Talk:Wikinews interviews noted juggler for International Jugglers Day

Source and formatting work
I am an officer in my local magicians club (based in Tyler, Texas[US]). Through that organization, I came to know Spencer in or about 2018 roughly. Via Facebook etc., I've sort of tracked his evolving as a performer. We've exchanged emails and FB messages during much of 2024.--Bddpaux (talk) 02:51, 24 March 2024 (UTC)
 * And, note to reviewer: I will paste pretty much everything from our email exchanges here verbatim, but in the article proper, I will edit out some of the very familiar, personal stuff.... as we are socially acquainted with each other.--Bddpaux (talk) 20:55, 31 March 2024 (UTC)
 * And, I watch the 'start the voting' video entirely, and Luke B. does clarify that voters are not voting on the 'best' juggler, just on their 'favorite' juggler.--Bddpaux (talk) 20:57, 31 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm focused on getting this wrapped up and submitted for review.--Bddpaux (talk) 15:25, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

Email interview transcript
I saw something on his FB page about being named 'Number 1' juggler.....  2/11/2024 ME:"Hey Spencer:

Hope you are doing well! I do a bit of reporting at Wikinews I've been involved there for many years......... So, this will become part of an interview with you.......

Tell me about this Number 1 juggler on a list of 40 stuff

Paul B."


 * His response on 2/13/2024

HIM: "Hi Paul, Great to hear from you! Thank you so much for reaching out and creating an article on my accomplishments. Just curious, will this go on a Wikipedia page?

About the number 1 spot: Luke Burrage is the organizer of the Top 40 Jugglers of the Year Chart. It is a chart in the juggling community that has been running since 2003. Concluding each year, in December, jugglers in the community vote for their top 10 favorite jugglers of the year in the comment section of a YouTube video that Luke posts to announce that the voting is open. All the votes get counted up by Luke, creating the Top 40 most voted of the jugglers mentioned in those comments. I managed to become the most voted for juggler by the juggling community of this past year 2023. This list is truly an honor to have been ranked #1 on because it shows the juggling community's appreciation for the juggling I do. This is for sure a popularity contest but it's definitely something I've worked hard for my whole juggling career. My younger self wouldn't have expected this due to so many jugglers being insanely good but only the most recognized receives this spot. To be recognized this way for what I do is truly unreal. This is definitely one of my proudest accomplishments up to date and may be the biggest accomplishments a person in the online juggling community can receive.

Hopefully this has given you enough information. Feel free to ask any questions you need for clarification.

Here is the voting video posted December 2023 to start the voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3Cd9s_y0D0&t=1s&ab_channel=LukeBurrage Here i'll link the entire results video of the Top 40 Jugglers of 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4si4QsK8gkE&ab_channel=LukeBurrage

Thanks,

Spencer"

On Wed, Mar 20, 2024 at 12:08 PM wrote: So (and this isn't an insult in any way)....... it's a designation, 'by jugglers for jugglers' so-to-speak.......?

And (to jump around here a bit)...... How old were you when you began juggling?


 * R'cd from him later on March 20th....

"Yes the Top 40 is by jugglers and for jugglers mainly."

Also received from him on March 20th:

"I was eight years old when I started juggling."--Bddpaux (talk) 20:53, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

'So: last year was pretty exciting for you! Tell me about the whole circus thing you became involved with.'
 * Later on March 20th, I wrote:

He responded on March 23rd with: "The circus was quite an experience of all sorts. I hopped on the Flynn Creek Circus tour from June to October of 2023 which toured through Northern California and Oregon. I really enjoyed it! I was so happy to be finally showing what I’ve worked on for so many years, to people on stage on a consistent basis. I gave it my all on stage and had so much fun. There is something special about performing that I have come to love. I feel like I have the best job in the world because I am bringing genuine joy to people in all walks of life. What is unique about Flynn Creek Circus is that one of its main goals is to bring circus to people in the rural areas of California and Oregon. Based off of the audience responses, Flynn Creek definitely executes it well. Most of the people in these rural areas don’t see much of any live entertainment in their day to day life, so these shows were often a break from the norm. The shows feel really special because people love it and it often makes their year distracting them from the normal day to day. It was a physically taxing contract in which I learned so much about things like building a tent, towing a trailer, living in a mobile home, performing, and working hard. As my first circus contract, it really showed me how much I enjoy performing and bringing joy to others through my art of juggling."

'You did some performing for a while in the Tyler, Texas area, didn't you?'
 * On April 1st, I wrote:

The same day, he responded with:

'Yes, I did. I performed for a while doing gigs locally in Tyler whenever the opportunities presented themselves as well as surrounding areas like Shreveport, Dallas, Houston, etc. I also was a part of the juggling duo with my friend Paul Haygood known as the Spence and Paul Show that performed 45-60 minute educational and motivational juggling show in several schools as part of Young Audiences of East Texas, a non profit organization that strives to bring education through the arts to schools. We also took The Spence and Paul Show to Dickens on the Strand street festival in Galveston as well as a few other events that weren’t only schools. --Bddpaux (talk) 21:19, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Image of juggling balls
It's quite large ATM. BigKrow (talk) 22:42, 31 March 2024 (UTC)


 * On my tablet the juggling balls img is very large overlapping.... BigKrow (talk) 17:48, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
 * OK, let's back it down just a hair.--Bddpaux (talk) 17:52, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you BigKrow (talk) 20:13, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Lead
@Bddpaux, I have a suggestion for changing the lead section a bit:

I thought this could help with the flow a bit. And a concern about the holiday, that National Today article is the only thing I see about this day. There's apparently a World Juggling Day in June that I found a bit more about. —chaetodipus (talk &middot; contribs) 03:46, 25 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Changes made on this article.--Bddpaux (talk) 13:59, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Hope, hope?
I see Hope has been edited to "hope", clarification is the correct way of text? Thanks. BigKrow (talk) 18:15, 26 April 2024 (UTC)


 * @Ixfd64 BigKrow (talk) 18:16, 26 April 2024 (UTC)
 * It isn't incorrect to make minor changes to text provided by the interviewee in order to improve flow, correct excessive typos, fix typography, etc. It helps a publication abide by its style guide and keeps the text a bit neater. —chaetodipus (talk &middot; contribs) 03:59, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
 * "Hope" isn't a proper noun in this case, so it should be in lowercase. --Ixfd64 (talk) 17:51, 18 May 2024 (UTC)