Today, Thursday, begins the three-day long celebration of Halloween. Are you one of the many people who wait until the last minute to purchase or put together a costume? Maybe you just haven’t had time. Maybe your creativity has run dry. Or your wallet.

Let’s face it, Halloween costumes are far too expensive, especially for women. Come on, it seems you are forced to spend top dollar for junky material probably you will wear max three times. Ever.

Walk into iParty, for example, and check down the aisles. A woman’s costume – let’s say a typical sexy nurse – costs an outrageous $49.99 ($59.99 if you opt for the even sexier nurse uniform).

But what actually comes in that little plastic bag with the ridiculous price tag branded in the lower righthand corner? A one-piece, flimsy “nurse” uniform, and maybe, MAYBE, a little felt hat with a red cross on it. This costume is clearly incomplete, and you’re already down $50+.

You still need the right shoes; chances are, you do not already have high-heel white knee-high boots. Shoes - the right shoes – will set you back anywhere from $30-80, and that’s being cheap. Most good quality boots for women are sold lowest at $80. You still need knee-high white or red stockings. Then you need to accessorize, because what costume is complete without accessories? And maybe you need some new makeup to truly get into character – which is ultimately what you love to do for Halloween.

And, of course, the sizes of Halloween pre-made costumes are very limited. If you’re looking for an XS, they make a very low quantity of suits in that size. And the size of XS is not truly made to fit an XS body. I saw a costume that said S: sizes 4-8. First of all, 4-8 is a wide range. Second of all, what about those 0-2 people? Oh, that’s right, we have to fight to find the one remaining XS costume – probably in something unappealing – and it’ll still fit loosely, widely and awkardly. And then plus sizes are oppressed as well. There are limited plus size costumes, and they are rarely sexy ones. Typically, if you’re a plus, you can be a witch dressed in a not-so-flattering plain back, long dress. How fun!

This example is no exception – just about all Halloween costumes todays will empty your wallet too quickly; they’ll dishearten your soul when you go to try them on to find they do not fit. And you still need to buy that inevitable candy, and – if you’re 21+ – booze. At the end of the night, your costume will probably have ripped, gotten stained, or overall it’ll be uncomfortable. And probably someone else will be wearing the same costume, especially if you bought it at iParty or Spencers.

So. What do you do? Get cheap and/or get creative. Have a black dress already and black high heels? Grab some cat ears, a tail to pin on and use black eyeliner to make whiskers. Red can work for a devil. Pitchfork and horns! Green can work for a fairy, or even blue. Wings! Or get bunny ears and a bunny tail – Playboy Bunny. Creative, no. Inexpensive, yes!

Have a small black or maroon blanket? Throw it over your shoulders. Purchase those famous round glasses. Maybe get a nice gold and maroon tie. And then draw a lightning bolt on your forehead. Harry Potter!

Bathing suits can always turn into surfer dudes, Hawaiin girls, etc. Honestly, I was a Hawaiin girl for the past three years. Wore my bikini with one of those bathing suit wraps for a skirt. Threw on a few leis, and put a flower in my hair. Done. Cost: under $10, having already had the bikini and wrap.

Just devour your closet and clothing bins. Look around your room. You can make a costume out of things you already have – easily. It may just take some thinking if your goal is to be creative. If your goal is to just go out, dressed up, for cheap, you can do it!

Happy Halloween!!! Love, Shara Marie

Woke up this morning to discover that my roomate’s fish had babies. At least ten little molly fry are swimming around the tank.

Video:

There was once a prince who acted strangely in that he thought life was stupid and it was for him so he made up a world in which he liked the things we like but he had different reasons why he liked them.

He liked butter for its color. He would order, “Toast with color.” Waitresses, confused, would utter, “Sir, I’ve never heard of ‘toast with color.’” He’d get angry and begin to choke them. The law would come and they’d arrest and book him. So his life was a mess of trouble. Still, he kept it up.

He had dogs, a hundred cocker spaniels, and he called them “panties” ’cause they did that mostly. And he did not care at all if they would bark and fetch sticks, run and jump, roll over, and play dead tricks. No, he liked them only for their panting. So he would run them ragged but one day they got fed up and chased the prince right up against the fence and the prince was eaten by his panties.

It is my face, using old photos.

I sat down to do my art history essay, and instead I made an animated .gif in Photoshop. FML

You know what would be awesome?

If the Dart Van drivers knew where the hell the CVPA was.

That would be awesome.

No, seriously, we asked one to take us to the CVPA and he took us to the library.

“CVPA?” we repeated.

“Yeah, the library,” he said, gesturing for us to exit his vehicle.

“Group 6?” we said, thinking perhaps he knew it by another name.

“This is it,” he said, pointing at the library like we were the stupid ones.

Finally we gave up and shrugged and walked the rest of the way to the CVPA.

But yeah, seriously defeats the purpose of taking the Dart Van in the first place.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/8300451.stm

Summary: Guy in Britain helps the police identify a rapist and gets reward money for it. Instead of keeping the money for himself, he gives it to the rapist’s victim to help her rebuild her life.

Personally, he’s my hero of the week. You go, British guy.

College dating – it’s an interesting topic. I’ve noticed five major types of college daters over the years:

1. The happily tied-down individual with a sweetheart/significant other – they do everything together;
2. The swinging single  (includes intense cheaters) who is out on the prowl (yes,  just wants to bang, bang, bang);
3. The lonely soul who just wants to find love (or perhaps sex);
4. The recent break-up victim who constantly hooks-up to feel desirable again, but just can’t let go;
5. And the virgin. Enough said.

What type of college dater are you, or have you been? Some of us have been more than one of the above. Are there other types of daters out there? If so, please describe them.

If you are trying to switch from one type to another, say #5 to #2, here’s what most do but shouldn’t do:
Get wicked drunk and hit on a girl who is completely trashed. Drinking definitely takes some of the edge off, eliminates some of those nerves, but this is not the right choice, even if the sex has potential to feel awesome. Why? Because of that slippery word “consent.” If the girl is hammered and she doesn’t consent, it’s rape. Even if she seems totally into it, she can charge you with rape (or vice versa, because girls can rape guys, too). Or perhaps she does consent, but then she regrets in the next morning – then what happens? Sexual assault is a huge obstacle when drunk sex occurs.
Try asking for consent if this is the case; don’t be embarassed. It will work out for the better this way – whether you get laid or not.

Although it does not seem to happen a lot, you should try to meet a girl or guy the old fashioned – maybe high school – way. Approach that person, face-t0-face, or with a friend as support, and just introduce yourself. Use observation to strike up a conversation that does not seem intruding. The worse that can happen – rejection. And then you just get over it because you didn’t know the person that well in the first place.
Here’s some ways to casually converse…
1. If the person is wearing a sports jersey, you can comment on a recent or upcoming game, or the player whose jersey is being sported;
2. If you have mutual friends but haven’t been introduced, use that pathway;
3. If you’re in line at Res you can comment on how terrible the food is – or perhaps it’s good that day!;
4. If you have class with that person, bingo, talk about a past or upcoming test, assignment, etc.;
5. If you’re at the gym – tread lightly as some people prefer not to be bothered when they’re in the zone – you can talk about a work-out, ask what that person suggests for daily cardio, or even let that person have a drink at the water fountain before you (who says chivalry doesn’t work?).
 
Obviously there are hundreds of more ways to introduce yourself to someone. What are your suggestions? What has worked for you and what has failed? Share your stories, and your tips!

A suggestion I have for you, after ruminating all my failures, once you find out the person’s name, check if that person is in a relationship – you can do this on Facebook without being creepy, in case you’re too shy to ask. I’ve had plenty of guys introduce themselves to me, and a few cute ones, so I’d think of them as a potential date or hook-up. Come to find out, after being added on Facebook by them or scoping out their page, they’re in a relationship. Save yourself the embarassment of putting forth too much effort -

Good luck!

Love, Shara Marie

A painting major who shall go unnamed recently called the entire illustration major “unsophisticated.”

I would like to take this moment to point out that the artistic masters of the Italian Renaissance, producing near-photographic work on commission, and relying on scientific measurement and precision as opposed to “intuition,” have far more in common with today’s illustration majors than with any painting major.

I would also like to add my personal opinion and say that Norman Rockwell, a mere “unsophisticated” illustrator, was a far better painter than Jackson Pollock could ever have hoped to be. In addition, Aubrey Beardsley had far more artistic integrity than your precious Andy Warhol. And Alphonse Mucha could take on Picasso with his dominant hand tied behind his back.

Overall, I would say that the quiet, hard-working, incredibly driven illustration majors are more “sophisticated” than you paint-slinging, tabaret-uncleaning, studio-destroying painting majors ever will be.

So THERE.

For those of you who missed my previous update,   , I had reversed my position on “Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy” and decided that, despite all of its failures, it was still fun.

About an hour after that post, I beat the game.

NEW COMPLAINT: “Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy” is way too damn short. Position officially reversed again; I hate it now. HATE.

And so I have moved on to a new game: “Tales of Symphonia.” The game can be quickly explained as the product of throwing all the Final Fantasy games into a blender and making all of the characters chibi. However, unlike Final Fantasy, the combat is real-time instead of turn-based. But all other rules apply: attacks are announced before they are performed, the main character is a brash and idealistic young man, the main character’s love interest must sacrifice herself to save the world, the inevitable traitor has emo hair, etc. My roommates have been watching me play and offering helpful commentary.

For example, there is one attack in the game called “demon fang” that the character announces before performing. One of my roommates heard it as “beaver twang.” Guess what is my house’s new favorite catchphrase? Oh, you’re good.

Also, the main character is named “Lloyd,” which a dear friend of mine deliberately mispronounces as “Cloyd.” When I threatened to name one of my future children that, he responded that he would drive to my child’s school to beat him up every day and encourage others to do the same. But apparently my unborn child can escape this fate if Cloyd is only his middle name.

Merlinus Cloyd Henry is going to hate my guts.

So, last year, Target’s Halloween theme was based around the popular Japanese TV show character Domo-kun.

This year, Target’s Halloween theme is based around Skelanimals, skeletonized puppies and kitties that have been on t-shirts and keychains for at least two years now.

Does Target just march into Hot Topic, pick something at random, and use it for their theme?