DIY Hallowe'en: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and alleged source Bradley Manning

Gentlemen, start your slashfic engines. Yes, the theme of this DIY costume in Boing Boing’s ongoing series is— Sexy Wikileaks.

Above, Philip Neustrom and friend Ron Baker last night at DNA Lounge in San Francisco. Philip, at left, is dressed as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Baker, at right, is Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier believed to have leaked secret documents to the whistleblower website (he is currently in military jail, awaiting trial.)

Too soon? Eh, not for me to say. These two figures are nothing if not folk heroes. But don’t ask, don’t tell indeed. Philip tells Boing Boing,

Some totally unrelated and somewhat-drunkely-typed backstory: When we
were getting the Manning outfit supplies from a military surplus store
in Berkeley, the guy ringing us up asked, “Hey, what are you dressing
up as?”

We showed him a picture of Manning and gave a little
explanation. He got it immediately and then told us this story, with
the preface that we were probably “far too young to get it”–

So a few weeks back, an older woman walks into the store and says
something like, “Do you folks have any goggles? My grandson is going
to burning man..”

The guy helps her find some goggles, and as he’s
ringing her up he looks down at her credit card. “Ellsberg..any
relation to Daniel Ellsberg?” “Oh..well, he’s my husband!”

Not exactly the types I’d expect to be running a military surplus
store. Regardless, the guy hooked us up and we got like $150 worth of
stuff for $20!

(thanks for the photo, @philipn and thanks for the heads up, @iamsusannah!)