WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

Search This Blog

WATCH OUR WEEKLY WEBtv SHOW

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON
Click on this logo to find out more about helping CFZtv and getting some smashing rewards...

SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER



Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Thursday, September 24, 2009

STRANGE NEW FISH PROVOKES JON INTO A SAD RANT

This story has been around a few days. Chad Arment posted this story from Underwater Times, which read in part:

BAHIA, Brazi -- A large fish without scales that turned up floating off the coast of Brazil baffled scientists and specialists from the region who are studying the rare specimen and ensure that the species is totally unknown.

The fish, which draws attention due to its rarity, was found by a team of marine biologists in that country while doing research on sea turtles.

Chad wrote:

Thanks to Kevin Stewart for passing this along. First, the url to the "scientists are baffled" news account, then the url to NatGeo, which notes the generic identity of the fish, though pointing out that the specific identity is uncertain.

Then - good old YouTube - we found a news story about it.



Now, I would hate people to think that I am just a grumpy old git who takes pleasure in rubbishing the media of the modern world. I'm not. Nor am I someone who thinks that anything that occurred after he reached the age of 30 is necessarily rubbish. Age is not an accomplishment, and youth is not a sin (and I wish it had been me who had said that but it wasn't). But look at this. The descriptions on the youtube page from which we embedded the above video, and worse the meta tags, are just ludicrous. And why is there a picture of some chick covered in blood with a dead fish sticking out of her mouth at the beginning?

Are we raising a generation of idiots, or is this some peculiar post-modern jape that I am too old and hidebound to understand?

"lol, strangers found a strange alien, maybe extraterrestrial, unknow fish species in the ocean. what do you think: what do they eat?

Miley Cirus Beyoncé Pitbull Jay Sean Cascada Jason DeRulo Lady Gaga Taylor Swift Flo Rider Marit Larsen Rihanna David Guetta Drunk Shakira Madonna Sting Micheal Jackson Tom Cruise Rolling Stones Oprah Winfrey U2 Tiger Woods Steven Spielberg Howard Stern 50 Cent Cast of The Sopranos Dan Brown Bruce Springsteen Donald Trump Muhammad Ali Paul McCartney George Lucas Elton John David Letterman Phil Mickelson J.K. Rowling Brad Pitt Peter Jackson Dr. Phil McGraw Jay Leno Celine Dion Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan Johnny Depp Jerry Seinfeld Simon Cowell Michael Schumacher Tom Hanks Rush Limbaugh Denzel Washington Cast of Desperate Housewives Jennifer Aniston Angelina Jolie The Olsen Twins Paris Hilton Nicole Kidman The Eagles Rod Stewart Shaquille O'Neal Jerry Bruckheimer David Beckham Jessica Simpson Andrew Lloyd Webber LeBron James Neil Diamond Alex Rodriguez Will Smith Dick Wolf Dave Matthews Band Tom Brady Ronaldinho Jodie Foster Ray Romano Paris Hilton Adam Sandler Derek Jeter Jennifer Lopez Rick Warren Scarlett Johansson Katie Couric Maria Sharapova Valentino Rossi Halle Berry James Patterson Leonardo DiCaprio Kiefer Sutherland Emma Watson Jim Carrey Cameron Diaz Gisele Bundchen Renee Zellweger Carson Palmer Michelle Wie Reese Witherspoon Bill O'Reilly Kate Moss Diane Sawyer Sean Diddy Combs John Grisham Rachael Ray Dave Chappelle Larry the Cable Guy Tyra Banks George Lopez Regis Philbin Serena Williams Ryan Seacrest Wolfgang Puck Venus Williams Annika Sorenstam Matthew Broderick Nathan Lane Mel Brooks Emeril Lagasse Nicole Richie Heidi Klum Mario Batali Eric Idle Mike Nichols Adriana Lima Ty Pennington."

Category:
Education


Flipping Nora, as Lizzie would say..

2 comments:

Andrew D. Gable said...

Methinks this was hacked...

Retrieverman said...

You must understand that not everyone lives close to the natural world or even cares about it. Generations of people have grown up far removed from the countryside, nature, and natural history. Indeed, it is something that they pass by on their way between the contrivances of concrete we call civilization.

Education "reforms" in my own country do not encourage children to think about the natural world. Even children who live in as wild a place as I do are simply taught to put these childish thoughts away and sit down to do four hours of pre-algebra homework in the fourth grade (ages 9-10).

The activities that actually connected people to the natural world are dying out. And most people would rather upload sensational videos to the youtube.

Our journalist class is also horribly uninformed. News is supposed to make a profit in the United States. The best journalists are those who know just a little bit about everything but not a lot about anything. If they are on television, they have to be eye candy (especially if you're on Rupert Murdock's channel and being a dead-on reactionary also helps).

How many people would meet the criteria for a TV journalist in the US? How many of those would know the slightest thing about natural history?