The Peculiar Sci-Fi Costumes of Dave T. Smith

This pudgy man wobbling under the vast weight of a half-constructed Death Star may very well be my new dork hero...

I have known Dave Smith ever since we met at school in the third grade. He was one of my best friends through all the years of high school, and we remained friends while attending separate universities in Texas - even backpacking through Europe together one summer. But, we eventually fell out of touch after I moved away to New York City. Then, almost a decade after that, we got in touch with one another again. After discussing where we both lived and worked and what we had been up to all those years, the highlight of our reunion was when Dave told me he spent a lot of time constructing gigantic, elaborate costumes that represented scenes in science fiction films, and that he traveled all over the country wearing them, competing in front of large crowds at conventions where he won awards...

You know, it turns out you really can't imagine what your old childhood friends may be up to after all those years have passed by.

You may think that the only reason to attend Star Wars costume contests would be to pick up slutty slave Leia doppelgangers and such an outfit would significantly hamper the logistics of a sexual conquest. Not so. "I noticed the vocalist at the mic was dressed as Princess Leia so I pointed back and told her that I had a prison cell with her name on it."

The Peculiar Sci-Fi Costumes of Dave T. Smith [Beware of the Blog!] (Thanks, Joel!)