Getting Ready for Halloween, Y'all!

(I'm going to apologize for this post - it's pretty rambly)

Can you smell it in the air? Can you feel it in your bones? It's that subtle atmospheric eeriness that can only mean one thing: It's HALLOWEEN.

The Cylon Jack-o-lantern says it is Halloween.

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. For a week (or in some cases, like SyFy's), cable channels play horror movies back to back. Stores have these deliciously tempting Halloween cookies and treats. Theme parks transform at night into giant haunted festivals (for example, tonight I am going to Universal Studios' awesome Halloween Horror Nights event). What's not to love about Halloween?

It also can be an infuriating time of year though. One thing I both love and hate is the inevitable process of picking out a costume. When we were younger it was a whole lot easier to pick the perfect costume (or at least it was in my mind!). In elementary school, I was a ballerina princess, a vampire killer (inexplicably my "vampire killer" also happened to be a vampire. I don't know. I thought it was really cool at the time), Morticia Adams (because even though I was ten, I didn't want to be Wednesday), a devil lady, and Leonardo. From the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But now that we're older, things have become a whole lot more complicated. There are plenty of costumes out there and a plethora of specialty stores, but it's a challenge to get the PERFECT outfit (that hopefully no one else will be wearing). I have a long term boyfriend who is less enthusiastic about Halloween, and doing couple costumes has gotten increasingly tough over the years. Walking into a costume store is a nightmare - they are jammed full of frantic people, and overpriced, poorly made garb.

And then there's the question that every girl must face (at least out here in California for twenty-five year old me it's a big deal) - do you go with the Super!Slutty!Costume-in-a-bag? Or do you attempt to do something different, unique, and with a little more dignity?

I've always tried to shy away from the Super!Slutty!Costume-in-a-bag route (though I admit I've been a ridiculous ladybug before. It was my first year in college. I didn't know better!). You know what costumes I'm talking about, right? They're regular occupations or storybook characters or animals, just made Super!Slutty. Case in point:

Super!Slutty!Police Officer and Super!Slutty!Bumblebee

The thing is, you see a billion of these costumes - multiple people wearing the SAME. SLUTTY. COSTUMES. at any Halloween party. It's ridiculous. So the challenge then becomes, to come up with something that is fun, clever, current, and hopefully that no one else will be wearing at the event.

Unfortunately, as a book geek, my favorite costume ideas by and large get no love or recognition - for example, this year I wanted to do Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games/Catching Fire (some kind of variation on Cinna's costumes for them during the presentations during the books). I even have a mockingjay pin! But the boyfriend and everyone else shot down this idea (i.e. "What the heck is a Katniss? PETA like the organization?" etc, etc). So I resort to films. The year before Batman Begins came out, the boyfriend and I were Batman and Robin. We've also done Star Wars (Padme/Anakin), and a completely inappropriate but funny Full Metal Jacket style Army guy and South East Asian Woman (as I'm half caucasian and half Filipino, I feel like I can own this joke). Lately it's been rough trying to find a costume that fits the both of us well so we've done a few solo jobs (Snow White with Native American Indian, Lara Croft with Mr. Clean). But THIS year, I think we've found a great one.

For 2009, we've finally at long last come up with a costume idea that I think is pretty solid. After trying and discarding a number of ideas (Rufio and Peter Pan, Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog) we've settled on:

The Comedian and Sally Jupiter, the original, real Silk Spectre! (My dress isn't nearly that short though, thank goodness. And the boyfriend will be the Comedian from his death scene - bathrobe, cigar, bloody smiley face button and all)

Granted, a lot of folks probably won't know who we are, but it's more widely known than Katniss and Peeta. Sigh. Plus, the boyfriend agreed to it.

So my question to you, dear DIK-ers is: What are YOU going to be for Halloween? Any costume stories you want to share? I'm all ears!

And finally, I leave you with my contribution to the "Freaky Tunes" segment here on DIK. I give you....the BOLLYWOOD THRILLER!!!!!!!!!!! Beware. This WILL make you laugh uncontrollably.



Lyrics (These are NOT the real lyrics, but are based on what the lyrics sound like in English - transcribed by some clever soul):

I think I’m the evil of the people…

(Praise the glory of the evil!)

GIRLY MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Girly Man!
Girly man, man, man, man, man!

Gosh, my old calculator ain’t got no bow!
Nipply man I met, he ate my motorboat!
Calm down and park that comfy shin guard armor!
Welcome the dude who ain’t the buyer of mugs.

Girly Man!
Girly man, man, man, man, man!

RRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPYOURMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN