stillsostrange

Will she trick or treat? I bet she will.

Tonight we took Agent J trick-or-treating, and afterward I did not ditch Steven to go dancing at Elysium. But, oh, dear reader, how tempted I was. Instead I'm at home drinking cocktails and wondering if we can squeeze a bad movie in before bedtime.

Tomorrow I'll make every effort toward MaybeWriMo. We'll see how that goes.

In other zombie related news, I can now run jog two miles without a break. I am totally a match for zombies in uneven footwear, or small, three-legged zombies.

Two or three years ago it was just another snake cult...

Yesterday was nearly a disaster. I was working on costume stuff from the moment I enpanted to the time we left the house, and through a series of design failures and last minute fixes, we left very late. We didn't get into the car until the time we were supposed to be at the staging ground for the parade, and there was no way we'd make it there before launch time, let alone find parking. My wings were underfeathered, I forgot my tail, and I didn't have time to put in my contacts before we left the house. I was in a truly vile mood at this time.

We decided to park in our usual downtown spot, which happens to be at the end of the parade route. My plan was to walk the route backwards and hook up with the parade midway, trying to salvage something. Luckily, I managed to get my contacts in when we parked, so my plan to see the parade came to fruition.*

We walked down 6th Street and over to the river. At this point I began to wonder where the parade was. It was half an hour after launch time, and the route isn't that long. And you can't exactly miss a drumline, a brass band, and a large spider-eyed elephant puppet. We passed another couple of people also wondering where the parade was. Then we heard drums across the water. Eventually we walked all the way to the staging ground, and lo and behold--the whole thing was running late. I felt a lot better at this point.

So I got to march in the whole parade and got double the exercise. My wings were nowhere as cool as they should have been--less a griffin** and more a molting metallic chicken--but they were still shiny. (And I managed to dance in them.) I have to try this costume again another year, because I have a lot of leftover feathers and copper, and I still want to be an actual griffin, dammit.

Some grainy iPhone pics.

* I got contacts for the first time ever last week. They're the size of hubcaps and getting them in and out is an ordeal far too reminiscent of Un Chien Andalou. But I have peripheral vision with them, and that is pretty damn amazing.

** If a griffin wears leggings*** from Old Navy, does that make them a hipstergriff?

*** The true Halloween miracle was that I looked okay in the leggings. Climbing: it works.

Midnight Madness is now behind me. The race lasted from around 7 PM Saturday to 5:30 AM Sunday, followed by pancakes. Four out of seven teams finished. and everyone seemed to have a good if hectic time. I was awake for twenty-four hours without the aid of coffee, for which I would like some sort of medal. I got home at 7 AM on Sunday, slept for five hours, dragged myself up, and went back to sleep at 10. I feel much better now.

This means that now I have to start working on my Halloween costume immediately. A pair of attractive mechanical wings in a week? I can do that, right?

My first idea was a wire and PVC skeleton. We'll see how this survives contact with reality. I was originally hoping that running wire down the inside of my corset would be sufficiently stable, but now I'm not sure. I may go on a quest for for a bondage harness for better attachment. The next step is figuring out how to make metal or metallic feathers that don't weigh more than my harness or my spine can support.

ETA: I just bought 10 square feet of copper foil. I pray the shipping gods are quick and merciful.

I'm loath to ask for money when I'm not giving something in exchange for it, but what the hell.

The Krewe de Coeur Maudit has started Kickstarter campaign to fund this year's Halloween parade. This is the Krewe's fifth parade year, and will be the third I've marched in. They have giant puppets and a drum line and all sorts of fabulous costumes, are definitely the coolest thing moving on 6th Street on Halloween night. Sadly, giant puppets and parade permits aren't cheap. Hence the fundraising.

The campaign has nine days left, and is nowhere near its goal. If you're in the Austin area, you should totally join and march with us. If you're not, but have a few extra dollars, please consider funding an amazing Halloween spectacle. I can't offer much in return but gratitude, and pictures of my Circus Tresaulti-inspired costume, once I start building the wings.

The theme for this year's Halloween parade is a circus. It would be easy to make a fortune-teller or lion-tamer costume, but I find myself tempted to make the wings from Mechanique (even though I'm not a hollow-boned sort of creature). Heck, if I found a good mask I could be a griffin. I even have enough time left for this to be nearly a reasonable plan.

Today is The Running of the Errands. So far I have: bought travel accoutrements and laundry stuff; bought a dress and cap for my Halloween costume; cleaned the cat boxes; taken out the trash; bought cat food. Next I need to: do laundry; pack; sweep & vacuum the living room so I can yoga, which I must do because I'm skipping the gym tonight; eat something; clean the kitchen; other things I can't think of.

I looked through last year's makeup, and it looks like the mermaid leftovers will be enough to manage a sufficiently dead nurse. Now I just need to figure out what shoes I'm going to wear, and get a surgical mask and gloves. I wish I had time or opportunity to get some good fake blood, but I'll have to get by with food coloring.

And now, a fashion poll:

[Poll #1637134]

Now to start the laundrypocalypse.

I need a military uniform for this year's Halloween parade, preferably WWII era (though older is good too). A Red Cross nurse's uniform would also be great. (This is what I really want.) My initial googling has yielded a whole lot of skimpy cheesecake costumes, and rentals from places that don't help me, like Seattle and the UK. Does anyone know a place that sells decent historical costumes for decent prices, and will ship to Texas?

I have army surplus stores in town I can hit up, but they are far and the internet is near.

Through the kind intervention of mr_earbrass, I have secured a WFC membership. Hurrah. I shall most likely continue to blow off programming and hang out in the bar, but now I will do it with authority.

The Halloween question continues to plague me. Sadly, I don't think I'm going to be squeezing into my leather pants in an attractive way in a week and a half, so Typhoid Mary is right out. (Yes, I know Mary doesn't usually wear pants--I will only take costuming so far.)

I spend hours on the makeup, and then the camera flash washes it out. :P The wig turned out shockingly well, though. Click over to flickr to see more, including a better shot of my Stellan Skarsgard-homage starfish. I upgraded my makeup at the staging area, so I hope some good pictures of me in the parade turn up. The parade itself was a blast, but next time I need to wear more comfortable boots.

Now it's time to make coffee and clean the house.

The tentacles are complete. (They really should be longer, but oh well--the thing's heavy enough as is.) I still want to glitter the undersides, but Target had no glitter, so I'll go on a quest later tonight. I have all the makeup I need except for lipstick, but I might just fake that with something else.

The wig currently has its crown and a lot of seaweed. If I find the gumption, I'll string some pearls and add those too. I dyed the netting, and next I'll start stringing that with the shells that are too heavy to spirit gum to my skin.

And in non-gothtopus news, I heard back about the tinydog formerly known as Mop (whose name is now apparently McGee). He is doing very well, and his new person is very happy with him. He is on his way to becoming a spoiled lapdog, as is every tinydog's dream.