Tag: cats

Behind the Microcast:

Tell us about your accounts. You have a few usernames, don’t you?
Yes! I am known as Violaceous Curiosity and Mental Musings on the site now. Funny enough, Mental Musings started out as Snarky Side Dish by Sandrine, went to Babbling Old Bat and has now settled on the latest incarnation

What do your family and friends know you as?
Everyone knows me as Kayla.

Care to tell us where are you from?
Proudly from Monroe, LA.

Do you have any occupations outside of the microcasting world?
I keep myself busy. I see myself as a sociologist and activist, first and foremost. Then there is being a content creator for YKYZ…and a few other things.

How did you get into microcasting?
I started on YKYZ as a content creator, and when we got the opportunity to start microcasting I jumped on it.

Can you tell us a little bit about what your microcast is about?
Violaceous Curiosity is about fighting injustice from the perspective of intersectional feminism, which is the view that all people are equal regardless of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, class, etc. Mental Musings is my space to speak my mind more like a verbal journal, talking about daily life, random topics that may irk me, and pointing out the ridiculousness of humanity…all with a bit of sass.

What lead you to pick that topic?
As a sociologist and activist, the general topic for Violaceous Curiosity was an obvious choice since it is what I do on a daily basis and have been working on for many years. The other microcast has been an evolution of sorts.

Do you have a favorite thing about microcasting?
The platform on YKYZ allows people to really interact, and you don’t get that with regular podcasts, which takes this to another level. Much of what I am working on centers on starting a conversation and generating ideas, and with YKYZ I am able to do that.

What about a creative process? Do you have one?
I approach the process in more of an academic way with VC since it’s more fact-based, but I always try to find a good quote at the beginning to grab listeners’ attention. With MM I just let my hair down and let it flow.

Do you write scripts?
I have never scripted any episode. I gather my information and my quote, plan an overall idea in my head and let it happen naturally. If I script it I feel it will sound like I am presenting a research paper.

What type of recording equipment do you use?
I use a Samson Q2U microphone that was a lovely birthday gift from a friend.

If you could interview anyone for your microcast, who would it be and why?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg…hands down. She was only the second female Supreme Court Justice, overcame insurmountable odds to get there, and has fought for equality across the board for decades. RBG is fearless, and before Covid-19 hit, I had an appointment to get her initials tattooed behind my left ear.

If you could switch lives with another microcasters on ykyz for just one day, who would you pick and why?
ThatOneGirl– Teresa. She and I are the OGs of the site, so we’ve known each other longer than anyone on there. Plus, I would get to play with her dogs, her cat, AND her chinchillas! Bonus for her and my Dad would be them getting to spend the day together since they are BFFs on the site.

So it’s clear you like animals. Do you have any of your own?
I have 1 semi-inside Tortishelle cat named Southpaw and one full-time outside golden Tabby named Hamilton Jr. After Dad’s back is better we are adopting dogs again.

Let’s talk food. What’s your favorite thing to eat?
This is going to sound really sad, but I really am bored of eating. If I could take a pill every day for my nutrients and be done with it I would. That sounds like I have an eating disorder, which I don’t, but I just am not excited by food anymore.

Can you pick just one color as a favorite?
Purple clearly. I mean I am VIOLACEOUS Curiosity after all. Black and grey are my other favorites.

What are you hiding from everyone? Care to spill your hidden talents?
That I will admit here? Hahaha Well, I was an opera singer at quite a young age, and I have some nerdy talents, like being able to write grammatically correct sentences that are a page long or more and having an unusually exceptional long-term memory (My college communications professor had me tested). Other than those I am quite a medical oddity, and if anyone is curious they should feel free to ask me about it.

What kind of music would people catch you listing to?
Having spent so many years singing opera I now love the male operatic roles, classical, classic rock and folk, and some indie like early Tori Amos.

Do you have a favorite movie or show?
Dead Poets Society and Philadelphia are my favorite movies.

And the last one, What are some of your plans for the future?
I have my sights set on a few things, and continuing to help build YKYZ is a top priority. The past year or so has been a rebuilding process for me since I lost my mother, left the world of academia behind, found solutions to health issues, and discovered how YKYZ and what I want to do with my life work so well together, so I’m honestly just looking forward to working on all of that, getting even healthier, helping my father get healthier, getting more tattoos, and still not having kids…always not having kids. One day down the road I’m determined to have a non-profit in honor of my mother that helps people of any gender with issues of partner and sexual abuse/assault/harassment…but that’s one day.

Cast of the Week IX

CotW IX
You’ll find all the nominees for this week at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwIX

u/mattasher writes:

And now, without further ado, we present the winners of Cast of the Week IX.

But first, some shoutouts:

Shoutout to SnippetsWithSophia for joining the 100 club this week with her fascinating episode Rum And The British Navy

Shoutout to Clare for booting up a second microcast about African Food.

Shoutout to Doctor Irish for adopting an emoji for us on twitter. We wish there were a lovely Ram emoji out there, but sadly that’s not the case.

Another Shoutout to Doctor Irish for his touching and moving series on forgiveness.

Shoutout to @ndrewSteiner for becoming ykyz’s first user to offer Tarot readings, though I suspect his interpretations are mostly fake news.

And now, on to the winners. But first, some honorable mentions:

85. Wishing on a Star by Astrocast By Diz
Making the most of her 90 seconds, Diz takes us on a tour of some of the many cultures that have prayed to the stars and ends with her own heavenly experience wishing on a star.


16. Unreliable Eyewitness Testimony by Crime Research Perch
Sridevi begins a deep dive into why you can’t always believe your eyes in this intriguing episode.


189. Album In Review – Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles
by Music and Peace
If nothing else, Addie’s album review episode is worth a listen for her two perfectly timed chipmunk interludes.


50. BEST Valentine’s Day date idea by MarassleTassle
Sonic never lets his friends down, and neither does Marassle in this VD recommendation for the pairing of a movie and mozzarella sticks.


140. Movie Myths – Wizard of Oz by The Broken Down Starship
James dissects one of the most persistent movie legends of all time, the hanging midget of oz. This well-researched episode reveals what’s really moving in the background of that infamous scene.


And now, on to the winners:

Second place:
71. Millennium – is Lisbeth Asperger? by Aspie and Proud
Aspie and Proud’s interesting meditation on whether the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo girl is on the spectrum takes the runner-up spot this week. Elsa’s thoughtful episode makes me want to re-read Stieg Larsson’s disturbing thriller.


Grand prize:
7. My Cat Peach by Joanie Reviews Stuff
In this quick-moving and packed episode, Joanie takes on the task of reviewing (drum roll please), her cat. Lively, well-paced, and funny to the point of actual LOL, this episode rates a five out of five, just like Peach. This is the first spin-off microcast episode to win a prize. We also highly recommend you check out Joanie’s other reviews, especially her takes on Metal Straws, Textbooks, and her Boyfriend’s Snoring.

Cast of the Week VIII

We now have a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ykyzHaveYourSay

Feel free to like or follow or whatever it is one does with, or to, a Facebook page.

u/Mattasher writes:

Before we get to the prizes, we have a number of shoutouts this week to those who made our week:

Shoutout to all those who joined the 100-club this week:

Clare with Brown Skin Pearls
Geraldine with fashionmusings
Janet with SnippetswithSophia
Joanie with CatGuruJoanie
Noah with Doctor Irish
Rebekah with SmartMoney

Shoutout to the two established users who booted up new microcasts this week. Joel kicked-off Wrestling with Football (about the new XFL league) and Noah crossed over into new territory with Imperfect Reviews.   

Shoutout to @ndrewSeiner for finding his groove as the microcast equivalent of dropping a tab. Always be mindful of set and setting before tuning in!

One final Shoutout to SmartMoney for launching up my new favorite channel c/dumbcriminals

And now, on to the winners.

But first, some runner’s up:
92. Chapped by Brown Skin Pearls
Perfect for this time of year, Clare goes through the basics of chapped lips and how to handle them.


52. Biscuit Lashes by Black Girl Baker
Somehow the transition from talking about grating butter to a discussion about fake lashes just… works.


104. Adulting…Easier Than a Spreadsheet by SmartMoney
Becky gives us some basic advice on how to manage money without having to plot out every cent we spend. If you have 68 seconds to spare, I recommend spending it listening to this helpful episode.


104. DO NOT NAME YOUR CAT THESE NAMES – very serious by CatGuruJoanie
This very serious episode introduces us to the many bad cat names Joanie has encountered over the years, and Gary, which is definitely the best name, not the worst.


WINNERS:
Runner up
89. The Blank Page by Life Bites Podcast
Conner’s meditation on staring on a blank page takes the runner-up spot this week. This tightly crafted episode introduces us to the enemy and leads us on to victory over the creative void.


Grand prize
93. MM’s And The U.S. Presidents by SnippetsWithSophia
This week’s grand prize winner is Sophia’s well-paced, well scripted, well-researched episode on the one box of M&Ms that recipients will want to keep around for a long time. This delightful episode alone might have been enough to bag the top prize, but Sophia complimented it with several other well researched and interesting episodes about food and the halls of power. You can find them all here:


https://ykyz.com/f/foodinhighplaces

Cast of the Week VII

CotW VII
u/Mattasher writes:

Before we get to the prizes, we have a number of shoutouts this week to those who made our week:

Shoutout to jen.again for kick-starting my new favorite channel, c/ihateitwhen. Jen’s complaint about tissue boxes may be the most gloriously relatable first world problem I’ve ever heard.

Shoutout to Black Girl Baker who’s finding a great groove with her one-two punch of baking and “tea”.

Shoutout to CatGuruJoanie who has been experimenting with YouTube-style quick edits of her audio. Though not right for everyone, this technique is working well for Joanie’s cast.

Shoutout to ThatBeardedSwede for keeping casting alive on Reddit with a dedicated channel to microcasting.

Before getting to the main event, we hereby recognize a few runners up this week:

76. Thoughts on fake pockets? by fashionmusings
Gem clearly hit a chord with this discussion of fake pockets, an endless source of complaints for my own daughter.


79. Baby Steps by Life Bites Podcast
In this thoughtful meditation on moving forward, Conner reminds us that “You can go for miles, just taking baby steps”


69. Chicken McNuggets vs Vegan Nuggets by SnippetsWithSophia
Sophia’s episode about everyone’s favorite finger snack as a kid makes us wonder how much actual chicken is in McNuggets.


And now, on to the winners!
Runner up
54. What is Chinese Astrology? by Astrocast By Diz
In this timely episode, Diz explains the Chinese system of years and animals, including the nifty trick of asking someone’s zodiac animal as a sly (but not foxy, that one’s missing) way to figure out their age.


Grand Prize
86. Attachment by CatGuruJoanie
Joanie, with a hit tip to Violaceous C, brings the receipts for what many a cat owner has long suspected. Namely, their cats actually do love them, they’re just chill in how they show it. With well researched and tightly delivered episodes, we’re quickly becoming “Securely attached” to Joanie’s excellent microcast.

Cast of the Week V

CotW V winners
You can find all of the nominees for this period at: https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwV

u/Mattasher writes:

Before we get to the winners, some shoutouts to people who made our week this week:

Shoutout to Violacious Curiosity for kick-starting my current favorite channel WhichIsWorse. Takes me back to the many hours I spent playing this exact game with friends. Now who’s going to start a channel for that more adult, three option game, let’s just call it MFK? 🙂

Shoutout to Mia for the cool stickers and offer to help others with their custom art.

Shoutout to the Microcasting sub-reddit, founded by our favorite Swede Fredrik.

Shoutout to Joel for the awesome video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO_G_t-jSbE&feature=youtu.be


And now, on to the winners. But first, a handful of honorable mentions.

E34- Romantic Movies by Asexual Asa
Asa rolls her eyes and expresses her discontent with the literary shortcuts taken by so many romantic movies.


Ep9 African pride by Asi Voluptuous Voyager
In this fascinating episode, Asi tells us about the African tradition of fattening rooms for female fiancées. Who knew?


Ep.54 – The People You Meet off Craigslist by Life Bites Podcast
In this tightly narrated episode, Conner takes us through the various steps that make up the single serving transaction of buying something from someone on Craigslist.


EP56 Fcat or Fiction – Crossing One’s Path by CatGuruJoanie
How did black cats become the stuff of nightmares? Joanie gives us a brief history lesson, complete with spooky music. This one might have taken the top spot if it had more details about how black cats came to be associated with witches and bad luck.  


And now, on to the winners.

Second Place:
Ep93 Where’s The Drummer? by Music and Peace
Another well researched, info packed, interesting episode from Addie. In this episode, we learn how The Beatles pioneered the drummer as a properly spotlighted member of the band by putting Ringo up on a raised platform, a tradition that continues until today, and, I might add, has been taken up to 11 by modern drummers like Tommy Lee.


Grand Prize:
EP76 The Era of VHS by The Broken Down Starship
This pure nostalgia play about the days of VHS rental touched a nerve with many of us. Packed with details, James brings you right back into the days that inspired Clerks. Careful though. As James puts it himself, Nostalgia is a heck of drug.

Cast of the Week IV

CotW IV winners!
You can find all of the nominees for this period at: https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwiv

u/mattasher writes:
And now, without further ado, here are the winners of CotW IV.

But first, some shoutouts:

Shoutout to Doctor Irish, our Rookie of the Week. The good Doctor blasted through his first level requirements with dozens of high-quality episodes and great community engagement. We were prepared to offer a Rookie Referral bonus to whoever got the doc to pay us a house call, but it turns out he found our job ad directly.

Shoutout to the Dancing Bartender, who was lost at sea for over a week. Good to see him back and contributing more tales of tall ships and life at the corners of the map labeled “Here be monsters”.

Shoutout to CatGuruJoanie for our new favorite intro/outro. You make us purr with delight, and meow like little kittens.

And now on to the CotW winners.

But first, a suggestion. If you are having trouble remembering the best episodes of the last week to nominate, we recommend using the “favorite” feature to Heart your top episodes each week. That makes it easy to review what you liked best, just go to https://ykyz.com/f/YourUsername to look back over your faves.

And now on to the CotW winners.

But first, here are the runner’s up:

EP44 protest dressing by fashionmusings
A follow up to last week’s winning entry about fashion police, this one might have taken a top prize again if she’d included some nice juicy examples of specific protest wear.


Ep.5 What is an American? by Alba of The Culture Mix
This brief but thoughtful episode asks the question in its title and gives a few ways to look at it.


Ep 14 Horoscopes vs Astrology by Astrocast By Diz
Diz gets us up to speed with a detailed definition of Astrology and Horoscopes in this content rich, well recorded microcast episode.


And now, on to the CotW winners:
Second prize:
In “Song Reco”, Music and Peace tells the tale behind one of the most famous folk/blues songs of all time. Packed with detail but not overwhelming, Addie’s recommendation takes us back to song’s origins in the 30’s, then forward to the 60s when it became a monster hit for The Animals. Don’t spend your lives in sin and misery, tune in to Addie’s Music and Peace microcast instead.


Grand prize:
There wasn’t much debate about which episode deserved the top spot this past week. Our favorite Millennial Jonathan nailed it with his creative, high effort, perfectly executed episode titled “Grocery”. In just 90 seconds, Jonathan takes us on an epic coffee run that goes from home to the grocery to the annoying self-checkout lane, complete with sound effects and mega stuff Oreos. His checkout total for coffee plus extras may have hurt his wallet, but he’s going to be just fine after taking home this week’s Grand prize.


Thanks for another great week of episodes at ykyz!