This Week in Dulture…

Approx 5 minute read:

⏰ Calling all morning people

🗣️ Lebronversation

🐻‍❄️ Ghibli this, Ghibli that

🎶 Napster having a moment again

Dulture weekly mix

You ever been to a “resto-bar” where you’re eating and then all of the sudden you look up and there’s this huge gap where the tables and chairs used to be? And then the music just starts blaring out of nowhere and you can’t hear yourself chew? And then the next thing you know there’s a dance floor with 47 year old women with too much make-up on dancing with each other sipping cocktails?

Anyway, here’s this week’s mix.

Welcome to the Hater Corner

There’s a few topics online that if you post about them, it’ll be like a wasp to your week old garbage in your garage - they just won’t stop coming. From Kendrick vs. Drake, to Donald Trump, Blackpink as we learned last week, and the ever popular, MJ vs. Lebron debate, people will give you their opinion whether you want it or not.

If you ever feel like arguing with someone just for the sake of arguing, simply go on your favourite social media platform and give your opinion on who’s better between Jordan and Lebron.

Although it seems like you can now substitute MJ for Stephen A Smith after their initial confrontation courtside when Lebron told him to essentially stop talking sh*t about his son in the media.

It all started earlier this year when Smith questioned whether Lebron’s son, Bronny, deserved a spot on the Lakers. The answer is obviously no.

Lebron obviously didn’t like what he had to say, going into full dad mode defending his kid courtside during a timeout a Lakers game. Yes, during a timeout 💀 

Smith has since done monologue after monologue, video after video, calling Lebron a liar, remarking that his commentary has always been directed to Lebron for influencing the league and Lakers into drafting Bronny over a flurry of other people.

As much as Stephen A Smith gets clowned on, I’m glad someone of his stature in the media is finally questioning Lebron and how he moves.

To me, there’s always been something fishy about Lebron.

We got a pretty candid, yet oddly pointed podcast with Lebron on the Pat McAfee show a couple days ago. Obviously they’re going to spend the time praising Lebron while he’s on the show, but a few things I’d like to point out:

Lebron mentioned “The Decision” as if it was this innocent network television special to raise money. And then later on on the podcast he says he never looked at himself as the face of the league but realized the responsibility he had in representing the league.

So why announce on national TV where you’re going to play next if you didn’t think you were the face of the league?  

Lebron also mentioned that his actions confronting Stephen A Smith was him being a father defending his son. Sure, I get that. Lebron also brings up that he speaks with his kids about the fact that there will always be someone saying something about what they do, essentially because of who Lebron is.

So then you didn’t know that you would face backlash when you’re sitting at the dinner table talking about this plan for Bronny to play on the Lakers? No one in your management team discussed anything to do with the backlash you would inevitably have to face. How can you be annoyed by the media at this point when this is what you asked for all along?

Lastly, Lebron was asked about his relationship with Michael Jordan, to which Lebron basically said there isn’t one, because Lebron is still working on his craft playing in the league.

I’m pretty sure it’s because Jordan doesn’t actually like how you move and doesn’t want to associate himself with you because of that.

Ghibli EVERYWHERE

ChatGPT finally updated their image generation model and it’s everything I always hoped it would be - how the heck do you think I make the video game looking images for this thing in the first place??

For whatever reason, “Ghibli” has become the style of choice for image generation so far with this new AI model - and it’s so damn good…

A new spin on the family vacation photo:

Memes have a whole new life:

And world events seem much more friendlier and interesting…

There’s a whole flurry of other things you can do with ChatGPT’s new image generation update as well - check them out…

ChatGPT image update - take pics from previous Dulture and change them into ghibli style

1. Transform images into any style (like real people to South Park, or vice versa). 

2. Create infographics (like pasta making, egg cooking, or this). 

3. Make characters on transparent backgrounds or extract assets from stills.   

4. FINALLY generate wine glasses filled to the brim (surprisingly difficult for AI). 

5. Illustrate anything in any style.  

6. Make polaroid photos or Voxel art.  

7. Generate 1960s comic books or single panel comics (fulfill a dream or riff about AI panic). 

8. Transfer animated characters into real scenes.  

9. Turn animated characters into anatomy diagrams.  

10. Follow complicated instructions, like overly-complex street signs. 

11. Merge characters (like D&D parties) into one photo (in Pixar style!) 

12. Generate new UI screens for inspiration, including from code.   

13. Start “Vibe marketing”, a new (v cringe) term for just vibing with AI to create new product ads. 

Yo, Napster Just Got Sold…?

So firstly, who the heck is still using Napster? Secondly, it is absolutely still a thing.

Rhapsody bought Napster in 2011 and relaunched the platform as a music streaming service, who knew?

Well Napster was just sold again for $207M to Infinite Reality, a tech startup that specializes in building the tools you need to create 3D worlds for “commerce, creativity, and connection.”

Infinite Reality plans on creating 3D spaces for fans to attend concerts as well as give labels and musicians the ability to sell merch in these spaces as well as physically (through ecommerce).

Isn’t this what Fortnite has been doing?