Sorely missed... fellow CP freelancer Jason Zwiker hasn't blogged for a long time. We here at Cat City Central miss his musings, kvetchings and scintillating science. Drop him a line at Cavaliers and Roundheads and tell him to pick up the pace and get typing!

Those wild and crazy book-pushers at Barnes & Noble West Ashley still want me to come back for another signing on September 30th - so I must have been adequately entertaining for them yesterday, when a bunch of kind folks came to chat with me and pick up a copy of The Kitty Killer Cult.

Speaking of which, my tongue-twistingly titled novel has been cropping up here and there on the web.

It's reviewed in the latest issue of Anthro (short for Anthropomorphism?) along with my first novel, Milk Treading.

KKC is also a fave of the delightfully named Chairman Cynthia Meow, who's mentioned it on his MySpace page. MySpace was also inhabited by a character named "Tiger Straight" for a while until my publisher's Copyright Police Force got a hold of 'im. Ouch.

Now here's something to look forward to... tomorrow night a bunch of artists and musicians will open a Suitcase Show at Cumberland's on King St. in downtown Charleston. This art in a suitcase takes all kinds of forms - the example above is by the multitalented Jesse Hendrix. She says:

My piece is an altar to Saint Christopher, that patron saint of travelers. It is intended as a wish that all who had to travel from their homes because of Hurricane Katrina will find their way home again.

Even now, one year later there are still displaced people from the Gulf Coast living in FEMA trailers or unfamiliar cities.

The elements in the piece include a mariner’s compass, candles, branches and a St Christopher prayer card.

Saint Christopher is often pictured carrying the baby Jesus on his shoulders across a body of water. It is said that the infant was bone-crushingly heavy due to the fact that he carried with him the weight of the world’s suffering, yet Saint Christopher carried him safely across.

Festivities kick off at 6 p.m. - drop by if you're in the neighborhood...

Could this harmless-looking animal be guilty of murder? Surely not. But she's the prime suspect in a cathunt that could last a while.

Two days ago my neighbor, Mr. Mitchell, asked me if the cat lurking under my shed belonged to me. After checking that the lurker matched Tips' description, I confirmed her presence. Then Mr Mitchell let the hard facts out of the bag - one of his pigeons was missing.

Mr. M breeds the birds in his backyard, and one of them had flown the coup... or been eaten. Only a few feathers remained.

I explained that Tips spends most of her time indoors and she "doesn't normally do that kind of thing" - but was I unwittingly covering for a killer? She did recently turn up at the door with blood on her paw. It looks like Mr. Mitchell has her bang to rights.

Decide for yourself. Did our placid pet, who's pushing 68 in cat years, do the dirty deed? Or was it one of the neighboring toms out on the prowl?

September 17th sees another Barnes & Noble signing, in West Ashley this time. This is the first event I've done at my local branch since I launched The Kitty Killer Cult on a dark and stormy night (why is it that the weather sucks whenever I invite people out to see me?).

This B&N is at 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd and I'll be there from 12-2 p.m. Sam will be there too, to keep me out of mischief. Come say hello!

I received this follow-up email from John Thompson just after his first salvo:

On second thought [how embarrassing] seeing as how you didn't write the review, please disregard what I wrote, and do not prejudge me for my apparent inability to read a newspaper.

Apologies, JTT

I told John not to worry about it, although I hope that if he ever reads an incredibly insightful, flattering, well-written review that isn't by me, he might think it is anyway. I reckon I could live with that.

...Of a different kind this time. Now and again I write a review that not everyone agrees with. They vent their disgruntlement to me (or to the paper/magazine I'm writing to) and subsequently feel better, or feel foolish, depending on how their venting is received by the attentive citizens of Charleston.

John Thompson, a sound technician at the College of Charleston, fired off an email to me rather than the City Paper's letters page. Now he's probably glad he didn't go that route.

He wrote:

I am John Thompson, sound designer for the College of Charleston's production of King Lear. I should say that my BA is in Political Science, my experience has been as a musician, and that this was my first attempt at creating sound to complement a performance.

As a novice who is nonetheless very interested in the field, I am seeking constructive criticism, and would like to request you to elaborate on your review of my sound design. The operative phrases were "scratchy and creepy" and "well-intended" but too "inconsistent" to be "genuinely evocative".

I am not asking for you to tell me it's OK, I would like to understand more clearly how the sound could be more consistent. More consistent with the mood of the play? Did the sound seem tacked on and not integral to the show? Was the quality itself inconsistent, ie, some helped the play along and some distracted from the action? or is it simply that more time could have been spent giving attention to individual scenes as opposed to using sound in a more general way?

Again, I think your review was fair, and I don't think you "hate college students", I just want to get better at sound design because I may want to do this more professionally in the future.

I would appreciate any help you could give me, as you are someone outside the sphere of the production and thus presumably more objective.

Thank you very much, John Thompson

John actually sounds considerate and level-headed, doesn't he? A shame, then, that I didn't write the review - it was written by my fellow freelancer, Jennifer Corley.

Be Sieged

After a year of work and much huffin' and puffin' The Siege of Charleston DVD is finally available. This is a fast-paced documentary about the 225th Anniversary reenactment of the Seige of Charles Towne, where hundreds of living historians battled each other and existed just as their forebears did during the Revolutionary War (except for the killing-each-other part, of course).

You can read some heartfelt comments about the event right here:

"The 225th Anniversary of the Seige of Charleston was a total success -
the most fun I have ever had organizing an event!"

-Michael Grenier, 64th Regiment of Foot, Charleston 225th Seige British Commander

"Absolutely stirring! The Seige of Charleston was my greatest experience in thirty years as a re-enactor - it made me remember why we do it. This is our gift to the next generation."

-Kip Carter, President, NEW ACQUISITION MILITIA, SC

"Two bayonets up for THE SEIGE OF CHARLESTON!

One of the most magnificent gatherings of historians, re-enactors and authentic equipment, on such a large scale that I have ever attended.

It is most gratifying to see this kind of focus on The Revolutionary War."

-Mark Hall, BOAR'S HEAD TRADERS

...And the DVD is available from here:

ATSC Moving Images Group, PO Box 930, Folly Beach, SC 29439

email: ccfelder@aol.com

Cost: $19.99 + 2.50 SHIPPING/HANDLING