My Two “Go To” Halloween Costumes When I Was A Kid

There’s always a great assortment of children’s Halloween costumes. In fact, I’m kind of jealous of the kids today because their costumes are so much better than the cheap licensed plastic masks with the rubber band and restrictive plastic bodysuits we wore featuring our favorite cartoon characters.

As uncomfortable as those licensed costumes could be, I was always excited to get one just so I could be Superman, He-Man, Chuck Norris or an officially licensed “G.I. Joe” (that’s right, no Duke or Flint, you were just a generic green shirt). But as I got older, those costumes didn’t really suit my taste. I wanted something a little more “real”. Probably around age 10 or so, I left the plastic behind and found myself pretty much trading off between these two themes besides the odd ghost or “skull guy” outfit:

G.I. Joe aka “Army Man” (when I got to be too cool to act like I still enjoyed G.I. Joe)

A real G.I. Joe! Forget the silly bodysuit with “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” plastered all over it. And the great thing about being an “army man” was that as a young male, you probably own the complete outfit and accessories already and maybe even use it every weekend when you play “war” with your friends. I never had to buy a single thing whenever I opted to enlist on October 31st. Toy guns, toy knife, army jacket, army helmet/marine hat, military fatigues… I had it all, baby! No wonder I played this role for so many years.

Dracula

Another fairly easy costume to put together (I’m beginning to think I picked these two themes so much out of pure laziness), but it required a few accessories to be bought initially. I had the wig (complete with a sweet widow’s peak), fangs, cape with the super cool collar, and even a medallion to wear. I usually would wear some black dress pants and a white button up. Add a dash of homemade blood around my mouth (with the option to buy some face paint to make myself a bit pale looking) and I was transformed into a classic, respectable Halloween costume.

What were some of your Halloween standards?

What are your Halloween plans?

I’m not a candy person anymore but I’m making the exception for Halloween. I’ve got a king size pack Reese’s cups, a theater box of Milk Duds and a big mix bag of Starburst, Three Musketeers, Snickers and Twix to keep me company all day long (I made sure to request the day off). Of course, I won’t be eating all of this candy or even most of it, but I’ll be picking my spots and taking what I please. Then I’ll finish off the rest of the candy over an extended period of time. I’ve done really well this year with cutting back on junk and hitting the gym — but I’m entitled to some Halloween candy!

The woman will be going to a Halloween party, I was invited, but per my “I don’t like people” rule, I declined. So, I’ll spend the night in solitude with candy and horror movies. I’m not sure what I’ll be watching though. I haven’t broken out my Universal DVDs yet, but I may set aside time for whatever is on my Netflix list as well.

How about you? How will you be celebrating the 2nd greatest holiday of the year?

Drac-Snax Monster Candy by Topps

I came across this order form earlier this year and right off the bat (no pun intended), this looked like an amazing Halloween candy. Luckily, after doing some more research, I was able to find scans of the wrappers.

That’s so awesome. Monster Bat, Vampire, Werewolf, Gravestone and Man Without A Head candy! I can’t tell if there’s a date in the fine print or not, but I’d imagine this is from the late ’70s or very early ’80s. I’m pretty that something like this was around the in the ’80s as well (I’m seeing visions of Frankenstein as a gummy candy), but “Drac-Snax” doesn’t ring a bell with me.

Be sure to check out The Candy Wrapper Museum for more cool wrapper images!

Star Wars Sith Lords USB Ports

This was passed along to me from a media contact, and I thought it was pretty cool (and hey, it’s a nice tie-in to my previous post), so here’s the whole press release:

MIMOBOT® Brings Sith Lords To USB Ports Everywhere

STAR WARS™ MIMOBOT Series 4 collection of designer USB flash drives features
Darth Maul, multiple Darth Vaders and Clone Captain Rex

BOSTON, MA, June 10, 2009 – Mimoco’s STAR WARS MIMOBOT line of designer flash drives will explore the dark side with an all-new collection, featuring fan favorite Sith Lords and new versions of classic designs. In addition to the previously announced Darth Maul design, the fourth installment of the popular USB devices will also include a re-imagining of the original MIMOBOT series’ centerpiece – Darth Vader. The new Darth Vader Unmasked MIMOBOT features a removable helmet, underneath which lurks the scarred countenance of Anakin Skywalker, as played by Hayden Christensen.  For added excitement, one in six Darth Vader MIMOBOT drives will unveil “chase” variants of Anakin’s face from Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi - older, paler and at peace, having come to terms with his estranged son Luke.Completing the cycle later this summer as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive, Mimoco will release a third, limited-edition version of Darth Vader Unmasked. When the helmet is removed, the unmasked visage will be the face of Luke Skywalker, as Luke imagined himself on Dagobah in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Only 500 Darth Vader Unmasked Luke Skywalker MIMOBOT drives will be produced and they will only be available at Mimoco’s Comic Con booth #2913 in the STAR WARS Pavilion on July 22 – 26.

Rounding out STAR WARS MIMOBOT Series 4 is one of the stand-outs from Lucasfilm Animation’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated television series. Clone Captain Rex – leader of the 501st Clone Trooper Legion’s Torrent Company and Anakin Skywalker’s right-hand officer – has quickly become a fan favorite due to his prominence in the series, which airs on Cartoon Network. When removed, Rex’s MIMOBOT trooper helmet reveals the gruff but good-natured Captain’s scowling face beneath.

MIMOBOT designer USB flash drives are available in 1GB to 8GB memory capacities and are bundled with preloaded digital extras to enrich one’s personal desktop experience. STAR WARS MIMOBOT Series 4 includes exclusive STAR WARS-themed wallpapers, screensavers, icons, and avatars. MimoByte™ sound software rounds out the desktop suite and plays character-specific STAR WARS sound clips from the film’s master audio tracks.

Mimoco’s STAR WARS MIMOBOT Media Resources can be found here

Mimoco was founded in 2005, and has been changing the way people think about USB flash drives ever since.  With characters ranging from original and community designs to crossovers with pop-culture newcomers tokidoki, FriendsWithYou, and iconic behemoths like STAR WARS and Halo, MIMOBOT is on the cutting edge in the movement to combine pop art and consumer electronics.  For more information on Mimoco, including a full list of MIMOBOT characters and outposts, visit mimoco.com.

Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved.  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

The Sitcom Ain’t Dead, Part 2

Continued from yesterday…

How I Met Your Mother (2005-current, CBS)

Starring: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Bob Saget (narrator)

If you’re not watching this show– for shame! It’s the true spiritual successor of Friends and Seinfeld, featuring many recurring themes and a great continuity. The writing is so witty, it’s a shame the show isn’t a better ratings getter. I guess that stuff just goes over the heads of people sometimes.