical and part modern cartel saga, the Dheepan director's audacious blend is about the transgender experience in thorny ways, but it finds a deft balance between energetic filmmaking and intimate drama.
What is Emilia Pérez about? Credit: Cannes Film FesitvalDreamlike landscape shots of a nebulous Mexican city — the film was largely shot in France — fade and overlap as we're slowly lowered onto streets overrun with violent crime. Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an overworked, underappreciated corporate defense attorney, is part of the problem. She's a cynical cog in a brutal machine, and her job is getting killers off the hook. It's a premise she introduces to us firsthand via a snappy dance number in the tight confines of a public market, where she's promptly joined by extras.
Soon, Rita is presented a deal with a devil: the vicious wanted criminal Juan "Manitas" Del Monte (transgender telenovela star Karla Sofía Gascón), who, midway through the movie, changes her name to Emilia Pérez and adopts a whole new identity. Emilia wants Rita to help her evade authorities by researching an expensive and secretive gender-affirming surgery, and by recruiting discreet international experts. The procedure, however, is no mere excuse or easy escape hatch from her life of crime. Rather, it's been her deep desire for many years — Emilia has also covertly begun hormone replacement therapy — and it just so happens to align with her need to leave her life of crime in her rearview.
When she was living as Manitas, Emilia was perceived to be a tough-as-nails cartel boss who built an empire on blood. Its foundations, which she relays to the audience by singing in despondent whispers, involved leaning into society's violent masculine expectations for the sake of survival. Now, upon undergoing a series of simultaneous surgeries — which receive their own informative musical number, courtesy of some excitable Thai surgeons — her plan also includes faking her own death in the eyes of the law. In order to fully shed her past, she wants to "kill" Manitas, and have Rita evacuate her wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez), and their two adolescent kids to Switzerland, where they'll be safe and none the wiser about Emilia's new life and identity.
All's well that ends well... That is, until Emilia — having fully transitioned — resurfaces several years down the line in the hopes of reuniting with her family. For this mission to bring Jessi and her kids to Mexico, Emilia once again conscripts the resourceful Rita, though both women have since turned over new leaves, making their return to Mexico (and to the thick of cartel activity, where Manitas is still wanted) a challenging conundrum. What follows is a complicated and often amusing plot in which Emilia reintroduces herself to her kids as their long-lost aunt, while also embarking on a pilgrimage of rigorous social work alongside Rita to clean up Mexico's top-down corruption, if only so that both women can atone for their sins.
These acts of repentance come wrapped in wildly energetic musical numbers that leap off the screen, as the camera jostles and swerves to keep pace. All the while, the film asks intriguing philosophical questions about the mind, body, and soul, as they pertain to its genre lens.
Emilia Pérez is a charged transgender tale of remorse.Until she undergoes her affirming procedures, nearly every character in the film (including her surgeon, and even Emilia herself) refers to her with male pronouns, as though Manitas were a distinct entity whose life ends when Emilia's begins. While trans people generally use pronouns that align with their gender regardless of their desire for (or access to) gender-affirming care, perhaps the movie's 72-year-old cisgender director, and its numerous cis writers and producers, aren't up to date on the terminology, though Emilia hints at having experienced dysphoria as a child. However, her being older and more isolated from trans issues and communities also means she lacks the necessary language to define her deep-seated feelings and experiences. So, this imaginary dividing line between Manitas and Emilia becomes a vital dramatic question.
SEE ALSO: Failed by the healthcare system, transgender people find help elsewhereConversations between Rita and the doctors she interviews are rife with differing perspectives about physical transformation representing metaphysical good, and about the ways in which gender dysphoria can be relieved through physical means. If the film, as a political entity, ought to be judged on its approach to trans people irrespective of its language, then it's ostensibly in the right, and only introduces these dueling questions as a means to channel Emilia's spiritual dilemma.
While gender-affirming surgery is something she wants, in order to escape, and needs, in order to survive as her true self, it's also something she hopes will relieve her of her ethical burdens as a ruthless killer — as though Manitas were some uncomfortable temporary skin she could simply shed. Gascón even embodies this idea when she first appears as the gruff and grizzled Manitas onscreen. The actress's prosthetic nose (i.e. the character's "real" nose, pre-rhinoplasty) sits uncomfortably on her face, while the contours of her beard and unkempt, mane-like wig are visible to the naked eye. It's as though we were seeing Emilia the way she sees herself: performing maleness, and being forced to pretend in order to survive.
If anything, the outdated idea that she "was a man" and "is now a woman" (according to some characters) is something she wishes were true, if only to rationalize her life as having a distinct "before" and "after" point — for her spirit, as represented by her body — between Manitas and Emilia. The more modern way we understand gender and identity, wherein Emilia has been the same person all along, is not something she herself can sit with, even though she claims to have recognized this about herself from an early age. Her transformation may be life-affirming, and even life-saving, but it cannot possibly provide her with the absolution she desires. This, in turn, portends the aforementioned tale of Emilia and Rita trying to confront their sins by exposing the metaphorical and literal skeletons they once helped bury.
Transgender opinions on the film are unlikely to be monolithic, but emphasis on the surgical aspect of the trans experience tends to be a reductive, retrograde cisgender fixation more often than not. However, in Emilia Pérez, these anxieties around the nitty-gritties of physical transformation become a key emotional focal point, over which Gascón pores in every scene and every quiet musical number. Her novel sense of gender euphoria remains shackled by a kind of moral dysphoria, having committed atrocities under a façade to which she can no longer relate, if she was ever able to in the first place. And yet, Manitas' actions are a part of her too, even if they belong to a false version of herself.
While Emilia may be guilty from a legal standpoint, the ethics of her guilt, as imagined by Audiard's drama, become infinitely more complicated. It's as though her corrective physical metamorphosis had fallen tragically short of helping her purge herself of her misdeeds. However, on the other side of her social transition, she also finds renewed romance with a headstrong local woman on the run from her husband, Epifania (Adriana Paz) — a committed, loving performance that rounds out the quartet of Cannes winners — but the very idea of happiness becomes corrupted too, so long as Emilia's past remains unconfronted. For instance, Jessi, who believes herself to be a widow, moves on romantically as well, leading to sparks of envy that anchor Emilia to her ugliest emotional tendencies.
But while all these ideas are all somewhat interesting, it's the way in which Audiard assembles them — in the vein of a mid-2000s Hollywood thriller, imbued with raucous musical energy — that truly makes them sing.
Emilia Pérez is a stylistic triumph. Credit: Cannes Film FestivalTo liken crime movies and musicals to strictly "masculine" and "feminine" forms of cinema might sound reductive, but this traditional genre binary is key to Audiard's artistic approach. These respective modes, each repressive and expressive in their own right, inform the ways his actors move through space, and the way he captures them doing so.
For one thing, Emilia Pérez resembles the highly saturated war-on-drugs/war-on-terror studio films produced in America at the turn of the century. Its intimate, shaky camerawork and high-contrast shadows create a sickly feel akin to Steven Soderbergh's Traffic or Tony Scott's Déjà Vu, hi-octane thrillers in which you can practically smell the gasoline radiating off people's skin, thanks to their overblown visual highlights (including on Black skin; something Déjà Vu and Emilia Pérez have in common). These are the kinds of films where it feels like the light source is everywhere, all at once, reflecting off people's bodies at all times — if not emanating from them in the first place.
Audiard and cinematographer Paul Guilhaume take full advantage of these familiar textures and conventions as soon as they begin blending the aforementioned approach — an ostensibly more "realistic" one — with the theatrical expressionism of dance. The harsh highlights become spotlights, as the film’s luminous characters begin to control the fabric of the frame. Their movements determine whether people around them are still or in motion. Routine activities take on musical rhythms. Personal confrontations in public settings determine whether or not other characters are lit at all. These are women fighting for agency in harsh environments, and their aesthetic control over the space around them ends up a particularly fitting depiction of this idea.
While the film has lengthy stretches without musical numbers, and features a few laments with rusty delivery that it could've probably done without, there are just as many songs that are exciting and emotionally rousing. (Some tracks are mercifully rapped, rather than sung, by actors with less vocal training.) One in particular, a rock opera ballad which unfolds just as Rita begins turning over a new leaf, sees Saldaña dancing across a series of expensive banquet tables. While she's invisible to its lavish guests — corrupt politicians and police personnel she now hopes to take down — her pulsating movements practically force them to move and convulse to the beat as well. Others finally have no choice but to dance to her tune. It's one of the most fist-pumping cinematic moments this year.
However, no matter who's on screen, Emilia remains the focal point around whom everyone's story pivots — whether it heads toward catharsis, tragedy, or both. She represents, in microcosm, the transformative nature of fictional characters at large, and ends up embodying a novel narrative tension through her transgender experience: between physical and emotional metamorphosis, a dramatic disconnect that becomes the catalyst for nearly every scene and song.
Above all else, the film's four leading ladies are perfectly attuned to Audiard's volatile mixture of operatic emotion and naturalistic cinematic influence. The result is a dazzling, dramatic high-wire act that's always fun to watch, and is frequently invigorating, too. While its combination of styles and subject matter could've been picked out of a hat, Emilia Pérez sees Audiard sorting through a fog of risky, seemingly immiscible ideas to deliver a queer Molotov cocktail.
Emilia Pérez is slated to play select theaters this fall, before heading to Netflix on Nov. 13.
UPDATE: Sep. 25, 2024, 5:10 p.m. EDT Emilia Pérez was reviewed out of the Cannes Film Festival on June 5, 2024. This post has been updated to include its premiere at the New York Film Festival.
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 October 2's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for October 2 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.
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.
SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 2 SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 2 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:It can be found on a beach, offering protection to something fragile inside..
Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?There is one reoccurring letter.
Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.
SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 2 The Wordle answer today is...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 today's Wordle is...
SHELL.
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.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.
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 October 2's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 2 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 deletedEach 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 deletedPlayers 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.
SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 2 Here's a hint for today's Connections categoriesWant a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Yellow: All in
Green: Chopping veggies
Blue: Iconic roles that range from talk show host to criminal
Purple: Has a lot or no arms
Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:
Yellow: Put on the Line
Green: Use a Kitchen Knife
Blue: Robert De Niro Films
Purple: Distinctive Number of Arms (or Lack Thereof)
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 today's Connections #479 is...
What is the answer to Connections todayPut on the Line: BET, CHANCE, GAMBLE, RISK
Use a Kitchen Knife: CUBE, DICE, JULIENNE, SLICE
Robert De Niro Films: CASINO, HEAT, JOKER, TAXI DRIVER
Distinctive Number of Arms (or Lack Thereof): OCTOPUS, SHIVA, SLOT MACHINE, VENUS DE MILO
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.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.
SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 2If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.
Reddit is changing its rules in a way that may ensure its mods never go rogue again.
On Monday, Reddit's VP of community, Laura Nestler, announced in a post on the platform's r/modnews subreddit that the company was changing Community Type settings rules. Going forward, moderators will be required to submit a request to Reddit instead of being able to just change the setting immediately on their own.
Community Type settings on subreddits are typically set by moderators and change a subreddit's visibility from public view to restricted or private. Mods can also change the Community Type settings from SFW (safe for work) to NSFW (not safe for work), which restrict access to the group by age.
SEE ALSO: Reddit CEO hints that subreddit paywalls are on the wayAccording to Nestler, in an interview with The Verge, Reddit has been talking about this change behind-the-scenes since she joined the company in 2021.
"When a public community goes private, all redditors (even members of that community) lose access to the community and its content," Nestler said in the announcement posted on Reddit. "Outside of extenuating circumstances, communities should honor the expectations they set — public communities should remain accessible to all; private communities should remain private."
Stifling future Reddit protestsWhether or not Reddit has been discussing this change prior to the Reddit blackout protests of last year, it'll be hard for users to see this as anything but a change meant to stifle future dissent.
In June 2023, thousands of Reddit communities, known as subreddits, changed their Community Type settings from public to either restricted or private in protest of the company's recent changes to its API. The Reddit API was once free for developers to build upon. However, the company decided to start charging for API access, which resulted in some popular Reddit-based apps like Apollo shutting down.
Reddit eventually had to get involved and take over some larger subreddits in order to restore access to these communities. When a subreddit gets turned private, many users and visitors are completely cut-off from viewing the content posted there. Some moderators who refused to comply with Reddit were removed from their moderator positions. The role of moderator, we should note, is generally not held by employees of Reddit. Moderator is a completely unpaid, voluntary position and moderators are taken up by members of the Reddit community.
Reddit admins, who will approve or deny these Community Type settings change requests, are employed by the company.
Earlier this year, Reddit became a publicly traded company on the stock market. The social media platform now has less wiggle room for its community to partake in actions that can hit the company's traffic or revenue like they did in 2023.
The new rulesAccording to Reddit, moderators will now have to submit a request before taking their subreddit private or changing its age restrictions.
Outside of protest, the obvious rationale for a speedy change of Community Type might be to avoid being inundated with harassment in the event that a subreddit is being brigaded by trolls. This is a situation that communities would, it seems, be more vulnerable to after this rule change. Some mods shared this concern in the replies to Reddit's rule change post.
"Our trans subs have been brigaded by large, organized harassment campaigns in the past, sometimes for months on end," wrote one user in the comments to Reddit's announcement. "Going private and manually checking and approving each applicant has been our primary defense for protecting our users, their photos, and their information."
Mashable reached out to Reddit for comment on this potential problem, and for further information about the change in general, but we did not hear back in time for publication.
Mods can apply for these requests at any time and will receive a response within 24 hours. Subreddits with less than 5,000 members, or those less than 30 days old, will have their requests approved automatically.
Moderators can still temporarily restrict posts and comments to a subreddit under its Temporary Events policy. Restrictions put on a subreddit by mods due to a sudden spike in traffic will not require approval from Reddit. These restrictions under Temporary Events are allowed to remain for up to 7 days.
Regardless of what Reddit's true reasoning behind the new rules is, the changes will likely not receive a positive response from moderators as Reddit removes a source of leverage these community members once held.
Hurricane Helene — which ran a 600-mile long path of destruction through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas — has decimated communities and forced large portions of the American southeast out of their homes. With search and rescue efforts still underway, other organizations, like Airbnb are stepping in to assist the displaced.
Area residents can now apply for housing hosted by Airbnb.org, the company's nonprofit arm behind its humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. Temporary free or discounted stays are coordinated through local nonprofit and relief partners, not the Airbnb site, which identify and coordinate residents who require assistance. Hundreds of residents have already been placed in accommodations, the organization says.
There's certainly need, even with the federal government's response. "In the Carolinas, entire communities are submerged by floodwaters and cut off from aid with people waiting to be rescued with no access to food, power or fuel. In Georgia and Tennessee, damage from downed trees and flooding have left neighborhoods unrecognizable. In Florida, cars are buried in sand and homes have been gutted by the massive storm surge," according to the Red Cross.
SEE ALSO: How do we navigate climate disinformation online?With entire towns destroyed, more than 130 people dead, and hundreds of individuals still missing, many residents have been forced to relocate with short warning, and most are depending on emergency relief. Transportation is increasingly dangerous: Emergency responders have warned North Carolina residents, which experienced a century-record amount of deadly flooding, to avoid traveling. Thousands of people are currently being housed in shelters.
Local disaster relief organizations state their most pressing needs remain food, water, and generators, as hundreds of thousands remain without power.
How to get housing through AirbnbDisplaced residents of Florida and North Carolina should reach out to nonprofit partners directly, not Airbnb. “Airbnb.org stays can last anywhere from a few days to about a month depending on the needs of the families we’re helping," the organization explained. "The goal is to give people a temporary place to stay while they get back on their feet. One of the advantages of working with local partners is that they often integrate Airbnb.org stays with other services they provide, such as support for long-term housing, employment, food security, and healthcare."
For Florida residents: Call FLUMC at (863)688-5563 or (800)282-8011, or reach out to your local 211.org center.
For North Carolina residents: Contact your local 211.org center.
How to volunteer your Airbnb residenceAirbnb hosts can apply to provide emergency accommodations on Airbnb.org. The company will waive all service fees for hosts and guests, and provide damage and liability insurance.
Where else you can get disaster helpMore than 3,000 federal workers are still on the ground providing emergency services to populations, many of which are still flooded. For those in need of help, FEMA recommends contacting local emergency management services or finding a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) near you. Individuals affected by the storm or looking to reunite with loved ones can also reach out directly to the Red Cross (redcross.org/gethelp or 1-800-RED CROSS). Find more information on the organization's reunification page.
The organization has released disaster funds to Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina residents, which may include a one-time $750 payment. Apply for direct FEMA relief at DisasterAssistance.gov or via the FEMA App. Verify if your county is eligible for FEMA assistance:
Volunteer opportunities can be found on the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster directory.
Negotiations between Merlin and TikTok have reportedly soured, and Merlin is threatening to remove a large portion of indie music from the platform.
SEE ALSO: TikTok Music is finally shutting downMerlin represents over 30,000 independent record labels, and their previous agreement with TikTok expires on Oct. 31. According to Billboard, TikTok "walked away" from "negotiations before they even began." In a letter published by Billboard, Merlin explained to its members that the social media company does not want to renew its deal; it intends to license Merlin members directly, minimizing the group's collective power.
"Their approach [to pursue direct deals with Merlin members] suggests that [TikTok] believe[s] their objectives can be better served by fragmenting the Merlin membership, in order, we believe, to minimize their payout," reads the letter. "As you know, Merlin was founded to stand up for and champion its members. We will not support an approach that devalues our community."
A TikTok spokesperson told Billboard, "TikTok would like to offer all of the world’s music to our users. We are committed to working with the independent sector as well as the major labels and publishers. We know that our community of over a billion music fans value the diversity and richness that independent music brings to our platform. We are committed to entering into direct deals with Merlin members in order to keep their music on TikTok."
Without the collective bargaining power under Merlin, each record label would have to negotiate a new licensing deal by the end of October. This is similar to when TikTok's licensing deal with the National Music Publishers Association expired earlier this year; TikTok negotiated direct deals with NMPA members. If a deal isn't reached between Merlin and TikTok, artists' catalogs under its labels will be removed from the app. Artists currently under Merlin include Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, Mac Demarco, Nirvana, and Thundercat.
SEE ALSO: TikTok ban update: Court case against U.S. government set to beginMerlin's letter to artists also explained that TikTok claims it won't negotiate with the music company due to alleged fraud committed by Merlin members. According to TikTok, some members have posted songs or remixes that aren't owned by the label. Since the issue is only with some members it seeks to negotiate with individual labels. However, Merlin contends that the real reason behind the move is to secure cheaper deals than Merlin would allow for.
This comes after Universal Music Group (UMG) struggled to reach a licensing agreement with TikTok in January. In UMG's case, it pulled its catalog for nearly four months over disputes with the social media company over protecting artists from the threat of AI, ensuring online safety, and delivering appropriate compensation for artists and songwriters. Its music returned to the platform in May.
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