Some Shiggles For The Holidays

Well, tonight (12/19/08) will be the last live editon of Countdown for 2008, but before we draw a curtain on the year and the program takes a two-week rest along with a break from the daily live blogging therein, I'd thought I'd share a couple of pictures of me in some outlandish costumes.

Yes, there's people who dress up for fun at anime, sci-fi conventions and other events was well. And I'm happy to say that I am a part-time cosplayer, and I have worn these costumes on Halloween in the past, living around the corner from some people who go bizarro and have a haunted porch, thus making my home a safe haven for frightened six-year olds. And so I'm posting these costumes and asking thee for your honest (be serious and don't curse, please) opining.

My first cosplay was as James, the bumbleheaded member of the Pokemon crime syndicate (and comic relief in the popular anime series) known as Team Rocket. Here, at the introduction of Pokemon Gold and Silver, I pose with a water bottle in one hand and Ash's Pikachu (a/k/a "The Twerp") which I "borrowed" from him (I actually bought it at a dollar store in reality from a New York Yankees Pokemon doll giveaway promotion) taking a break from the fun.

Then came a somewhat seriocomic attempt to do my first crossplay, where cosplayers of one gender portray one of the opposite sex. I chose James' in crime and ill humor on Rocket-dan, Jessie. And this particular picture you're seeing was posted on koatku.com and digg.com, and needless to say, I was charred over the napalmed flames but I recovered and got the last laugh on them.

This, needless to say was one of my more fun cosplays. Trust me, it wasn't easy dressing as a woman with purple hair looking like an evil diva which she is. And as I stated following the flaming incident over the interwebs, I actually got more compliments about this outfit than complaints. BTW, those two pictures was taken outside of 10 Rockefeller Center in New York City, where Keith now does Countdown. Many people said that I actually looked like a female, and passed with flying colors. So much so, after the event to introduce North America to the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl games at 10 Rock, I walked back to New York's Penn Station a mile in full costume, makeup and all (Sephora at 34th Street is the bomb BTW) and got wolf whistles from a couple construction workers in a truck. That's when I knew I had passed as a female. BTW, I wore a waist cincher, a padded girdle for the hips and fanny, and it's a flesh-colored shirt around my torso. And the most fun part was when I was interviewed by Misty's Japanese voice actress, and even posed for pictures that day with kids and adults who all dressed for the party.

And then came my youth...as a 47-year-old guy having the guts to dress as a 12-year-old girl. I actually wanted to have a fun costume for my next outfit, so I turned to Disney for it and one of its' most iconic characters of all. Alice Pleasence Liddell, who fell down a rabbit hole into a Wonderland of Mad Tea Parties, painting roses red and other nonsensical stuff Reverand Charles Dodgson (a/k/a Lewis Carroll) would come up with, and this picture is of the 2008 version I'm wearing.

This was a very fun outfit to do (and it still is BTW) as my mom had to hand sew the entire dress because her sewing machine was broken in the process. Hopefully for 2009, this gets an improvement on the actual pinifore apron and a new wig are in the works. By the way, this is supposed to be the Disney theme park version of Alice in Wonderland. And believe me, it was hard to find size 12 Mary Jane styled shoes, but I found them on the web at a low price.

Thanks for sharing the fun with me, and I hope your holidays are filled with joy, wonder, excitement and anything else you might believe in.