Talk:Eric Frank Russell

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BetacommandBot 05:14, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Resolved

years ago -P64

May you live in interesting times

Quote from current article: "It has not been proven, but Russell may be the originator of the phrase "May you live in interesting times," which is frequently attributed as an ancient Chinese curse. The phrase is quoted with this attribution in Russell's short story "U-Turn", published in the April 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the pseudonym of Duncan H. Munro. It is unclear whether Russell invented the phrase for the story, or whether it existed prior to that."

According to the Wikipedia article on the saying May you live in interesting times, the saying existed more than ten years earlier. Propertly cited, as well. This paragraph gets deleted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.68.134.1 (talk) 19:15, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Resolved

some time ago -P64

See also

Why Tower of Hanoi? 82.163.24.100 (talk) 17:47, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

For some time now, that target does include explanation: Tower of Hanoi#popular culture.

--P64 (talk) 23:09, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

gibberish

This self-serving gibberish: "variegates and copiously crayons" should be replaced, preferably by an adult. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.68.134.1 (talk) 21:22, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

MYOB

The word "myob" is used in the story And Then There Were None. Initially, its meaning was obscure to the off-world characters. One of them speculated that it meant "my obligation," but in the story, that was clearly wrong. It means "mind your own business." Here's the relevant excerpt from the story:

'Such as “myob”, ' offered the Ambassador. 'Now there is a queer word without recognizable Earth-root. I don't like the sarcastic way they use it. They make it sound downright insulting. Obviously it has some kind of connection with these obs they keep throwing around. It means “my obligation” or something like that, but the real significance eludes me.'

'There is no connection, sir,' put in Harrison. He hesitated, saw that they were waiting for him to go on. 'On my way back I met the lady who had directed me to Baines' place. She asked whether I'd found him and I told her I had. We chatted a short while. I asked her what “myob” meant. She said it was initial-slang.' He stopped and fidgeted uneasily.

'Keep going,' urged the Ambassador. 'After some of the sulphurous comments I've heard emerging from the Blieder-room ventilation-shaft, I can stomach anything. What does it mean?'

'M-y-o-b,' informed Harrison, slightly embarrassed. 'Mind-your-own-business.'

'Ah!' The other gained colour. 'So that is what they've been telling me all along?'

'I'm afraid so, sir.'

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.68.134.1 (talk) 15:17, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

Russell also appears to have originated the colloquial initialism "MYOB" for "mind your own business"

1. "colloquial initialism" is my replacement for "colloquialism", presuming the pronunciation M Y O B. Is that right?
2. If Russell coined the acronym "myob", pronounced "my ob." as in abbreviation of "my obligation" --as the preceding quotation suggests-- then I question where that word is colloquial. Is it general to America or Britain today? or somewhere regional?
3. The linked article unclearly states, "In the 1927 children's book "Mr Scoodle-do and his many adventures" by Minerva Hall the little boy was taught what M.Y.O.B. means by Scoodle-do." What do the dots mean? Do they distinguish the pronunciation: four syllable initialism M.Y.O.B. credited to Hall vs two-syllable myob credited to Russell?

--P64 (talk) 23:34, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Scholary/critical source that backs this up being ... ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.111.19.21 (talk) 08:19, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

I've deleted this passage. It's dubious and unsourced, and had been flagged as needing a source for over two years. Incidentally, the OED entry for MYOB has citations of its use in 1855 and in 1915, decades before the 1951 publication of the Russell story. TJRC (talk) 00:41, 21 March 2023 (UTC)

Pseudonyms

first of multiple new sections in one session but see preceding reply

I relegated Donald H. Munro to one of three listed pseudonyms because ISFDB doesn't support calling it primary. Perhaps Munro and Niall(e) Wilde should be named together because on closer reading it is not clear that anyone used Maurice A. Hugi as a pseudonym.[1] (Last hour I counted multiple editions of the one work "Mechanical Mice", a clear error.)

--P64 (talk) 23:34, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

(Still relying entirely on ISFDB) I doubt that "Maurice A. Hugi" was used intentionally as a pseudonym for Maurice G. Hugi and Russell as co-authors. Their novelette "(The) Mechanical Mice" was published in 1941 as by Maurice G. Hugi[2]; Maurice A used in 1954, 1966 and later anthologies; Russell credited as Maurice G's co-author in some other anthologies or collections.

This biography doesn't mention the novelette or the friendship so I simply deleted Hugi.

For the Munro and Wilde alternate names ISFDB lists four and three stories, all 1955 and earlier. Equal treatment seems appropriate here. Retained.

--P64 (talk) 22:34, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

1937 stories (5)

ISFDB lists no publications for Russell prior to 1937 and five during that year (all Shortfiction). The publication sequence of four stories is clear because they appeared in four of the twelve monthly issues of Astounding.

The other, listed first by ISFDB (presumably because "no month"; 0 precedes 1 to 12), appeared in the inaugural Tales of Wonder. See Tales of Wonder #1 at ISFDB. (Russell one of four among six authors who are named on the cover, evidently not illustrated on the cover.)

Because four numbers of this magazine followed in 1938 and four in 1939, it seems likely that #1 was published at the end of the 1937. Our magazine article, perhaps copied from Tuck, makes it the Winter 1937 issue and places that at the end of the year, unlike some other Winter issues.(table)

--P64 (talk) 23:48, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

British English?

last of three new sections

Should we use dmy dates here? If not, why not? We now use American mdy dates.

Should some version of British English be used here? "Some version", I say, because I don't when/where/whether we use Oxford spelling for British English. Now we have:

endeavours, humorous, humour; categorized, popularized, recognizing, serialized; (also catalogue inside my WP:COMMENT)

--P64 (talk) 00:01, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

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Short stories

I'd like to see more of Russell's short stories. Dear Devill is definitely missing IMO.

I already added inline citation to a statement in Cultural influences section (and removed related citation needed template); the text cited from Galactic Central was also published in Eric Frank Russell (Jim Baen's Universe, August 2009); same source includes an extensive list of Russel's work. --Marjan Tomki SI (talk) 16:08, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

World War 2 Service

Russell turned 40 in the year the war ended, so I doubt that he would have been considered too old for active service (subject to correction). If he had spent the war years dreaming up dirty tricks, or asymmetrical warfare tactics, to use against the Axis, would his service record say so, or would it contain some cover story about operating and repairing mobile wireless apparatus? J S Ayer (talk) 14:26, 19 September 2023 (UTC)