No-Goodniks

A few things to bear in mind if you decide to go as the cast of Rocky and Bullwinkle for Halloween:

- Almost nobody knows who Rocky and Bullwinkle are. The show went off the air in 1973, it says here, so actually I'm not entirely sure how I even know about them.

- Even fewer people know who Rocky and Bullwinkle's nemeses are, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.

- When dressing up like Boris, bear in mind that it helps to be short and swarthy, only with sheet-white skin.

- When dressing up like Natasha, bear in mind that a purple dress and high heels don't provide much protection against October weather, especially in contrast to Boris's overcoat. This will make trick-or-treating less than appealing.

- When dressing your 8-month-old up like Rocky the Flying Squirrel, bear in mind that a costume built for dogs is actually pretty perfect, since it doesn't constrict the poor child very much and allows her cute face to be seen clearly.

- When dressing your dog as Bullwinkle, forget the white gloves and just go with clip-on antlers. Where were you going to find gloves that size anyway?

- Overall, if your family costume is this complex, involving multiple species and props such as a black-spraypainted 12lb. shot-put, try to get a plain background for the photos. Otherwise you can't see the bomb very well, or the antlers, and you kind of just look like a bunch of weirdos.

Happy Halloween, though!