halloweeeeeeeny

After much deliberation and consideration of areas such as Nerdiness Factor, Fun Scale Position, and Re-wearability, I have decided on my Halloween costume. Are you ready? I'll give you a hint:

"The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat."

Sound familiar, Poe lovers?

That's right - it's from The Masque of the Red Death. I've decided to go as a female Red Death, with the help of Karrie's numerous talents with her special effects makeup, a few trips to Wicked Orleans and Party City, and some ingenuity. I want the costume to be all in black and red, and to resemble an 18th century Venetian masquerade ball, something like the picture above. I'm going to get a black and red corset top, a poofy skirt, a cape, and a Marie Antionette wig that I'll spray paint black.

So. flippin'. excited.

A lot of people have good costume ideas this year. Jaclyn is going as Jessica Rabbit and having a dress custom made by Rob. She's going to look simply amazing. Karrie and Scott are going as the Joker and Harley Quinn, but they'll stand out a bit among the throngs of Heath Ledger tributes because Karrie said they're doing the TV cartoon series Joker instead of the Dark Knight version. I still don't have any definite plans for the evening, but I'm sure something will surface eventually. I may just end up checking out Frenchman Street because I've never been to the Quarter on Halloween and I think it'd be fun to see so many people decked out in costumes.

Yeesh, you'd think I'd never seen Mardi Gras, huh? Oh well, I'm just excited about making the costume - the pure, girlish delight in playing dress-up and forgetting I'm supposed to be an adult for one night. According to sociologists, that's why we invent things like Halloween and Mardi Gras and Carnival. Society is something akin to a teakettle constantly on the stove, and it needs that release of steam every once in a while to keep from exploding. We need a break from our routines, a temporary reversal of power and order, a chance to be someone other than ourselves. I don't think there's anything inherently ungodly about that concept, because even the Israelites had the Year of Jubilee, where all debts were cancelled, indentured servants emancipated, and regularly harvested plots of land left fallow.

That's about it for now. Nothing particularly poingnant or insightful in this entry. Just wanted to share my costume excitement and affirm that I haven't fallen off the face of the planet.

Till next time,

Nikki