At home in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Hello! My name is Kristen. I'm a science journalist and recent cancer survivor. It's true what they say — life changes a lot after cancer diagnosis and treatment. I had all three major forms of cancer treatment: surgery, chemo, and radiation, and I'm not "out of the woods" yet. I need to stay cancer-free for five years to be officially deemed "in remission".
I came up with a character called Swanky Skeptic around the time all of the medical drama began (before my diagnosis, but during tests to see what was going on), and while I was getting cancer treatment I imagined eventually creating a YouTube channel dedicated to this satirical person.
Though I have experience in acting, I was not comfortable making my own videos for online consumption. I would think of a script or idea for a little video, then not follow through. It's scary putting yourself out there!
I finally got over my fear, and last month, the Swanky Skeptic channel was born.
People seem to either love or hate Swanky, and many don't realize that she's a character and that I'm nothing like her. :D The purpose of Swanky Skeptic is to present critical thinking and skepticism in a fun and hopefully entertaining way. I explain more about the character here.
The first few videos were rough. I was using my Android phone and had no idea what I was doing when it came to editing. I watched a bunch of tutorials and spent many hours trying to improve. I set up my DSLR for video, and finally came up with something that looked better than my first attempts.
Here is the 4th episode of Swanky Skeptic.
After being on YouTube for about a week with my new Swanky Skeptic channel, I read a comment suggesting that people would soon be migrating over to Steemit, due to several changes happening at YouTube that do not benefit the small creators.
As it stands, my channel won't be able to even begin making pennies for quite some time. With all the time it takes to come up with episode topics, research the topics, get into character, film the videos, then edit them...all on top of a full-time job and health concerns, this just doesn't seem fair. I decided to check Steemit out.
I did some reading, talked to some people I trust, and decided to sign up. Here I am! I'm happy to be here and really like what I've seen so far.
My Details
- American-Canadian: born in North Dakota and living in British Columbia
- Former Christian, but agnostic atheist for the last several years
- My ancestry is Norwegian, British, Irish, Swedish, French, Sardinian, and African
- I speak some Norwegian
- I'm politically centrist, but left of centre
- My favourite season is Fall
- I'm a dog person, but like cats, too
- My favourite food is sushi!
Social Following
When I'm not working, I love taking Coursera courses, going for long walks and hikes, reading, watching TV shows and films, going to concerts, doing yoga, and travelling. My favourite trips have been to the Galapagos, Brazil, Japan, and the Netherlands. I really want to go to Iceland and Ireland. I also host a podcast called Humans of Earth.
I love dark humour and absurd comedy, and just dark in general. Some of my favourite films include There Will Be Blood, This is England, No Country for Old Men, Tekkonkinkreet, The Dark Knight, The Believer, Let the Right One In, The Sweet Hereafter, True Romance, and Birdman.
As far as TV shows go, I love Six Feet Under, American Gods, Godless, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Sopranos, United States of Tara, Fargo, The Office, Arrested Development, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad.
I love Scandinavian electronic, indie, and pop music, especially Fever Ray, The Knife, Susanne Sundfør, Röyksopp, Niki & The Dove, Robyn, and Highasakite. I love most kinds of music, but I'm not a huge fan of contemporary country!
I have so many favourite books, though I read less books these days, and more online articles. Some of my favourite books include Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Paradise by Toni Morrison, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, For the Time Being by Annie Dillard, Sophie's Choice by William Styron, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, Affinity by Sarah Waters, The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies: How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths by Michael Shermer, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
Before I go, here is the 5th episode of Swanky Skeptic!
Welcome to steemit society
Thank you!
Welcome to Steemit @swankyskeptic!
I wish you much success and hope you find Steemit to be as rewarding and informative as I have.
Here are some links you might find useful.
Your stats on SteemNow
Your stats on SteemWorld
Your stats on SteemD
How to use Minnow Booster
How does Steemit actually work?
Introbot is hosted and managed with donations from @byColeman to help make your journey on Steemit truly rewarding. Your feedback is always welcome so that we may improve this welcome message.
Oh yea, I have upvoted you and followed you. Many blessings from @introbot & @bycoleman
@swankyskeptic Welcome. Glad to have you here on Steemit. F$#% cancer! I don't know you, but I'm happy you kicked its butt! Looks like you got a pretty big following on other social medias so im sure you will here too. Use this as a boost.
Use my referral link to this boosting community, which will help you get noticed faster.
https://steemfollower.com/?r=13941
Its a free community to help boost upvotes daily on your most recent post,
Enjoy! Come visit my page for more help posts.
F*ck cancer, indeed! Thanks!
Welcome! As a fellow youtuber that also changed to Steemit, welcome aboard! I hope you do great here! All the best! If there's anything you need to know about the site I'll be happy to answer some of the question! Good Luck
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Welcome to steemit @swanskyskeptic! Thank you for sharing your journey here in your introductory post! I know and I believe you will enjoy it here! It's still my first month on steemit but I have already met a lot of talented people like you. Enjoy your day!
Thank you! Everyone seems so supportive and sweet! It's so refreshing to see. Heading over to check out your page.
You’re welcome @swanskyskeptic! If you have time, you can check my post about my 1st month here on steemit with some tips for newbies :)
https://steemit.com/steemit/@csalupado/my-first-month-on-steemit
Beautiful
Very Nice
welcome to steemit have a good time
Welcome to steemit,a community for positive people just like you,trust me you'll enjoy every bit of it...Looking forward to reading your blog
Great meeting you and a warm welcome to Steemit. Everyone I've met on here has been amazing & super helpful. I'm sure you'll find the Steemit community very welcoming & kind. Here's a post that help me when I 1st got on here:
The Ultra Beginner's Guide to Steemit- What to do 1st
Also if you'd like to know more about me:
"You Never Know" <--- Click to Listen
Stay in touch and let me know when you post ! I'll be sure to upvote.
Welcome to steemit
Welcome. An example of love for life!
Congratulations @swankyskeptic! You received a personal award!
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Congratulations @swankyskeptic! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!