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.

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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.

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• 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.

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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.

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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.

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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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South by Southwest, the annual tech, music, film, and art mega-festival, is back in person this year after it was canceled in 2020, and relegated to virtual-only status last year because of the pandemic. It will actually now be both in-person and virtual.

It kicks off in Austin next week, so before the big acts and crowds arrive, we’re taking a peek at what to expect on the ground in Texas or streaming into your home office.

The Basics

SXSW will run from Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 20, and events are being held all over Austin.

Venues are scattered throughout the city, including theaters, convention halls, stages, hotels, restaurants, and even churches for talks and panels, concerts, movie and TV premieres, and a comedy festival that comedian John Cleese will kick off.

Featured speakers at conference events, which include “tracks” on transportation, healthcare, advertising, gaming, climate change, and more, will be available to stream online.

Admission

This year has big “hybrid” energy, meaning some events will be IRL in Austin, others will be streamed, and some will be available for both in person and online audiences.

Registration rates go up by Sunday night (March 6), so if you want IRL or online-only access, now’s the time to sign up.

Students (high school, college, and grad) can get a discount rate, but it’s a separate sign up process.

Lineups

SXSW is a chance for big and small artists alike to perform or even make a debut. Here are highlighted premieres and performances.

Film and TV

• Under the Influence: Social media star David Dobrik’s documentary

• The Lost City: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe come together in this action-comedy

• WeCrashed: The Apple TV+ series stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, and tells the story of the rise and fall of the coworking company, WeWork

• Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off: A documentary about the skating pro’s life

• The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Nicolas Cage stars in this action-comedy alongside Tiffany Haddish and Pedro Pascal

• Atlanta: The Season 3 premiere starring Donald Glover will close out the festival

• Bodies, Bodies, Bodies: A comedy-horror film with Pete Davidson as part of the cast

Music

With over 300 artists performing, there’s a frankly overwhelming amount of musical talent at SXSW, in genres ranging from folk to hip-hop to rock to reggae.

• Dolly Parton. Arguably the most famous and beloved country singer in the world will be at the Moody Theater, making her first-ever appearance at the festival (She’ll also be dropping an NFT)

• KT Tunstall. The Scottish singer-songwriter will perform at Creek and the Cave Backyard

• Black Lips. The Atlanta garage rockers will perform somewhere, at some point (as of this writing, their date, time and venue were still TBA)

• Shamir. The Las Vegas-based creator of effervescent, experimental pop with attitude will play a set at the Empire Control Room

• Alex the Astronaut. The Australian folk singer-songwriter’s set time and venue are still TBA

Appearances

Beyond screen and music events, there will be a lot of experts, politicians, celebs, musicians, actors, CEOs, and more roaming around the conference (or streaming in). Here are some folks we’re tracking:

• The O.C.‘s Ben McKenzie to talk about cryptocurrency skepticism

• Better Call Saul actor Bob Odenkirk in conversation with his son

• U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg

• NPR’s Audie Cornish

• Ted Lasso stars Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt

• Texas governor candidate Beto O’Rourke

• Celebrity chef Alison Roman

• Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood, Jr.

Freebies

The outdoor stage at Lady Bird Lake is three days of free charity events from March 17 through March 19. The public can enjoy Golden Dawn Arkestra, Sammy Hagar and the Circle, and Mt Joy as headliners.

Come for the crowds.
Credit: SXSW

There’s also a daily selection of free events, like art installations, talks, and Disney+ screenings, all around the city.

Each year the festival and conference relies on volunteer crews, but you have to put in at minimum 24 hours of work before you can get access to events. Out of town volunteers are welcome to apply, but you’ll have to find nearby housing and accommodations.

Social media

Even if you don’t get online access you can follow along on social media. SXSW just launched a TikTok channel, and there’s always Instagram. Of course Twitter will be brimming with #SXSW content. It’ll feel like you’re there.

In The Tourist, Jamie Dornan plays a man who doesn’t know who he is — and that might be the main problem with HBO and Two Brothers Pictures’ miniseries in a nutshell. While The Tourist offers up admirable production, performances, and execution, it squanders seeds of dark comedy promise. The six episodes ultimately amount to an ordinary thriller, even as Dornan leads with aplomb.

Dornan plays a man who wakes up with amnesia and a troubling past waiting in the wings. He has no ID and no memories. But while retracing his steps, he receives frantic phone calls from a man buried alive in the Australian outback. With no friend in the world besides probationary constable Helen Chambers (Danielle Macdonald), The Man races to save the man in the ground and discover exactly what sort of person he is. Harry and Jack Williams wrote the series and executive produced with Chris Sweeney, who directs with Daniel Nettheim.

That’s a spoiler-free overview of the first two episodes, which misrepresent The Tourist‘s highlights. The man-in-the-ground and a violent cowboy on The Man’s tail (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) set up Breaking Bad levels of darkness and some truly sickening scenes. But McDonald in particular seems to be on a different show, playing Helen with mockumentary-tier comic timing and an awkward charm that sets The Man at ease from the start. The Tourist is a buddy comedy in its best moments, something it should mightily lean into if it gets another season.

Just a couple pals going for burritos!
Credit: Ian Routledge / Two Brothers Pictures

Once the show hits its stride, Dornan gets to showcase an underutilized side of him (known to those wise enough to check out Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar, but still). The show’s best moments are The Man discovering Mexican food, angrily screaming that he doesn’t know who Simon & Garfunkel are, and an ill-timed pun that made me shriek with laughter so baldly that I nearly blew out a nearby candle. Dornan and McDonald’s comedic chemistry outshines the contrived sexual tension between The Man and Luci (Shalom Brune-Franklin) by a long shot. It’s also a rare treat to hear Dornan in all his Northern Irish glory without the honey-bee baggage.

Despite the uneven tone, The Tourist executes its story with style. Scott Bird’s production design works with Geoffrey Hall and Ben Wheeler’s cinematography for a gritty, rustic visual palette. Everything feels just slightly orange, a little sunburnt like our lost hero on his quest. The fight sequences and chase scenes elicit the desired physical effect and emotional response — in other words, everyone did their job and did it well. Damon Herriman, Alex Dimitriades, and Kamil Ellis round out a strong supporting cast, and Victoria Haralabidou gives a scene-stealing turn as a mysterious woman popping up in flashes of memory.

With such charm in its lighter moments, The Tourist struggles to match that magnetism with its drama. It’s no surprise to learn The Man is the one responsible for burying that guy, or that he has a dark history of violence, murder, and drug running. I’ve seen The Bourne Identity, but these days I’m more into Barry: A twisted, refreshing story about a tortured man seeking lightness and redemption. The Tourist falls short of that bar, but it’s a valiant effort.

The Tourist is now streaming on HBO Max.