Cardboard Hobbit Feet FTW

Ladies and gentlemen, the best Halloween costume I saw of 2009. While they may not win big in the the Topical or Original categories, there is a lot of good going on here. The hobbit/right wraith height differential, the gender swap, the props (they had killer backpacks as well), and more than anything else, the FEET! That is genuine cardboard with hair glued on. This is DIY craftmanship at it's best. Awesome.

A few more photos of notable nerd costumes, after the jump...

Is it sad that I immediately recognized this as a Shy Guy and not just a spooky ghost?

Star Fleet uniforms are easy to come by, but you have to admire the dedication the accuracy displayed when it comes to hairstyles/facial hair grooming. There is no mistaking these guys for generic redshirts.

Given my unique relationship with Anakin Skywalker, seeing his doppleganger walking around in the flesh was a little terrifying, especially with little kids running around all over the place.

Zombie Hunter Zombies

Aah...so remember those Zombie Hunters we hired to cover World Zombie Day in NYC about a month ago? Well, we at Geekanerd got a little distracted by recent political events and never really sorted through the texts and photos they sent us, but we finally did, and well...


Things...things did not go so well for those guys. Here's the full, unfortunate account of the days events.

Geekanerd's Halloween Costumes

Hope everyone out there had a good Hallows Ween. The Geekanerd family certainly did, here are a few highlights from our costume pool.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the costume that will change the way we think about Halloween Costumes...FOREVER...


Sexy Rorschach. Your minds are now blown.

Rock Band Avatar, Homestar, Thor, Athena, The Thinkkaman, TWO Baby Leias (!), a Green Ranger, Jessica Rabbit, and the Silk Spectre after the jump...

DEgan's baby niece went as Princess Leia for her very first Halloween ever. Awesome bandoleer!

Gnerd commenter Rob (of SpaceMonkeyX) wrote in to let us know his daughter also went as Leia for her inaugural Halloween. Step aside, Disney Princesses, the Star Wars gals are coming through! Her cinnamon bun headdress was entirely handmade by her mom, Andrea. Pretty "crafty"!

Gnerd Commenter Lena went as a Rock Band avatar...or is she Judy Nails?


Gnerd reader Nick went as Thor, and his GF Rachel went as Athena. Believe it, haters; geeks find love! It happens all the time!

More geek love, and what's a better couple than the Green Ranger and Jessica Rabbit!? These come from Gnerd readers Mike and Amy.

This post is mainly about some lady costumes, where were you guys? This is a great Silk Spectre I, though Lindsay admits "The hair was all wrong but I couldn't find a decent enough pin-up wig to complete Sally."


And finally, here is your editor AHR and your infrequent Contributor Sarah B as Homestar Runner and The Thnikkaman. Laugh all you want, but we got a bunch of shout-outs, many from cool and attractive seeming people. Seriously.

Did you dress up as a nerd icon? Send your pictures to tips@geekanerdblog.com.

Geekanerd's Halloween Costume Bingo: 2008 Edition

Back by popular demand, a Geekanerd Halloween tradition...

Click on the above graphic to get a full 5x5 card. You'll be taken to our custom-made RANDOM BINGOTRON CARD GENERATOR, where you can generate as many cards as you want.

Now make yourself a good card, print it out, and play against your ghoulish pals at your local Halloween party or parade.

Forget how this works? FAQ after the jump!

Frequently Asked Questions:

How's this work again?
If you see someone wearing a costume on your card, cross out the space. First person to get a row wins.

What if my opponent lies and says he saw something when he didn't?
Both parties have to see the costume, unless you are both unfalteringly honest people.

What if I see a costume I need, but my opponent has it on his game card too, and I don't want him to get the space?
Take a cell phone pic, and show it to your opponent after the costume in question is long gone.

I don't have a cell phone camera.
Can't help you.

Why is Joker the free space? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a free space?
If you go the whole night without seeing someone dressed as The Joker, your town is either impressively innovative and original or really out-of-it and lame.

What happens if I win?
The loser has to buy you an Incredible Hulk at a local tavern, and you have to drink it.

What if neither one of us ever gets a row?
You should have generated a better card, loser! Whoever has more spaces checked wins.

Why don't you have Sarah Palin/Joe The Plumber/The Olsen Twins/Sexy Nurse on here?!?
This is Geekanerd. We're only interested in geek iconography.

Does Sexy Batman count as Batman? Does a dog ninja count as a ninja? Does Sarah Palin Hermione count as Hermione? Does steampunk Spider-Man count as Spider-Man?

Yes, yes, hell yes, and omg yes. Any and all riffs are fair game (except a non-Nurse Joker doesn't count as a Nurse Joker, cause... It just doesn't).

Is this really an annual tradition?
Yessir. Here's last year's card. As a matter of fact I played last year against my famous girlfriend at the West Village Halloween parade and er, I can't remember who won.

2008 Dog Costume Contest at Tompkins Square

I wanted to go to this event so badly, but unforutnately the rain date conflicted with the zombie crawl. Cute doggies, or gross zombies? TORN!

So I had to delve into the Flickr pages of strangers to get my dog costume fix. Here are some of the best geek-themed costumes, found on the Flickr pages of jeanacosta, katya323, and mysuspira.


We'll kick things off with my favorite, Oscar the Grouch. Simple, yet effective and brilliant! And I'm sure that dye is non-toxic.

This is a puppy from the planet Earth, but it's dressed up as an Ewok from the planet Endor. Ladies and gentlemen, that does not make sense.

Krypto, Link, The Joker, and more, after the jump!


Supergirl and Krypto, the Superdog.


I'm pretty sure this is Link, not Robin Hood.



Even dogs want to get in on the hottest costume of the year, The Joker! That little dog in the background is like, "iz harley quin?" and joker dog is all, "NO WAI".


Green Doggie Dye must have been on sale this year...here's a little Dagobah-era Yoda puppy.

These next two dog's owners should be sent to the PUNitentiary...



A "Greyhound" bus...


And a "Chick" Magnet. Wa wa waa!


And then there's this little guy, who seems to be saying, "OK, whar is judge table pleez?"

If you're going to dress your pet up in a nerd-related costume, please please send us a picture so we can laugh at it. In a nice way.

World Zombie Day 2008: Zombie Hunter Edition

The Geekanerd staff has attended past Zombie Walks in full undead regalia, but this time we wanted to cover the event from a different angle. So we hired two dashing zombie hunters to cover the event for us.

It cost us a pretty penny (those guys think they can charge anything) but I think the results were worth it.

They twittered us updates, which we'll post along with photos (some of which they took, but most of which we had to snag from the Flickr accounts of nyczombiecrawl, MissMoll, hesterk, and hellzkeeper ...geez, what did we pay these guys for again?)


zombegone here is a pic of us at clients house bout to go track n hack some zombs 1:25pm


zombegone zombs were gathering at Beauty Bar in manhattan. festive atmosphere. saw one that had walked all the way from hawaii which answers a dollar bet we had on if zombies can walk on the bottom of the ocean 2:15pm


zombegone think we recognized this one. disappeared after new york marathon. still sort of half jogging 2:30pm


zombegon done w recon, startng a sweep 2:41pm


zombegone got the jump on these guys 2:36pm


zombegone good session 2:55pm

zombegone this is something you don't like to see, but it happens 3:30pm


zombegone followed horde to union square - more than expected. price is going up 4pm

zombegon spotted non-com hunter w crowbar. whatev hav fun getting eaten lol4:13

zombegone horde on the move down broadway. definitely more than expected 4:40pm


zombegone saw some zombies wearing 80s clothing. means long-dead are rising. bad sign 5pm

zombegone at astor place now. mobbed glass facade at starbucks. zombies getting rowdier 5:15pm

zombegone zombs in car wtf getng out of hre 5:25pm

zombegone BRAAAAAIIIIJKBKBNMNNSSS 5:41pm

zombegone CCARFRRRRR BBNBRRAAAKIIIINNNSS 6:02pm

zombegoneYYUUUU PAAAY NAAO INNNN BRRRARAIINNNS!111 6:36pm

zombegone KLLL ZZOMMBBBEE HNNTTR 4 BRAISNNS 6:57pm

****

So...yeah. I guess that's just an occupational hazard when you're in that line of work. I mean...kind of unfortunate it happened on a job they were doing for our site but...I mean, I'm sure they knew the risks. And it's probably how they would have wanted to go. Or maybe not. I'm not sure what the psychology is there. Anyway.

Special thanks to Hellzkeeper for sending us a link to their pictures. If you have any shots of these semi-departed heroes, please send them in so the Zom-Be-Gone name may live on. In a tributey way, not an undead way. You know what I mean.

Photos: NYC's First Annual Great Big Wheel Race

This was a busy weekend for the Geekanerd photo team - our fair city was host to two great events, the ZombieCon and the first annual NYC Big Wheel Race, presented by ZombieUnicorn. I got to cover the race, and I spent the whole time whining about how I wished I was competing. It was that awesome.

As with all of these "weird sports" events, pageantry is a major part of the proceedings. There were plenty of geek-centric costumes, and we've got shots of Ninja Turtles, Batman, and um, Joe Dirt? after the jump...

Please note the triple decker luge-style skateboard....not too functional, but a sight to see.




The race was run in several heats down a paved hill in Central Park, between 103rd street and 107th street. This dude, in his highly appropriate Formula 1 speedsuit, won multiple times. I asked him if he'd souped up his Big Wheel somehow, but he said he'd just picked it up that day for $2 at a garage sale. So I guess it was pure driving skills that got him to the finish line...

...OR WAS IT SABOTAGE?


This was the coolest cart of the day - a very homemade Turtle Van and two Ninja Turtles! It wasn't the fasted rig in the line-up, but they scored major style points for shouting "Turtle Power!" as they made there way down the hill.

Bonus points for a seasonal reference and democracy power!

This was also a ambitiously rendered cart. And yes, that's Norse lettering on the back, spelling out the competitors names. Awesome.

How did we get a Joe Dirt reference in this event? Did that movie have more cultural significance than first assumed?

Dangit, sorry this is blurry. Two fine nerdy costumes! Batman and....uh. I thought this was Speed Racer at the time, but I think I'm wrong. Someone help me please.

Here's another shot of that crazy triple-skateboard.

The sweet logo. Go ZombieUnicorn! This event was massively successful, with an unscientifically estimated turnout of, oh, like 50 racers, maybe? Spectators gathered all along the route, and after a few heats, tons of photographers were clogging up the starting line. I'd expect next year to be even bigger, so next time you see a big wheel in a trashcan, nab it and save it for next fall.

For lots more great photos of the event, check out our new friend Hbomb's coverage of the event over at Flickr! He got some of the costumes we missed, including the wheel-less Ziggy Stardust!