User:Orangemike

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Why they call me "Orange Mike"; photo taken while I was a delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention
Me to Ben Stein on his show: "Quiet good taste is the key. Once I learned to avoid that, I could find a look that worked for me."

This editor is a Veteran Editor IV, and is entitled to display this Gold Editor Star.

I am Michael James Lowrey, called "Orange Mike" because I like the color a lot and tend to wear at least a bit of it on most days which are not Saint Patrick's Day.

I am a Wikipedia administrator, with a tendency to spend a fair amount of time on new-page patrol and general clean-up. I am considered to be toward the "deletionist" end of the inclusionist-deletionist spectrum, because I believe that many articles here (including not only new ones but many existing ones) are violations of our standards: how-to guides and game manuals, fan trivia, in-universe fiction summaries, obscure porn actor biographies, politician self-aggrandisement, memorials, original essays masquerading as scholarship, etc. When I say I am a bit of a deletionist, I mean that I hold articles here to higher standards of notability, verifiability, etc. than some other editors. (And yes, our servers are overloaded, and the problem's not getting any better.) I'd rather see fewer articles, better researched and better written. I am really glad to help other editors in any way I can, though; and please don't hesitate to contact me.

I was born in 1953 in Jackson, Tennessee. In 1977, disgusted by the corruption and stupidity of Southern politics, I moved to Milwaukee (partly at the urging of Frank Zeidler). I am a free-lance writer (book reviews, muckraking, and whatever suits me); I've been a member of the National Writers Union since 1985. I have worked part-time or full for Renaissance Books in Milwaukee, one of the largest used-book stores in North America (which doesn't have a website, alas!) since 1978. For most of the time since 1984, I have also worked for one agency or another of the State of Wisconsin, and been represented by (and active in) AFSCME Council 24, the Wisconsin State Employees Union. I am a graduate magna cum laude of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a B.A. in History. (I have also attended Jackson State Community College, Tennessee State University (a historically black university), the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and the University of Chicago.)

Science fiction fandom, which I discovered in the 1970s, is my primary social outlet. I have been Fan Guest of Honor at a couple of science fiction conventions. For those who are actually interested, my Guest of Honor speech from Iowa's ICon 25 is to be found here. I appear in the feature-length film Finding the Future: A Science Fiction Conversation, and my daughter Kelly appears in the "Bonus" section of the DVD thereof.

For those of you interested in the Society for Creative Anachronism, in such circles I am y-clept Lord Inali of Tanasi, GDH. I was on an episode of the game show Win Ben Stein's Money. I won $2,000, and am told that I acquitted myself well enough. Ben accused me of resembling "Z.Z. Top on acid" but said I had a good singing voice! I was listed in one edition of Who's Who in America. Whoopee. I manage a family of virtual mutual funds on the Marketocracy site, which have a pretty good record. My Bacon number is 3. Michael J. "Orange Mike" Lowrey at the Internet Movie Database

This user is a Quaker.

This user contributes using a Macintosh computer.

This user's favorite color is orange.

This user reads Science Fiction.

This user believes that evolution doesn't have to conflict with Christianity.

If this user can't dance with Emma Goldman, he doesn't want to be in your revolution.

This user is interested in Organized Labour.

This user is a member of WikiProject Science Fiction.

This user loves the history of the United States.

This user is interested in space exploration.

This user is a Citizen of the World (Terra, ⊕).

This user is proud to be an American.

This user is a cheesehead.

This user opposes George W. Bush and supports his impeachment and prosecution.

This user is thankful that the good guys won the Civil War †

This user supports Scottish independence.

This user opposes monarchism.

This user supports a United Irish Republic

This user wants to TAX THE RICH to provide health care, education and welfare for everyone.†

$ £ ¥ €

This user is interested in his or her local history.

This user is interested in political science.

This user attends or attended the University of Chicago.

This user is Irish.

The Cherokee blood flows through this user's veins.

This user is a professional writer or journalist.

This user is interested in the Middle Ages.

This User is a Hippie. Peace.

This user is a Browncoat. We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.