Halloween 2008

a.k.a. Bill, Beatrix, and B.B. and the Party That Never Was

At right, you see Marcus in his full Halloween costume--in short, he dressed up as a girl, specifically the baby B.B. from Kill Bill. I was, of course, Mommy (Uma Thurman's character, Beatrix "The Bride" Kiddo, is simply listed as "Mommy" in the credits to the final film), and since this pair of movies--a mother-quest in the extreme--in part inspired me to motherhood, it was quite fitting. Robert was Bill (a role he was perhaps less happy about assuming, except that he did get a cool sword out of the deal).

Below you see two shots of Beatrix that could never have been, since of course Beatrix remained in a coma (checked into the hospital under the name Arlene Machiavelli) throughout B.B.'s babyhood.

While The Bride/Mommy typically admires Hattori Hanzo swords (like Bill's, above), Bill tends to fidget with them. Below you see Bill in two poses, plus Bill bringing the baby B.B. to visit Mommy in the hospital, and Bill triumphantly holding his two prize possessions.

On this Halloween night, with Beatrix miraculously out of her coma and moving around, the family group threw the party that never was--Bill and Beatrix, together again. Dining on macaroni and cheese, beefy-bean chili from our 1/6 of a locally-raised cow, and pumpkin trifle, the guests at this party were quite a diverse bunch.

Above are a Do-It-YourELF (winner of the prize for Costume Most Likely to Have Been Conceived of in an Altered State) and a Roman.

Below are a Viking (winner of Hottest Costume) and Bee-Witched (winner of--strangely enough!--the prize for Witchiest Costume); Linus (Honorable Mention costume) and a Great Pumpkin--two separately-imagined costumes each shocked when the other walked in; and two Thomas the Tank Engine trains (the smaller one co-winner of the prize for Sweetest Costume).

Above are a Care Bear (spreading cheer through a rainbow of Skittles and little heart-shaped happy notes) and a Don't-Care Bear; a surfer and Flavor Flav (Honorable Mention); and a Peacock (Honorable Mention). Below are a Butterfly and a Flower (unfortunately the butterfly costume was warm and bulky, so it was shed fairly quickly, as was the flower's flowery hat; the butterfly was co-winner of Sweetest Costume with her brother the train); the Queen of Harts (winner of Classiest Costume, with a picture of a fleet-footed Hart on her back) and Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen (winner of Geekiest Costume); and Uma Thurman in two guises--Pulp Fiction, meet Kill Bill.

Not pictured is the Oscar-winning Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, meet Million Dollar Baby).