Masked ball

I almost missed the latest internet hyperventilation; that's what comes from not surfing for a few days.

Illegal aliens=spacemen. Brilliant! I came up with that when I was nine or ten years old, thinking it was funny and original. Other people rolled their eyes or just ignored me. (Most legitimate news organizations don't even use the term if they can avoid it.)

How times have changed. These days "alien" is not a word that's being asked to carry too much baggage, it's a political statement.

Either I'm too sensitive, or else I'm gettin' soft.

Activists see the orange jumpsuit and the over-sized green card as an attack on immigrants. They've been pressuring businesses to stop selling the costume. Predictably, "William Gheen, the president of Americans for Legal Immigration, said he intends to buy the costume, and calls the reaction unfounded.", says CNN. There are hundreds of other stories and comments, but they really don't shine much more light on the subject.

So wear it, or don't. Your reaction says more about you than about anything else. Hey, I was prepubescent a long while ago. I would have loved a costume like that. Oh, as a practical matter, I wouldn't recommend running around at night in that jumpsuit. It's also hard to eat, drink and breathe when you're wearing a rubber mask.

You wanna see something really scary?


Someone mentioned Bernie Madoff and Michael Jackson masks being popular this year. Which Jackson, I thought, idly... and what accessories? I'll look it up Yep, Sergeant Pepperish uniforms, gloves, wigs and... holy mother of pearl who is that masked man? Hoo, was that a bad idea.

It's so lifelike. Now I'm afraid to sleep.