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Characters from 'Encanto' get made into portraits so lifelike they look like real people

Digital portraits as magical as the Madrigal family.

encanto characters get real life portraits

Instagram, YouTube

Where is the live action movie already?

What do you get when you mix artificial intelligence with editing software?

Mind-blowing images, apparently.

Brazilian digital artist Hidreley Leli Dião creates ultra realistic portraits of beloved cartoon characters as well as historical figures.

The magic is in a unique blend of Photoshop, FaceApp, Gradiente and Remini, according to his contributing article on Bored Panda. Using this formula, even The Simpsons characters feel like real people you would pass on the street.

Some of Dião’s latest works include the characters of Disney’s “Encanto,” like:

Mirabel

The face shape! The hair! The smile! He nailed it.

Luisa

To no one’s surprise, Luisa was highly sought after by fans.

Bruno

I think the song will change to “Everybody Is Talking About Bruno” after seeing this picture.

Isabela

A portrait perfect enough for Miss Perfect herself.

Camilo

It’s like he could hop out of the frame and start shapeshifting in real life. Wow.

Pepa

As a fellow redhead constantly trying to keep emotions at bay, this one was my personal favorite.

Julieta

Here is Mirabel’s mother Julieta, giving off major Aunt Voula vibes from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

And, of course, Abuela Madrigal

I think it’s safe to say even if Dião doesn’t have a magic door like the Madrigal family, he’s got superpower: digital wizardry.

But of course, this is not Dião’s first Disney deep dive. Feast your eyes on some of these:

Carl Fredrickson from “Up”

Moana from “Moana”

Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”

Also Prince Eric

Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”

Joe Gardner from “Soul”

Hans From “Frozen”

Another long lost Hemsworth brother, rediscovered?

Are you more of a history buff than a Disney nerd? Never fear. Dião’s work has something for everyone.

One collection includes what certain celebrities that met an early death might look like today, such as:

Amy Winehouse

Bruce Lee

John Candy

Janis Joplin

Prince

Marilyn Monroe

Another reimagines what historical figures might have look like in modern times:

George Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Napoleon

Leonardo da Vinci

Mozart

Beethoven

Sir Isaac Newton

William Shakespeare

Vincent Van Gogh

Marie Antoinette

Cleopatra

Alexander the Great

And just for fun, here’s what the Statue of Liberty might look like as a real person:

Thank you Hidreley for giving us some genuine wonder to peruse through on the internet. If you’d like to see more of Hidreley's work, you can follow his Instagram here.

This article originally appeared on 04.25.22

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Joy

Hunger in affluent communities: How a Silicon Valley food bank is fighting food insecurity

We can all help fight hunger nationwide with one simple shift in the way we grocery shop.

Photo credit: Canva

Food insecurity is an issue in communities across the United States.

When people hear “Silicon Valley,” hunger isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, most think “global tech hub” and “wealth.” Named after the silicon used in computer chips, this renowned region is home to nearly 3 million residents and is famous for offering some of the highest salaries in the United States.

Given Silicon Valley’s association with wealth, it’s easy to overlook that not everyone living there is affluent. The high cost of living in the area makes it challenging for those without high-paying jobs to make ends meet. Many residents, including those who work full-time, struggle with basic living expenses.

That’s why Second Harvest of Silicon Valley helps provide food to more than 500,000 people across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent inflation have prevented many families from getting ahead, making the food bank’s role crucial in providing access to nutritious food.

However, the high cost of living in Silicon Valley is also affecting Second Harvest. Despite the evident need in the community, the food bank had to close its largest warehouse in June 2024 due to rising rent costs.

Volunteers help sort food bank donations.Photo credit: Canva

"Every single week, we receive more than 85 tractor-trailer loads of food. All of that food gets handled at our warehouses and goes back into the community," Second Harvest of Silicon Valley CEO Leslie Bacho told NBC. "Unfortunately, this is our largest facility that we are closing, so we're having to just figure out how we can have that work get done other places."

To help maintain the flow of food, the Albertsons Companies Foundation Nourishing Neighbors Program and O Organics gave Second Harvest of Silicon Valley a $200,000 grant. And they weren’t the only organization to receive funding. Thirty nonprofits received a total of $30,000 in grants during the O Organics $30K in 30 days campaign this past summer to help ease food insecurity. Hunger is an ongoing issue that requires continuous funding, and initiatives like these help ensure that food reaches those in need.

How can we all help make sure people get the food they need?

There are so many worthy organizations that need support to fight hunger, and there are numerous ways to help, from making direct donations and organizing food drives to volunteering. Enhancing these efforts, O Organics provides an easy way for everyone to contribute consistently by simply changing how we grocery shop.

Every time you choose an O Organics product, you not only provide nutritious food for your own family but also help someone facing food insecurity. Through the “Fight Hunger. Serve Hope” program, O Organics has contributed nearly $14 million over the past two years to reduce food insecurity, enabling 56M meals and counting to help fight hunger in local communities.

O Organics helps fight food insecurity.images.albertsons-media.com

Doesn’t organic food cost more than non-organic?

People often assume that organic food is more expensive, but that’s not always true. Many organic products cost the same or even lower than their non-organic equivalents, especially when comparing private label brands like O Organics to national products.

O Organics has products in every aisle of the store, making it easier than ever to find organic products that suit your family’s needs. Purchasing O Organics products also helps support organic agriculture. Small changes that benefit both the planet and its people can add up, and simply choosing one product instead of another can make a significant difference.

No matter where people face food insecurity, whether in Silicon Valley or communities across the U.S., we can all find ways to help. Learn more about how O Organics is helping fight hunger here and look for the O Organics brand at your local Albertsons Companies grocery store, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, ACME, Shaw’s, Jewel-Osco and Tom Thumb.

Pop Culture

Middle class families share how much money they have in savings and it's eye-opening

"I transfer money each paycheck but always end up needing to transfer it back."

Photo by Karolina Kaboompics/Pexels

Many middle class families are sharing that they have nothing in savings right now.

According to an April 2024 Gallup poll, 54% of Americans identify as part of the middle class, with 39% identifying as "middle class" and 15% identifying as "upper-middle class." That percentage has held fairly steady for years, but for many, what it feels like to be a middle class American has shifted.

Notably, inflation caused by the pandemic has hit middle class families hard, with incomes not keeping up with cost-of-living increases. Housing costs have skyrocketed in many areas of the country, mortgage interest rates have risen to levels not seen since the pre-Obama era and grocery bills have increased significantly. One government study found that cost of living has increased between around $800 and $1,300 a month depending on the state since 2021, putting a squeeze on everyone, including the middle class.

One woman shared that her family is just getting by and asked other people who identify as middle class to "chime in" with what they have in their savings account.

"I swear, every paycheck I am putting money into my savings, but needing to transfer it back within a few days," shared @abbyy..rosee on TikTok. "My registration is due. My husband's registration is due. He needed two new tires, even though they had a warranty. That's $300. My oldest needs braces, he needs a palate expander, that's $120 a month. Not to mention groceries are $200 more a week. Forget about feeding your family great ingredients because who has $500 a week to spend on perfect ingredients to feed your family?"

She explained that her husband makes enough money that they should be able to live comfortably, and that she quit her job because the cost of daycare was more than she was making.

"At some point, something has to give," she said. "What is going on? How do I save money?"

People in the comments chimed in with their savings account totals and it was quite eye-opening. Many people shared that they have $0 saved.

"We make the most money we ever have and have zero savings. We live paycheck to paycheck and every month I don’t know how we get by."

"I think the middle class is 1 personal disaster away from bankruptcy."

"Y’all got savings accounts?!?! 😂"

"I used to freak out if I had under $10k in savings, now I’m happy when I have over $150. 😫"

"We make almost 100,000 a year with no savings!!!! It's always something!!"

"I'm lucky if we have $500-$1K for an emergency. every single time we start saving something happens. the vet, the cars, the kids... something."

"Savings account? I transfer money each paycheck but always end up needing to transfer it back. My husband makes great money too but we are scraping by."

"$803 but we have to pay a $750 deductible this week b/c my Husband hit a deer soooo… back at it 😭 It’s exhausting. Constantly draining it, refilling it, transferring."

Some people shared that they do have some savings, but several said it was because they'd had an inheritance or other chunk of money come their way. Many people shared that their savings has dwindled as increased costs have taken their toll. Some people gave lifestyle advice to save money, but most agreed that just the basics have gotten so expensive it's harder to make ends meet much less put extra into savings.

Thankfully, the inflation issue appears to be waning, but even just plateauing at their current financial reality isn't ideal for many American families. Middle class is supposed to be a comfortable place to be—not rich, but well enough off to feel secure. That's not how many middle class folks feel, though. Most Americans don't have anything close to the amount of money saved that is recommended across the age spectrum, but at least hearing that others are in the same boat is somewhat comforting.

It can be vulnerable to put your financial reality out there, but it's helpful to hear what other people are doing and dealing with so we all feel less alone when we're struggling. Perhaps if people were more open about money, we'd all be able to help one another find ways to improve our financial situations rather than lamenting our empty savings accounts and wondering how to change it.

This article originally appeared on 7.17.24

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Television

Trevor Noah boils down the problem with the mega-rich using 'unrealized gains' as money

"It's such a fun game that billionaires get to play."

The Daily Show/Teddy Schleifer/Twitter

Trevor Noah's talked about Elon Musk's Twitter purchase in a Between the Scenes segment.

In the era of the mega-billionaire, much has been made of how such gargantuan wealth is built and what kind of taxes on wealth are fair and unfair.

The intricacies of economics can make such questions a bit tricky both practically and ethically, but there's no question that billionaires get enormous tax breaks through loopholes in our tax system and through straight-up tax legislation favoring the wealthy.

For the average American who will never see so much as one percent of a billion dollars in our entire lifetime, wrapping our minds around the financial workings of extreme wealth is like trying to learn another language. The whole "here's how much money I earn, here's what I can write off, here's what I pay in taxes" thing is pretty straightforward, but not how the uber-rich life works. Wealth doesn't equal money in uber-rich-land—except when it does.

In a Between the Scenes moment from a 2022 episode of "The Daily Show," Trevor Noah highlighted the weird way billionaire wealth sometimes counts as money and sometimes doesn't in a segment on The Daily Show. In his signature funny-but-smart way, Noah broke down the hypocrisy of billionaires being able to treat their stock shares as money when it comes to buying businesses, but not when it comes to paying taxes.

"I'm by no means an economist, nor am I an expert on stock markets and all things finance-related, but you have to admit, a lot of what happens on Wall Street seems like a scam," he began.

He talked about how the stock market went up one day because of what Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell said about raising interest rates, then plummeted the next day because of people misinterpreting what he said.

"First of all, how does that happen?" he asked. "How are markets changing because somebody didn't read something or understand—and all of you at the same time? And secondly, why do markets do that?"

He said the nature of stock markets going up and down feels "scammy," and somehow we're supposed to be convinced that the stock market is good for us.

"I get it for people's retirements, and I get it for 401Ks and I understand those aspects of it," he said. "But I've realized there are so many things that are designed in such a slick, scammy way."

He gave Elon Musk's pending purchase of Twitter as an example.

"People argue that you cannot tax billionaires on the shares that they hold in a company because it is an 'unrealized gain," he said. Then he explained that he understands that argument because the shares haven't been sold, so there's no actual money in hand. "So you're worth the money, but you don't have the money…and it could also crash, and then you have nothing, so we can't tax you on it."

"You can't tax the people on a thing because they don't have it, it's just there," he says. "Okay fine."

Then he talked about Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter, in which Musk put up his shares of Tesla stock as collateral. Noah explained how using his Tesla stock as collateral to get banks and investors to put up the cash for him to borrow to buy Twitter.

"So you can buy a thing based on what you have, yes. But when we want to tax you, you can say 'I don't have it,'" said Noah. "It's such a fun game that billionaires get to play because all their money is in that."

Noah points out how we can't fudge around with the IRS due to where our money is located. "You can't be like, 'That money's in the bank, I don't have that money. What money? It's in the bank. Only when I take it out, then you can tax me. For now, it's in the bank, IRS."

That's not something the IRS would accept.

"But if you have billions in shares, you can then use that as money, to then get more money, but not get taxed on any money, because you 'don't have money.'"

Noah said he's not suggesting that we tax people on unrealized gains.

"But I am saying, it seems to me that you then shouldn't be able to use a thing that's unrealized as collateral," he said.

That last point is worth restating. Noah isn't saying that billionaire wealth in the form of stock shares should be taxed like liquid money. He's questioning whether people should be able to use their untaxed wealth as collateral to get liquid money loans to avoid having to liquidate their own wealth (which they would then have to pay taxes on).

Food for thought. Watch:

This article originally appeared on 5.10.22

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Pets

Research shows why you should always pet your dog before leaving the house

via Pixabay

One of the most wonderful things about having a dog is how attached they become to their owners. I work from home and my Jack Russel terrier, Scout, lies next to me on his bed for most of the day. The only time he leaves my office is for a sip of water or to go outside and sun his belly on the porch.

That's why whenever I leave the house and can't take Scout with me, I wonder, "Does he miss me? Is he sad that he's alone?"

Studies show that our dogs miss us the moment we leave the house and that feeling slowly intensifies until we are gone for about four hours and they have a "plateau of melancholy." That's why the longer you're away, the more excited your dog is when you return home.

The moment I pull up in my car Scout begins to howl like a wolf trying to contact someone who's miles away. It's like, "Dude, I'm 30 feet away. Give me a second to grab the groceries out of the trunk."

Researchers from the Universities of Pisa and Perugia, Italy have found that if you give your dog some affection before you leave the house they'll have less anxiety while you're away.

They conducted experiments with 10 dogs between the ages of one and 11 without attachment issues. The group was composed of seven mixed-breed dogs, one Labrador retriever, one Hovawart, and one Chihuahua.

Participants in the study walked their leashed dogs into a fenced area where they were greeted by a researcher who took their dog's heart rate. In the first test, after the owners walked their dogs into the area, they talked with a researcher for one minute then left without giving the dog any special attention.

In the second test, the dog owners petted the dog during their interaction with the researcher.

In both tests, the owners left the fenced area and hid far enough away so that the dog couldn't smell them.

After the owners left, the dogs looked for them for about three minutes on average. After the owners returned, the researchers measured the dogs' levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as their heart rates.

The researchers found that whether the dogs were petted or not, their cortisol levels were unchanged. But their heart rate showed a marked decrease if the owners petted them before leaving. Researchers later watched videos of the dogs and found that the ones that were petted showed " behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owner's return."

Next time I'm ready to leave the house and Scout follows me to the front door after saying, "Sorry bud, you can't go with me on this trip," I'll kneel down and give him a little extra love and attention.

Maybe that way he won't howl like the house is on fire when I pull up in my car after a trip to the grocery store.

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Pop Culture

Dad makes movie magic with his 5-year-old daughter by re-creating iconic film scenes in photos

Daddy daughter playtime, but make it epic.

Instagram

Critics give it two thumbs up.

Alex Zane and his 5-year-old daughter Matilda are bringing iconic movie scenes to life in a brand new way. The daddy daughter duo have posted dozens upon dozens of homemade photo re-creations of famous films, with Matilda in the starring role. Sometimes her giant stuffed fox makes a cameo appearance as well.

Their Instagram page, Tot for Tot Remakes, has become quite the viral sensation and is getting a lot of love online, thanks in no small part to the incredible attention to detail put into every image.

Like many parents, Alex was forced to think of creative ways to provide entertainment for his family during the early days of the pandemic, including an indoor (toy) car wash. When Matilda suddenly jumped on top of the Cozy Coupe, Alex immediately had a vision of Michael J. Fox in "Teen Wolf" and then instructed her on how to perform air guitar before snapping a photo.

Alex was “quick to admit” he’s not a professional photographer in his interview with TODAY. But luckily, this lawyer-slash-father-slash-movie-nerd had a friend who was. He sent the snapshot to Andrew Kelly, who sprinkled enough digital wizardry to make this happen:

Voila! Toddler Wolf. And thus, Tot for Tot Remakes was born. Trust me, it only gets more intricate from here.

In an exclusive interview with Movie Metropolis, Alex broke down what goes into the process. Turns out there’s just as much going on behind the scenes in the re-creation as there was in the original film.

First, there’s the movie selection, which a) can be taken in three quick photographs, lest the 5-year-old star loses her focus and need to be “bribed back to set,” and b) needs to be confined to very simple actions like sleeping, being dead, screaming, standing or sitting still. Because, again, 5-year-old.

When it comes to budgeting, Alex told TODAY that they spend $5 or less on any props. In this “Wizard of Oz” photo, for instance, the dress is made out of napkins. Talk about resourcefulness.

Then, there’s actually taking the photos, which hopefully are “decent and funny enough” to get Kelly’s seal of approval. Kelly will then add backgrounds, effects and all those magical photo editing things, and send them back to Alex to post for all the internet to enjoy.

That might sound simple enough, but Alex told People it consists of "probably 350 texts back and forth for each recreation." The things we do for our art!

For Alex, this passion project not only became a special bonding opportunity with his daughter, it also helped him remember “how enjoyable life can be when you apply some time and creativity to anything.” He hopes that their posts might offer a "distraction for a few people to help during these difficult times."

Alex added that the two favorites so far have been “The Shining” and “Bridesmaids,” the latter especially because Matilda loved the dress and wore it for two days straight.

When I say Alex and Matilda have re-created a ton of movies, I am not exaggerating. Listing titles such as “E.T.,” “Love Actually,” “Titanic,” “Star Wars,” “Free Willy,” “Lord of The Rings,” “Mission: Impossible,” “The Great Gatsby” and “The Matrix” (twice!) doesn’t even scratch the surface.

I would have been very sad if Matilda hadn’t attempted “Matilda,” but the Zanes did not disappoint.

Who knows what kind of movie magic Alex and Matilda will create next. For sure they’ll be having fun while doing it.

This article originally appeared on 6.20.22

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Joy

Woman discovers the adorable reason why all the dogs won't leave the same spot on the lawn

Why are they so obsessed?

via Simtrisha/TikTok

A dog keeps a watchful eye over a a spot on the lawn.

A TikTok user named Trisha became alarmed after her senior dog, Jackie, seemed particularly captivated by a specific patch on the yard. The spot on the lawn was also of keen interest to the neighbor's dog, who was poking his nose through the fence, trying to get a closer look.

When Trisha went out to inspect the mysterious patch of grass, she realized the dogs were watching over a snug little burrow, home to a clutch of adorable baby bunnies.

“[My other dog] George didn't care too much about them,” Trisha told The Dodo. “I think he was confused at what they are … Jackie seemed to want to just babysit.”

At first, Trisha was worried that the dogs may want to harm the cute little bunnies, but that wasn’t an issue. They almost seemed to be protecting the bunnies. Seeing how our four-legged friends can show such care and concern for even the tiniest neighbors is heartwarming.

To ensure the babies are safe, Trisha and her husband set up a security camera to monitor the borrow, and they found a surprise guest coming in at night. It was the bunnies’ mom coming to check on them. Trisha believes that the mother lives beneath her house.

Trisha, her husband, and the dogs will only have a few more weeks to watch over the bunnies. Typically, at about 3 weeks, they are ready to leave the burrow and venture out on their own.

Good luck, little fellas. We'll be rooting for you.

This article originally appeared on 8.11.23

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