It's All Too Much

"Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story."
~ Mason Cooley

Working my way through Little Women (by Louisa May Alcott), slowly but surely. Not actually enjoying it very much. I find the plotline very tedious (in the same way as with Jane Austen, all about social status and manners and parties), and the characters very uninteresting. It's so heavy on morality that I feel like I'm being lectured to by a nagging great-aunt or something... I'm going to finish it anyways, just to be able to say that I have (and, of course, to give the work as a whole a fair chance). But truthfully, reading this novel is kind of like pulling teeth. Here's hoping that next month's classic (The Scarlet Letter) is a better choice!

Besides my job (which some days is good and some days kicks my a$$), my time has been full of helping out at home, getting reading for my sister's buck & doe (this coming weekend!), trying to put together a Halloween costume (not going so great because I don't want to dress as a skank, sorry), and visiting friends & family. Thank goodness for friends and family!

Seriously, though, commercially-available costumes for women SUCK. Guys get to be monsters and superheroes and fun/crazy things... 90% of womens' costumes are skanky. Skanky monsters, skanky superheroes, skanky fairy-tale characters... Hello! Since when was Halloween sponsored by the Stag Shop?! Dressing up used to be fun, but now I feel like there is too much pressure for women to bare all. I'm really not into the adult-teasing look. I'm the kind of person who would want to dress like an ACTUAL ninja turtle (not this crap), or a normal Hogwarts student, (versus this getup), or a traditional Robin Hood (not this tasteful number).

Visiting 3+ costume shops was one of the most demeaning experiences of my life. I felt like I was trying on tacky stripper costumes. In future, I'm going to plan my costumes far ahead of time, and make them myself. For real. I refuse to spend hard-earned money (average $50-90 per basic costume -- no shoes, wigs or makeup included) on flimsy, slutty outfits that will rob me of my self-respect for one supposedly fun-filled night of the year. As for this year, I am hoping that an eBay purchase will come in time for the weekend, but otherwise I will use an old costume instead. What are you doing for Halloween this year, and how do you handle the costume situation?

FILMS
It Happened One Night (1934) *****
What's Up, Doc? (1972) ****
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) ***

BOOKS
The City of Ember (Jeanne DuPrau, 2003) ****
Madeline (Ludwig Bemelmans, 1939) ****
Madeline's Rescue (Ludwig Bemelmans, 1953) ****
Madeline in London (Ludwig Bemelmans, 1961) ***
Madeline and the Bad Hat (1956) ***

OLD-TIME RADIO SHOWS
Rebecca (CBS: Campbell Playhouse, 1938) ***
Wuthering Heights (NBC: Ford Theatre, 1949) ***
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Colonial Radio Theatre, 2005) ** [not "old", I know].