DALL-E-2 4 U 🤖🎨
Tomorrow’s Culture Vulture newsy is a fucking BANGER! The main event is Liv explaining the dark (and murder-y) story behind 'Where The Crawdads Sing,' with her usual grace and intelligence, and the side-show is my quick breakdown of the Julia Michaels/ Sabrina Carpenter drama (which you’re defs gonna want to read about.) It’s also PACKED with recommendations, so you’ll never be left without something to read/ watch/ listen to!!
Remember tho - the Culture Vulture newsy is a super special bonus for all of our monthly or annual ✨SYSCA Supporters,✨ so you’ll only get it in your inbox if you’re one of those special people 💘💘
HONESTLY, YOU COULDN’T WRITE THIS! We have yet another cat X technology photo - and this time it’s from me! Yesterday this cute lil kitty decided to jump up on my flatmate’s desk and have a go at the tools, so naturally, I have to share it with you:
If this is ur cat, I love them, and they are welcome at our house at any time <3
Happy weekend to all of you, but mostly to those of you who will be reading the Culture Vulture newsy 🥺🥺🥺🥺
A million people on DALL-E’s waitlist will get access to the AI image generator
Elon is going to court in October
Two new Billie songs!!
A Sri Lanka Update
Google searches for "get a vasectomy" reached an all-time high across the U.S.
Justin Bieber to Resume ‘Justice’ Tour After Ramsay Hunt Diagnosis
It’s Friday so you get horoscopes
A million people on DALL-E’s waitlist will get access to the AI image generator
If you’ve listened to me and Liv’s Culture Vulture episode about DALL-E-2 and its potential impacts on artists/ creatives then you already know that we think the opening up of this technology to the world is Very Bad News.
At the mo DALL-E-2 is only available to a select few people (and remember Open AI said they built it for research purposes) but soon it's gonna be opened up to one million users on the waitlist. I'm not really phased about the fact that a bunch of people can now play around with the new tech - but the part that’s interesting is that people will be able to use these images as their own.
So if you’ve created a Warhol ‘inspired’ image that you want to then use for commercial purposes, like books or ads or feature images - you can, even though we don’t know how this generator was trained (was it fed actual Warhol?) It’s kinda an IP nightmare and could put a lot of creators out of biz if everyone can create anything they want - in any style - at the click of a button. Here’s what they say on their website about it:
“Starting today, users get full usage rights to commercialize the images they create with DALL·E, including the right to reprint, sell, and merchandise. This includes images they generated during the research preview.
Users have told us that they are planning to use DALL·E images for commercial projects, like illustrations for children’s books, art for newsletters, concept art and characters for games, moodboards for design consulting, and storyboards for movies.”
Yes, this will make things quicker and more productive (which is what capitalism is all about, I guess) but WTF does this do for artists and designers who’ve trained their whole lives/ poured their heart and soul into their craft???
Also, when I was talking to my smart friend about this, he noted that this could start a whole new era/style/trend of DALLE-esque images being used widely and commercially that we'll be able to spot a mile off. Watch this space 👀
Elon is going to court in October
Despite him trying to delay his lawsuit for pulling out of his $44m twitter deal, Elon will be going to court in October. That’s… kinda (and hopefully) it from him until the trial begins!
We got two new Billie songs!!
We've already clarified that I'm obsessed with TV (I've def talked about it in here before bc she teased it live a few times 🥺) but The 30th is SO gorgeous and there's a bit where it really builds/intensifies/speeds up that legit gives me shivers, so you should all go and listen, ok??
A Sri Lanka Update
Despite him being pretty unpopular with the public, Sri Lankan MPs have elected prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country's new president. Protesters had originally called for Wickremesinghe’s resignation too, so naturally, a lot of poeple are disappointed with this outcome - espesh because the end of his term won’t be until November of 2024!!
New poddy: Life In Plastic, It’s Not Fantastic
Ok, besties - one of me and Liv’s New Year's resolutions was to be more environmentally conscious - and that means limiting our plastic intake. Why? Because plastic is so shit for the planet. In this special bonus episode we go through a history of plastic (it's super interesting I promise) and then some fast (and not fun) facts, before giving some solutions about how each and every one of us can cut down on our usage!!!
This bonus podcast episode was made possible by the angels at Ethique who make the BEST plastic-free beauty products, from shampoo bars to facewash!
AND they’ve even given us a spesh discount code which gives you 25% off all full-price items for the month of July - just type in PLASTICISSHIT at the checkout and you’re away!
Google searches for "get a vasectomy" reached an all-time high across the U.S
We all definitely expected the usual fallout post-Roe V. Wade being overturned (global outrage, protests etc.) A consequence I did not expect (but am not mad about) is the number of people in the US now Googling about vasectomies. Google Trends data shows us that "get a vasectomy" reached it’s all-time peak search popularity in June, which is refreshing as hell because it means that ✨other means of contraception✨ are being considered, and I kinda love it.
Also:
“A urologist in Los Angeles reported a “300 to 400 percent” increase in vasectomy consultations, and an Iowa-based urologist who trained under Stein reported seeing a “200 to 250 percent” increase in website traffic specifically for information about vasectomies.”
:P
Justin Bieber to Resume ‘Justice’ Tour After Ramsay Hunt Diagnosis
He’s coming back! After suffering from face paralysis due to Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, Justin announced that (naturally) he was postponing his tour. Now, he’s announced that he’s resuming tour, which tells me that he must be feeling better? And I’m happy for him 🥺
It’s Friday so you get horoscopes
Here!
Do you prefer sweet or savoury things?
First, my embarro typo in my first iteration of this poll:
And the results?
44% prefer sweet
56% prefer savoury
‘A bigger paycheck? I’d rather watch the sunset!’: is this the end of ambition? (The Guardian)
What on Earth Is Going On in This Princess Diana Facebook Group? (The Cut)
The Dark History Behind Where The Crawdads Sing (Culture Vulture)
Our Love Island Debrief (Culture Vulture)
Life In Plastic, It’s Not Fantastic (The Shit Show)
SYSCA playlist (✨Supporters only✨)
Our HUGE SYSCA reading list! (✨Supporters only✨)
