Halloween Glitterball 2012

Every year, Metropolis Magazine hosts a Halloween party called the Glitterball. These are some pictures from this year.

I went as the Year of the Dragon.

I built the dragon, click here to see a full-length photo and how it was made.

Husband went as the beloved Japanese icon, Colonel Sanders.

I'm not even being sarcastic about the "beloved icon" part. There is a life-sized statue (as pictured above) in front of every KFC location I've seen in Japan, and it gets dressed up all the time. Especially at Christmas, because at some point KFC ran a marketing campaign so successful it has made itself synonymous. And since that's a date night here, not a religious or family holiday, the lines to get KFC on December 24th can literally extend down the block and around the corner.

But I digress.

Halloween party!

Far left and right are Venetian statues (I didn't know what they were until it was announced during the costume contest); in the middle are dancers hired by the sponsors. I don't know what they are, either, but the white half-circles under their lower eyelids to make them look like they have enormous cartoon Lady Gaga eyes is incredibly clever and I want to try it sometime. (Click the picture, look close.) They had lights in their wigs, too.

The Angel of Death spent six months on his costume, and it shows.

It also has a 10-foot (3 meter) wingspan. As cumbersome as it is impressive. It wasn't easy for him to navigate the club, but he certainly made an impression. Also, getting off the train on the way to the club, he was stopped by about 30 police officers in riot gear.

I would have been disappointed on his behalf if he didn't win first place in the costume contest.

I took a couple pictures, but they didn't come out this well.
From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

Most costumes were less serious.

Cowboys always ride two-legged cows, right?

Here's where my camera battery died. So, picking up with costume contest pictures, I'm pulling from some professional photographers' online albums.

The costume contest was MC'd by a guy from Metropolis dressed as the King of Hearts and the Japanese equivalent of Kim Kardashian, dressed as a poodle.

From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

For all the King's brightly colored garments, her sparkly tush was much more distracting.

Some of the costume contest contestants:

Lance Armstrong. Note the giant syringe taped to his forearm.
From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

Droogs. A Halloween classic.
From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

Your guess is as good as mine, it wasn't announced during the contest.
From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

Colonel Sanders won third place!
From Mathieu Buglet Photography (Metropolis gallery) 

Left won second place, I'm not quite sure what she is. Right are the Venetian statues.
From Mathieu Buglet Photography (Metropolis gallery)

From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

They also awarded a prize for Best Zombie. Nobody disputed this winner, but I found it a little odd that they didn't actually have a contest. Maybe it was due to lack of zombies, despite "Undead or Alive" being the advertised theme.

From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

Some other costumes I saw around, but couldn't photograph because of my dead camera battery:

Left: Some sort of extreme sport. I think that's what he actually does, he just added some fake blood. Right: SKELETOR! Well done, sir.
From Mathieu Buglet Photography (Metropolis gallery)

A fly! Not one I would have thought to do, but there ya go.
From Mathieu Buglet Photography (Facebook gallery)

From Jim Blankmeier Photography (Facebook gallery)

The walk from the club to the train station was just as much fun, we got stopped almost constantly by people wanting to take pictures. Nothing makes you feel famous like being asked to pose for pictures with random people. I wouldn't want to live like that, but one day a year (or two or three, this year), it's a lot of fun.