Planets and Costumes
Jul. 15th, 2008 02:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccastareyesSo, I'm trying to think of a Halloween costume. Here are my criteria, in order from strongest to least strong:
1. No wigs. Hats are okay, and makeup is okay, and I might even go for hair extensions, but I don't feel like putting down the money for a quality wig. (And I don't want to deal with a cheap wig -- someone else can tell the story about how Integra Hellsing suddenly developed short, dark hair because my cheap wig gave up the ghost around lunchtime of Day I of AnimeIowa)
2. Something I can wear to CJAS's cosplay contest. Which means anime or manga character. Maybe video game. Probably not anything from Western fandoms or webcomics.
3. Something that is recognizable as something* by the mundanes, in case I go out with my work friends, or decide to wear the costume to campus or something. By which, I mean, they might not recognize Kenshin Himura, but the sword and outfit look like 'samurai'.
* Something reasonably specific, not 'what the hell costume is that?'
Amelia, Slayers
Pros: Love the character, love the costume.
Cons: It's a 'what are you supposed to be' costume, and Amelia's hair in Revolution has gotten to purple for me too pass it off without a wig.
Garnet, Final Fantasy IX
Pros: The world needs more FFIX fans. I also have a perfect pair of red gloves.
Cons: Another 'what are you supposed to be' costume.
Harle, Chrono Cross
Pros: Looks like a harlequin costume. Pretty. You never see Harle's hair.
Cons: Holy crap, is it complicated!
Leaf, Record of Lodoss War
Pros: Leaf looks like an elf (she's a half-elf), and it's kind of a cute costume.
Cons: Not much of a fan of Lodoss anymore, and I don't remember anything about Leaf. It means making armor. I'd have to borrow a DVD or manga for costume reference pictures, since I sent my Lodoss manga on to Zanne. Would be cold for an Ithaca October.
Reki, Haibane Renmei
Pros: Easy costume.
Cons: Aside from the wings and halo, looks like street clothing. Granted, the wings and halo paired with street clothing could be a statement in and of itself.
Rukia, Bleach
Pros: Looks like something (samurai), is a well-known anime character, and has a hairstyle I can do.
Cons: I'm not terribly fond of the shinigami costume -- too monochrome. Also, I'm trying to stay out of Bleach fandom.
Sheska, Fullmetal Alchemist
Pros: I'm told I look exactly like Sheska. (I'd also love to get pictures of me in the Sheska costume in our Law Library.)
Cons: The uniform is a bit weird -- a bit too odd to be an archaic uniform, and doesn't look like a modern uniform. So, doesn't fit #3.
Toph, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pros: Like the costume, and it looks sufficiently like a 'martial arts' costume I think it works for the mundanes.
Cons: Avatar is an American animated product, so I don't know if it'll pass for the anime club's contest.
Any other suggestions? I might do the Reki one for the club, then put together something else for fun.
Also, I found this blog post by Mike Brown that pretty much sums up the whole planet debate. It makes the point that scientists had two classifications: 'round & geologically varied (plus the gas giants, which are round and atmospherically varied with interesting interiors)' versus 'not round and & impact-dominated geology' and 'single objects in distinct orbits' versus 'clouds of similar objects in similar orbits'. Both are useful, and a scientist might deal with one more than the other (a geologist cares more about the first, to the point of even throwing in moons, while a dynamicist the second), and asking 'which is a better classification scheme' is silly, because they are both good and useful things. The IAU wasn't asked that -- they were asked, which classification scheme should be used as planet versus not-a-planet. Which is really a judgment call.
I was thinking the same thing, but this post explains it better. I was thinking about it because I noticed Dr. Bell (Martian geologist) has a 'Save Pluto' bumper sticker pinned to his bulletin board. In retaliation (I assume), Dr. Margot (asteroid and Kuiper Belt dynamicist) put up a 'Save Pallas' sign on his bulletin board. (Guess what both of them think of the IAU's definition? Go on, guess.)
We also have a new official dwarf planet -- Pluto, Ceres and Eris can welcome Makemake (mah-keh-mah-keh) to their numbers. First dwarf planet named after a non-Greco-Roman god, also! (Makemake was the creation deity of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) -- Makemake was discovered near Easter, and informally called Easterbunny.)
1. No wigs. Hats are okay, and makeup is okay, and I might even go for hair extensions, but I don't feel like putting down the money for a quality wig. (And I don't want to deal with a cheap wig -- someone else can tell the story about how Integra Hellsing suddenly developed short, dark hair because my cheap wig gave up the ghost around lunchtime of Day I of AnimeIowa)
2. Something I can wear to CJAS's cosplay contest. Which means anime or manga character. Maybe video game. Probably not anything from Western fandoms or webcomics.
3. Something that is recognizable as something* by the mundanes, in case I go out with my work friends, or decide to wear the costume to campus or something. By which, I mean, they might not recognize Kenshin Himura, but the sword and outfit look like 'samurai'.
* Something reasonably specific, not 'what the hell costume is that?'
Amelia, Slayers
Pros: Love the character, love the costume.
Cons: It's a 'what are you supposed to be' costume, and Amelia's hair in Revolution has gotten to purple for me too pass it off without a wig.
Garnet, Final Fantasy IX
Pros: The world needs more FFIX fans. I also have a perfect pair of red gloves.
Cons: Another 'what are you supposed to be' costume.
Harle, Chrono Cross
Pros: Looks like a harlequin costume. Pretty. You never see Harle's hair.
Cons: Holy crap, is it complicated!
Leaf, Record of Lodoss War
Pros: Leaf looks like an elf (she's a half-elf), and it's kind of a cute costume.
Cons: Not much of a fan of Lodoss anymore, and I don't remember anything about Leaf. It means making armor. I'd have to borrow a DVD or manga for costume reference pictures, since I sent my Lodoss manga on to Zanne. Would be cold for an Ithaca October.
Reki, Haibane Renmei
Pros: Easy costume.
Cons: Aside from the wings and halo, looks like street clothing. Granted, the wings and halo paired with street clothing could be a statement in and of itself.
Rukia, Bleach
Pros: Looks like something (samurai), is a well-known anime character, and has a hairstyle I can do.
Cons: I'm not terribly fond of the shinigami costume -- too monochrome. Also, I'm trying to stay out of Bleach fandom.
Sheska, Fullmetal Alchemist
Pros: I'm told I look exactly like Sheska. (I'd also love to get pictures of me in the Sheska costume in our Law Library.)
Cons: The uniform is a bit weird -- a bit too odd to be an archaic uniform, and doesn't look like a modern uniform. So, doesn't fit #3.
Toph, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pros: Like the costume, and it looks sufficiently like a 'martial arts' costume I think it works for the mundanes.
Cons: Avatar is an American animated product, so I don't know if it'll pass for the anime club's contest.
Any other suggestions? I might do the Reki one for the club, then put together something else for fun.
Also, I found this blog post by Mike Brown that pretty much sums up the whole planet debate. It makes the point that scientists had two classifications: 'round & geologically varied (plus the gas giants, which are round and atmospherically varied with interesting interiors)' versus 'not round and & impact-dominated geology' and 'single objects in distinct orbits' versus 'clouds of similar objects in similar orbits'. Both are useful, and a scientist might deal with one more than the other (a geologist cares more about the first, to the point of even throwing in moons, while a dynamicist the second), and asking 'which is a better classification scheme' is silly, because they are both good and useful things. The IAU wasn't asked that -- they were asked, which classification scheme should be used as planet versus not-a-planet. Which is really a judgment call.
I was thinking the same thing, but this post explains it better. I was thinking about it because I noticed Dr. Bell (Martian geologist) has a 'Save Pluto' bumper sticker pinned to his bulletin board. In retaliation (I assume), Dr. Margot (asteroid and Kuiper Belt dynamicist) put up a 'Save Pallas' sign on his bulletin board. (Guess what both of them think of the IAU's definition? Go on, guess.)
We also have a new official dwarf planet -- Pluto, Ceres and Eris can welcome Makemake (mah-keh-mah-keh) to their numbers. First dwarf planet named after a non-Greco-Roman god, also! (Makemake was the creation deity of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) -- Makemake was discovered near Easter, and informally called Easterbunny.)
