Bubba Ho-tep ought to have been great. I mean, hey: Elvis, JFK, Texas, and a mummy. What’s not to like? I think the problem was that the setup creates a certain gonzo expectation, and the movie doesn’t want to be gonzo. The movie wants to be a tragi-comic exploration of old age in a nursing home, with a dark sarcastic twist in the form of the mummy. It works pretty well on that level, but it sabotages itself because, hey — it’s Elvis! Funny! ...

I was gonna do a long review of Gamma World, but, well, here. I liked the design of the book much more than that guy, but his comments on the mechanics are right on target. The community rules are both really inspiring and kind of disappointing. The idea of using PC stats to represent a group of people is great; I can’t remember where I first saw it (might have been Vampire, actually) but this is a really good implementation of it. Except that several of the stats have no game effect, and there’s no meat behind most of the ratings — no explication of what they mean. ...

So, I ask myself on the way into work, what’s up with Iraq these days? And what do I think about the recent run of suicide bombings? I don’t think it’s a Vietnam style quagmire. The situation is rather different; for one thing, the opposition isn’t funded by a superpower. We’re unlikely to see the kind of open warfare we experienced in Vietnam. The terrain wouldn’t support it and the technological gap has widened. ...

The fourteenth Monday Mashup revolves around the Boston Red Sox. (Yeah, you can take a week off if you’re staring at your screen in horror.) They’re generally a talented team of players but are always struck down before they reach the peak of their profession by a dire curse — which always leaves them strong enough to come back and make another try next year. In my book, professional sports is a popular form of entertainment, so let’s mash those Dirt Dogs up.

Gary Wolf is doing a piece on the Dean campaign (original) and coming up with some fairly interesting stuff. He’s writing a post-facto manifesto in an attempt to capture the magic. I particularly like “You’re not a leader; you’re a place.” Of course, Dean is a leader — that’s in part a clever bit of spin to keep people from thinking of the campaign as a cult of personality. But there’s a nugget of truth to it as well. Community-building on the Internet requires a seed figure for a leader. It also requires that seed figure to make the place comfortable. Good mailing lists have a list mom. ...

While Sean Stewart’s web site has been redesigned, there’s not really much new information. Still just the brief note about The Glass Coffin. Alas. He has added a section on “The Beast,” also known as “That big Web game designed to promote A.I.” There’s a very good introduction to the game (original). Reading it, I keep wondering what he’s been up to, and I wonder a little if he’ll ever write a novel again.

Baen Books publishing repugnant Patriot Movement novels. Dixie Chicks mouthing off about the President of the United States. Appropriate reactions. Compare and contrast. I have my own thoughts but I’m curious. This is the first time I can recall making one of these “tell me what you think” posts, so disappoint me at your peril.

Or possibly the Saudi/Pakistan nuke story is completely untrue (original). We can still invade, though. Hm. On further thought… why would Israeli intelligence want to spread that story? The implications are unpleasant. Not that I’m saying I don’t think Israeli intelligence would do that, it’s just worrisome. Weren’t we supposed to be stabilizing the Middle East?

This post is pretty much for Patrick. Others may be amused as well. Chapter 11 of Dan Simmons’ new book, Hard Freeze, starts like this: “How’s the book?” asked Kurtz. He squinted at the title. “Isn’t that the same guy you were reading twelve years ago, before I got sent away?” “Yeah. His detective fought in the Korean War, which makes the old fart in his late sixties at least, but he still kicks ass. A new book comes out every year, if not sooner.” ...

I’m not sure what I think about Pakistan providing nukes to Saudi Arabia, other than that I can’t be sure if the article is even accurate. One anonymous source is a thin reed. You could claim that this is the result of recent Israeli saber-rattling, but really, it’s not. It’d be more accurate to claim that a nuclear Israel will inevitably encourage other Middle Eastern countries to get the bomb. And, of course, a US-occupied Iraq changes the balance of power in the Middle East. This sort of thing is an inevitable consequence. It’s not clear that it’s an unacceptable consequence; Saudi Arabia with nukes is hardly the end of the world. But this move certainly shouldn’t be unexpected.