Halloween Thoughts
Okay, I know it's not the "Holiday Season" yet, but it is Halloween or Samhain or All Saint's Day Eve or any number of other holidays that are celebrated by people far and wide. I actually really like these holidays. The thinning of the walls between worlds and what not is a concept that has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I have a problem though. It seems I'm just not that creative. Every year I hear one or two stories about people who really go all out. They have some idea that they just "Have to do!" as a costume in order to celebrate. They usually have a clear creative idea, and some way to make it real. I wish I had that creativity and drive.
Given my hobby, there's always the cop out of wearing medieval garb or armour. After all, I think the image of a 6'2" gentleman wearing full plate and carrying a big honking sword might get some peoples' attention. However, I really do consider that a cop out. I do that 30 to 40 weekends a year. Doing it for Halloween just seems to diminish the holiday and on the flip side it diminishes what I do for the rest of the year by making it simply "a costume".
The only two ideas I have ever had are a gargoyle from the cartoon (I always wanted to be Goliath. Build some kinda really cool wing set and somehow build lifts for my feet to make me even taller) or alternately a fully armoured Cyclone Motorcycle Soldier in mechanized mode from the third generation Robotech Cartoon series (if you know what I'm talking about, then you are truly a geek and I salute you). I've never had the nerve to attempt either of them, but I think they would both be really cool (even if I was the only one who knew what I was going for).
In a way, I feel sorry for my daughter. My wife and I have always been very practical about holidays. We've never really dressed up or gone all out for any holiday. We particularly don't tend to do much for Halloween. As I stated earlier, the idea of the holiday is really interesting to me, but with my lack of creativity and with my hatred of the over-commercialization of all holidays, I worry that somehow my daughter will miss out on some of the more "fun" aspects of this and all the holidays (although my wife did buy my daughter a giraffe costume this year, and it should be really cute).
Personally, I'll be in class for this year's festivities so there aren't any conflicted feelings about the holiday this year. I'll spend it how I see fit. Later in the evening I'll probably turn off the TV, turn off the computers, turn down the lights and just listen to the world around me. I'll try to center my mind, relax my soul and try to remember the spirits of those who have passed before me. Will I be able to talk with the dead? I'm guessing probably not. However, if I take the time to remember them and remember my times with them, maybe the holiday won't be so bad afterall...
Given my hobby, there's always the cop out of wearing medieval garb or armour. After all, I think the image of a 6'2" gentleman wearing full plate and carrying a big honking sword might get some peoples' attention. However, I really do consider that a cop out. I do that 30 to 40 weekends a year. Doing it for Halloween just seems to diminish the holiday and on the flip side it diminishes what I do for the rest of the year by making it simply "a costume".
The only two ideas I have ever had are a gargoyle from the cartoon (I always wanted to be Goliath. Build some kinda really cool wing set and somehow build lifts for my feet to make me even taller) or alternately a fully armoured Cyclone Motorcycle Soldier in mechanized mode from the third generation Robotech Cartoon series (if you know what I'm talking about, then you are truly a geek and I salute you). I've never had the nerve to attempt either of them, but I think they would both be really cool (even if I was the only one who knew what I was going for).
In a way, I feel sorry for my daughter. My wife and I have always been very practical about holidays. We've never really dressed up or gone all out for any holiday. We particularly don't tend to do much for Halloween. As I stated earlier, the idea of the holiday is really interesting to me, but with my lack of creativity and with my hatred of the over-commercialization of all holidays, I worry that somehow my daughter will miss out on some of the more "fun" aspects of this and all the holidays (although my wife did buy my daughter a giraffe costume this year, and it should be really cute).
Personally, I'll be in class for this year's festivities so there aren't any conflicted feelings about the holiday this year. I'll spend it how I see fit. Later in the evening I'll probably turn off the TV, turn off the computers, turn down the lights and just listen to the world around me. I'll try to center my mind, relax my soul and try to remember the spirits of those who have passed before me. Will I be able to talk with the dead? I'm guessing probably not. However, if I take the time to remember them and remember my times with them, maybe the holiday won't be so bad afterall...
Labels: Random Thoughts
posted by TechSquire @ 11:12 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I admit to throwing on my armour a couple of years ago, to walk around trick-or-treating with the kids. And I think I wore it to a party once, but only because the host begged me to. But I try to avoid it - I agree, it's a cop out, and that's not what armour is for.
For all practical purposes, I actually stopped wearing Hallowe'en costumes several years ago, when I went to San Francisco to visit a friend who worked at LucasArts. (He designed levels for some of their first-person shooter games.)
He was giving me a tour of their office building, and as we turned a corner I walked straight into a fantastic re-creation of the loadlifter from "Aliens" - you know, the big machine Ripley uses to pitch the alien out of the airlock. I'm standing there in awe, exclaiming how f__king COOL this thing is, and Chris (my friend) says casually, "Oh, yeah...that was someone's costume at the company Hallowe'en party last year..."
I pretty much gave up after that.
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