Mulliga's Monstrous Halloween: New Music for 2021

Not even the pandemic can stop spooky spirits and ghastly ghouls forever! Halloween is back, and I'm celebrating with a set of monstrous posts. Tonight is the big night, so I thought I'd feature some of the new tracks haunting my continuously-updated Halloween music playlist, "Mulliga's Halloween Horrorfest" - perfect for welcoming trick-or-treaters or jamming at your local block party.

"Halloweenie IV: Innards," Ashnikko

The fourth track from Asnikko's annual "Halloweenie" series, "Innards" takes Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (itself sometimes used as a Halloween song) and gives it the 21st-century pop/hip-hop treatment. While it's not the scariest track around, the song is stuffed full of horror movie references, making for a fun listen.

"Devil's in Town," Silas J. Dirge

If you like your country dark and Gothic, you'll like the latest album by Dutch musician Silas J. Dirge, The Poor Devil. This song talks about post-apocalyptic, demon-riddled streets and a Faustian bargain - perfect for a night of tricks and treats.

"Happy Happy Halloween," Surfbort

Brooklyn punk bank Surfbort just released this festive tune - it's catchy, it's straightforward, and the video has the band rocking out while festooned in lo-fi costumes.

"Spooky Scary Skeletons," LVCRFT

Andrew Gold's "Spooky Scary Skeletons" is a modern Halloween classic, so it makes sense the song would be covered by the high-profile horror pop songwriter collective LVCRFT. Their version doesn't mess too much with the original's bouncy melody, but the production is a fair bit glossier and slicker.

Guns: Ruger Mark IV Target review - The easiest button to button

Introduction

Ruger's "Standard" series of Nambu-inspired .22 caliber pistols have been around since 1949.  Bill Ruger famously started with 100 orders for the pistol, and it's since become one of the most popular .22 handguns in the world.  

I liked the gun, but the Mark III and all prior models required an elaborate process to disassemble the frame.  The procedure was easy to screw up and made cleaning and maintenance a tedious chore. Well, it took over 60 years and some 21st-century engineering, but the latest model, the Mark IV, has been redesigned so that the gun comes apart with the push of a literal button:

Fit and Features

Apart from the simplified takedown and the new modular nature of the upper half of the MKIV (which, don't get me wrong, are huge selling points), the Mark IV doesn't fix what ain't broke. The pistol still has the same pleasing Luger-esque grip angle and styling, holds 10 rounds in a single-column magazine, and works reasonably well (but not perfectly) with most bulk pack .22 ammo. 

I tested the all-stainless steel "Target" model. The 5-1/2" bull barrel made the gun relatively heavy but also fairly accurate.  The trigger and sights were fine enough for everyday range use, but a serious target shooter is probably going to want to upgrade with something like a Volquartsen. This is one of the most popular, if not the most popular .22 handgun on the market, so there's a ton of aftermarket support.

Range Report

I haven't had much access to .22 target ammo during the pandemic, but the Mark IV was reasonably precise even with standard range fodder.

20 rounds of Remington Golden Bullet at 25 yards:

A tight 10 round group of CCI Stingers at 15 yards:

10 CCI Stingers at 25 yards:

Winchester bulk pack at 15 yards:

Conclusion

The Ruger MKIV is an almost totally successful redesign of an all-time classic. This would be a great gun for a novice shooter, except for the price - well over $500 in today's market. That's a big chunk of change for a beginner, so if you're just starting out in shooting or know someone who is, you might want to look at one of the less-expensive polymer-framed options out there. If you have the coin though, this is a pretty easy recommendation.

Mulliga's Monstrous Halloween: Halloween Kills

Not even the pandemic can stop spooky spirits and ghastly ghouls forever! Halloween is back, and I'm celebrating with a set of monstrous posts. Tonight I watched Halloween Kills, a sequel to the reimagined sequel to John Carpenter's original Halloween (it's confusing).

Never has a movie done exactly what it says on the tin like Halloween Kills. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that Michael Myers didn't die in the last movie...heck, he kills 11 people in the first scene:

Following immediately after the events of the sequel-cum-reboot Halloween (2018), the film once again pits Laurie Strode and her progeny against Haddonfield, Illinois's resident boogeyman.  This time, they are joined by a mob of irate townsfolk who are finally fed up with Michael's murderous antics. Will the hunter become the hunted?  Is this the night evil dies?

If you know anything about horror flicks, you already know the answer (they are releasing Halloween Ends next year) - that's par for the course, and so excusable. What I can't overlook is that the story is as messy as one of Michael's massacres.  There's a boring subplot about a mental patient who is mistaken for Michael, and the movie introduces side characters (including survivors from the '78 killing spree) only to unceremoniously kill them off minutes later.

Jamie Lee Curtis has very little to do, which is a big problem for a franchise that has always worked best when it focuses on its iconic final girl. I give the movie some credit for upping the brutality, gore, and body count from the relatively tame last outing, but those are calling cards of a Friday the 13th, not a Halloween film.  Let's hope Laurie is back in action in the third movie.

Rating: 5/10

Miscellany: Running EDC

 

I'm training for a half-marathon, and that means a whole lot of early morning runs. Since you can't take much on a 7-mile run, every item has to be selected carefully:

SPIbelt - Short for "Small Personal Item belt," the SPIbelt is an elastic zippered pouch strapped to your hips, just big enough to carry your smartphone, keys, and some cards/currency. If you cinch it tight enough and wear it low, the items don't bounce around like they would in a typical fanny pack (it's not waterproof, though, so use a plastic bag if you expect rain). I clip everything else on this list to the belt.

Clip-on running lights - My long runs start well before sunrise, and it pays to take a little extra light to make you more visible to sleepy-eyed drivers.  These flashing LEDs are imported, cheap, yet fairly durable and long-lasting.

POM pepper spray - I know some people carry a gun while running, but I just can't take the weight and bulk. Pepper spray is a good compromise - it only weighs a couple ounces, and you can use it on aggressors of both the two and four-legged varieties.

Fenix LD02 - I like using a small flashlight for illuminating dark streets and dim sidewalks.  This AAA Fenix fits the bill perfectly - pretty bright and very cheap.

SPIbelt H2O Companion - When your runs start going longer than 45 minutes, you'll need to hydrate mid-run, and that's where the clip-on water bottle comes in. Just make sure your belt is cinched tight, otherwise this thing will be bobbing around like a yo-yo.

Mulliga's Monstrous Halloween - Diablo II Resurrected review

Not even the pandemic can stop spooky spirits and ghastly ghouls forever! Halloween is back, and I'm celebrating with a set of monstrous posts. In this one, I'm reviewing Diablo II: Resurrected, the 3D remaster of Blizzard Entertainment's classic Diablo II.

The original Diablo II is easily my all-time most anticipated game - not my favorite game, mind you, but the one I wanted to play the most before it was released.  It was delayed again and again (typical for Blizzard in the '90s), so getting a Diablo II beta key was like finding a Wonka Golden Ticket. My friends and I even played the prerelease multiplayer "Stress Test" for an inordinate amount of time, considering that it was restricted to just one class (Barbarian) and one small area (the first half hour of Act I).

When Diablo II finally came out, I played my fair share, but after many dozens of hours, I honestly thought I shook the demon-slaying bug forever.  Little did I know that 20 years later, developer Vicarious Visions would bring it back in glorious high-resolution 3D:

Diablo II: Resurrected pulls off the neat trick of appearing like how you remembered the game appearing back in 2001, when in reality the original graphics are a pixelated mess (there's a toggle button that lets you instantly switch between the old and new, which should generate some gasps). The sheer amount of added detail really makes the game come alive for a 2021 audience, while still being respectful of the original artwork.  

Underneath the snazzy new coat of paint, the game engine is exactly the same, which is both good and bad. It's good in that developer Vicarious Visions absolutely nailed the look and feel of playing Diablo II. This is still the same addictive monster-killing experience you remember. It's bad in that the game lacks the complexity and action-oriented fun of modern ARPGs like Path of Exile, Grim Dawn, or yes, Diablo III.  It's also apparently using mostly the same netcode from 2001, which is causing...problems.

Rating: 80/100

TV: Dr. Stone

In the anime Dr. Stone, a mysterious force turns everyone on Earth into stone for thousands of years. When Senku and his friend Taiju wake up in this post-apocalyptic, post-human world, they have to rebuild civilization from a literal Stone Age while trying to figure out what (or who) was behind the petrification. It plays out like a cross between Robinson Crusoe, MacGyver, and Breaking Bad:

Dr. Stone is one of those anime adaptations that I believe is better than the original manga (written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Boichi). Senku's ingenious ways of shortcutting to modern technology (which are usually scientifically accurate) are just plain easier to understand in motion. The animation also better conveys the series' offbeat humor and softens the sometimes-gratuitous fanservice. You also get a rad opening sequence with some upbeat J-rock by Burnout Syndromes:

Mulliga's Monstrous Halloween - Halloween Horror Nights 30

Not even the pandemic can stop spooky spirits and ghastly ghouls forever! Halloween is back, and I'm celebrating with a set of monstrous posts. Today, let's return to Florida's #1 haunted attraction, Universal Studios Orlando Halloween Horror Nights, now in its 30th year...

Universal didn't hold HHN last year, but the event brings in so much money that you knew it wouldn't be gone for long. This year's tagline, "Never Go Alone," acknowledges the isolation everyone's been feeling, but also hints at the villainous team-up promised in one of the big featured houses, "HHN Icons: Captured."

My friends and I liked that one okay, but my favorites this year were the Lovecraftian house "Case Files Unearthed" (you step "into the shoes of Boris Shuster, a hard-boiled private eye investigating the supernatural"), the plant-themed "The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin," and "Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience" (it's got evil puppets).  That last one was particularly fun because we got to walk through when the park was closing, so there was no else with us - the optimal way to experience any HHN house.

In terms of crowds, there was a slight drop-off from the absurd peak levels of HHN past, but we still did our fair share of people-dodging and waiting in line. There are plastic dividers in the houses to prevent the scare-actors from getting too close, but if you're still skittish about being out in public, wear an N95 mask and get your shots...you are going to be in fairly close proximity with a bunch of strangers for 7 hours.  That being said, it felt almost like a "normal" year of HHN, and I'm glad I went.