As per usual, a hundred or so bikes gathered last night in Union Square for Critical Mass, the solidaristic bike ride that takes over streets in cities all over the country once a month. This time, though, at least half of the riders seemed only vaguely...human.

A plunger, a Joker, a husky dog, and all manner of otherwise outlandishly dressed cyclists made for a freakish parade as they flooded uptown on Park Avenue and then back on Broadway, through Times Square, into the East Village, and over the Williamsburg bridge to Brooklyn. Passersby stood dumbfounded on the sidewalks, not sure what to make of the whooping and cheering peloton.

The idea of Critical Mass is to have enough riders that you can shut down the streets, ignoring stoplights and stopping traffic for as long as it takes for the slow-moving herd to roll through. It didn't always work that way, as we had to filter in between cars on the narrower streets. And this time, the political content of the event was blunted somewhat by its absurdity of watching costumed hipsters trying to manage their fixie hipster bikes. Chants of "Whose streets? Our streets!" got muddied with cries of "Ice cream!", and the night dissolved in a phantasm.

More pictures after the jump. - LBD

Bwog received some rather impressive Costume Contest submissions, the but the unanimous forerunner thus far is from Ms. Caroline Corley, CC '12, who dressed us as "an NYU student."

Think your costume is better? Send in a picture today, during this Extended Contest Time, and prove it. In the meantime, check out two other noteworthy submissions after the jump.

Tonight, many of you will be affixing costumes or cardboard or facepaint to yourselves, sacrificing sartorial control to the great Gods of Halloween.

So, Bwog's announcing our annual Halloween Costume Contest, in which you are invited to send us photographs of your chilling and charming outfit this evening. For historical background, note that last year's winner was an airplane (see right).

Photographs will be posted, a winner will be selected, and a free king-sized candy bar of the winner's choice will given to this person by Bwog.

Send entries to bwog@columbia.edu by midnight tonight.

Yesterday we heard from Brooklynite Mariela Quintana on the ins and outs of a brownstone Halloween. Today, Upper West Sider Eliza Shapiro weighs in on a more local type of trick-or-treating.

Mastering the art of a successful Upper West Side Halloween is a subtle craft indeed. The UWS proper (not truly Morningside Heights, mind you) is certainly not the ideal neighborhood for a college student: you will have maneuver roving bands of 11-year-old candy-fiends on Friday night. However, should you decide to venture below 110^th Street but still stay local, there is much neighborhood fun to be had this Hallows Eve.

Scoff all you want, if one was truly dedicated to some form of trick-or-treating, the Upper West is the place for it. If your slutty nurse costume is too revealing to gain to access to the treasure troves of huge apartment buildings on Riverside and West End, fear not. Costumed or not, just walk along Broadway from the 80's-100's and be on the lookout for stores giving out candy: Bwog recommends heading to the bodegas and older neighborhood places and then to Amsterdam and Columbus and following the same protocol.

Halloween is the first day of our Election Day holiday. Enough said.

Friday

NYC Village Halloween Parade

7pm , 6th Ave between Spring and 23rd Street

To participate: Line up in costume at 6pm, 6th Ave between Spring and Broome Streets

Last year 45,000 people participated and over 2 million people came to watch, and for good reason. It's been rated as one of the top 1,000 experiences you must have before you die, and honestly, there's nothing like it anywhere else. Go get your New Yorker cred.

Price: Free!

St. John's Halloween Extravaganza

7pm and 10pm, St. John the Divine

A Halloween treat literally in our backyard! The 1925 version of the Phantom of the Opera, complete with accompaniment by their world-famous church organ, will be playing. Afterwards, ghoulish forms and figures (i.e., giant puppets) parade through the church. It's a lot more low-key than the village, but certainly worth its weight in spookiness.

Price: $15

At Ricky's, people are literally lining up down the block for the chance to dress up like a Sexy Pole Dancing Race Car Driver or whatever. But hey, at least everything in the store is 50% off. (Inevitable November 1st sinking feeling of regret is still the full price.)

-- Photos by Anish Bramhandkar

More disbelief in the form of commentary and pictures after the jump.

It's never too late to rediscover your passion for trick-or-treating. For those of your new to New York (or new to post-adolescent trick-or-treating), Brooklyn native Mariela Quintana has the scoop on the borough's best locations, as well as tips and tricks for uncovering the best candy. Tomorrow we'll hear from Upper West Sider Eliza Shapiro.

It would be impossible to attempt to tackle every neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn in one night, so here is a survey of some of its most noteworthy Halloween destinations.

Essentially, Brooklyn Heights is the Greenwich, CT of the borough. On nearly every residential block you'll find Saab station wagons double-parked outside of brownstones unloading gaggles of boys and girls clad in tennis whites. Although the WASP-factor is unusually high for a Brooklyn neighborhood, the affluence and family-orientation of the Heights' residents lends itself to Halloween. The best block to hit up is the lovely, entirely residential Garden Place. There is little traffic here because the street is only a block-long, which gives it a members-only feel.

The pastry-savvy members of the American Medical Students Association are having a festive, Halloween-y bakesale on the Lerner Ramps from now until 5 PM. Proceeds will benefit their spring break trip to Peru.

The table is stocked with your usual bake sale fare, with a welcome emphasis on cupcakes. And then there are also chocolate chip cookies with orange and black chocolate chips. It's really quite something.

This is just one of the first in what Bwog assumes will be a veritable onslaught of Halloweenish events. We'll keep you posted.

Bacchanal is hosting an event on the steps today, some sort of crazy Halloween/study break mashup entitled "A Ghoulish Day on the Steps" today from 3:00PM - 7:00PM.

The free highlights include: tongue-scalding cider, critter-shaped cookies, pie of pumpkinal origin, and unspecified giveaways.

Two contests will also grace the steps this afternoon: a costume contest, and a pumpkin-carving contest. Bring your (hopefully carved) pumpkin to the steps by 6:00 PM to enter the contest -- $100 to the winner!

Bwog kicks off Halloween early this year with a special guide to two of the neighborhood's best costume purveyors, Ricky's and Possibilities @ Columbia.

You can divide the world in two camps: Those who love Halloween and those who hate it. Bwog falls into the former camp and we hope you do too. But we understand, fun is not for everyone. If you're a Halloween hater, a self-conscious self-customer or just not in the spirit yet, Bwog's here to help. Today, we're guiding you through two of Morningside Heights' most unabashed Halloween haunts, the already infamous Ricky's and Possibilities@Columbia.

New Yorkers take Halloween very, very seriously. So, you'd better practice! Get your game on with these helpful suggestions.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

WFMU Record and CD Fair
Friday 7-10pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, Sunday 10am-7pm
Metropolitan Pavilion 125 West 18th Street
Come fundraise for WFMU by browsing through thousands of CDs, LPs, DVDs, and other kinds of music-related memorabilia. It's a full-scale event with live music and endless kitschy-crafty kinds of activities.
Price: $6 (for the privilege of early admission and free entry all weekend, $25)

Friday

Ice Skating begins in Bryant Park
8am — 10 pm
Bryant Park, 40th st. between 5th and 6th
It's the first day of the season! Get on your skates before the place gets mobbed with holiday crowds, and even worse, holiday music. Although maybe they start it that early these days anyway.

Morton Williams once again threw up some super creative decorations in anticipation of everyone's favorite pagan holiday. Although none of these were as scantily clad as our new neighbors would have liked them to be, they are in the spirit of the season, unlike Duane Reade.

Oh what do you know, this Saturday regrettable-costume emporium Ricky's opened. And just in time for you to buy something special for Halloween. This afternoon, Bwog wandered inside the rabbit hole. Join us, as we try to make sense of this thing.

Rumors saying as much have been swirling around this very blog (as well as Spec) for a month or so, but Bwog just spoke with a clerk at Kim's who confirmed the terrible news: When Kim's closes, a Ricky's Cosmetics will open in its place.

You might be familiar with the products of Ricky's if you recall the trashiest Halloween party you've ever been to. For come October, Ricky's boasts an impressive collection of costumes you will later regret having worn.

We've picked our favorites from the excellent crop of costume submissions. Make your choice below, and check out the runners-up.