Costume? What Costume?

I realize that it's October again, which normally means Halloween is here. The Walgreens also gave me some hints about that. I normally phone in a costume. I mean, last year's vampire wasn't exactly inspired. I don't ever really have fun with it, even that one year that I was the pimp. I think my hos had a better time, to be perfectly honest.

I think I realized my problem: they never represent me. Who I am. Blah blah Halloween is about being something not you, blah blah. But no! That's not really true, is it? Where's the fun in being a character or thing that you don't like/aren't comfortable with? I now know what I have to do: just embrace my inner geek and be done with it.

This doesn't mean that I'm going to be, like, Princess Leia or something. That's just unoriginal. I don't want to be something that everyone gets. I'd like to be something that even just a single person can come up to me and say "awesome." Isn't that the point of geekdom?

But, still, I don't want to go too crazy with it. I'm actually a pretty low-level geek, as far as my interests go. I ain't touching Star Trek, or anything else that is notorious for its Conventions.

Here are some ideas:

1. A random person living in The Village. Perhaps even a Number 2! This is actually seeming more and more like the right option. The extras on the TV show (which I am admittedly watching these days) always wear the bizarrest crap. It's all rainbow colors and strange capes, and crazy hats. The Penny Farthing Bicycle is the symbol for the village. It's pretty awesome. Also it's an amazing show, which I highly recommend. Ooh, I could also carry a blown up white balloon to represent "Rover." I really like this idea.

2. Sarah Freakin' Connor. This is basically my costume to indulge badassitude. Seriously. I could go for the insane asylum, pen-stabbing, pajama-wearing Sarah Connor. Or I could do the tank-top & ray ban military look. What props other than fake guns could I use, though? The dismembered head of a Terminator? This could be an option.

3. Kaylee Frye. Betcha thought that I would've said something related to Buffy, right? Nope. I'm not even going to try to relate in any way physically to Sarah Michelle Gellar or Alyson Hannigan. Plus, those aren't really costumes. More like nice(ish) clothes. Naw, Kaylee is a much better choice; she'll also be pretty easy to duplicate. A mixture of frontier-wear and Chinese-inspired clothing. I could even carry that umbrella that she had in Serenity (pilot, not movie). A cute choice, and maybe I'll meet some drunken Browncoats or something. Gotta show Firefly some love these days too!

4. Agent Dana Scully. I'd just wear my suit. This is a horrible idea. Let's move on.

5. Speaking of horrible, a Captain Hammer groupie. All that a Captain Hammer groupie would really need is a Captain Hammer t-shirt. Who wouldn't want a picture of Nathan Fillion on their shirt! Alternatively, I could go as one of the members of the Evil League of Evil. There were a few women, like Fury Leika or Snakebite or Tie-Die. I'm having way too much fun with this.

6. CARMEN SANDIEGO. It's all about the red trenchcoat & fedora & hilariously named henchmen. I think this one speaks for itself. I could find a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower and carry it around with me. This may be too broad, though. Awesome, but broad.

That's all that I can think of for now. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm open to thoughts. This may be one of the first Halloweens that I actually get excited about what I'm going to go as.

Geekend Update

So, I saw Wanted this Saturday, and I gotta say, it was pretty good. And by that, I mean if you forget about physics and ignore the obvious cliches. Other than that, it was loads of fun. The action was pretty constant and properly badass, and you can't ever really go wrong with Angelina Jolie in the type of role she is obviously destined to make. Two scenes in particular were egregious misuses of the laws of physics, especially for a movie that almost tries to hoodwink the audience into believing that these sorts of things could actually be possible, by maintaining a certain level of realism throughout the film. It's kind of a movie about superpowers that's trying to look like it's possible in our world, handwaved by having ordinary people perform superhuman feats simply because they trained hard. At least in The Matrix, we always saw them as existing (physically and mentally) separately from "normal people" therefore able to do things that those who haven't been awakened would be unable to do. But these all sound like criticisms, when they certainly aren't. This is my need to pick apart every movie I see, regardless of level of enjoyment. IT'S FROM A COMIC BOOK (or graphic novel, I forget). It was lots of fun with lots of triumphant "yeah!" moments, and I would certainly go see it again. Did I mention that most of it took place in the streets of Chicago? Some of it was around my office! The El had a large role in this movie, and I certainly enjoyed seeing it zooming around on its tracks. Also, Angelina Jolie= reliably awesome action.

Zelda Update: I played a little on Saturday morning and I am now up to the first dungeon; I actually have completed most of it to get the bow & arrows. I ran out of time (an important factor in Majora's Mask), so I'll have to go through the whole temple again in order to defeat the first boss and do the important stuff in the swamp available after defeating him. Next time I play, I should be through the first temple and on my way to becoming a Goron. [Apologies for those who have no idea what I'm talking about--it's not actually as geeky as it sounds. Really.]

Also, a coworker lent me all 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, since I mentioned that I loved the show, but haven't watched it in years. I think she feels the need to reciprocate because I lent her The Office and got her addicted. So, that's what I did on Sunday. Eight episodes of Buffy. Eight! It was awesome. I forgot about the first season, and how rough all the characters were. Unlike Firefly, Buffy was a little rougher around the edges at first. Still, undeniably awesome and one of the better teen dramas that the WB ever had. And, once it got going, it was one of the best shows on the air period. I still believe that. Say what you will about wanting to watch a snarky teenage girl slay vampires and demons and other magical stuff, but Joss Whedon knows how to write, and Buffy was his baby. I'm plowing through the early episodes so I can get to Seasons 2-3, when it really starts getting intense. I'm going to lose my shit when they introduce characters like Spike and Faith.

So, I guess I'm having a good time with life right now. My inner geek needs walking every now and then, and right now I'm letting her loose.

And now I can't help but ponder who would win in a fight--Buffy Summers or Lara Croft?