Yesterday, while walking home, I saw two obviously bootleg costumed characters within a block of each other. First was Mickey Mouse. His face was more like the Hamas Mickey Mouse (pictured) than the real one. He was dressed in a bejeweled marching band uniform that made him look like a gay Bollywood star.
Next up was crazy Elmo. 
You can see his scary, bulging eyes that appear to be made of crumbled newspapers and possibly attached to the head with a safety pin. Strangely enough, despite Elmo’s more disturbing appearance, he had some kids taking a picture with him, where the gay mouse version of John Philip Sousa was standing alone.
It was like walking through a Russian amusement park where they couldn’t decide which company’s trademarked characters to steal.
