Whose Line Is It Anyway?

"Where everything's made up and the points don't matter."

If you've never seen or even heard of this show, I pity your very existence greatly. It is seriously one of the funniest things I have ever come across in my entire life! I go and watch clips of it on YouTube just to cheer myself up.

(Left to right) Brad Sherwood, Drew Carey, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady

It's an improv show. It's got a host and four performers with a live audience. The four performers play a bunch of different games, making up everything off the top of their heads. Some of the games include Scenes From a Hat (where suggestions/scenarios are pulled from a hat [ex: improper etiquette while meeting the queen, things bald people are tired of hearing, rejected state slogans, hillbilly fortune cookies, etc] and the performers act it out), Hoedown (where each performer has to make up a verse to a song), Let's Make a Date (when a performer is on a bachelor-type show where the others are contestants, and has to guess what each of the other performers are supposed to be [ex: a serenader who sings insulting songs, someone who is in love with shoes, a pick-pocket on Mission Impossible), Questions Only (where the performers act out a scene, but can only speak in questions), and many more.

The original aired show had host Drew Carey (he has a very contagious laugh, I'll tell ya). I kind of liked him better than the reboot's host, Aisha Tyler. I liked his banter with the performers. The regular performers include Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, and Ryan Stiles. There was always a changing cast member sometimes a celebrity or other semi-regulars which included Brad Sherwood, Greg Proops, Chip Esten, or Kathy Greenwood.

The regular three are HA-larious! I can't pick a favorite. It's like picking a favorite child. Ryan and Colin are always paired together and it's too funny! I cannot even handle it. They have excellent chemistry.

I love all the running jokes. There's always stuff about Colin's baldness, Ryan's shoes, Drew's weight, Ryan's height, the Drew Carey Show, Wayne's skin tone, how Colin's always the woman, and Ryan's nose, to name a few.

Anyways, I've managed to pick out my top 11 favorite sketches. That's right, top 11. That's all I could narrow it down to. I can't pick a top 10, not a top 5, and most certainly not a favorite.

(Don't worry, they always explain the game before they start. And you'll catch on.)

GAME: Sound Effects
Situation: Ryan is the husband and Colin is his heavily pregnant wife. They are at an amusement park when Colin suddenly goes into labor.

I'm totally laughing the whole time, but I just lose it when Colin pushes the baby back in to climb down the roller coaster. "Put your pants back on. People are screaming at you with a baby hanging out of you like that." 

GAME: Hollywood Director

Situation: Ryan is a criminal breaking rocks in a prison yard, Chip is the tough prison warden who decides to frisk him because he suspects he's concealing a concealed weapon. Then Wayne flies in on a helicopter to help Ryan escape. Colin is the director giving them notes on how to improve the scene.

"Fu-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh". And the stomp!

GAME: Three-headed Broadway Star
Subject: The name of the "musical" is 'My Favorite Shoe' and the song is called 'You Got Sole'.

This one's such a train wreck, it's hilarious. The ones where they all break character just make me laugh harder.

GAME: Moving People
Situation: While tracking some dangerous outlaws, the Lone Ranger- Colin and Tonto- Ryan are ambushed by the outlaws.

"I imagine it's so beautiful over there." The suspense in this video is so great. Will he ever look away from that spot on the ground?

GAME: Stand Sit Lie

Situation: Wayne has talked her boyfriend, Colin into coming into Ryan's tattoo parlor.

When Colin faints XD "You want a barcode?"

GAME: Irish Drinking Song
Subject: Calling out the wrong name in bed

Again with the cracking up. This is a totally classic scene that you must see if you watch Whose Line. I know it seems like it might be inappropriate based on the subject, but it doesn't get very far before everything goes whacky. (In this episode, there was a running gag where Colin would always meow when he couldn't think of anything to say, making everybody else burst out laughing).

GAME: Three-headed Broadway Star
Subject: The name of the "musical" is 'Memorabilia' and the song is called 'I Lost My Legwarmers'.

Oh Colin. "You!" Then when Ryan does it, everyone is all confused XD

GAME: Narrate
Setting: A burger fast food joint

Colin was totally asking for that! (Did anyone else notice that Colin was drinking his fries?)

GAME: Sound Effects
Situation: Batman and Robin get the call that one of their archenemies is wrecking havoc on Gotham City.

This is SO classic. You can't watch Whose Line without watching this scene. "I sure wish those ghosts would leave."

GAME: Living Scenery

Situation: With special guest, Richard Simmons. On a luxury cruise liner, a couple makes the most of a day of sunbathing, water sports, and entertainment.

(This was seriously the best I could find. I'm so mad. At least it's something). I DIE every time I watch this. OMG, I cannot handle it! Their faces! And the audience totally losing it in the background. Poor Wayne. And Greg "I'm just so happy"XDD

GAME: Improbable Mission

Situation: Doing the laundry for the Meir of Moofungistan, washing his burnoose.

You have to skip to 10:52. This was seriously the only clip I could find for some reason. Which I don't get because this is another totally classic scene. The game is two secret agents are assigned a mundane task, but carry it out as though it were any other top secret mission.

"THE CAT!!!" Colin is just so random sometimes, but somehow it always works. 

Making a Video

I've been making more home videos lately after a little bit of a dry streak, and now I'm here to give you a detailed description of my process ;)

One of my most recent videos was "Devil Went Down to Georgia", which I decided is a good embodiment of most things I go through while making a video. Because sometimes I'll make a movie and it's super easy and quick or else it might take forever and is super tedious. There are several steps when I make a movie. Some people just dive right in and wing it. I tend to put a lot of thought and preparation into it.

(Above) Me dressed as the Devil, looking over my storyboard

Anyways, my process:

1) The Subject
I usually choose to make a music video because those are the easiest and I'm usually too lazy to come up with any sort of script (I have in the past. You should check out my pirate videos I wrote for my cousins XD).

2) Storyboarding
Yes, I do storyboard. Sometimes if it's a simple concept, I won't, like if I'm just going to stand in front of the camera the whole time. But usually I want a bunch of different camera angles and such. Also, if I plan on using the green screen to multiply myself, it helps me to keep track of what needs to be filmed at certain times in certain places while I'm dressed up as certain characters.
So with the "Devil Went Down to Georgia", I roughly sketched out what I pictured in my head. There would be three characters: the narrator, the Devil, and Johnny. It would open on the narrator playing on his fiddle, then the Devil would rise up behind him, etc. etc.
I always draw the picture, then write the lyrics as synched with the picture, then add notes as to what should be happening (camera movements, actions, and so on).

3) Costumes
I usually try to put effort into my costumes, but I'm pretty limited. I reuse stuff lying around my house a lot. You'll often see the same jackets and hats in my videos. If there's more than one character, I have to pick out an outfit for each that differentiates them enough from one another (since I have the same face). If I'm using the green screen, I can never wear anything green or yellow because it will disappear into the background. I don't use makeup a lot, but I'm trying to more, it definitely differentiates the characters. Normally, I don't style my hair unless it's specifically called for (I'm too lazy). I usually just tie it back or tuck it under a hat. Any complicated costume, makeup, and/or hairstyle when there's multiple characters equals more coordination on my part because then I have to make sure I film all that character's part before changing.
In the "Devil Went Down to Georgia" I took a lot of care in the Devil's and Johnny's costumes. Johnny's consisted mostly of things I found in my mom's closet (the shirt, the hat, the boots). The Devil's clothes were all mine except for the cape and hat which I found in our costume closet. As for the narrator's, I just sort of threw it together out of my own wardrobe.

4) Props
If there's any props needed, I have to find/make them beforehand. Most of the time I don't have the actual prop and have to make it myself. It's a good thing I'm creative and my viewers have an open mind.
In the "Devil Went Down to Georgia"'s case, I needed a fiddle. I actually wanted to film this video for so long, but I had nothing to stand in for it. And obviously it just wouldn't work without it. I finally ended up ordering a stupid little toy violin off the internet, and when it finally came in, I immediately set to work.

5) Location/Time
Sometimes I get authentic and decide to film on location/at a certain time, so I have to film those bits separately. The entire video might be there, or just a part. Either way, I have to figure out my time schedule. If I'm only using the green screen, I can film at any time in any place pretty much.
With "Devil Went Down to Georgia" I actually had to go out on location to the hill behind my house for part of it. I found the perfect spot with a stump to serve as the hickory stump mentioned in the song.

6) Filming
I take several takes of each shot. Even if I think I've done it perfectly, I typically do it just one more time. It might turn out even better.

7) Green Screen
I use the green screen to put in backgrounds and to multiply myself. So if there's a song with more than one character, I can sing both parts. The green screen isn't hard to set up, and all I have to do is act my part in front of it, then add whatever I want later on the computer. I should mention, the more characters/layers I put, the worse the quality gets, and the longer it takes.
With "Devil Went Down to Georgia", I had three different characters, so I had to use the green screen to add in the other two. I had to figure out which one would actually be on the location. I decided the Devil would be since he "jumped up on a hickory stump", so would actually be touching part of the set. I filmed all his parts, then filmed some shots of the area to serve as background for the green screen. Later, I filmed all of Johnny's and the narrator's parts in front of the green screen and put them over the Devil.

8) Editing
Depending on the video, this could be the easiest or the hardest part. You upload all your footage into the computer and compile it together. Synching together the music with my videos takes some doing, I'll tell you. Especially if there's several green screen layers, it takes forever. This is the time I'll realize that I forgot to film something (even after all my meticulous planning). This is also when I'll search for backgrounds for the green screen if needed.
The "Devil Went Down to Georgia" took some time because of all the characters. I will always try to process the first layer of green screen together, but then mess it up and have to process it all again (it's hard to explain). I also realized that the transition into the "band of demons" was absolutely terrible, but there was pretty much nothing I could do about it without filming it all over.

9) Review
Even after I've finished editing and turn it into an mp4, I'll watch it a couple times and realize that something is missing, or the synch is off slightly at one part, or something. I'll watch it a couple more times, trying to ignore it, but after a while, I'll finally decide to fix it.
With "Devil Went Down to Georgia", there was one moment in the middle where the synch was off ever so slightly and it was driving me crazy. I'll bet no one noticed, but I did. I finally fixed it. Also, the day after I had published it on to YouTube, I quickly took it down before anyone could see it because I wanted to add an extra bit… the foot tapping while Johnny is playing his fiddle. I went outside really fast with the camera, wearing the boots and filmed it, then just added it in.

^^The actual video^^

^^Bloopers^^

Read my VeggieTales videos background post HERE

Bugs Bugs Bugs

You know, everybody has experiences with bugs. Let's face it, they're a part of our ecosystem and since they're EVERYWHERE, it's literally impossible to keep them out of our houses. And there's something about bugs that just makes people go "eeeeuuuggghhhhaaaaeeeeeeoooooouuuuuggghhh!!!!!", right? Those legs, them eyes, that creepy crawly, sometimes slimy, sometimes hairy. Blech! They're just creepy, right? But, unfortunately, we need them on this planet, and even more unfortunately they make their way into our homes sometimes.

My family's had our share of interesting bug stories. My brother actually has arachnophobia which makes for more spider-hunting for the rest of us (since he refuses to even go near them any time we come across one).

Anyways, there are four experiences that stand out in my mind in particular when it comes to bugs, that I'd like to share.


The Moth Hunt
I think this was when I was still in middle school. I remember being pretty young. Anyways, Afton and I were home alone one night when we realized there was this gigantor moth in the house. I mean it was huge! So, we decided to try and dispose of it. We both had a fly swatter and began "hunting" it. However, it kept flying towards the ceiling at the light which, unfortunately for us small females, was too high for us to reach and get a clear shot. Even if we went and got a chair, we would still have to hit the light and probably damage or break it. We waited and waited for it to come down for a long time, and finally after a while, gave up. We pondered the situation and came up with this brilliant idea… The light was the reason why it was flying towards the ceiling… so why not turn off the light? Then it would come down and we could kill it. Yes! Genius! So that's what we did. We turned off the light. However, there was a major flaw in our plan. Once the light was off, it was completely dark and we couldn't see the moth anymore. We stood in the dark for a second and then suddenly heard the sound of fast-flapping wings coming down from the ceiling (and probably coming towards us for all we knew). We hightailed it out of there and shut the door.

What IS It!?!!!
I got home from school one day (back in high school) and found the most DE-sgusting thing on the ground in the laundry room. I had to stop and stare at it for at least a minute, trying to determine what it was. At first I thought it was a bee or a wasp, but then it was slimy and kind of long like a worm. It was also kind of small… what the heck? It was sort of writhing on the floor, trying to move, and was easily the nastiest thing I had ever seen. I just made a face and decided to leave it to somebody else. (I have come to learn over the years that in my house, that never works). Later, my brother gets home from… school or something. Alright, whatever. I was watching TV. And then a short time after that, my mom was getting ready to go out, when she stopped in front of the kitchen, totally repulsed, "what IS that!?!!!". I got up and saw her looking at the wasp/worm thing I had been looking at earlier in the laundry room… but now it was by the kitchen! What the eff!? How did it get down the hall!? This slimy, nasty, mutated worm thing managed to wriggle its way all the way to the kitchen. My mom ended up leaving with both of us completely baffled and grossed out. Then my brother came downstairs and I pointed out the thing to him. We both just squatted next to it, staring, trying to figure it out. What on earth was it supposed to be and how did it get there? Anyways, long story shot, we determined it was a wasp larva (I know! Ew, right? We found a growing nest outside our garage), and that it had moved because Brady had (almost) stepped on it when he got home, so it stuck to his shoe, but then fell off when he got to the kitchen. I ended up taking care of it by using a lot of tissue and the OUTSIDE garbage can.

Mirror Note

This is a classic story of Brady's arachnophobia. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen this. I got up one morning after Brady had gone to school/seminary, to get in the shower to get ready for work. I walked into the bathroom and found a giant note written across the mirror in expo marker. It read as follows: "I am putting you in charge of taking care of the spider under the hairspray cap ^behind the door #havefun". I found the hairspray cap behind the door as instructed, found one of his shoes (since his room is right next door to the bathroom) and promptly killed the spider. I asked him about the note later and he said that he "didn't have time" to kill the spider. Really? But he had time to trap it, go downstairs to get the marker, and write the note? Yeah, nice try, buddy. In his defense, the spider was HUGE! It barely fit under the cap.

Spider's Nest
Again with Brady and his fear of spiders. Brady eats a lot of freezer foods. I guess he went out one day to the freezer in the garage to get a corn dog or something (I don't know, it doesn't matter) and promptly came back in, horrified. He told my mom that the freezer was covered in spiders and that he couldn't get his food. I was sitting nearby, and when he said that the freezer was covered in spiders, of course both my mom and I were like "what?". He was just like "go look!". So both of us went out there. And we did find the freezer covered in spiders just as he said… baby spiders. They were the size of ants, crawling all over the side of it and onto the door. I won't lie, it was pretty disgusting, but not as bad as actual adult spiders. I guess a spider's nest had hatched on the side of our freezer. We ended up wiping them off with paper towels.

Bonus:
Just a Little Girl at Work
This didn't take place at home, which is why I'm counting it as a bonus. Back when I first started work, there used to be a lot more guys working there. All the girls started later. It would always be me with these two guys, and they would always gang up on me and make me do the undesirable chores like the dishes and the bathroom and stuff (all in good humor though. We were friends). Anyways, one day one of them found a grasshopper over by the garbage can. A grasshopper! What the what? (Don't worry, it wasn't in any food or anything). And these two boys made me take care of it. They refused to go near it. Whatever. I told them their man cards would be revoked if I, the tiny little girl, would be brave enough to take care of the grasshopper and they would not. They said they didn't care. So I ended up sweeping it up and dumping it outside.

Working in Retail/Fast Food part 2

Kind of self explanatory. You can see the first part HERE.


Proving a customer wrong:

Seeing a rush while on break:

When a customer approaches you while you're on break:

Not being able to say anything while a customer tries to argue with you:

When you have to tell a customer their card is declined:

When a customer goes out to their car to get change/wallet/coupon:

…and all the other customers are staring at you waiting to be helped:

Customers telling you about coupons they left at home:

Strong perfume/bad breath/cigarettes/any noxious odor:

When an angry customer finally leaves:

(I apologize for swears once again)

Working in Retail/Fast Food

Told through pictures and gifs (for those of you who don't know, I work at Togo's Sandwiches/Baskin Robbins combo. However, people who come in for ice cream are significantly friendlier and more patient with their issues if they have any. Whereas Togo's… I think hungry people are just stupider and grumpier than the average human being):

First of all, the standard retail face. All smiles and love while looking at them. Then as soon as they're out of range -___-

Whenever people don't look at the menu, or don't see the gigantic signs right in front of their faces. Then blame you for "not telling them":

When people come in with their complaints and start telling you how this incident has ruined their whole day and/or that this is the worst sandwich they've ever had:

Hundred dollar bills:

When people don't tip. Especially when I clearly just gave them a whole bunch of change:

Anytime people come in with their jokes that they think are funny, but aren't (ex: me-"do you want your sandwich for here or to go?" them-"To go, duh! Togo! OHHHHHH!!!! Har dur dar dur dar!")

When I ring someone up and just as I'm handing them their change they're like "oh I have the two cents"

Just because I'm tired or wearing my "neutral" face and not smiling like a normal retail perky person:

When customers (usually old people) try to pay with all coins, especially when there's a long line:

When I have to go wash dishes in the back or something for a while to let off some stress:

I have turned into Squidward:

And just… angry/stupid customers in general:

So basically:

(I apologize for the swears)

My Book- 2015

I've always admired Captain Moroni ever since I was little. He was one of the first scripture characters I latched on to (besides the obvious ones like Nephi and such). I'm also one of the weird people who likes the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. I find them fascinating. Anyways, when I was about 14 or 15, I got an idea for a book. A book about Captain Moroni. How he became chief captain, his life beyond the battle field, etc. Unfortunately back then, I was still an unexperienced writer (not a bad writer, mind you, just unexperienced). I did finish an entire novel, I probably still have it stashed away somewhere. However, that's what it is: stashed away. I had written many books through my life up to that point, but none of them had I considered golden ideas. But then I came up with this one and I began thinking… "what if I tried to publish this?" Well, I was young and ignorant back then, I didn't really know what it took to get a book published, so that first draft never amounted to anything, and it disappeared into the background.

However, it never completely left my mind. Through the years as I wrote many other things, I would always think about this book. It was the winner book. I had an outline for it which I drafted and redrafted, wrote and rewrote. The story has gone through some major changes since I first got the idea. (At one point, he was in prison. Yeahhh.)

Finally, about two years ago, I sat down and decided "I'm going to write this book". In the recent years, I've felt that I'm cut out to be a writer. Like that's the direction I should be going with my life. So, I decided why not start with my "winner book", the idea that's stuck around for so many years? So I sat down and began to organize things. I was at school at the time, so I had plenty of research on hand too. I managed to write the first chapter… and it wasn't total crap!

That was two years ago though, almost three. I still struggled with writing. I just… didn't really know how to go about it still. I had my outline and everything, but I would still get stuck on little details, certain bits of information, how I wanted to describe something, where something should take place, stuff like that and then just give up. Possibly for weeks/months at a time. I was stuck in chapter 6 for the longest time. Literally like 4-5 months. I would open the document and either stare at it forever, then close it, or else write like two sentences, then erase them and go do something else.

Finally, a couple months ago, I took a creative writing class. I submitted the first chapter of the novel and my teacher gave me advice on how to go about writing it. She told me it had a lot of potential, but not to get hung up on the details. She said to just push through it until you're finished. That I should just write it, then go back and start rewriting things and start paying attention to the details later. LATER I could go back and edit and rewrite and edit and rewrite and edit and rewrite.

After that I finally gave it a try, and it worked. I just pushed through it, not caring how terrible it might sound (to an extent), knowing I could come back later and fix it. I just barely finished chapter 13.

There's about 3,000 words per chapter. Now, on a really good day, I can write an entire chapter in one day, but usually I get around 1,500- 2,000 words. I carry a little notebook in my purse so I can write if I'm just sitting around without my computer (like on my lunch break at work). I'm anticipating at least 30 chapters, about 90,000 words.

I was tired of my slacking on the book. I had previously set several different goals for it to be finished, but I would always fall through. So at the beginning of the year, as my New Year's resolution I decided to set a reasonable date for it to be finished by: the end of April. Back in January I hadn't received that advice from my teacher yet, so I thought four months would be long enough for me if I just did a little bit every day. I knew I would have to really force myself. And I was determined to… But then, I fell back into my old ways and the months began to pass. However, one day I decided "OK, Kelsi. You set your goal. You still have time. If you work really hard, you can still do it." So, I put my teacher's advice into play and just started writing. And I've been writing ever since.

Now just starting chapter 14,  I can semi-confidently say that I might actually meet my intended goal.

I wrote a (kind of lame) synopsis of the book a long while back. But it does sum it pretty nicely:

"War is coming for the Nephites. 

After the wicked city of Ammonihah is destroyed, it sets off a chain events that are unstoppable. With a potential Lamanite threat and trouble brewing within their own walls, Chief Captain Zoram does his best to prepare the army and the people for what lies ahead in the near future. But it may take a greater man than him to carry his nation through.

Moroni is a pacifist young man recently arrived in Zarahemla from the city of Sidom with several other converts, along side the prophet Alma. As he meets new people in his new home-- including the cheerful Lehi and capricious Mira-- and attracts the attention of the Chief Captain with his bold actions and strategic thinking, he begins to discover exactly what the Lord has in store for him.

One young man's journey as he realizes that sometimes it is necessary to fight to defend your liberty and freedom."

The working title is "Chief Captain". In the olden days, it used to be called "Shaken Forever" (see Alma 48:17).

So, we'll see what the future brings. Wish me luck on getting this puppy finished!

I made this for my desktop since I'm on my computer a lot.

Check out my graphics post HERE

Everybody Dance Now

I don't know what it is about random dance numbers in movies, but they just automatically make the movie 1000X more awesome. The movie could completely suck, but then throw in a random musical number and the one star rating will suddenly become two. I mean, obviously some movies/shows are meant to have spontaneous dancing (musicals), and it's totally awesome, but I'm talking about those ordinary movies with no dance context whatsoever and then all of a sudden people start dancing right in the middle for absolutely no reason. I mean full scale, all out dancing. With finger-snapping, backflips, jazz hands, twirling, cha-cha-chaing, and flat out rocking out. I just love it so much… and I really can't pinpoint why. It's just… wouldn't it be awesome if we could do that in real life? Someone starts singing/dancing and everyone could join in and know the words/dance steps, and we could all just have so much fun together? I love seeing the unison and synchronization of it all. Plus if the song if freakin' catchy, then heck yeah! :D

Here's a couple of my favorites (in no particular order):

500 Days of Summer- You Make My Dreams

This song reminds me of Afton. Because when she was living at home, whenever this song would come on, she would always rock out to it, imitating the scene. I've never actually seen this movie all the way through. I do remember this scene though and man is it great! I would sit through the movie just to watch it.

How I Met Your Mother- Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit

Gotta love NPH putting his heart and soul into this. There's actually quite a few random songs/dance scenes throughout the show, but this is my favorite one.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off- Twist and Shout

This movie is a classic all around, and this is a great scene. Don't we all love just lip-synching and rocking out to songs?

Enchanted- That's How You Know

Kinda cheating here because this is actually a musical. But, this is the only big dance number in the movie (besides the ballroom dance). And it's made to look like it's random. That's why this movie's great, it's a character from a musical dropped into the normal world and still trying to sing… but then it actually works and people around her starting joining in XD.

The Mask- Cuban Pete

Ah, Jim Carrey, where would we be without you? You know how cartoon characters get out of tight situations? They start a random goofy dance number!

Mama Mia!- Lay All Your Love On Me

This one is TOTALLY cheating, but I had to include it. This is like the funniest, most random dance scene I have ever seen. Like, what is happening? XDD I only ever watch this movie to see this scene.