Costuming pop culture

We in the news industry are a scrappy bunch, some more so than others.

It's a creative, high-energy environment and the stress sometimes gets to us, hence the fight that almost broke out between a page designer and a photographer Tuesday.

We were brainstorming and the creative juices were flowing, and both of them wanted to be Octomom for Halloween. To clarify, only one's a girl, but I think the other could pull it off, too.

In a newsroom, you can't get away from the day's, the week's or life's hard-hitting events, but pop culture adds the fun, colored sprinkles to our daily scoop. It also provides inspiration (this is where we circle back to the costumes).

Youngsters dress as cartoon characters. Comic book superheroes work for all ages, just like Dorothy and her friends from Oz or the gang from "Saved by the Bell" -- prime for pop culture costume this year as the show celebrates its 20th anniversary -- it's all pop culture.

Sure, you'll see the classics like a priest, mummy or cheerleader. Last year out on the Cape Girardeau Halloween scene, I saw the ever-popular illegal immigrant, a few soccer players and cowboys.

Those mainstays, classics though they are, can get boring. I'd love to see a nurse chasing an ill swine or Kanye escorting Taylor Swift. Maybe the Housewives of Cape Girardeau or Scott City Barbie.

It's the word plays and the pop culture fun that make Halloween new each year. I think a Billie Jean or Thriller costume would be a tribute, and let's face it, Octomom is just asking for it. Any brave boy going as Bruno?

You don't have to do something current, really. Just get creative and smile for us.

SE Live will have a photographer party-hopping to the Halloween hot spots in Cape Girardeau. Check semissourian.com Nov. 1 for the results of your creativity and maybe timeless ideas for next year -- Ninja Turtles, anyone?

Even if the photo gallery doesn't inspire you, there's a whole year coming up for some other ridiculous celebrity stunt or fertility experiment gone wrong to get you going.