Zany to the Max

The thing with most 90's cartoons (or really most cartoons… actually, any kid show in history, cartoon or not) is that you have to have grown up with them to appreciate them because let's be honest, most of them are pretty stupid. For example: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cat-Dog, Sailor Moon, Ed Edd and Eddy, Pokemon, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Wild Thornberries, and so on. The animation is cheap, the stories are lame (borderline ridiculous), the voice-acting is terrible, I mean it's all just silly. But as a kid, we ate it all up and loved every minute of it. Then as an adult, that nostalgic feeling takes over as we revisit those shows and we still love it. It's exactly the same as it was 20 years ago with the bad effects, cheesy music, and so on, but the child inside emerges as we revisit the joy of our childhood.

The one cartoon show I can think of that I can still laugh out loud at now (and not just out of nostalgia) is Looney Tunes. And it's not even a 90's show! Well, I mean Looney Tunes has been going on for years and is still going on today. But I'm talking about the original wise-cracking, slapstick, Mel Blanc stuff. They were like cartoons geared mainly towards adults. With the smart humor, wit, and occasional pop culture references, but then kids could also enjoy the slapstick of it if nothing else (which I mostly did, at least when I was really young).

So this brings me to the point of my whole post… Animaniacs. When I was a kid, I remember seeing this show around, but I didn't really watch it. Sometimes I saw it at other people's houses, hotel rooms, etc., and occasionally I would watch it if I ever flipped the channel over to Cartoon Network or something other than the like two channels I ever watched. But I was not an avid viewer of it. The point is I was aware of its existence and I had seen it, but not enough to consider it a "childhood TV show".

Recently, however, I've gradually started seeing it around once again. I can't recall exactly when or how it started. Well, internet obviously, but other than that. I just know that at first it was only pictures and stuff, then it was clips on YouTube, then eventually I started actually watching some episodes… Remember I said that the thing with 90's cartoons was that you kind of had to grow up with them in order to appreciate them? Well this show is the exception! I fell in love with it!

It's set up sort of like a variety show with a bunch of different characters and their cartoons. There'll be like two or three different cartoons per episode, usually with a small segment in between (a song, a poem, an introduction the the next cartoon, etc). But it mainly follows the Warner brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and their sister, Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III, but you can call her Dot (but call her Dottie and you die). They're three cartoon characters who were created in the thirties, but they proved to be too zany so they were locked away in the water tower on the Warner movie lot… until they escaped.

I love the show because it manages to stay true to the old cartoon spirit that Looney Tunes had. It reminds me a lot of the tone the old Daffy Duck cartoons set, like the really old ones. You know where he just crazily slides away over the water laughing "hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!" like a complete nutcase.

The thing with Animaniacs is that it's a kids' show with some adult humor instead of the other way around. This is the first time in forever that someone has tried to make a cartoon for kids AND adults and succeed (at least in my opinion). This was back before the censors went all crazy on kid shows like "oh no you can't show the main character dropping an anvil on the antagonist's head! That might give kids the wrong idea! They might go out and start dropping anvils on people's heads!", or "no! You can't show the character being grumpy! That might encourage kids to be grumpy!", or "this needs to have a blatantly obvious moral that needs to be shoved down the kids's throats!", stuff like that. This is why old kids shows are so much better than they are now. I think people underestimate kids' intelligence. When I was a kid watching toons whacking others with a mallet, blowing them up with dynamite, dropping pianos on their heads, etc., my first thought wasn't to go do that to someone else when I was provoked (another reason I love this show, it makes fun of the censors a lot). Anyways, I digress…

There's a lot of pop culture references, spoofs, and so on that I KNOW kids won't catch onto, which is why it is funny to adults as well, but kids can easily be entertained by the slapstick, the funny voices, and overall wackiness of it.

(Left to Right) Yakko, Wakko, and Dot

I mostly only watch it for the Warner siblings, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. They're a great trio. Yakko's like the fast talking smart-alec (he kind of reminds me of Groucho Marx), the one who confronts the "special friend" (as they refer to the antagonist) and confuses them with many words, jokes, etc. He also breaks the fourth wall a lot by talking to (and waggling his eyebrows at) the audience. Then Wakko… how do I explain him? He eats everything. Like literally. He also has a gag bag that he carries around with him that he will pull out basically anything to fit a situation even if it defies physics (like a Mary Poppins bag, but more extreme). He's also the center of the most crude jokes (burping, butt jokes, etc.). And then Dot is the cute one. She uses her cuteness and apparent innocence to manipulate and torment those around her.

"Gee, Brain. What're we gonna do tonight." "Same thing we
do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!"

I'm not a huge fan of any of the other characters. Well, Pinky and the Brain are great, but they got their own spin-off show, so I can just go watch that some other time. Slappy the Squirrel was kind of funny sometimes, but she did kind of grate after a while. Then everything else was just waring or flat out annoying. I despised the Goodfeathers. So annoying. And whatever that stupid chicken's name was who pretended to be a person… Chicken Boo! Argh! Stupidest idea ever and it was just the same exact thing over and over and over again. Also he was way too realistic looking, like not cartoony at all. He was the worst. And then Mindy and poor Buttons. Seriously, constant physical abuse is only funny if the character has it coming. Buttons was not only innocent, but tried so hard to protect stupid Mindy and then was PUNISHED for all his hard work! And Rita was OK, but not Runt. Just SHUT UP already!

Now those are just the major characters I have a problem with (which I guess is a major problem), but they're easy to skip, unless you're watching on TV. I love all the minor characters though, like the mime, Skull-head, Dr. Scratchansniff, Hello Nurse, Pip, the CEO what's-his-name?… Mr. Plotz!, and so on.

It's very quick, witty writing, fun, crazy, with lots of slapstick and pop culture. But then they also put in an effort to educate. There are many songs and segments dedicated to teaching different subjects (like long multiplication, US presidents, states and capitals, etc.), kind of a School House Rock style. The most famous being 'Yakko's World (The Nations of the World)', where Yakko names all of the countries in the world in under two minutes. Many people have tried memorizing this song and many have failed. I'm trying my hand at it, and let me tell you, it is definitely a challenge.

Anyways, this turned out longer than I expected, but what can you do? I think it's a cute, fun show. (And it's produced by Steven Spielberg.) Anyway, it's great! Two thumbs up!

Yakko's World (Nations of the World)

This is a short example the humor of a typical episode (from one of my favorites, "King Yakko" where Yakko is made king of the small kingdom of Anvilania. It kind of pays homage to the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup"). I mean seriously, I cannot stop laughing at it! Just joke after joke after joke. You have to watch it a couple times to catch them all. "This is the uniform of a great man!" "Does he know you're wearing it?"XDD

Here's one of the cartoons. It gets cut off right at the end… But after watching it, I'm sure you can guess what's inside the box XD (I really wanted to put up one of my favorites, "Chairman of the Bored", which has the siblings facing an unbelievably boring character named Pip. Ben Stein talks through almost the entire cartoon. But I couldn't find it! *tear*)

Top 10 Villains

It's been a while since I've made a "Kelsi just talks about things" post. I was watching some videos on YouTube of a guy who reviews movies and makes lists of the top scariest moments, top catchiest theme songs, etc. Anyways, he had one of his top scariest performances, and it got me thinking… I want to do something similar. So here we are: My top 10 villains in cinema (and maybe literature).


#10- WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST from The Wizard of Oz
"I'll get you, my pretty. And your little dog too!"

For a lot of kids, The Wizard of Oz was one of the first movies we ever saw, so this lady was one of the first villains we were introduced to. And boy, was she quite a villain to start out with. With her green skin, long nose, and black attire. And who could ever forget her theme song? (It is now stuck in your head! You're welcome.) She's just… well, scary. The way she laughs, flies around on her broom, kidnaps girls and dogs, has an army of flying monkeys, lives in a creepy castle, throws fireballs, etc. She's the iconic witch.


#9- GEORGE WICKHAM from Pride and Prejudice
"But it is not for me to be driven away by Mr. Darcy. If he wants to avoid seeing me, he must go."

You know, sometimes when you're watching a movie and somebody walks into a scene and you're just like "oh yeah. That's the villain.". Like with Star Wars, Darth Vader walks in, helloooo villain! Big scary guy dressed in black with the heavy breathing and standing over dead bodies= villain. But with Pride and Prejudice, that's not the case. I mean, this guy, he just seems to be this nice, friendly, supremely charming guy. Handsome too. And he gives this sob story making you feel all sorry for him. And he does it in such a way that makes it seem like he doesn't want to divulge this information, which makes him seem humble too. But it's all just a facade. Underneath it all he's just a money-hungry playboy. A conman! A dirty rotten scoundrel out for revenge and to ruin anybody who gets in his way. That's why he's so horrible. He fools EVERYBODY into thinking he's such a wonderful individual until… too late.


#8- DARTH VADER from Star Wars
"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

There is a very small percentage of people in the world who doesn't know this guy. I've found there's actually a lot of villains out there who have an alter ego (and a tragic backstory). He's one of the few who redeem themselves in the end without it being super lame and cliche. But, focusing on him as a villain… I wasn't alive when he first appeared, but I can just imagine sitting in the theater and seeing him enter for the first time. That black 1/2 robot-1/2 man thing, all black attire (helmet, cape, etc) with the creepy breathing. Sooo iconic now. And that voice! James Earl Jones is legend! It's just so scary and awesome at the same time! And then all the power he has, he's got an army (even if the clones are kind of pansies), the frikin' Death Star, and not to mention the Force. And of course he holds the number one spot for the biggest plot twist in all history. All around great villain.


#7- VOLDEMORT from the Harry Potter series
"Only I can live forever."

Well of course he has to be on my list. He's like the epitome of evil. He's actually kind of lower on my list than you'd expect because honestly, I don't find him all that interesting. I mean yeah, he did scare the crap out of me and he kept things intense and he is rather creepy looking. You'd think I'd like that, since that's basically everything I like in a villain. But it's missing something. He's not very showy about it. I mean, yeah, he likes to show off and make a graphic scene of things (not as much as Bellatrix *shudders* maybe she should have been on my list), but he just kind of does it all blandly. Like "oh, OK let's go raid the Ministry. Yes, knock down all the shelves and cabinets while you're at it. Yes, yes, break all the glass. OK, kill everybody. Good." There could be a little more finesse when he talked (and I put no blame on Ralph Fiennes, well maybe a little, but I think most of the problem was in the character himself, the writing, and the directing). But anyways, other than that, Voldemort is a great villain. I mean, he's so scary, people are even afraid to say his name. I mean, there are a lot of real life serial killers, dictators, etc. in history, but we still speak their names. That's how much of an impact this guy has on our fictional characters's lives.


#6- LADY TREMAINE from Disney's Cinderella
"I said… if."

Dis lady. What a scuzzball! Like she doesn't do anything so universally horribly wrong, except for make one person's life miserable. And all because Cinderella was nicer and prettier than her own two daughters. Pfft! I mean, she doesn't even let her go to the ball, and she lets her daughters tear up the dress, and then she freakin' locks her in her room so she can't have her happily ever after, and THEN she breaks the glass slipper just as Cinderella's about to try it on! Like what the heck, lady? Just looking at her smirks all the while during that end scene while Cinderella's locked up, ooh! You just want to punch her! (And that face when she realizes Cinderella was the mystery girl from the ball and follows her upstairs to lock her in. D8 One of the freakiest villain faces ever!)


#5- DOLORES UMBRIDGE from the Harry Potter series
"Deep down you know that you deserve to be punished, don't you, Mr. Potter?"

And speaking of ultimate scuzzballs. Dis mother-hugger! Ooh, don't you just want to smack that prissy smile off her face? Practically any Harry Potter fan you talk to will tell you that they hated this son of a gun more than Voldemort, and I concur. While Voldemort was doing horrible things like massacring people, taking over the wizard and muggle world, splitting his soul so he could live forever, things like that, this lady was focused on ruining the lives of teenagers, specifically our protagonist. I mean, her detention is them writing lines, which is bad enough, but then it carves the sentences into their hand! I mean, how sadistic is that? And she just goes about with her ridiculous, strict rules, sucking all the fun and life out of everything. Even all the teachers hated her! ("Is it true you shouted at Professor Umbridge?" "Yes." "You called her a liar?" "Yes." "Have a biscuit, Potter.")  But the thing that makes her so horrible is that she does all this with a smile. Like she looks like one of those overly-sweet secretaries you'd find at a customer service desk for some fancy cruise-liner or something. And the pink and the cats! Argh! It's so horrid!


#4- MALEFICENT from Disney's Sleeping Beauty
"Oh dear, what an awkward situation."

No, not the Angelina Jolie backstory remake one. I'm talking about the original animated awesomeness! First off I just have to say that she has the most boss costume out of any of the Disney villains (or maybe any villain, IDK). Her motivation is kind of ridiculous. I mean, she could have been more lenient about it like "Fine. See if I invite you to MY birthday party!". But no she's all "What? You don't want to invite me to your party. Fine. I'll just curse your baby to die when she turns sixteen! Muahahaha!". But really, looking past the ridiculous motivation, she is such a boss! She yells, she screams, she has fire, she has minions, she lives on "the forbidden mountain" (I mean how cool is that?), she goes to extreme lengths to accomplish her goals. Like, there's a wall of thorns, there's lightning, and she flippin' turns into a dragon! I mean, she creates one of the most awesome climaxes in all Disney movies with all this.


#3- MRS. DANVERS from Rebecca
"I watched you go down, just as I watched her a year ago. Even in the same dress, you couln't compare."

Oh my word, this lady freaks me out. And I just want to punch her in the face. She's the originator of mental abuse. The ways she's just SO obsessed with the previous Mrs. DeWinter and lets the new one know at every possible moment. I mean, the new Mrs. DeWinter moves a hairbrush over like an inch and Mrs. Danvers notices. Not only does she move it back, but she lets the poor woman know like "no, Rebecca always kept the hairbrush here and you should too because she was so perfect and you aren't." I mean, literally EVERYTHING the new Mrs. DeWinter does she gets criticized by this stupid housekeeper and compared to Rebecca. Like ARGH! "Your husband doesn't love you, he still loves Rebecca, because she's perfect and you're not. How dare you try to take her place." And then when she tricks the poor girl into wearing Rebecca's dress to the party causing her husband to lash out and have a breakdown. And Mrs. Danvers KNEW that would happen! GAAAAHHHHH!!! I hate this lady so much!


#2- THE JOKER from Batman/THE MASTER from Doctor Who
"If I weren't crazy, I'd be insane."/ "The drumming. Can't you hear it? Inside my head. I thought it would stop. But it never does. It never, ever stops."

They're both number two because they're both extremely similar. I'm not exactly referring to a specific performance of the Joker, just the Joker in general. Same with the Master. I'm not referring to a specific incarnation of him (and I guess now her too), just the Master all around. With villains, I don't really have a preference per say for classy, laid back villains or psycho ones. Either one can be scary, but in different ways. Here with the Joker and the Master, we have the ultimate example of psycho. The thing with crazy villains is that they will do literally anything, even if it doesn't make sense (like in Doctor Who, one of the Master's victims plead "I'm much more valuable to you alive", which he agreed to, but then killed her anyways). And they just won't care. Plus they often do it with that crazy look in their eye and/or a crazy, psychotic laugh. They just enjoy what they do.


#1… (drum roll please)… FROLLO from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
"I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!"

Where do I even begin with this guy? He kills an innocent woman, tries to drown her baby, keeps said baby in a bell tower for his whole life (all the while insulting him), burns people alive, lusts over women, offers their freedom for... well him. And all while claiming he's a good christian. This guy is in a Disney movie??!! D8 I mean, he is the ultimate creep-fest! He just gets so obsessed with Esmerelda that he literally burns Paris to the ground in attempt to find her. And that one scene where he has her in an armlock in the cathedral, threatening her, and then sniffs her hair! DD8 And then what a jerk he is to poor Quasimodo. I mean, yes some of the stuff he says is true, that he may be rejected and scorned if he went out into the world because of his looks. But I hardly think he tells him that to protect him, I think he just tells him those things because he's a flat out jerk. And then THE WHOLE TIME he claims he's a good Christian, praying and doing all this stuff in God's name! Like, UGH!!! (Also he has one of the best villain songs ever, which if it's a musical, the villain song had gosh darn better be epic and charismatic, which 'Hellfire' most definitely is).

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
CHAUVELIN from The Scarlet Pimpernel

Blood-thirsty, blackmailing, conniving. What else could you ask for in a villain?

CRUELLA DEVILLE from 101 Dalmations

Really, anyone who wants to kill a bunch of sweet innocent puppies is already soulless, but wrap that up as a psychotic fashionista and you get a fantastic villain.

THE CHILD CATCHER from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Because he's just plain creepy! He's the reason parents warn their kids not to take candy from strangers.

NORMAN BATES from Psycho

Since I haven't actually seen Psycho, I feel I can't include him on my actual list. But who doesn't know Norman Bates? I mean, I haven't even seen the movie, and he totally freaks me out.

This Is Halloween!

Coming up with a costume for Halloween is always such a difficult decision. Last year I was the Joker, which so far out of my 21 years is one of my favorite things I have ever dressed up as. So, this year whilst deciding what on earth I should be I must've subconsciously took that into account. I actually (unintentionally) got myself a Pintrest account so I could look at a bunch of costume ideas. I was fresh out out original ideas. I never like to go as something cliche like a witch or zombie or anything that there's going to be thousands of (so I most definitely wasn't going to be going as Elsa, at least not this year XD). Or if I do decide to be one of those things, I need to make it my own (aka special), so that it stands out, ya feel me?

Anyways, looking at costumes on Pintrest got me nowhere, though it was entertaining. I actually entertained the idea of going as short-haired Rapunzel for a bit (I was THIS close to doing it). Then I started looking at super-heroes. That's always tough because women+superheroes= scantily-clad nightmares (whyyyyyy can't women just have normal costumes???). I did manage to find a Spider-man/woman one that might've worked, but then I thought of last year and my costume as a villain. As great as I am, I couldn't think of every single comic villain out there, so I did a search on Spider-man, Batman, Captain America, Superman, etc. villains, looking for a unique, but recognizable villain that might be fun. I listed off a few favorites and then narrowed it down to one… and that's where the Riddler came in.

So I got to work. There weren't as many pieces as last year's costume, but it was more of a process. I found the black shirt and green jacket at Salvation Army, but then I had to use a stencil made by my mom to spray paint all the question marks all over the jacket (it took hours and near-asphyxiation to do it).
I was EXTREMELY lucky with the tie. I found it at Kohl's where ties are usually like $40, but they were having an 80% off sale on a section of the ties and they happened to have a purple one in that section. Hallelujah!
I already had purple pants from last year (though I didn't remember them being quite so tight :/ Apparently I've gotten fat XP).
I found the purple sneakers at Payless on sale.
I ordered the gold question mark cane online at the Batman Costumes Store (who knew such a thing existed?).
I also ordered a hat online at some random site, but it didn't arrive in time so my mom found an ugly blue one and spray painted it for me on Halloween while I was at work.
Then the gloves… argh! Literally EVERYWHERE had gloves of all sorts of colors, but not purple. Walmart has an entire wall of gloves of all colors and patterns… but not just plain purple (they had purple striped). I ended up finding super cheap gloves online as well. "One size fits all", yeah, if you have big hands. I ended up using rubber bands around my wrists to keep them on.
Then, lastly, I combed my hair back and used purple face paint around my eyes for the mask.

Lots of people kept calling me the Joker. No. I know the Riddler is not as well known as the Joker, but really you should know what the Joker looks like and I was clearly not him. Well, at least they linked me with Batman. Speaking of which, I did see several Batmans/girls and there was a bit of tension ;P

I even memorized several riddles just in case somebody asked me for one. Only one person straight out asked me, but at Trunk-or-Treat when kids were coming around to our car for seconds, thirds, and beyond, we made them answer a riddle in order to get more candy.

So here's some pictures:

And here's last year, if you were interested:

READ LAST YEAR'S POST HERE

We Should All Be "Pushing Daisies"

I don't mean it like that XD. Pushing Daisies is the title of a TV show. I'm actually surprised I haven't mentioned it yet. But better late than never, right ;)

I just started rewatching it yesterday on my day off/home alone time. I forgot how utterly fantastic it is. For how short a run it had, it really created a wonderful world.

The premise is about a a pie-maker named Ned with a mysterious power where he can touch dead things and bring them back to life. However, if he keeps the dead thing alive for more than a minute exactly, then something in close proximity has to die in its place. Also, if he touches the dead thing again, it will die permanently. He partners with a private detective to solve murder cases where Ned brings the victim back to life so they can ask who killed them.

That itself is a really good premise. When I heard it, I immediately sought out the show.

Now what makes this show unique is the atmosphere it has. With a premise like that, you'd expect it to be sort of, I don't know, maybe a little gruesome and dark. Not so in the slightest. It has this certain feel about it. Like… Tim Burton meets Dr. Seuss, sort of. Yes, dead bodies will sit up and talk, sometimes with half their face missing, or shards of glass stuck in their chest, or something, but it's kind of quirky and cheesy, sometimes almost laughable.

Then everything is brightly lit, candy-striped, outrageously colored (except for Ned, who always wears black). Seriously, it's like Whoville without the Whos (like the pie shop that Ned owns has a pie top roof, and that's not even the strangest).

The music is also sweet, quirky, and "plink-plink"-y, if you know what I mean, and also contributes to the light-hearted, zany atmosphere.

And of course, there's a narrator. He narrates the entire series as though he were reading a children's story. He always is consistent with his terms and phrases and names for characters ("the facts were these" when about to give background to a case/crime or person, "the pie maker" instead of Ned, "Chuck, who was not dead" in reference to Ned's childhood sweetheart, etc). He always gives the date/age of something right down to the minute. He often gives us insights into a character's actual inner thoughts and feelings instead of just letting us try to interpret their facial expressions, body language, and actions.

The characters are all awesome! They've all got strange quirks and habits (even the minor ones who we might just meet for a minute. The narrator will often let us know), and very unique personalities.

First there's Ned, the pie-maker who (as I said) can bring the dead back to life. He's extremely nervous, a traditionalist, and doesn't enjoy confrontations or feeling bad. But he's extremely polite, loyal, and big hearted.

Then there's Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, Ned's childhood sweetheart who was murdered while on a cruise. Ned brought her back, but cannot touch her again or else she will die permanently. She is very sweet and friendly, and enjoys beekeeping. She also knows a lot of random obscure information because of her extensive reading while growing up (including being able to speak several languages).

Next, we have Emerson Cod, the private detective and Ned's business partner. He mostly solves cases for the money (he even has a credit card machine in case his client doesn't have cash or checks). In his spare time he likes to knit and make pop-up books. He is extremely sarcastic and blunt, and can often be a little selfish.

Then there's Olive Snook, the waitress in Ned's pie shop. She's desperately in love with Ned and hopes that one day he will return her affections. She feels threatened by Chuck's presence and really doesn't like her even though she's nothing but friendly towards her. Olive was once a horse jokey before she worked for Ned. She often feels "an orchestra playing in her heart" that will sometimes burst through and she will break into song at random times.

Vivian (left) Lily (right)

Lastly there's Lily and Vivian, Chuck's "aunts" (it's too complicated to explain the relationship fully). They raised Chuck after her single father died (after Ned inadvertently killed him while bringing his own mother back to life). They both are agoraphobic and extreme recluses, especially after the "death" of Chuck. They are a former synchronized swimming duo, The Darling Mermaid Darlings.

Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after only two short seasons *cries*. I looked into it, apparently it was started around the time that there was some writers's strike or something so the first season wasn't even finished (there was supposed to be 13 episodes, not 9), and then the ratings dropped by the second season and ABC cancelled it. But that was a mistake because then all of a sudden it got a lot of positive feedback and started winning awards and stuff. And yet, they didn't bring it back *cries again*

So, I just have to be happy with what there is. And I am. It's great! Everyone should watch it. Seriously, go find it!

TRAILER

Loud and Long and Clear

One of the best things about being human is being able to laugh. You know the old saying "laughter is the best medicine", well it's so true. Any time I'm feeling down, I always try to think of something funny. I have an extensive list of of videos, audio files, stories, chunks of text, pictures, etc. stored away just because they tickle my funny bone. As the song goes: "I love to laugh". Any time I hear other people laughing, my interest is immediately piqued and I need to know what is happening so that I might join in (whether to actually laugh with them or to just to chuckle to myself) because I love that feeling. Whether you're just smiling, giggling, or full on cracking up that you can't stop, it is the best feeling in the world.

I have two types of humor. One is that kind of stupid, slapstick, "pun-ny", satire-ish, quick-paced kind of humor where it's just go, go go! With lots of physical humor and dumb jokes that make you go "eeeeeehhhhhh!" Then I have another side of my humor where I really appreciate the subtle, witty side of stuff. Where the jokes are hidden in the writing and dialogue and makes you go "I see what you did there" as you sip your tea and chuckle lightly into your handkerchief.

So as a closing to this post, I've decided to included some stuff that really make me laugh (and I hope will do the same for you). Enjoy!

Driving Round Town- Pocahontas

Whose Line Is It Anyway?- Sound Effects- Pregnancy

(This show is GOLD! Seriously, you should look up more videos)

How Irish Dancing Started

Old Spice- Mom Song

Whose Line Is It Anyway?- Stand Sit Lie- Tattoo Parlor

THIS VIDEO HERE

Bad One Direction- Story of My Life

There Stooges- Beer barrels

Family Feud- Something that gets passed around

Rowan Atkinson- Welcome to Hell

JUST THIS ENTIRE PLAYLIST BECAUSE YOU SERIOUSLY CAN'T PICK JUST ONE

Understanding My Passion

You know, the majority of this blog is me talking about movies and TV shows (in case you haven't noticed). I'm going to address this point on a more personal level, to try to get you to understand my frame of mind/obsession a little more.

See, I have a deep passion for stories. Whether it be through television, a book, or just by word of mouth in a casual conversation. I know I've said on more than one occasion that the plot to any movie, TV show, book, etc. is the most important part to me. I connect more deeply than the average person to what I'm reading/watching/hearing. I always try to fully engulf myself and relish each moment (actually most of the time I don't have to try, it just automatically happens). I like to pretend I'm actually sitting in a theater watching for the first time, and I treat it like so. I turn down the lights, I sit comfortably, sometimes I get a snack, I don't get up for bathroom breaks, I turn off my phone, and I keep quiet.

Movie watching is actually a very sacred and important time for me (I'm being completely serious). I actually get almost offended when people are talking over it, or when I'm forced to pause it for reasons other than my own. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I'm watching with someone (especially when they've never seen the show before), but they're more focused on their phone rather than the movie. I honestly just sit there stewing, thinking stuff like "your phone is more important than this right now? You could miss something important. You could miss the good part coming up." Everybody seems to do this.

I've been told, and I can now clearly see, that I am a very sympathetic and empathetic person, often very considerate of other's feelings and am able to get into other people's minds and really understand how they're feeling. Even if I have not actually physically experienced what they're going through, I can feel their pain, their joy, etc. This goes for fictional people as well. I connect to the characters I read about and watch. They become my friend and I feel very deeply for them.

I love to analyze scenarios/people, make up "what-if" scenarios, try to understand characters beyond what is in plain view (read into their backstories, understand their personalities by things they say, ways they speak, actions, etc.) This connects to my writing side, in more ways than one. When I start analyzing like this, sometimes it becomes so abundant that I just have to write it down (which is where many of my blog posts come from). The reason I have a tendency to see these things and make these connections is because of my natural habit as a storyteller. (Not that I'm a particularly gifted one, but…) I love to tell stories, therefore I love stories. Ever since I was a kid, when my dad would make up goofy bedtime stories (ask him about "The Man With No Lips" sometime) or read us Winnie the Pooh, and Fairytales, I just fell in love with storytelling. Even before I knew how to write, I would draw out my own stories on printer paper with my crayons and pencils. The earliest story I have a memory of is one about two spies (male and female), and I think they might've had a pet dog… or was it a cat… anyways they went on many crazy adventures to save the world. I can't remember any specifics, but I know I was VERY creative (I was only like five years old after all).

So, stories are very important to me. It's what everybody remembers. Like I always say, it's the plot that brings people back. While special effects, good writing, good acting, beautiful costumes, attractive actors, etc. are a definite plus (I am not disparaging any of that in any way), it is the plot that always brings me back in the end. If the story sucks, then I don't care about the rest of that stuff, I don't want to watch/read it.