Of Superheroes and Pirates

Each summer, Ann Arbor, Michigan subjects itself to a massive art fair that usually draws 350-500,000 people into town to view and buy stuff. Naturally, since it was a crowded environment with delicate and expensive stuff crammed tightly together, Toaster thought it'd be an excellent idea to get a large-ish group together to dress up as charmingly pathetic superheroes and play Tag. So we did.

Toaster, The Superhero, having a blissfully unaware Spiderman 3 moment.

Left to right: P-par, Tie Fighter, The Cloaked Librarian, Punkupine, Zebragirl, Toaster, Hufu Transformer, and Skrull. It may dismay (or delight) you to know that 5 of the people present here are actually scientists by day. If it dismays you, dismiss us as Mad Scientists.

Left to right: The Cloaked Librarian, Toaster, and Hufu Transformer. We know we're badass.

Childrens' reactions to seeing us (excitedly jumping up and down, staring and grinning, asking their parents whether we could really fly) just reaffirmed my empirical knowledge that too many adults are stuffy dunderheads. Sure, be responsible and stuff, but it's silly--very silly--to be so full of yourself, and so vain, that you deny yourself fun for fear of looking like an ass. Or maybe we're just weird.

And then tonight there was a concert with a pirate song band followed by a burlesque show, which had a Star Trek-in-the-ocean theme. I watched Dr. Spock get mobbed by stingrays in pasties, and the ribbon encircling my hat (because, of course, I was also dressed as a pirate*) was part of the North Pacific Trash Gyre's costume that she abandoned throughout the course of her routine. This was all followed by a massive dance party that had us dodging glitterbombs and slipping on bubbles.

*You may wonder what kind of pirate wears a top hat. Well, to put it simply, fancy motherfucking pirates wear fancy motherfucking hats.