		Greetings from Los Angeles
		Thank you for viewing my user page. Please assume good faith: if I've made a mistake, it's an honest one; assuming bad faith will not improve the situation. I expect to be treated in the same way as a friendly colleague in a productive and professional environment would be treated. I really do not like hyperbole, profanity, or hostility. If we have a difference of opinion, I'm open to discussing it (time permitting). I have very strong feelings about the importance of notability, policies and guidelines, sources and evidence, and process and consensus for building the quality of the encyclopedia. Best wishes from Los Angeles, TimothyBlue (talk)

I spend most of my time working on articles about books, authors, and bibliographies about topics I'm interested in. The work I am most proud of is the bibliographies related to Russian and Soviet history I've created on English Wikipedia.

Topics that interest me

My main areas of interest are:

History: the United States and Eastern Europe generally; specifically colonial and early American history; the history of California; twentieth-century European History; the history of the Russian and Soviet empires and the Communist bloc; Imperial Japanese History; southeast Asian history.
California and the Los Angeles area.
Science Fiction, Adventure, and Fantasy fiction, especially golden age Science Fiction.
Classic Rock (Anglo-American), American Blues, Doo-Wop.
Books and Bibliographies.
Outlines and indexes.
Glossaries

Places

On non-English wikis, I work on articles about the city of Los Angeles and the state of California.

The basics about TimothyBlue

American English is my native language.
I was born in and my home remains Los Angeles, California, United States.

My page on

Quotes from people much wiser than I will ever be

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence, you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence, you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. —Martin Luther King.^[1]

"The Russian Revolution was the most successful criminal conspiracy in history. The takeover of an entire nation by a shameless huckster supported by a hostile foreign power. And the revolution was also an object lesson in how liberals can lose, and lose catastrophically, from a position of great advantage, if they are divided in the face of a ruthlessly ideological foe."^[2]

"I told you so. You damned fools".^[3]

"Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow." H.G. Wells

“They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high,” she wrote. “To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone.” Barbara Ehrenreich^[4]

Ponderables

Should Rita Graham and David open the door?
Who are the overlords of the UFO?
The Floor Show

Quotes from people much wiser than I will ever be

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence, you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence, you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Template:MdashMartin Luther King.^[5]

"The Russian Revolution was the most successful criminal conspiracy in history. The takeover of an entire nation by a shameless huckster supported by a hostile foreign power. And the revolution was also an object lesson in how liberals can lose, and lose catastrophically, from a position of great advantage, if they are divided in the face of a ruthlessly ideological foe."^[6]

"I told you so. You damned fools".^[7]

"Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow." H.G. Wells

“They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high,” she wrote. “To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone.” Barbara Ehrenreich^[8]

Random thoughts and musings

I once found a Wikipedia:coconut in Wikipedia:Mercia.
"Once ya, ya get to know these parts, you never lack for somethin ta do. People always ask me, "Why I stay here?" I tell'm I stay cuz I like it better here than I would anywharez else." — Herb Jones, Wikipedia:The Legend of Boggy Creek.
Wikipedia is a creation worthy of the gnomes of Ak'Anon and as challenging for a newbie as Crushbone.
I'm convinced I was a librarian in a former life; maybe not a good one.

Things I've learned to live by on Wikipedia (or try to)

Think before you type. Then type. Then think again before you press Publish.
When in doubt, don't press Publish.
If you're uncertain, Ask.
When you're wrong, you're wrong. Accept it gracefully.
I try and abide by a personal 2RR rule (except in cases such as vandalism, copyright, or BLP violations). If I've reverted twice and things continue, I'll leave it to another editor to pick up where I stop. If it's important someone else will come along.
Think if something can be Improved, rather than Reverted or Deleted. If it can, then either Improve it or leave it for someone else.
Don't engage in petty reverting. See above.
Sometimes it's best to disengage from a quarrel and return later rather than keeping it going.
Use polite and meaningful but short edit summaries.
Use warning templates sparingly. A note often produces better results.
Some topics I am too emotionally close to and I choose generally not to edit in those areas. At best it will be frustrating, at worst it will result in a ban or block. Everyone has to know their limitations. Wikipedia should be enjoyable and edifying, not frustrating and exasperating.
Don't stick your nose into situations you know nothing about. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt." —Abraham Lincoln
Don't stir the pot simply to get a reaction.
Don't hold grudges.
Not every editor is able to constructively edit/review every article. Know what articles are best left to others.
When you've dug yourself into a hole, that's a battleground; stop digging and just walk away.
Beating a dead horse with a lead pipe is messy and unnecessary; just walk away

The worst part of Wikipedia

The seemingly endless, repetitive, and ultimately meaningless time sink discussions where editors constantly repeat themselves over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Usually accompanied by walls of text, hyperbole, amusing and enlightening vocabulary gaffes, and a noticeable lack of logic, all of which begins to blur into each other like a mental quagmire. The talk histories of many articles are monuments to wasted time and energy.