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"Gypsy" a s.s. by Poul Anderson

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a425couple

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Jun 20, 2017, 11:00:37 PM6/20/17
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The short story "Gypsy" by Poul Anderson,
written in 1950, is one of 8 short stories from his book
"Strangers from Earth". It is in my opinion,
just OK. Certainly not very remarkable,
and that seems supported by my being unable to find anyone's
comments on it online.

I guess I would describe it starting as a colony ship,
that got totally lost and turned into a generation ship
and a new generation grew up on it. Then they found a excellent
planet for the humans to settle and thrive on. But,,,
after probably a decade, about half want to move on because
the interest is in the search & journey.

When clicked, the following takes one to a copy.
https://books.google.com/books?id=2T8kk6yyNFQC&pg=PT97&lpg=PT97&dq=%22Gypsy%22+by+Poul+Anderson&source=bl&ots=gCDYvAfEFd&sig=u1_BFp6XuS8iaGPWCpi6sjUlRos&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVhbS68c3UAhVU3mMKHYMPAK4Q6AEIVjAJ#v=onepage&q=%22Gypsy%22%20by%20Poul%20Anderson&f=false

Has anyone read it and want to comment?
Has anyone heard these?

Gogi Grant - The Wayward Wind (with lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHoXMS5IyuE

Lee Marvin I was born under a Wandering Star remastered
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTymtAbaG08
or same
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jYk5u9vKfA

Quadibloc

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Jun 21, 2017, 7:39:51 PM6/21/17
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On Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 9:00:37 PM UTC-6, a425couple wrote:
> The short story "Gypsy" by Poul Anderson,
> written in 1950, is one of 8 short stories from his book
> "Strangers from Earth".

Ah. It has nothing to do with this famous song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGyiuFZ7cs8

and indeed the other songs you mentioned are familiar to me.

John Savard

Peter Trei

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Jun 22, 2017, 8:47:05 AM6/22/17
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On Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 11:00:37 PM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:

> Lee Marvin I was born under a Wandering Star remastered
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTymtAbaG08
> or same
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jYk5u9vKfA

Then there's the original, from 1951:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnBwBqql1NY

My parents were Broadway fans, so I heard this a lot when I was
a little kid, long before the film; the plot in the original is
quite a bit different from the (excellent) movie.

Up until I was about 30, my life seemed to undergo complete overturnings
every few years, as I moved from country to country and situation to
situation - I lived in 6 countries from age 7 to 21. I considered this
song something of a personal anthem back then.

pt




Anthony Nance

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Jun 23, 2017, 11:44:49 AM6/23/17
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a425couple <a425c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> The short story "Gypsy" by Poul Anderson,
> written in 1950, is one of 8 short stories from his book
> "Strangers from Earth". It is in my opinion,
> just OK. Certainly not very remarkable,
> and that seems supported by my being unable to find anyone's
> comments on it online.
>
> I guess I would describe it starting as a colony ship,
> that got totally lost and turned into a generation ship
> and a new generation grew up on it. Then they found a excellent
> planet for the humans to settle and thrive on. But,,,
> after probably a decade, about half want to move on because
> the interest is in the search & journey.
>
> When clicked, the following takes one to a copy.
> https://books.google.com/books?id=2T8kk6yyNFQC&pg=PT97&lpg=PT97&dq=%22Gypsy%22+by+Poul+Anderson&source=bl&ots=gCDYvAfEFd&sig=u1_BFp6XuS8iaGPWCpi6sjUlRos&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVhbS68c3UAhVU3mMKHYMPAK4Q6AEIVjAJ#v=onepage&q=%22Gypsy%22%20by%20Poul%20Anderson&f=false
>
> Has anyone read it and want to comment?

Agreed that "Gypsy" is just OK. It is from very early in Poul's career,
and Poul himself said the following about "Gypsy" in the 2002 collection
"Going For Infinity":

"...
I could do it better nowadays. Perhaps I wouldn't do it at all, because
the 'science' in it is mostly what engineers and my son-in-law Greg Bear
call arm waving. Still, probably more stories than not require such
postulates.

...

I also find the writing style awkward. Nevertheless, this lityle tale
is a landmark for me, my first attempt to celebrate the wonders of
our universe."

It's also worth noting that he considered "Gypsy" part of his
Psychotechnic League universe, and including it in the third
PL volume "Starship".



> Has anyone heard these?
>
> Gogi Grant - The Wayward Wind (with lyrics)
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHoXMS5IyuE
>
> Lee Marvin I was born under a Wandering Star remastered
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTymtAbaG08
> or same
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jYk5u9vKfA


Yes, to both. I heard the first via my father's LPs and it
was a favorite of mine as a kid. (And I still enjoy it now.)
The latter I first became aware of via the movie, also when
my age was in single digits.

Tony

a425couple

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Jun 24, 2017, 11:58:52 AM6/24/17
to
On 6/23/2017 8:41 AM, Anthony Nance wrote:
> a425couple <a425c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> The short story "Gypsy" by Poul Anderson,
>> written in 1950, is one of 8 short stories from his book
>> "Strangers from Earth". It is in my opinion,
>> just OK. Certainly not very remarkable,
>> and that seems supported by my being unable to find anyone's
>> comments on it online. ---
>>
>> Has anyone read it and want to comment?
>
> Agreed that "Gypsy" is just OK.

Thanks for saying that. Glad to hear on this topic
I am not totally out of the normal!

> It is from very early in Poul's career,
> and Poul himself said the following about "Gypsy" in the 2002 collection
> "Going For Infinity":
> "...
> I could do it better nowadays. Perhaps I wouldn't do it at all, because
> the 'science' in it is mostly what engineers and my son-in-law Greg Bear
> call arm waving. Still, probably more stories than not require such
> postulates. ---

Thank you for finding & posting that quote of his.

> It's also worth noting that he considered "Gypsy" part of his
> Psychotechnic League universe, and including it in the third
> PL volume "Starship".

Interesting,,,, but WHAT???
I just do not see it fitting there.
But, he is the author.

Michael F. Stemper

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Jun 24, 2017, 1:46:53 PM6/24/17
to
On 2017-06-23 10:41, Anthony Nance wrote:
> a425couple <a425c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> The short story "Gypsy" by Poul Anderson,
>> written in 1950, is one of 8 short stories from his book
>> "Strangers from Earth". It is in my opinion,
>> just OK. Certainly not very remarkable,
>> and that seems supported by my being unable to find anyone's
>> comments on it online.

> I also find the writing style awkward. Nevertheless, this lityle tale
> is a landmark for me, my first attempt to celebrate the wonders of
> our universe."

Be that as it may, I'm glad to know that, despite having 39" of
shelf space[1] devoted to the works of Poul Anderson, there's
still more to be had.

> It's also worth noting that he considered "Gypsy" part of his
> Psychotechnic League universe, and including it in the third
> PL volume "Starship".
Better yet! A whole Psychotechnic League book waits for me.

[1] 1 m in most countries

--
Michael F. Stemper
Life's too important to take seriously.
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