User:NickBurns
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NickBurns is the nom de plume of a grumpy thirtysomething misanthrope, originally from Western Pennsylvania, and now based in Madison, Wisconsin.
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[edit] FAQ's
Q: Who is "NickBurns", anyway? Is he that character from "Saturday Night Live"?
A: No, I didn't pick this "handle" because of that character. "Nick Burns" was the name of a character I created back in 1987 for a serialized story I wrote for many years for myself.
Q: What do you do on Wikipedia, anyway?
A: My Wiki philosophy thus far is to try and add fine brushstrokes to existing articles. I try my best not to feel any proprietary notions toward any article. Most of my edits are taking existing articles that were full of information provided by previous editors and just doing some reshaping (with a minimum of actual changes to, or removal of, content).
Often, an article I come across will be an article-length version of a "run-on sentence" - there's great depth and at least some factual support, but absolutely **no shape** to the chronology. So I try to provide headings (ie, personal life, early career, achievements, etc.) and regroup facts accordingly. In those scenarios, I really try to use all of the already existing text in the article (and just move it to the appropriate section). I usually delete only redundant items, and make minor changes to how a sentence is structured, or how a paragraph flows.
Q: Hey, who the heck are you to make changes like that? Why are you imposing your style on this article, huh?
A: As much as we all love Wiki, all of us have probably taken an edit someone else has done personally at one point or another. People don't like to be corrected, especially on grammar, nor do they like to be criticized on writing style, which is admittedly somewhat subjective.
I do have credentials as a journalist and as a freelance writer. Both are disciplines with skills I continue to keep sharp with edits on Wikipedia. I also stay sharp by compulsive blogging, as well as many grumpy letters to the editor.
Q: When I look at an article's history, why does it show several edits in a row for you?
A: When I do the reshaping I talk about above, sometimes I'm working with a big article, and it has a lot of information in it, which I want to respect and preserve. After the first edit, where I can see where I've moved things around, a few more minor changes are in order. Sometimes, after re-reading something that's been reshaped, I notice some redundancy I hadn't seen before, or a particularly non-neutral statement, etc.
[edit] What I edit
In addition to items of local interest, including politics, I've been editing a lot of articles about artists, entertainers, journalists, and people related to culture and current events. I especially watch for the following:
- Edits from people who think a subject's article should be a gushing fan page;
- Edits where the writer isn't taking the fact that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia seriously AT ALL;
- People using Wikipedia as a soapbox or a platform to launch personal attacks; and
- Horrifically bad grammar or sentence structure.
I rarely create articles from scratch, but I have done so for about a dozen or so topics, including two writers who were published this year that I know, and a few musicians that did not have articles.
I have a knowledge of soap operas. This may seem unusual, but there it is. My knowledge is in part from watching a show or two since childhood, and also because for a time, I was trying to become a part of the industry as a writer. Some of my edits will relate to shows or performers. There is a big challenge to editing articles on Wikipedia and sourcing statements for daytime shows, since the two major publications in the industry do not publish material online, and it is challenging to locate older copies of the magazines.
[edit] My music obsessions
In no particular order: Elvis Costello, Kirsty MacColl, Joni Mitchell, Dusty Springfield, Alison Moyet, Aimee Mann, Stereolab, Andrew Bird, Everything But The Girl, Sufjan Stevens, Magnetic Fields, Jonatha Brooke, Marianne Faithful, Matthew Sweet, Fiona Apple, Neneh Cherry, Nina Simone, Prefab Sprout, Wendy and Lisa, PJ Harvey, Gnarls Barkley, The Postal Service, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, and numerous others.
[edit] Other cultural obsessions
[edit] Writers
- Sarah Vowell
- David Rakoff
- David Sedaris
- Dave White
- Janice Weber, a brilliant satirist.
[edit] Travel
I am mildly obsessed with Canada and the United Kingdom and their respective cultures. (Oh, no! Stephen Harper is now the Canadian PM! Oh, woe!) Of the very short list of places I have visited in my lifetime, Toronto is one of my favorite cities. I would live there in a second.
[edit] Things I am passionate about
[edit] Animals
- Small and cute mammals, particularly cats and dogs. I have a soft spot for dachshunds; I turn into a happy, blissful five-year old when I'm in a zoo.
[edit] Kirsty MacColl
I like to spread word about Justice For Kirsty (http://www.justiceforkirsty.org), a campaign that is going on to bring attention to the negligence that precipitated the death of one of my favorite singers, Kirsty MacColl. In particular, I'm hoping to find a way for PBS or a media outlet in America to spotlight this cause and feature the documentary made about her death as a program on television, or get one of the many talk shows to discuss the event. I've been working on a grassroots campaign to make this happen. (If anyone knows someone in public television that might know how to go about this, let me know!!)
[edit] You feel lucky, punk?
If you would like to engage in serious debate, heap adulteration and praise on my writing, flirt with me, tell me to get a clue, or direct me to go to hell in such a way that I will look forward to the journey, please feel free to message me on my Talk page.
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