Dakota

Halloween Costume

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I found my Halloween costume in a shop window the other day -- trouble is, it's a little small. You cannot see the American flag sewn across its heart, since I opted instead, for metaphorophotographic reasons, to capture the Lone Star cowboy outfit on the right.

As my own little Halloween public information service, I had been planning to go to house to house through the neigborhood dressed as Big Bird (which allows for excellent anonymity), strewing avian flu information from my plastic pumpkin, like a a flower girl at a wedding strewing rose petals. But a contamination suit, with goggles, nanomask and rubber gloves, I think, will be more educational. I assume I will still be unrecognizable.

When discussing this with a friend, she suggested I stitch up a costume replica of H5N1, reminding me that Bruce Sterling had once published a rather vivid description of a bacteria, that I could utilize when designing my outfit. It's well worth the read, and will inspire you to improve your hygiene if nothing else.

That reminded me of Bruce Sterling's dystopic novel, "Distraction", which I, with my delicate sensibilities, found sordid. It is errily prescient, and very funny , complete with political buffoons from Texas and Louisiana, where much of the novel is set. Not a bad love story either, if you go for that sort of thng in your science fiction.

Posted by Dakota at October 16, 2005 07:02 AM