Well that didn't work out like I had hoped!!

So hmm... Yeah. Looks like I have gotten WAY behind on my blaaawwgh.... So let's see if we can't remedy this in the near future, eh?

My First Review

I'm going to start the reviewing with a book. A book I have read before but was inspired to read again due to several friends comments on it. I figured that since it had been about a decade since the last time I read it, now was as good a time as any. That Book is I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.


Please keep in mind, this is a review for the book. I have not yet seen the new movie with Will Smith, only Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price. Which, by the way, I highly recommend and will probably review when I watch it again.

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Onto the book. I was engrossed from the very beginning to the very end. I am a big fan of the Vampire genre, so it takes a lot to impress me at this point. There are far too many Buffy and Anne Rice wannabes out there, and it lost its magic a long time ago. So it makes sense that if you want to find a good vampire story, you have to go back to when it still had that delicious undead freshness. Sure you could go all the way back to Dracula if you want a TRUE classic. But let's say you want to start with something a bit more modern, something that is down to the bone creepy. Then this book is definitely the way to go.

"Our Hero" Robert Neville lives out his life surrounded by a city of vampires that pounds upon his door every night. He is the sole survivor of a plague that has turned the living and the dead into blood craving demons. This book was written in 1954 but the story begins in 1976 after a supposed war. The book chronicles about three years of Neville's life, with flashbacks to a time before the plague took full control of humanity.

It is written in a very matter of fact style, leaving very little to the imagination in terms of Neville's daily habits and innermost thoughts. This is not a book for a younger child as the descriptions of violence, while not explicit, can be unnerving, and as I just stated, we are privy to Neville's though process, which does include his hated lust for the vampire women who come to his door at night.

The style is probably the story's biggest draw. It is not the flashy, fancy prose of Anne Rice or Bram Stoker, and the vampires do not have the erotic mystique that they do in those stories. They are treated more like vermin by Neville than anything fanciful and fantastic. This story has been credited with inspiring authors like Stephen King to begin writing, and it is not difficult to see where the link between this and 'Salem's Lot blossomed.

I would not be exaggerating to say that the book had me on the edge of my seat. It is a thought provoking tale of what mankind is when reduced to its basic instinct; survival. It is more a commentary on humanity than it is a vampire story, although throughout the book Neville does attempt to put "science" to the vampire and figure out its origin and reason for continued existence. Its ending is indeed fascinating as it does, in fact, give an end to the story as so few books, stories and films do now in our culture. I would not say that that is something revolutionary in and of itself, but it does mean that you can safely close the book at the end.

Altogether the book wins on many levels. It is a quick read, yet not so quick as to make you feel that you have missed out on something important. It has some wonderful real nailbitingly intense action, beautifully powerful drama, and a message that drives into your brain with all the power of a bolt of lightning. Exactly what it says about our species as a whole, I'll leave up to you. Go read this book, and enjoy it for what it is, nothing more, nothing less.

The First Day

In this, my first post, I'd like to tell everyone a little bit about me. Firstly, I have a website www.BlackCatStunts.com which is currently under construction, but should be up and running again soon. There I will have pics, video, my resume, all that fun stuff. In the meantime, here is where I will be keeping folks up to date on what I am up to.

I am almost 25 years old, as my birthday is in less than a month. In this quarter of a century of life I have been a model, a lobster fisher(wo)man, trained horses, done street performance as a cat for 5 years in downtown Salem, been set on fire (safely and on purpose), done a high fall from 40 feet, and trained with some of the best fight/stunt guys and gals out there.

I have been training with broadswords since I was 13, was certified as an actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors when I was 18, became an apprentice in the United Stuntmen's Association at 20, and joined Suit of Sables Theatre and Pastimes Interactive Theatre at 22. In Pastimes I have been a fight captain and choreographed some fights, and have played Anne Bonney, the famous female pirate, Nimue the enchantress, and the Captain of the Guard for the Robin Hood Faire. In Suit of Sables I have played an assassin, and elf, and a vampire hunter named Ryan Cross in the hit play "Demonslayers" which is set to be performed again at the West End Theatre in Glouchester in April.

My plan is to move out to LA with my boyfriend once we are ready and really give the Hollywood world a "fresh kick in the face" to use a phrase of his.

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So what exactly are you going to find here? A variety of things. Reviews of movies, books, TV shows, games, whatever have you. I graduated with a BA in Theatre Performance with a minor in Dramatic Literature so I know what I'm talking about. But don't take my word for it! Read what I have to say! If you like it, great! Let me know! If not, no harm done! And as a bonus you get a behind the scenes look at what a pretty damn good stage combatant/stuntwoman does, with first views of any modeling photo shoots that I do!

Have fun!