Author Archives: Carol Edwards

The latest Saturday Night Live cold open tackled the war in Ukraine head-on.

After setting comedy aside for the week to honor the struggles and sacrifices of the Ukrainian people as they repel an illegal Russian invasion, the latest episode opened with a sketch presenting the “Fox News Ukrainian Invasion Celebration Spectacular.” Over the course of eight searing minutes, viewers are repeatedly reminded that Fox hosts Tucker Carlson (Alex Moffat) and Laura Ingraham (Kate McKinnon), plus Florida residents Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day), and Kimberly Guilfoyle (Cecily Strong), were only recently expressing support for Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin.

That’s it. That’s the joke. Fox News and its associates in Trumpworld weirdly, monstrously used a pro-Russia framing in the early days of the two-week-old invasion to bash their political opponents at home. The sketch also treats the senior Trump as the sideshow he’s become, with Johnson’s pitch-perfect impression casting a spotlight on the disgraced former president as the bloviating gasbag he really is.

Trump’s supporters might cry “liberal media bias!!” but come on. Since when is it controversial to knock the sheer unsmiling idiocy of openly supporting an enemy of the United States?

• Tina Fey, Paul Rudd hilariously welcome John Mulaney to the ‘SNL’ five-timers club

• John Mulaney playing a monkey judge on ‘SNL’ is comedy we desperately need

• Jokes about Putin and Russian ‘ally’ Tucker Carlson help a tough ‘SNL’ Weekend Update soar

When Dr. Roy Perlis partnered with peers and colleagues to conduct an ongoing survey of Americans about COVID-19, the Harvard Medical School psychiatrist knew the team had to ask about mental health. Since the survey’s spring 2020 launch, the subject has appeared alongside questions about other aspects of respondents’ lives, including social media use, news consumption preferences, political affiliation, and socialization habits. As misinformation about COVID-19 surged and survey participants reported worse mental health, Perlis wondered: Could depression make people vulnerable to misinformation?

A hallmark of depression, negative cognitive bias typically makes someone more likely to remember the worst thoughts, feelings, and events — and to dwell on them. Faced with an onslaught of terrible news during a pandemic, Perlis thought that people with depression might experience more skepticism, disbelief, and distrust.

“If we talk about people wearing rose-colored glasses, some people with depression are wearing dark-colored glasses where the world looks like a darker place,” he told Mashable. “If you believe the world is a dangerous, scary place, if someone tells you that a vaccine is dangerous, or that a vaccine is part of a conspiracy, you might be more inclined to believe it.”

So Perlis and his fellow researchers designed a survey to explore this possibility, and their findings were recently published in the scientific journal JAMA Network Open. The team presented four common but false statements about vaccine misinformation and asked participants whether they believed them: “The COVID-19 vaccines will alter people’s DNA,” “The COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips that could track people,” “The COVID-19 vaccines contain the lung tissue of aborted fetuses,” and “The COVID-19 vaccines can cause infertility, making it more difficult to get pregnant.” (The 15,464 respondents were informed that the statements were incorrect once they’d completed the survey.)

To isolate the effect depression might have on people’s susceptibility to misinformation, the study took into account several factors, including social media use, news source preferences (think MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, or the Biden administration), race, ethnicity, age, gender, and political party affiliation. The researchers found that experiencing clinical depression was still strongly associated with an increased likelihood of endorsing misinformation. Those who did so were significantly less likely to be vaccinated and were more likely to express vaccine resistance. In an effort to determine whether the misinformation might actually cause depression, the researchers also surveyed a subgroup of participants about their beliefs a second time and found that depression preceded their misinformation beliefs.

“I think that depression does make people more susceptible to some of these ideas…” Perlis said. “To me, what our findings suggest is it’s yet another reason that we have to pay attention to depression and anxiety. If we could address the depression and anxiety, I think people’s receptivity to misinformation would diminish.”

“If we could address the depression and anxiety, I think people’s receptivity to misinformation would diminish.”

Efforts to tamp down misinformation typically don’t focus on mental health but instead emphasize the legitimate role of social media, polarization, and political identity. Until the last few years, researchers hadn’t explored the connection; even Perlis was surprised at how little had been written about it. But studies conducted during the pandemic point to the possibility that depression and anxiety can make some people vulnerable to misinformation. While Perlis and his fellow researchers can’t yet prove with certainty that depression causes susceptibility to misinformation, their findings make clear that it’s a mistake to dismiss mental health as insignificant in favor of factors like party affiliation and social media use.

Experts in misinformation and mental health may be hesitant to draw a line between the two, fearing that it’ll portray people who believe misinformation as mentally ill, or that it’ll contribute to negative stereotypes of people living with mental health conditions. Perlis is careful to note that endorsing falsehoods isn’t reflective of mental illness. Instead, poor mental health combined with other factors make it easier to fall prey to misinformation.

“There are lots of things that affect how receptive you are to misinformation and depression is part of it,” said Perlis, noting that news sources, social media use, personal networks, age, and gender also matter. But some of these risk factors can’t be easily changed. Depression, however, can be managed with treatment, said Perlis. In order to “really get a handle on misinformation and its effect on our society,” he believes we need to do a better job of diagnosing and treating depression.

For people who see themselves in Perlis’ findings, a first step might be talking to a primary care physician who can recommend various treatments, including cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressant medication. Both have been found to improve depression symptoms. Perlis said he’d be particularly worried about someone who consistently feels “down” or “blue,” has difficulty functioning, or experiences suicidal feelings. He also recommends basic health strategies as a bulwark against depression, including exercise, quality sleep, socializing with friends and loved ones, and minimizing time spent on news consumption and social media as necessary. While those acts of self-care aren’t treatments for depression, Perlis said they can help manage its symptoms.

Depression, mindfulness, and misinformation

Dr. Zindel Segal, a clinical psychologist and distinguished professor of psychology in mood disorders at University of Toronto, said the study was well designed and that its findings make intuitive sense. Segal, who wasn’t involved in the research, said that in addition to being less trusting, people experiencing depression are more likely to engage in binary thinking, particularly as it relates to negative thoughts about themselves, like “I’m no good,” or “I’m helpless.” They may have difficulty tolerating the uncertainty of situations that are inherently difficult to predict, such as a pandemic.

“That tendency feeds unfortunately well into a misinformation perspective on COVID,” said Segal. “It makes the situation seem very cut and dry.” For example, falsehoods about government conspiracies might be easier to believe than complex explanations about how COVID vaccines work.

Segal said that behavioral therapy for depression involves helping a patient develop “metacognitive capacities,” or the ability to “stand back and observe their thoughts and what their thoughts are saying to them.” The mindfulness skill can help protect against depression when practiced regularly, said Segal, who is a co-founder of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. MBCT is an eight-week treatment designed for people who experience chronic depression or frequent relapses. The goal is to teach patients how to note thoughts without getting pulled into their content — and the emotional roller coaster that can follow. Segal said that developing mindfulness skills is easier with training, and that they improve with regular practice. He recommends meditation apps, books, web-based or CD recordings, or classes. (Segal offers his own online courses and has published instructional books on mindfulness).

While MBCT hasn’t been tested on people with depression who also believe misinformation, it’s possible to see how basic mindfulness skills could create a buffer between a vulnerable person and the falsehoods they encounter. The ability to pause and identify the domino effect between receiving emotionally-charged misinformation and changes in mood that occur as a result is critical, regardless of whether or not someone is depressed.

“Whether we could tailor treatment to help make people more resilient to misinformation is a great question,” Perlis wrote in a follow-up email.

In general, there’s strong evidence that mindfulness-based interventions, including MBCT, are an effective treatment for depression. A meta-analysis of conducted by Dr. Simon Goldberg, an assistant professor in the department of counseling psychology and faculty at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, indicates that such programs are as effective as psycho- and behavioral therapies.

Goldberg told Mashable that those treatments, in addition to antidepressants, may reduce depression symptoms because they make negative thoughts about the self, other people, and the world less magnetic. Goldberg, who reviewed Perlis’ study and found it persuasive, said it’s plausible that mindfulness skills could influence people’s relationship with misinformation.

“Training in the ability to see our thoughts as merely thoughts, that could be a really powerful way to combat misinformation, potentially,” he said.

If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, Crisis Text Line provides free, confidential support 24/7. Text CRISIS to 741741 to be connected to a crisis counselor. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Here is a list of international resources.

Read more about mental health, misinformation, and conspiracy theories:

• Conspiracy theories are a mental health crisis

• When you become the target of racist disinformation

• What happens when people talk to their therapists about conspiracy theories? It’s tricky.

• 8 TikTok accounts to follow if you’re tired of COVID misinformation

• TikTok doctors take on viral COVID myths

For better or worse, Russia’s internet just got kneecapped.

Cogent Communications is cutting off internet service to its Russian clients, the Washington Post reported on Friday. This puts it in league with companies like Meta, which has blocked Russian state-affiliated news agencies on Facebook in Europe; Twitter, which slaps a warning label on tweets from state-run Russian media outlets; and others.

Cogent is an internet infrastructure provider that serves international clients, including many companies in Russia. In fact, it is the country’s second largest internet service provider, according to Reuters. 

In addition to the traditional war it has waged on the ground since invading Ukraine, Russia has staged cyberwar offensives against the neighboring nation’s military and banking websites. It is also using its state-affiliated media outlets and bot propaganda networks to put out a version of the country’s invasion of Ukraine that is favorable to Russia.

• Watching footage from Ukraine? Here’s how to protect your mental health.

• What social media platforms are doing to stop misinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

• Reddit bans all links to Russian state-run media including RT and Sputnik

• Apple stops product sales in Russia, removes RT and Sputnik from App Store

Cogent told Reuters that it made the decision to cut off access in order to counter “outbound cyber attacks or disinformation” staged by Russian interests aligned with President Vladimir Putin. However, the company also noted that it was “a tough decision,” since keeping Russians connected to the internet is crucial for them to get non-state sanctioned information.

Other companies that have stopped doing business with Russia include tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and others, as well as Visa, Boeing, and even Harley Davidson.

Just another rocky day on the Red Planet for NASA.

A new batch of photos from the space agency’s Perseverance rover introduces us to “Sid,” the latest Mars rock that’s been selected for sampling as part of NASA’s mission to learn more about the planet and its geological history. The rover’s date with Sid marks something of a milestone, as it’s likely to be the last sample collected before Perseverance moves on to a new, previously unvisited location.

“I took out my abrasion tool again, for a look inside my next rock target,” a tweet from NASA, written (as per usual) in the voice of the rover, reads. “Mars is starkly beautiful on its surface, and even more interesting underneath.”

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Sid sits inside the Jezero Crater, the location on Mars where Perseverance landed in February 2021. It’s one of a type of Mars rock that NASA has dubbed “Ch’ał,” which is the Navajo word for “frog” (it’s pronounced “chesh”).

These Ch’ał rocks are found in a particular area of the crater — which is believed to have once housed a body of water — that NASA calls “Santa Cruz.” And that location that is scientifically significant because it may be a remnant of Jezero’s western delta, which is the next stop on the rover’s journey.

Sid is an example of “a higher standing boulder that possibly represents a unique geologic chapter in the crater floor history that we have not yet sampled,” Purdue University student collaborator Brad Garczynski wrote for NASA. He added Sid was settled on as the rock of choice after “weeks of discussion” between the science team and rover planners.

The circular pattern you see in the image was created by the tools Perseverance uses to investigate Mars rocks.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In the past, NASA has characterized rovers like Perseverance as “robot geologists.” When it comes to the study of rocks, the rover uses a built-in abrasion tool to create the circular pattern you see in the above image.

That’s important to the research process because the exterior of any given Mars rock is impacted by the surrounding environment on a daily basis. The goal here is to investigate the planet’s geological history, and there may be clues to that history hidden beneath any given Mars rock’s dusty exterior.

• A little-known U.S. spaceport shoots into the big rocket scene

• A rocket will crash into the moon. It’ll leave way more than a scar.

• In an astounding space scene, two galaxies pummeled through each other

• Extremely wild planet hosts metal clouds and raining gems

Failure isn’t such a bad thing sometimes.

That’s the prevailing lesson of Elden Ring, the newest action game and social media sensation from the team at From Software. Like Dark Souls and Bloodborne before it, Elden Ring puts you in a world full of vile monstrosities that, more than anything else, want you dead. You are a contemptible little worm that just disrupted every enemy’s nap and they want to make you pay for it.

That means you’ll die a lot in Elden Ring, but unlike a lot of video games, this doesn’t have to be frustrating. It’s actually one of the best parts of the game because so many deaths are downright hilarious. Here’s one that happened to me, for example.

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I didn’t care that I had just failed to beat (or even damage) a boss, and it’s because I was cackling. That’s the kind of game Elden Ring can be, if you let it.

But don’t just take it from me. Twitter has been abuzz with gut-busting death clips since the game’s launch. Here are some of the best out there, including a dog that you very much should not try to pet.

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This next one is an example of how sometimes the funniest deaths don’t even happen to the player. Here’s an enemy who got a little overzealous when trying to track down a player who attacked him.

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One of Elden Ring‘s many innovations is a dedicated jump button, which most of its predecessors didn’t have. That means sometimes you’ll have to jump from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of treasure. Just make sure there aren’t angry birds roaming the skies when you do that.

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Last but not least, here’s a clip demonstrating that the laws of physics don’t always apply in Elden Ring. A sufficiently pissed off giant can ignore all known laws of matter to annihilate you from existence if he wants.

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There are so many more clips like this floating around on every social network. If you want to see more, the Highlight Reel YouTube channel will be a great repository for hilarious Elden Ring deaths each week, at least for the foreseeable future.

That’s the magic of Elden Ring, folks. High-level play is fun to watch in its own right, but not anywhere near as fun to watch as someone falling on their face while trying to escape from a furious dragon.

• 3 crucial mistakes Elden Ring newcomers should avoid to maximize the fun

• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice kicked my ass

• Dark Soul 3 is wonderful, but haven’t we played this game before?

• Elden Ring is out, and so is this company for the day

TikTok has officially entered the Russian information war.

The social network announced several new measures Friday intended to prevent misinformation and propaganda from spreading among TikTok users. The measures are positive, but potentially overdue: Outlets including The Guardian and The New York Times have reported that TikTok is rife with misleading videos purporting to depict footage of the war.

One way social media networks are trying to combat misinformation is by making the fact that the Russian government controls the messaging of its media organizations apparent to users with “state-affiliated media” labels. Now, TikTok has joined the fray, accelerating an initiative, which it says got started in 2021, to roll out labels in the coming days. Already, posts from the TikTok accounts of outlets like RT come with a label that designates it as “Russia state-controlled media.”

A “Russia state-controlled media” label in action.
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

Clicking the label takes TikTok users to an explanation of what it means and recommendations for how users should consider the source of the content they’re watching. 

“We determine whether an organization may be editorially controlled by a government based on evidence collected by credible, authoritative, and independent external experts,” the label explanation reads. It prompts viewers to “pause and ask yourself about the source’s objectivity” and “consider if the video tries to advance a particular perspective.”

Other social networks have had these labels for years. But they’re new to TikTok — a platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance. China happens to also have state-run media. TikTok’s announcement specifically said it would roll out content on “some” state-affiliated channels. It’s not clear whether or not this will apply to the TikTok accounts of Chinese outlets; TikTok told PC Mag that it won’t release further details until its “broader policy roll out later this year.”

Will people click through?
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

What actually constitutes ‘state controlled media’ can be a thorny question.
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

A study from the Harvard Misinformation Review found that labeling state-controlled media as such is an effective way to counter propaganda. But there’s one catch: The labels have to be prominent enough so as not to be missed. 

TikTok’s labels appear on a semi-translucent bar at the bottom of the video, with a white text exclamation mark in front of the “Russia state-controlled media” text. The labels are already live on the TikTok app, but do not appear to have populated to the web browser version of TikTok yet. A TikTok spokesperson told Mashable that you’ll start seeing those “in the coming days.”

In addition to labeling, TikTok’s blog notes that the company is stepping up its content moderation. Posts undergoing fact-checking will be ineligible for the For You Page. TikTok also says it has “evolved our methods in real-time to identify and combat harmful content, such as implementing additional measures to help detect and take action on livestreams that may broadcast unoriginal or misleading content.” With no specifics, it’s hard to say what that really means, though.

Finally, TikTok is taking some proactive steps, too. On its Discover page, it has rolled out “digital literacy tips” that it developed with the National Association for Media Literacy Education and MediaWise.

Currently, an image with text reading “Stay informed, support our community” is one of the panels in a carousel at the top of the Discover tab. Clicking in shows a hub with “some basic digital literacy tools” including TikToks showing questions to ask yourself before sharing news about Ukraine, a donation panel for causes related to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, and tools to enable security settings like two-factor authentication and other privacy controls. 

The panel sits in a top bar among other portals for “animals” and “DIY projects.”
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

TikTok users can scroll to get tips on identifying misinformation or securing their own accounts.
Credit: Screenshot: TikTok

TikTok’s announcement comes in the wake of more aggressive measures from the likes of Twitter and Meta to counter the Russian government’s official and false version of events in its invasion of Ukraine. Social media has become a powerful way for Russians and the rest of the world to see what’s happening on the ground. But as with any user-generated content, it comes with the risks of being fake or misleading. Such is the rocky terrain in the “first TikTok war.”

• Reddit bans all links to Russian state-run media including RT and Sputnik

• Apple stops product sales in Russia, removes RT and Sputnik from App Store

• Twitter adds warning label to tweets sharing links from Russian state-affiliated news sites

• Russia’s war on social media isn’t going well, either

If you bought Elden Ring on a whim because all your friends are talking about it, you might be wondering: When does this get fun?

The early hours of From Software’s newest masterpiece are a good deal more friendly than the developer’s previous games, like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but there’s still a whole lot of learning you have to do to really get into the groove. Elden Ring aggressively tries to teach the player some very important lessons right out of the gate, but based on my social feeds and group chats, it doesn’t seem like everything is landing as it should.

If you want to enjoy Elden Ring as much as everyone else but find yourself frustrated in the early going, here are a few important mistakes you should avoid, all of which can be easily corrected if you’ve accidentally stepped into them.

Don’t bang your head against fights you can’t win

These giants are huge jerks and sometimes it’s best to just avoid them.
Credit: From Software/Steam

In general, Elden Ring is a game that I encourage people to play exactly how they want, at the pace they want. The game has a remarkable amount of flexibility both in how you get to outfit your character and how you’re allowed to tackle the open world. I can’t control how anyone plays it and I wouldn’t want to even if I could.

However…I also want people to have fun, and fun is hard to find when you spend hours trying to win an unwinnable fight. The most common example of this I’ve seen from new players in my orbit is the Tree Sentinel. He’s the big gold-armored jerk on a horse patrolling outside the cave you emerge from at the start of the game, in case you missed him.

This may feel counterintuitive because it’s not how most mainstream games operate, but the Tree Sentinel is there precisely to tell you not to fight everything in your path. You have to abandon those instincts and drop the assumption that an impossible obstacle wouldn’t show up directly next to the starting area. Yes, From would do that, and did that. You can beat him later on, of course, but it’s not worth your time at the start unless you figure out a cheesy strategy with magic or ranged weapons .

Tree Sentinel (like any other boss in the open world) can be easily avoided by going around his area either to the left or the right, but even if he notices you, just run until he gives up the chase. You’d be surprised by how often Elden Ring lets you slip past bosses or scary groups of enemies just by sprinting or riding your horse. Combat is optional more often than you’d think. Try everything once, but if you’re overmatched, find another way.

Don’t ignore the little guidance you get

Stormveil Castle is an early point of interest if you follow the grace lines.
Credit: From Software/Steam

Speaking of Tree Sentinel, you’ll probably first notice him from the vantage point of the first Site of Grace checkpoint right outside the tutorial cave. That Site of Grace, like many others, has a glowing line of light coming out of it that points to the left of the Tree Sentinel’s arena, toward a crumbling, abandoned church. This is also reflected in the Site’s icon on the map. Go to the church and you’ll find a merchant with another Site of Grace that predictably has another shimmering line coming out of it, pointing north. 

Keep following these lines and before long you’ll have a horse (plus some other goodies) and the ability to take on a big boss called Margit who everyone on the internet rightfully hates. Pursuant to the earlier tip, Margit is too powerful to beat that early in the game, which is From Software’s way of telling you to go explore the world, power up, and come back later. 

These glowing waypoint lines are useful throughout the whole game, but they don’t exist to just tell you where to go. They merely guide you towards major points of interest, some of which you’ll be ready to take on and some of which you won’t. Of course, there are also tons of side activities off the beaten path to find too, so go ahead and explore if you want. Just remember they’re always there if you need an idea of where to go next, and adapt accordingly if you run into an angry, murderous brick wall along the way.

Don’t fret about dying

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The primary source of Elden Ring’s infamous difficulty is simple: Just about every enemy and boss can kill you really fast. Dying carries more weight here than in most other games because you drop your supply of runes, the catch-all currency you use to both upgrade your character and buy items. You can collect those runes again at the site of your death, but die on the way there and that batch of runes is lost for good.

This adds a layer of risk to everything you do that can make you feel timid and risk-averse when I’d argue that’s the opposite of how you should approach Elden Ring. If you’re carrying enough runes to level up (you can see how many you need in the Status menu), do that before doing anything else. If not, just let go and stop caring about losing them. There are so many ways to get runes back, not to mention the fact that any level-appropriate boss will give you enough to level up two or three times if you kill them.

• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice kicked my ass

• Sekiro and Yoshi exemplify a perfect duality in video games

• More video games should let you fight and kill horses, like Sekiro

• Dark Soul 3 is wonderful, but haven’t we played this game before?

Each death in Elden Ring should be seen not as a setback, but as a source of information. Dying is downright productive in this game as long as you study what happened and make adjustments. Sometimes that can mean slightly altering how you dodge a certain attack and sometimes that means going in another direction because whatever’s killing you is too daunting to deal with right now. 

Last but not least, dying is more often than not really funny. Elden Ring is a slapstick delivery mechanism disguised as a grand open world adventure. Each boss fight is like the Jackass bullfighting sketch, except after 30 tries Johnny Knoxville actually wins. 

Learn to laugh at your failure and I promise Elden Ring will become so much more fun.

The rumor mill is heating up in the days leading up to Apple’s next big event. 

The “peek performance” stream set for March 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET could feature lots of different things, from a new iPhone SE to new iPads. Now, according to a new report from 9to5Mac, there’s word that Apple is planning to reveal a new Mac model with professionals in mind called “Mac Studio.”

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Not much is known yet about Mac Studio. Its name could change by the time Apple shows it off on Tuesday (if that’s indeed what happens), and we have no idea what it looks like. According to 9to5Mac’s sources, one of the two rumored models will have the M1 Max chip from last year’s MacBook Pro, while another model will have an even stronger Apple silicon chip powering it. 

The site also reported that Apple is working on a high-end monitor for professionals called “Apple Studio Display,” which is said to sport a 7K resolution. Given the name, it would make sense for that new monitor and this new computer to launch together and be marketed as companions for one another, in a package that’s meant to appeal to a certain segment of professionals,

In other words, that’s a setup that will probably run you a couple thousand bucks, at least. Should these reports come true, expect Mac Studio to cater to people who make Hollywood movies and other things that require high-end software and hardware. But hey, at least the new iPhone SE will probably be cheap.

• Apple Maps now marks Crimea as part of Ukraine outside Russia

• Apple stops product sales in Russia, removes RT and Sputnik from App Store

• Why ‘The Afterparty’ finale was so damn satisfying

• Apple may be working on a 20-inch foldable device

Hot Ones host Sean Evans is very good at what he does, and big credit to the show’s crack team of researchers, too. But when an interview like Colin Farrell comes along, you also see how much of a difference a good guest can make.

This sitdown with The Batman‘s Penguin actor isn’t exactly spilling over with the usual pile of factoids and surprising bits of trivia that Evans often mines as his guests playfully suffer through a gauntlet of fiery hot sauces. But it’s just a good conversation. Farrell comes off as down-to-Earth and engaged in the show’s process. Not only that, he clearly did his research before appearing.

The result is a flowing chat that leaps from topic to topic as Farrell expounds on his process, his tastes as an entertainment consumer, his Irish background, and his views on the acting profession as a whole. He may not remember if Al Pacino actually damaged a car that was used in The Recruit, but by the end of the episode he’s likely someone you’d be thrilled to sit down and chat with over a pint.

• ‘The Batman’ Review: A crime-thriller suffocated by PG-13 demands

• ‘The Batman’ reviews are in. Here’s what critics think.

• ‘The Batman’ star Jeffrey Wright gives Stephen Colbert some hints about the movie

• Paul Dano reveals what it took to get The Riddler’s costume right in ‘The Batman’

It’s March, as in the month after February. How did that happen? It’s already March 2022. If that doesn’t sound like a fake date, I don’t know what does. That’s the kind of thing they put on the screen for some robot movie we watched as kids.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, another week down. Another week past us. And another week of collecting the absolute funniest tweets. It’s time to enjoy the weekend and laugh at some funny stuff we saw online. Because it’s nice to laugh, my dear reader, and you deserve it.

So here they are, the 14 best and funniest posts of the week.

1. The things is, both of these things are Draconian. I hate NJ gas laws so much. The best thing about driving in New Jersey is leaving New Jersey.

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2. Yes, me too.

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3. “I think I’m either going to kick the bucket or just like black out for a bit. Could go either way. See you in the morning. Or not.”

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4. Just a very funny clip. Nothing else.

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5. Air Bud was an absolute menace on the hardwood

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6. I do love this. I have a Google Maps tab open at most times.

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7. He has 100 percent nailed the fame thing.

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8. Sounds like a plan.

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9. Obligatory dril tweet

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10. Factually speaking, the T-shirt from my college soccer team that’s like a decade old is more rare.

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11. There is simply no better day you could have on any job.

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12. “So you tricking me.”

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13. Cannot explain why this Soprano’s meme killed me as much as it did.

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14. And finally, this heartbreaking and hilarious I Think You Should Leave meme.

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