My love affair with Halloween stretches back much farther than I can remember, to the days when I would come home on a crisp October night and divide up a pillowsack full of goodies with my costumed comrades.

... and though the sweets were good, the costumes were really what gave Halloween it's lasting appeal.

This weekend, I can say with certainty, that I saw more amazing costumes than I've ever seen before. I only went to a few, smallish, Halloween parties, but as my roomate said, "Everyone who dressed up really brought their A-game."

He was right.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the best:

The Apocalypse - Dressed from head to toe in hillbilly finery: jeans, suspenders, boots, straw hat and a thistle dangling from his lower lip. On his shirt was written "Jeb Bush 2008." He kept telling people to ask him what his costume was, to which he would reply, "I'm the apocalypse."

CampusRec Workout Bike - Worn by a guy who works in the weight room, this costume included a fully grey sweatsuit with a bike seat taped to his crotch, a diagnostic panel taped to his chest (heart rate, time, etc), and handlebars on his hands. He completed the outfit with aviator sunglasses and a stocking hat that had a small notice taped to it, "30 minutes at a time, everybody gets a turn."

He reasoned that this was the best costume out there, "Because who gets more ass than a workout bike at the rec center?"

Mia & Vincent - From Pulp Fiction. Alone, each costume would have been good, but together they were stellar.

A Glory Hole - Urban Dictionary defines a glory hole as "A hole located in a partition in which one's penis is inserted, thus separating the participants and ensuring anonymity throughout the act of copulation or fellatio." This guy had an immitation bathroom wall (complete with obscene writing) hung over his frontside, with a small hole near his crotch, through which a sculpted, acrylic-painted penis (that he had made) poked out.

The Pope - Not John Paul, but Benedict. A costume that was flawlessly complete. So much so that as the guy began to get more and more hammered, I began to feel more and more uneasy. I mean, it's not every day you see the pope dancing to rap music with a beer in one hand and a "sexy secretary" in the other.

After I approached him, knelt and kissed his ring, he reached into a plastic sack, blessed me, and handed me an orange sweatband that read "I'm a member of God's team."

He-Man - There were two He-Men, both dressed exactly as the cartoon was drawn. What's funny, as my roomate noticed, is that you don't really realize how homo-erotic He-Man's outfit is until it's being worn by a real human being. The two He-Men spent much of the night dueling with large, scary swords.

Battlecat - If having two He-Men weren't enough, Battlecat decided to join the fun.

Three Times One Minus One - The musically challenged duo from the sketch comedy "Mr. Show with Bob & David" made an appearance. One of them was complete with fake dreadlocks, ridiculous facial hair, a cane, a top hat and dark sunglasses. The other actually cut his hair into a mullet in order to play the part.

Poop Sandwich - Pretty simple. This girl wore a brown costume, with dark makeup, and sandwiched herself between two pieces of styrafoam.

Sudoku and Crossword Puzzles - Simple, yet effective. This couple had the sudoku and crossword puzzles from Friday's Daily Nebraskan hung around their respective necks on big sheets of cardboard. I filled out a bit of the sudoku puzzle. Great entertainment.

Robot - JJ's robot costume was one of the most creative that I've seen, though it was also borderline frightening. Perhaps it was the way that he was drinking beer from a straw that protruded from behind his mask that gave me the chills. It may also have been the way that he was jerkily walking around. In either case, his costume was stellar.

Postmodernism - I'm not going to really try to describe this, but I will tell you that it included a pool floaty.

Guy Being Eaten By a Bear - Nate had a bear (the stuffed animal kind) attached to the back of a white shirt, and blood was pouring out everywhere.

Cereal Killer - This has been done, but I still liked it. Box of cereal for the t-shirt, with a knife sticking directly into it.

Thor - What else could have been expected from a guy like Dan P?

The Tooth Fairy - The giant tooth that she was carrying around is really what sold me on this costume.

A Chicken - Simple, yet effective. Great makeup.

Hunchback Prostitute - I think that's what she was. Picture your standard street hooker: leopard print jacket, miniskirt and boots. Now add a GIANT hump beneath her jacket. Comedic gold.

Kanye West - Really a pretty lame costume, but gave me a great laugh. This guy was dressed completely normal except for a white shirt which read "George Bush hates black people."

Paint Huffing Bunny - One of the stranger costumes. Nick was wearing paint spattered clothes and a tattered, pink bunny hat (with ears). It seems stupid, but seeing it in person was really like seeing a dirty, pitiful, strung out rabbit. Sort of freaky.

Those are the one's I remember, but there were dozens more. Scores of sexy secretaries, slutty referees, cheerleaders and even Elvis. There were also a lot of great costumes that I didn't get a chance to identify.

As for me? Well, my roomates, Stef and I all went as Corporate Pirates. Business suits in tatters combined with swords, pistols, eyepatches and bandanas. We were the marriage of business and piracy, and we traveled in a band of five, looting and pillaging as we went.

This weekend was truly one for the ages. I wish Halloween was every day of the year.