Lifestyle
8 fun, festive and free phone and Zoom backgrounds made by L.A. artists
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/wp-lede-art-copy-v3.gif)
Los Angeles begins to look somewhat completely different this time of 12 months, with flashier decor, folks internet hosting extra events and, after all, even extra bustle.
To honor this season, we requested eight L.A.-based illustrators to create their interpretation of what vacation festivities in Southern California appear like to them. And as a present to you, reader, we turned them into downloadable cellphone and laptop backgrounds.
Under you’ll be able to meet every illustrator and decide which interpretation speaks to you most. Simply search for the ??emoji to discover a hyperlink to obtain every background.
And as an added deal with for print subscribers and for many who stay someplace you should purchase a print model of The Instances, every of those designs will likely be obtainable as wrapping-paper prints within the Dec. 11 Saturday part. (Choose up the difficulty at your native grocery retailer throughout your festive meals run.) Take pleasure in!
Emilio Santoyo
Emilio Santoyo is an illustrator, designer, instructor and all-around artistic skilled. He does his finest to make work that displays good occasions. When he’s not working, he tries to get in a motorcycle journey. He loves seeing automobiles on the roads with the vacation really feel throughout them — presents stuffed within the backseat and Christmas bushes strapped on the roof — on their method residence. You’ll find him at @emiliospocket on Instagram.
(Emilio Santoyo / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Emilio Santoyo / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Sidney Howard
Sidney Howard is an illustrator and designer residing in Beachwood Canyon. Her favourite half about L.A. in the course of the holidays is curler skating at Venice Seashore with a light-weight sweater on (perhaps — climate relying). You’ll find her at @sidneyhoward on Instagram.
(Sidney Howard / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Sidney Howard / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Sebastian Curi
Sebastian Curi is an Argentine illustrator and animator. He creates colourful characters utilizing huge, daring shapes and powerful strains. For him, the vacations are a time for gathering with family and friends; potlucks; enjoyable; and naps to recuperate from the festivities. He feels Los Angeles has the proper climate to get pleasure from cozy dinners on a patio in addition to straightforward winter walks alongside the L.A. River. You’ll find him at @sebacuri on Instagram.
(Sebastian Curi / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Sebastian Curi / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Kristin Jay Montante
Kristin Jay Montante is a visible designer, illustrator and lettering artist primarily based in Silver Lake. Her favourite factor about Los Angeles in the course of the holidays is with the ability to see how completely different cultures and communities unfold vacation cheer. You’ll find her at @kristinjaymakes on Instagram.
(Kristin Jay Montante / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Kristin Jay Montante / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Zoë van Dijk
Zoë van Dijk is a contract illustrator and instructor residing in Glendale. Her favourite a part of L.A. in the course of the holidays is prepping her backyard for spring and the fruit — the fantastic fruit! You’ll find her at @creepcaptain on Instagram.
(Zoë van Dijk / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Zoë van Dijk / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Maggie Enterrios
Maggie Enterrios is an illustrator and the creator of the best-selling coloring ebook “Flowerscape.” Her sample is a celebration of Southern California’s wealthy botanical variety. Enterrios’ daring, intricate designs may be noticed on product packaging around the globe. Primarily based in Lake Arrowhead, Enterrios says her favourite facet of the vacation season in Southern California is that from sand to snow, SoCal has all of it. You’ll find her at @littlepatterns on Instagram.
(Maggie Enterrios / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Maggie Enterrios / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Yaira Vila a.ok.a. Yaicecream
Yaira Vila a.ok.a. Yaicecream (Yai + icecream) is a self-taught artist and designer from Madrid who moved to the U.S. in 2009. She started her artwork profession as a painter and continued by means of murals, illustrations and all kinds of various media. She has been residing and creating in L.A. for three years. Her favourite issues about SoCal in the course of the holidays are the attractive homes embellished in Pasadena, the Rose Parade and the climate. You’ll find her at @yaicecream on Instagram.
(Yaira “Yaicecream” Vila / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Yaira “Yaicecream” Vila / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Adhemas Batista
Adhemas Batista is a self-taught designer and artist primarily based in Northridge who creates works about social points by means of an optimistic lens. Impressed by tradition, he explores the brilliant aspect of chaos by means of vibrant, strategic and colourful ideas throughout numerous media. You’ll find him at @adhemas on Instagram.
(Adhemas Batista / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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(Adhemas Batista / For The Instances; Jade Cuevas / Los Angeles Instances; Getty Photographs)
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Lifestyle
A member of the 'T-Shirt Swim Club' chronicles life as 'the funny fat kid'
![A member of the 'T-Shirt Swim Club' chronicles life as 'the funny fat kid'](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4213x2369+2243+164/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F93%2F40%2F1b6ae93c4b4aa9322f623ff9933e%2Fian-karmel-photo-credit-kenny-mcmillan.jpg)
“The first place I learned to be funny was on the schoolyard trying to defuse this weird tension around my body, says Ian Karmel. He won an Emmy Award in 2019 for his work on James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” special with Paul McCartney.
Kenny McMillan/Penguin Random House
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Kenny McMillan/Penguin Random House
Comedy writer Ian Karmel spent most of his life making fun of his weight, starting at a very young age.
“Being a kid is terrifying — and if you can be the funny fat kid, at least that’s a role,” Karmel says. “To me, that was better than being the fat kid who wasn’t funny, who’s being sad over in the corner, even if that was how I was actually feeling a lot of the time.”
For Karmel, the jokes and insults didn’t stop with adolescence. He says the humiliation he experienced as a kid navigating gym classes, and the relentless barrage of fat jokes from friends and strangers, fueled his comedy.
For years, much of his stand-up comedy centered around his body; he was determined to make fun of himself first — before anyone else could do it. “At least if we’re destroying me, I will be participating in my own self-destruction so I can at least find a role for myself,” he says.
![Diet culture can hurt kids. This author advises parents to reclaim the word 'fat'](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/04/25/gettyimages-71554754_sq-4098d7677bac1e82d0a3fa34a14ad0d11c239f21.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Karmel went on to write for The Late Late Show with James Corden. He has since lost more than 200 pounds, but he feels like he’ll have a lifelong relationship with fatness. He wrote his new memoir, T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People, along with his sister Alisa, who channeled her experience into a profession in nutrition counseling.
“Once we lost a bunch of weight … we realized we’d never had these conversations about it with each other,” Karmel says. “If this book affects even the way one person thinks about fat people, even if that fat person happens to be themselves, that would be this book succeeding in every way that I would hope for.”
Interview highlights
On using the word “fat”
There’s all these different terms. And, you know, early on when I was talking to Alisa about writing this book, we were like: “Are we going to say fat? I think we shouldn’t say fat.” And we had a conversation about it. We landed on the determination that it’s not the word’s fault that people treat fat people like garbage. And we tend to do this thing where we will bring in a new word, we will load that word up with all of the sin of our behavior, toss that word out, pull a new one in, and then all of a sudden, we let that word soak up all the sin, and we never really change the way we actually treat people. …
I’ve been called fat, overweight or obese, husky, big guy, chunky, any number of words, all of those words just loaded up with venom. … We decided we were going to say “fat” because that’s what we are. That’s what I think of myself as. And I’m going to take it back to basics.
On the title of his memoir, T-Shirt Swim Club
![T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1686x2548+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F89%2F16%2Fd4a6d8ef4ec5b75def0a194a8bb0%2F9780593580929-1.jpg)
T-Shirt Swim Club
Penguin Random House
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Penguin Random House
Thank God for learning about the damage that the sun does to our bodies, because now all sorts of people are wearing T-shirts in the pool. But when we were growing up, I don’t think that was happening. It’s absurd. We wear this T-shirt because we … want to protect ourselves from prying eyes — but I think what it really is is this internalized body shame where I’m like, “Hey, I know my body’s disgusting. I know I’m going to gross you out while you’re just trying to have a good time at the pool, so let me put this T-shirt on.” And it’s all the more ridiculous because it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t actually cover you up, it hugs every curve!
On how bullying made him paranoid
You think like, if four or five people are saying this to my face, then there must be vast whisper campaigns. That must be what they’re huddled over. … Anytime somebody giggles in the corner and you are in that same room, you become paranoid. There’s a part of you that thinks like, they must be laughing at me.
On how fat people are portrayed in pop culture
![Why Brendan Fraser's Hollywood comeback story is both warming hearts and raising ire](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/09/05/gettyimages-1242951332_sq-9cde7e0c6b1344c485a405a789a287a2f2d92ac7.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Fat people, I think, are still one of the groups that it’s definitely OK to make fun of. That’s absolutely true. … I’m part of this industry too, and I’ve done it to myself. … Maybe it’s less on the punch line 1719964293 and more on the pity. You know, you have Brendan Fraser playing the big fat guy in The Whale. And at least that’s somebody who is fat and who has dealt with those issues. Maybe not to the extent of like a 500- and 600-pound man, but still to some extent. And good for him. I mean, an amazing performance, but still one where it’s like, here’s this big, fat, pathetic person.
On judgment about weight loss drugs and surgery
![Wegovy works. But here's what happens if you can't afford to keep taking the drug](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/01/27/wegovy_sq-c2d2453d211ae6d1be819f2d061ffc95308a5b0b.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
It’s this ridiculous moral purity. What it comes down to for me is you [have] your loved ones, you have your friends. And whatever you can do to spend more time on earth with those people, that’s golden to me. That’s beautiful, because that is what life is truly all about. And the more you get to do that, the healthier and happier you are. So those people out there who are shaming Ozempic or Wegovy or any of that stuff, or bariatric surgery, those people can pound sand. And it’s so hard in a world that is built for people who are regular size, and in a world that is also simultaneously built to make you as fat as possible with the way we treat food. It’s like, yo, do the best you can!
Therese Madden and Joel Wolfram produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.
![In 'Shrill,' Lindy West Made The Body Positive Show That She Never Had](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/03/14/lindy-west-headshot_sq-47489731067e6a93294b75499d5b41fe9fa4d8e6.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
![Aidy Bryant On 'Shrill,' 'SNL' Thrills, And Not Feeling Bad About Her Body](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/03/14/shr_101_ar_20180802_0014rt_f_sq-4072614d6efaf42df9ef4b198847306494324d23.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Lifestyle
Christopher Reeve's Son Will Reeve to Cameo in James Gunn's 'Superman'
![Christopher Reeve's Son Will Reeve to Cameo in James Gunn's 'Superman'](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/da/16by9/2024/07/02/da89c539a8c443fa84938b3dd9ab74da_xl.jpg)
A full-circle moment is unfolding on James Gunn‘s ‘Superman’ set — Will Reeve, son of the iconic Christopher Reeve, is flying into the DC Universe with a cameo in Gunn’s film.
As you know, Christopher donned the red cape for the 70s and 80s ‘Superman’ movies … and, undoubtedly, he would’ve been thrilled to see these heartwarming pics on X of his youngest son hugging Gunn on set in Cleveland, Ohio, carrying on his legacy.
Christopher Reeve’s son Will and James Gunn.
What an incredible moment for DC. pic.twitter.com/oMP9OOPEOL
— The Moonlight Warrior 🌙 (@BlackMajikMan90) July 2, 2024
@BlackMajikMan90
Unclear what Will’s role is exactly, but as you can see, he’s dressed to the nines in a slick Clark Kent-style suit while dapping up Gunn, and then giving him a hug — all while others on set clap, so looks like he had just wrapped filming his scenes.
One thing’s for sure — he’s not playing the titular role, as that’s been filled by David Corenswet, who’s been rocking the classic blue and red suit around Cleveland.
Nonetheless, Will won’t need to do much homework on the film given his dad’s basically synonymous with the character — he dove into the role in 1978’s “Superman: The Movie” and continued flying the ‘S’ on his chest for 3 sequels until 1987.
20 years after Christopher’s death, at the age of 52, Gunn’s clearly hard at work on his new vision for the DC Cinematic Universe, set for release in July ’25.
Lifestyle
Dining out with a big group? Learn the social etiquette of splitting the check
![Dining out with a big group? Learn the social etiquette of splitting the check](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5571x3134+0+290/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F50%2F39%2Fe6226f6f414795020b196b0b2eb4%2Fsplit-check-2.jpg)
Let’s say you’re at a restaurant with a group of friends. You ordered appetizers, maybe got a bottle of wine for the table, went all in for dessert … then the bill arrives.
No one is offering to cover the whole tab. So how do you handle the check? Do you split it evenly among everyone at the table? What if you only got a salad while your buddy got the surf and turf special?
Splitting the bill is a fine art. Whether you’re eating family-style at a Korean barbecue joint or having a three-course meal at a fancy restaurant, there should be “a sense of equality in how the check is divvied up” when the meal ends, says Kiki Aranita, a food editor at New York Magazine and the former co-chef and owner of Poi Dog, a Hawaiian restaurant in Philadelphia.
She goes over common scenarios you may encounter while dining out with a large group — and how to dial down the awkwardness by keeping things fair and square.
Scenario 1: I arrived to dinner late. Everyone at the table already ordered drinks and appetizers and are about to order their entrees. What should I do?
When you’re ready to order, tell your server you want your food and drinks on a separate check, says Aranita. “It’s easier to deal with than having to split a check in complicated percentages at the end of the night.”
If you do choose separate checks, tell your server that at the start of the meal, not the end. That way they can make note of everyone’s individual orders. Not every establishment offers this option, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
![What is the new etiquette for tipping?](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/03/25/lifekit_tipping_reinat_sq-45a3cbe9231c09dafe79552c0106a996bda7aa87.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Scenario 2: Everyone ordered alcohol except me — and now they want to split the tab fair and square!
Speak up, says Aranita. “Just be like, ‘Hey guys — I didn’t drink.’ Usually, that’s enough for everyone to reconfigure the bill to make it fairer. The problems only arise when you don’t speak up.”
If you are ordering round after round of $20 cocktail drinks, be conscious of the people in your party who didn’t order as much as you. When the bill arrives, “maybe pick up a larger portion of the tip” to make up for your drinks, says Aranita.
Scenario 3: We’re a party of six. Is it OK to ask the server to split the check six ways?
Many restaurants now have updated point-of-sale systems that make it easier for servers to split the check in myriad ways, says Aranita. But it doesn’t always mean you should ask them to do so.
Aranita, who has also been a bartender and server, recommends a maximum of two to four credit cards. Servers “have enough to deal with” when working with a large party, especially on a busy night. And running several cards with different tip percentages isn’t ideal.
“If you’re a party of six, just put down two credit cards” and Venmo each other what you owe, she says. This approach also works out great for that person in your group who’s obsessed with racking up credit card points.
![The social etiquette of lending money](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/05/06/lk_lending_harlan_iou_sq-43c4fc2c3338648ebd6ea6f0bfead25823117c82.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Scenario 4: It’s my birthday. My friends should pay for my meal, right?
In American culture, it’s assumed that if your friends take you out to dinner for your birthday, they will cover your meal. But that’s not always the case, says Aranita.
If you set up your own birthday dinner, don’t expect to people to pay for you, she says. You picked the restaurant and invited your friends on your terms. So in this scenario, put down your card at the end of the meal. Your dining mates may pick up your tab, but if they don’t, “that’s perfectly fine. You’re saying: ‘I can celebrate me and also pay for me.’ ”
Scenario 5: It’s my friends’ first time at my favorite restaurant. I’m going to order an appetizer that I think everyone at the table will love. We’re all splitting the cost of that, right?
It can be easy to get swept away by the menu at a favorite restaurant, but don’t assume your dining partners share the same enthusiasm for the twice-fried onion rings. “You have to get their consent at the beginning of the meal. Say, ‘hey, is it cool if I order appetizers for the table?’ ” says Aranita. If you forgot to ask this question, assume that you will pay for the order.
This episode was produced by Sylvie Douglis. The digital story was edited by Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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