CFZ PEOPLE: Malcolm Robinson

Happy Birthday dude...

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

Pinch Punch - the first day of the month. It is the First of May and Sumer Is Icumen In.

To celebrate the fact we have an especially nice bunch of postings for you all today.

First a real exclusive. Part one of an interview I did yesterday evening with Anthony Phillips, one of the original members of 'Genesis' discussing his extraordinary new album:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/exclusive-anthony-phillips-interview.html

This afternoon I will be talking to the lovely Liz Lenten from 'Auburn'. Before I do, here is your chance to see what all the fuss is about:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/auburn-i-will-be-talking-to-liz-this.html

Did you ever wonder why we are called 'Gonzo'? We have a review of a `graphic biography` of The Good Doctor Hunter S Thompson himself:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/book-review-good-doctor-gets-graphic.html

We have a whole slew of Tour Dates for Martin Stephenson, both with and without The Daintees:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/martin-stephenson-tour-dates.html

Mimi Page makes it to the (back) cover of 'Rolling Stone':
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/mimi-page-back-cover-of-rolling-stone.html

And as I said before, last night was Beltane/Bealtain and today is May Day. It is one of the most magickal days of the year, and although we were too untogether to make a Beltane Fire, this will have to do:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/well-it-is-beltane-and-it-is-fitting.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/05/well-it-is-may-day.html

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

From Nick Redfern's Fortean World:

• Reviewed: Green, Unpleasant Land — New fiction from Richard Freeman...

From CFZ Canada:

• Bigfoot From the Ground Up Part 6: Big Hairy Deal — Sasquatch hair analysis...

DALE DRINNON: Miocene Apes Part Two

Dropping the other shoe, Miocene Apes part 2: the Gigantopithecus section:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/04/miocene-apes-and-large-yeti-sasquatch.html

HAUNTED SKIES: News of the World: 05.06.83

http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/04/news-of-world-050683.html

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1945 Adolph Hitler's death was announced by the German media. Hilariously they claimed he had died at his command post whilst fighting Bolshevism with his last breath, when in reality the evil minded hate-filled little turd poisoned his dog then killed himself and his girlfriend because he wasn't enough of a man to stand up and explain himself should he have been captured alive.

And now the news:

In Everglades, tracking pythons may provide clues ...
Opponents: State's crackdown on invasive wild boar...
The killing agency: Wildlife Services' brutal meth...
Bats: An Unexpected Virus Reservoir
From Embryonic Stem Cells, a Sperm Replacement and...
Chinese Workers In Zimbabwe Are Eating Endangered ...
Bird sanctuary needs help
'Inhabitants of Madrid' Ate Elephants’ Meat and Bo...
Rescue wildlife in 'Animal Kingdom' game
Analysis: U.S. mad cow find: lucky break or triump...
People 'worried' to report dolphin deaths
Lion Man warned ministers of cat danger

Hitler reacts to the news of Harry Potter and the deathly Hallows part 2's Oscar nominations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbJHfJNM3AQ

RICHARD FREEMAN SENT THIS: The Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/

JON AND CORINNA IN THE BIDEFORD POST

DAVID MARSHALL: Ryedale A.S Fun Day

RYEDALE AQUARIST SOCIETY

16 Potter Hill
Pickering
North Yorkshire
YO18 8AA

Tel - 01751 472715

e-mail - aquariumgazette@yahoo.com


11th February 2012


INVITATION - ‘FUN DAY’

Dear Friends

On Sunday 13th May the Ryedale Aquarist Society will be hosting a special ‘Fun Day’ to be held at the Pickering Memorial Hall, Potter Hill, Pickering, North Yorkshire.
YO18 8AA.

We have hired the main Ground Hall from 10.00a.m. to 4.00p.m. The idea for ‘FD’ is that we relax and have an enjoyable ‘day of fun’. Events for the day will run as follows:

1. 10.00a.m. Welcoming tea and coffee. Benching of mini-show exhibits. Placement of sales table items.

2. Rather than hold an auction we have decided to put on a sales table instead. Please bring along your spare fish and aquatic items to sell. Please name all fish and place a contact phone number onto any electrical items. 10% commission will be taken on all sales. Items on the table will go on sale from 10.40a.m.

2. 11.00a.m Talk on ‘A fishkeepers visit to Singapore Part 1’ by our special guests
Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Christine Webb.

3. 12.15p.m. approx. Shared ‘pot luck lunch’. Ryedale A.S. will provide the tea and coffee and we ask that you, please, bring along a savoury and/or sweet item to add to the lunch pot.

4. 1.30p.m. approx. Talk on ‘A fishkeepers visit to Singapore Part 2’ by our special guests Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Christine Webb.

5. Prize awards for both Sue Marshall’s ‘fun quiz’ and the mini-show. Drawing of raffle Early tea.


Mini-Open Show

This will comprise of 10 classes as follows:-

Class 01 - Guppy Class 02 - A.O.V. Livebearer

Class 03 - Corydoras Class 04 - A.O.V. Catfish

Class 05 - A.V. Characin Class 06 - A.V. Cichlid

Class 07 - Botia, Loach, Shark & Fox

Class 08 - A.V. Labyrinth fish (including Snakehead)

Class 09 - A.O.V. Tropical or coldwater fish

Class 10 Eggshibit - To enter this class you will need to boil an egg and then use all of your artistic flair and craftwork knowledge to build your egg into a fish. Judges discretion will decide the places.

The mini-show classes will be judged by YAAS.‘A’ Class Judge Mr. Edward Cheetham. Y.A.A.S rules and standards apply. Please name all ‘living’ exhibits. Entry fee of 20p per exhibit. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed winners of each class. The Society or Independent showing person with the greatest number of points (4 for 1st, 2 for 2nd and 1 for 3rd) will receive a small trophy.

We will also hold a raffle and prize quiz.

The Ryedale A.S. members hope that you will be able to join us and ask that you, please, let us know by 30th April if you are able to attend.

Yours sincerely

David Marshall
Secretary Ryedale A.S.

MYSTERY CAT-RELATED NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived in some way by us, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. However the mystery cat phenomenon is a global one, so here are some mystery cat, and mystery cat-related stories from around the world...
Another big cat enters Sadgaon
Times of India
NASHIK: In less than 24 hours since a leopard killed a seven- year- old girl in Naitale, Niphad, another one was located in More Mala in Sadgaon near Girnare at 11.30 am on Saturday. But apart from inflicting minor scratches on a small boy, ...

Lion Man warned ministers of cat danger
Stuff.co.nz
Government ministers and departments were warned a tragedy was "inevitable" at a Northland big cat reserve – shortly before a handler was mauled to death. A three-day coronial inquiry starts in Whangarei on June 12, more than three years after Dalu ...

Valparai tiger loses battle
Times of India
A postmortem on Saturday evening linked its death to a bad meal the big cat had a few hours before it went to retrieve the remains of a previous kill it left behind two days ago in the cowshed. The tiger, according to the postmortem report, ...

Cougar on prowl in Buda? Sighting reported near Onion Creek
Hays Free Press
Though Rodriguez and her husband did not photograph the big cat, they're in good company among Kyle and Buda folks who have reported sightings in recent times. Mountain lions, also known as cougars, panthers and pumas, are said to be spreading out from ...

Lions on the brink
Reporter-Times
Even people who are not expert at biology or the environment probably recognize that many of the world's species of large cats are in danger of extinction. But lions? These large and formidable predators do not readily come to mind when one thinks of ...

Mountain lion spotted in East Haddam
WTNH
First thing in the morning I see this large brown cat, with a long tail cross in front of me," said Olzacki. "At first, the First Selectman Mark Walters and I thought, people are going to think our nuts. We need to release something, we need to tell ...

DALE DRINNON: Miocene apes and smaller yetis/Tyler Stone

New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/04/miocene-apes-and-smaller-yeti-migu.html

New on Tyler Stone's Blog:
http://cryptoanimals.blogspot.com/2012/04/modern-marine-reptiles.html

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

Monday's blog posts are a particularly jolly set of ones.

Original 'Genesis' guitarist Anthony Phillips has a new album imminent. With a bit of luck and a fair wind I shall be talking to him this afternoon, but as a taster, here is one of my favourite of his tracks:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/anthony-phillips-brief-taster-for-what.html

I shall also be talking to Jon Anderson, but in the meantime we have a link to a Jon Anderson biography and competition:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/jon-anderson-compy-and-biography.html

We have regular reader Dave McMann's review of a recent London show by 'Curved Air':
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/curved-air-rejoice-guess-who-have.html

Rick Wakeman is a jolly nice chap. Here is a link to a story and picture of a charity appearance he made over the weekend:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/link-musician-rick-wakeman-opens-age-uk.html

After weeks of having my house full of visiting scientists, musicians and my nearest and dearest I had an evening to myself last night. What did I do? I listened to Judge Smith's album 'The Climber' and was moved to write a review almost immediately:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/judge-smith-climber.html

We have a link to a Mimi Page review:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/mimi-page-review.html

The other day I posted a YouTube link to an old song by 'Detective'. However, Michael D-B has suggested that I should actually have posted a totally different song. Do I look like the sort of bloke who argues with Marquises? Nah:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/michael-des-barres-another-blast-from.html

And finally, as regular readers of this blog will know, although the vast majority of what we cover is at least vaguely relevant to the releases on the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies, there are some things – mostly book reviews – that are included because I think they are interesting. Here, as always, I would like to say that any opinions expressed are my own and have nothing to do with any of those nice people at Gonzo Multimedia. Today I post a review of a jolly good biography of Patti Smith:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-patti-smith.html

See you tomorrow..

HAUNTED SKIES: News of the World 2.10.83

http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/04/news-of-world-21083-pt-1-2.html

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1938 the cartoon Porky's Hare Hunt premières in American cinemas featuring a character called 'Happy Hare' who was an early version of Bugs Bunny.

And now the news:

Dogs attacked - by kung fu guinea pig
Thailand’s Shrimp Farms Threaten Rare ‘Fishing Cat...
Stressed-out penguins on the mend
Hard to swallow? Greedy bird gets to grips with gi...
Corky, Kitten Born With Criss-Crossed Legs, Saved ...
Magnetic fields light up 'GPS neurons', scientists...
Rare bees on their way to Dungeness from Sweden
Mysterious Sea Monster Plant Fossil Baffles Scient...
Iceland to resume hunt of endangered Fin whales
How Do Tigers Get Their Stripes? Science Not So Ce...
Eating shark fin soup makes you stupid
Baby Sea Urchins Use Allergy Chemical to Grow Up
Pacific Reef Sharks Vanishing Near Populated Islan...
Lowly Rat Gnaws & Chews to Top of the Rodent World...
It’s Julien MacDonald duck: Gander at these goose-...

I can't say I've ever really liked Bugs Bunny and his stable-mates, always found Bugs to be a bit false, like he was hiding something, (most likely dismembered body-parts) and sly. But here's his début:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eXHfumqU9A

KARL SHUKER: New Guinea singing dog

In addition to the many feral (run-wild) domestic dogs of relatively recent origin and varied appearance present throughout New Guinea, there may still exist in the more lofty reaches of its eastern highlands a very primitive canine form of much greater antiquity and well-defined morphology – the New Guinea singing dog. Read on...

THE CFZ SHOP: Issy Wissy let's get Busy!

I have often told Emma Osborne that she is like Sooty. She takes something moribund that I don't understand like our CFZ Press Facebook pages, sprinkles 'oofle dust' all over it and makes it a success.

As her husband Matthew so charmingly puts it, once again I have had my bottom kicked by the Sooty of the CFZ, she waves her hand at things that then work, she says we need more items in our online shop at www.zazzle.co.uk/cfzjon*

Since 2009 we have had 13 very nice products for sale there, but as Emma pointed out if someone bought an item they would not be inspired to return. Emma is now setting to work to make as many products as she can, as this is written at 15:03 the first wave are yet to appear as it takes 24 hours or more for them to be approved, but we have over 300 items awaiting for approval with Weird Weekend 2012, Big Cat Study Group ,CFZ Australia and CFZ USA being first to appear. She has been assisted in this mass onslaught by her husband, it may be closer to the case that she has done the work while he fetched the coffees.

Do view the new items at www.zazzle.co.uk.cfzjon* every item gives at least 10% to our funds which will go towards things like equipment, general running costs and much more and remember to keep checking back as there will be a lot of changes, also feel free to send the link to whomsoever you think may wish to view it

DOUG SHOOP IS A BORN AGAIN TWITCHER

Jon,

Since relocating to our new home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, my better half and I have taken up bird watching, if for no other reason than there is a plethora
of species new to us Northerners.

So far we have documented at least 19 species and counting.

Here is the North Carolina State Bird, the common Cardinal. Not nearly as exotic as our native Minnesota State bird the Loon with his eerie red eyes, but you gotta love the cardinal’s bright red habit.

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: A HEART WARMING TALE OF A ROBIN`S NEST IN A PRAM

We all know that robin`s can build their nests in unusual places but I`ve never heard of one in a pram,until about 2 weeks ago. I found the following story in the Shropshire Star of April 13th 2012, whilst on a break with my church at Quinta near the Shrops-Wales border. There are 4 photos accompanying the story showing the nest and other aspects.

“ROBIN SETS UP NEST – IN FAMILY`S PRAM” by Judith Sanders (1)

It`s an unusual place to raise a family – a children`s play pram hanging up inside a garage in Telford. But for this family of robins, it has proved the perfect nest for their five young – tucked away from the wintry weather.

It was only when Fiona Carroll-Stone decided to find the pram for her children to play with that they made the surprise discover. Mrs Carroll-Stone and her family were overjoyed when the eggs finally hatched on Easter Sunday. Mrs Carroll-Stone , of Donnington, said: “We were very worried when we realised the eggs were in there as the pram is hanging inside the garage and I had been shutting the door. “ I was concerned that I had shut the parent birds out but then we noticed a little square bit of wood which had rotted away on the bottom of the garage door and they were flying in and out through there. “Now we just leave the door open and we see the mum and dad hopping around in the garden gathering worms for the chicks. “We have a lot of birds around the garden but we have not had a nest like this before.”

Mrs Carroll-Stone said she and her husband Patrick, a self-employed builder,had gone to get the pram down for their children to play with when they spotted the nest. She said: “ We do not know how long the eggs have been there but there seem to be three chicks now. “ I have not had a good look because I`d not want to disturb them. “ I would have felt awful if they had not hatched.” Robins are renonwned for being tame around humans and the birds even fly in and out of the garage while Patrick works in there. Their three children Maizy,aged nine,Minny, aged three and Junior, aged one, are thrilled with their feathered visitors.

Mrs Carroll-Stone added: “ My son has been leaving the light on in the garage for them so that the chicks can see.” (2)

1. I contacted Judith Sanders for more information about the story but received no reply, but if you want to try her e-mail address is jsanders@shropshirestar.co.uk
2. Shropshire Star April 13th 2012

DALE DRINNON: Flathead monster/Cedar and Willow

New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/04/short-history-of-flathead-lake-monster.html

New at Cedar and Willow, some more projected book jacket designs for Thomasina Edison:
http://cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/2012/04/thomasina-edison-update.html

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

Sunday morning, and I don't think that I can manage poetry every day. But what I CAN do is to manage a daily selection of massively groovy things wot I hope will instruct, entertain, and inform. I am finding this new project a very entertaining one, and I have high hopes for some interesting exclusives (quite massive ones actually) in the next few weeks.

First up today is a look at Rick Wakeman's new biography by Dan Wooding. We got our copy in our sticky little fingers yesterday, and golly it looks rather good. The designer must be a massively talented and good looking chap. There is also an exclusive excerpt, and an even more exclusive slice of Rick's past:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-rick-wakeman-biography.html

The next thing is one of life's little synchronicities. I wrote about 'Curved Air' yesterday, to celebrate the release of their DVD in the Gonzo 'Lost Broadcasts' series. I actually didn't realise that the band had not only reformed, but are playing a gig in Devonshire on Friday. Guess which massively talented and good looking book designer who doubles as a hack journalist on a daily music blog has e-mailed their management to see if he can get an interview?:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/curved-air-rejoice-guess-who-have.html

We have a link to very effusive review of the new 'Genre Peak' album by a geezer in Belgium:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/genre-peak-belgian-review.html

I had never heard of 'Galahad' until the other day. My bad (as I believe the current vernacular has it) because they are one of the most interesting, clever, and literate rock bands that I have discovered in many a year. Expect me to wax lyrical upon the subject over the next few months:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/galahad-golly-they-are-good.html

And finally, as regular readers of this blog will know, although the vast majority of what we cover is at least vaguely relevant to the releases on the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies, there are some things – mostly book reviews – that are included because I think they are interesting. Here, as always, I would like to say that any opinions expressed are my own and have nothing to do with any of those nice people at Gonzo Multimedia. Today we have a look at Derf Backderf's extraordinary graphic novel telling the true story about his schooldays with a boy who would eventually become one of America's most notorious serial killers:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-at-school-with-serial-killer.html

I think I can promise you an entertaining and varied week ahead. Hold on tight, it’s gonna be a thrilling ride...

HAUNTED SKIES: Essex Chronicle 10.02.89

http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/04/essex-chronicle-100289.html

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1952 David Icke was born. Icke in a controversial chap who claims, among other things, that we are ruled by a species of reptilian aliens. It would seem these aliens, should they indeed exist, are really crap at their job and hate hot pasties.

And now the news:

'Bird of prey twice swooped on my handbag dog and ...
Author reveals ‘Tasmanian tiger' spotting
USDA says Holstein in Calif. mad cow case was euth...
Old blood and tissue may hold a lot of secrets
Psychology in bigfooting – CONTROL
Amazing photo captures bear floating through the a...
First ever pictures of endangered Spotted Deer
Red Kites snatch sausages from barbecue
Amur leopard photographed in China for the first t...
RSPB acquires 563 acres of important habitat on sh...
Why do birds fly into windows?
Eight Species of Wild Fish Have Been Detected in A...
For Males Dying to Mate, Only Certain Females Will...
Tiny Shark Has Glowing Belly

Icke talks about Shape shifting reptile things messing up an anti capitalism protest. During the talk he urges people to make up their own minds on this kind of thing and not accept reality as they know it without questioning it... Maybe I'm part of the conspiracy but personally I don't buy it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAGTJErVNBU

BIG CAT NEWS: From around the world

Bobcat a frequent visitor to Carrollton water plant
WXIA-TV"I knew it was a cat but I didn't know what kind. I was scared." Simmons saw the same bobcat later the same day. Other employees have seen the big cat slip beneath the fence at the plant to take a relaxing walk. "She didn't run," said employee Robert ...

Possible Mountain Lion Sighting in San Carlos
Patch.com
While it's unclear whether the animal in question was actually a mountain lion, officials are warning residents to stay on the alert for signs of the big cats. People that encounter a mountain lion are encouraged to stay calm and to not run away from ...

Leopard slips into Mumbai school
Calcutta Telegraph
Mumbai's north-eastern suburb of Mulund lies at its base, where it is not unusual to hear of big cats prowling the streets and alleys after sundown. The “gatecrash” at NES International School, however, happened around 8am.

Six leopards caught in two districts of Gujarat
<>PTI 10:04 PM,Apr 22,2012 Vadodara, Apr 22 (PTI) Atleast six leopards have been caught from two districts of Junagadh and Amreli in Gujarat in the last two days after an increase in the instances of attack by the big cats on humans, ...

July date for Indo-Bangla joint tiger census
Times of India
The numbers, given by the Bangladeshi forest department and its Indian counterparts till date, are disputed on the ground that big cats frequently cross over the Indo-Bangla border. Every time, Sundarbans authority in India or that of Bangladesh comes ...

OT: Big Cats in Georgia...
Just to ask, I have heard stories of panthers or cougars in Georgia but I have not seen one before. I live in Bartow county around Alatoona.

Game Wardens Kill Mountain Lion in Sunland Neighborhood
KTLA(KTLA)
Police shot and killed an 80-pound mountain lion Friday after a resident spotted the big cat hiding in some bushes near her home. Marlene Hitt lives in the foothills near the Angeles National Forest. She was closing her garage door Friday ...

Local couple spot mountain lion near Onion Creek in Buda
Hays Free Press
The large wild cats have been moving into Central Texas, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Okay, some of you may not believe me but my husband & I were riding around Buda on Wednesday, April 11. We had our 4 yr old grandson with us ...

Mountain lion sightings reported in Arcata; HSU student reports cougar at ...
Times-Standard
Although Yates said the big cat was carrying something he believed to be a dog in its mouth, the police haven't received any reports of missing dogs from that area, Bergstresser said Tuesday. Police contacted the California Department of Fish and Game, ...

'Badshah' still playing hide-and-seek
Times of India
The big cat killed and partially ate a buffalo tied as bait at Rahmankhera on Monday night. It was the 20th bait killed by the tiger even as forest officials remain clueless. The tiger has now shifted its location to a patch of forest with a dense ...

Mountain Lion's Dead Body Dismembered
KEYT
KEY News has learned the big cat's body was dismembered. The CHP received calls around 5:30 AM, about a mountain lion getting hit by a car. At the same time, a fawn was found there, dodging traffic on the northbound lanes.

Rehmankhera tiger finally trapped, taken to Dudhwa
Daily Pioneer
The shrewd big cat had successfully evaded the Forest department team on its trail for nearly 108 days until luck ran out on Wednesday when it was tranquillised at 6:40 am. The one-quintal beast fell unconscious at 7 as the second dart fired by Lucknow ...

Mountain lion sightings reported in Arcata
Times-Standard
Sgt. Todd Dockweiler said the resident who reported the sighting had seen the cat carrying an animal away. The resident reported that the animal may have been a small dog, Dockweiler said. Officers were unable to find a big cat when responding to ...

BIG CAT NEWS: Gloucestershire, Peterborough and a beaver in Cornwall

The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived in some way by us, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in.

It takes a long time to do and is a fairly tedious task so I am not promising that they will be done each day, but I will do them as regularly as I can. JD

Mile Oak sighting might be Steyning big cat -
BIGCATSINSUSSEX
Sighting in from Carol Cowley on 7th april of a very large black cat could well be our old friend the Steyning big cat,Carol does mention mention it was big and ...

The first of a new batch, courtesy of the Sussex Big Cat team who seem to be very much on the ball. Well done chaps and chapesses. By the way, a matter of statistics - there have been only a few big cat reports in recent weeks, but today's posting is massive. Is it because there are suddenly lots more sightings? Nope, sadly not. It is because I have been snowed under with other stuff for nearly a week, so here are 7 days worth all at once.

But now to a new incident in the east of the country:

Giant paw prints stop Peterborough councillor Ray in his tracks
Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Ray Dobbs from Eye, on White Post Road where he spotted large, cat-like prints in a field. (METP-23-04-12PF001) Photo: PAUL FRANKS/Peterborough ET By STEPHEN BRIGGS A Peterborough City Councillor has called for experts to investigate suspicious paw ...



They are certainly paw prints, but what do you think? Now for another story involving paw prints (actually, several different stories all involving the same incident)

Cheltenham carpenter finds 'big cat' paw print
This is Gloucestershire
The footprint find comes after a sighting of the mystery creature in February. He said: "I have been working there since October and I just could not believe it when I saw it there in February. "It looked like a puma and I really had a good look at it ..

Cheltenham carpenter find 'big cat' paw print -
This is Gloucestershire
By Gloucestershire Echo
CARPENTER Alex Stewart believes big cats are roaming through the centre of Cheltenham and he claims he now has the proof.The 54-year-old is working on a Winchcombe Street building site and came into...

Is this footprint of elusive big cat?
This is Somerset
Carpenter Alex Stewart believes big cats are roaming through the centre of Cheltenham and he claims he now has the proof. The 54-year-old is currently working on a Winchcombe Street building site and came into work yesterday to discover four-inch ...

But where is the picture? You will have to go to the source for it, as it has been embedded in a way which precludes me from pinching it. Now down to the Westcountry...

Big cats still a myth – but at least the beaver is real
This is Cornwall
I just know that if big cats really were roaming our fields by now at least one of them would have been run over, garrotted in some stock fencing or found fried at an electricity sub-station. Or, perhaps, found floating about in some bloke's slurry pit ...

Actually this is a rather well-written skeptical piece which claims there are no such thing, although it dfoes tell the talle of an o-o-p beaver in the River Tamar.

Now back to Gloucestershire, where Frank Tunbridge never lets us down...

Big cat expert sets up cameras to catch sight of beastThis is GloucestershireBIG cat detective Frank Tunbridge has put up cameras around a town centre building in the hope of catching sight of the elusive beast. It comes after he examined footprints found in Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham. The prints were discovered by ...

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

From Nick Redfern's Fortean World:
At the beginning of the week Nick started a new blog which replaces all his old blogs, and so covers a much wider range of topics than just cryptozoology. Needless to say it's worth a look for all the posts, but here are the ones to date that Nick has tagged with a "cryptozoology" label:

• Reviewing The Beast of Boggy Creek — A review of Lyle Blackburn's new book...
• Encountering Bigfoot — How Likely Are You to See Bigfoot?
• Lyle Blackburn Q&A — A link to an insightful and extensive interview...

ANOTHER NEW 'BIGFOOT' VIDEO

http://naturalplane.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/bigfoot-new-video-from-washington.html

DALE DRINNON: Irish giants, footnotes to Tyler's post

Newly posted on the Frontiers of Anthropology:
http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.com/2012/04/legends-of-irish-giants-are-more-than.html

Newly posted on the Frontiers of Zoology, sort of a set of footnotes to Tyler's posting made last night (there will probably have to be at least one more part to follow this)http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v459/n7249/full/459910a.html

HAUNTED SKIES: Update

http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/04/haunted-skies-update-25th-april-2012.html

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

I really tried to write the entirety of today's notifications in rhyme, but I couldn't get any further than:

It is Saturday morning at the Gonzo blog,
outside it is cloudy and grey,
a middle aged hippy and his jowly fat dog,
have plenty of interest to say,
Outside my mate Graham is washing his car,
in here we have Judge Smith and Michael Des Barres,
and Sonja Kristina and Galahad too,
and vintage Eric Burdon clips waiting for you...

I then gave up and decided to write it normally instead:

We have the second part of our exclusive Judge Smith interview:http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/exckusive-judge-smith-interview-part.html

A clip from the Curved Air DVD from the 'Lost Broadcasts' series, accompanied by my musings about how times have changed, and memories of my massively Victorian parents:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/curved-air-it-happened-today.html

A bit of vintage strangeness from the incomparable Eric Burdon:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/eric-burdon-when-i-was-young.html

A profile of a Gonzo band called 'Galahad' that I hadn't heard before:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/all-about-galahad.html

And finally a clip from Michael Des Barres' past:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/michael-des-barres-for-those-of-you-not.html

See you tomorrow...

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 2001 Denis Tito became the first 'space tourist'.

And now the news:

Residents terrified after 14 cats found dead in Ta...
Bears Interrupt Weather Report At Pennsylvania TV ...
Nottinghamshire man banned after puppy drinks vodk...
Where's the Beef? Early Humans Took It
Dragon cruelty is among more than 100 RSPCA convic...
Body Armor for Breathing?
Limbless amphibian species found
Psychology in bigfooting – FEAR
Search for Bigfoot gets a new leader
Animal picture of the day: the spotless cheetah - ...
Repeated delays plague landmark rhino poaching cas...
Critically Endangered tortoises, raised in captivi...
Anxious Mice Face Higher Cancer Risk
Human Body Language Can Mislead Dogs

An animated simulation by Virgin Galactic on what it would look like if Daft Punk were to become space tourists:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ng6G7KsPjA

THE CONTINUING OWL PELLET SAGA

RICHARD F WRITES: I was walking Prudence in a section of forestry reserve opposite Huddisford Woods when I came across what appear to be some more large owl pellets. They looked very like the ones Carl Marshall and I found last weekend. But they are not quite so large. On closer inspection they seemed to contain feathers rather than compacted hair. Close by were the remains of a pheasant. This consisted mainly of wing feather and was seemingly dropped from the canopy.

I put the pellets in a suspension of bicarbonate of soda. The began to dissolve but at a far slower rate than the owl pellets from Ross' barn owls. The large pellets Craig and I found have still not dissolved.

BIG CAT STUDY GROUP: Dan Holdsworth has a bloody good idea

Jon,

Yesterday on the way to work, I observed a couple of Highways Agency vans busily engaged in the rather risky business of removing thesad remains of an extremely dead car from the side of the M66.

Two things occur to me regarding this. Firstly, there is unlikely to be any difference in the road-crossing behaviour of domestic and non-domestic cats. They're all going to be equally incompetent at it, and will likely suffer similar casualty rates.

Secondly, the same agency that removes dead deer, badgers and otheranimals from roadsides will also be shifting dead cats of all sizes from roadsides. That agency on motorways will not be the police but instead will be the Highways Agency, who were invented to do the dirty, boring jobs on motorways so police could do more useful things instead (mostly involving lurking with speedguns and so on).

The Highways Agency recently underwent an IT overhaul, as this puff-piece from Atos demonstrates:

http://atos.net/en-us/about_us/our-customers/bin/cs_highways_agency.htm

All this IT management gobbledegook boils down to this: in the Highways Agency, operatives will barely be able to do so much as pass wind without it being recorded in the computer ticketing system somewhere(probably recorded under Climate Change methane emissions). Joking aside, removal of dead wildlife ought to be recorded as will disposal of biohazardous material. The Highways Agency aren't the police, so I'm wondering, would a strategic Freedom of Information request to them for this info do any good? Or has this avenue already been explored?

Dan H.

CRIPTOZOOLOGIA EN ESPAÑA: Shooting a shadow

Right from the Spanish cryptozoology blog, Criptozoologia En España:News in Criptozoología en España:

Seville, 2005. During a game of airsoft, a group of friends shoots a
big shadow, black, with red eyes. The next day, they discover a huge mark on the place.

All information in :
http://criptozoologos.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/el-caso-de-la-huella-de-sevilla.html

LINK: Four new bigfoot videos

http://bigfootevidence.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/new-footage-bigfoot-filmed-walking-in.html

This could be a new trend folks. Four new "Bigfoot" videos in less than 2 weeks.

Now that every child old enough to carry a cell phone around can record videos, it's more than likely that someone will inadvertently film a "Sasquatch". Thanks to TV shows like Finding Bigfoot where everything could be a Sasquatch, these kids were probably thinking the same thing when they saw a dark figure moving in the trees.



Read on...

CARL MARSHALL: How's this for Batesian Mimicry

Caligo sp.
How about this for Batesian mimicry!

Although, a fairly recent study has cast some doubt on this theory with researchers claiming that its not the recognition of eyes that deters depredation but the conspicuous contrast in the patterns on the wings startling the would be attacker. (Stevens et al. 2008).

What do you think?

DALE DRINNON: Mokele Mbembe, Tyler Stone and Benny's blog

New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/04/news-item-new-mokele-mbembe-expedition.html

And Benny has two new blog entries up also:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/04/dorothy-granger.html

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2012/04/dawn-star.html

Tyler Stone also has a link concerning "Yetis"
http://cryptoanimals.blogspot.com/2012/04/pongo-hooijeri-possible-candidate-for.html

HAUNTED SKIES: Daily Mirror 7.7.67

http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/04/daily-mirror-7767.html

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 2002 the last successful telemetry was received from Pioneer 10.

And now the news:

Gopher tortoises no longer buried alive, but will ...
Fish in bags among wildlife seizures at Bangkok ai...
Morepork and kea being killed by motorists in New ...
Axel The Newfoundland Sits On Roofs Of England Whi...
Mad Cow Disease Confirmed In California Dairy Cow,...
Fat Cat Weighs In At Nearly 40 Pounds (VIDEO)
Biodiversity loss: How accurate are the numbers?
New wetland being created near Salisbury
Birds Form Alliances With Long-Term Neighbors
Was canid shot in New Brunswick first wolf for 150...
Ancient virus DNA thrives in us
Wild Birds Respond Differently to the First Long D...
WWF President number 2 – Let's kill more wolves be...

Hans Mark tells the story behind Carl Sagan's Pioneer plaque:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogPIvzhHaTE

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO DAH MAN

Back on the chain gang, the Gonzo Blog thunders into life on a friday morning.

First up is part one of an exclusive interview with Judge Smith, who amongst other things was a founder member of Van Der Graaf Generator, and composer of a radical and massively entertaining series of 'song stories':http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/exclusive-judge-smith-interview-part.html

I also have an excuse to wax lyrical about one of my favourite musical heroes; Eric Burdon. This comes complete with an exclusive slice out of the 'Lost Broadcasts' DVD which features a 1970 session filmed with multiracial band 'War'. Bloody hell its good:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/eric-burdon-tony-palmer-and-me.html

We have a peek at the new Anthony Phillips album:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-anthony-phillips-album.html

A look at Martin Stephenson then and now:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/two-faces-of-martin-stephenson.html

And a link to a massively subjective list of 100 albums that every sci-fi and fantasy buff should own:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/link-100-albums-every-science-fiction.html

That's it for today, but I do suggest that you all check out Jack White's first solo album 'Blunderbuss'. It really is astounding, and fulfills the promise that he has hinted at with his work with 'The White Stripes', 'The Raconteurs', 'The Dead Weather' and all the other side projects that I have forgotten! The weekend starts, umm.... here, I suppose.

KARL SHUKER: WAS THE IZCUINTLIPOTZOTLI A CANINE QUASIMODO?

Sometimes, tragically, by the time that a cryptid attracts mainstream scientific attention, it is too late - the creature in question has already become extinct. Certainly, for example, it may be too late to secure a specimen of a still-unidentified creature formerly reported from Mexico - the unpronounceable izcuintlipotzotli - because it has not been reported for more than 150 years.

Read on...

CARL MARSHALL PAID US A VISIT

Carl Marshall came to see us the other day, but why a good looking young go-getter like him wants to be photographed next to a dodgy old hippy like me I have no idea.

We look forward to seeing you again soon, Carl...

RICHARD FREEMAN: PIERRE DENYS de MONTFORT: PROPHET OF THE KRAKEN

In 1820 a man died of starvation in a cold Parisian gutter. He was given a pauper’s burial and the few who attended did so only to snicker at the feeble-minded fool that believed in sea monsters. The man was the French zoologist Pierre Denys de Montfort. Had he lived until 1857 he would have seen his ‘wild stories’ vindicated. Pierre Denys de Montfort was a malacologist, an expert in mollusks. He was also a scientific heretic, for he dared to research something that the high priests of science deemed to be an old wives’ tale, giant cephalopods.

He was born in 1764 and was fascinated by nature from an early age. Sadly, he was of a generation that lost many scientists to history due to the French Revolution, and a republic that stupidly, in the words of public prosecutor Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville - “Did not need scientists”. He faired better than most. After serving in the army for a while, and after a stint as assistant to the geologist Barthelemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, he became attached to the Jardin des Plantes, the main botanical garden in Paris. For a time he was a much sort after scientist, being offered places on a number of expeditions. He trawled to Egypt and Germany to study geology. His gift for languages did not go un-noticed, and he became attached to the Museum of Natural History as a translator. He narrowly missed receiving the chair in mineralogy.

He wrote an addendum for Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon’s Histoire naturelle générale et particulière. Comte de Buffon had been the director of Jardin des Plantes and this was a feather in the young naturalist’s cap. Suites a Buffon was devoted to mollusks. During this time, he investigated the origins of ambergris (the indigestible beaks and claws of cephalopods vomited up by sperm whales like gigantic owl pellets) and became interested in the idea of huge cephalopods. He interviewed American whalers who had settled in France about the evidence for such creatures.

One such man, Ben Johnson, told of a monstrous tentacle found in the mouth of a sperm whale they had killed. The tentacle was 35 feet long and had been severed at both ends, De Montfort reckoned another 10-20 feet of it had been lost. It was as thick as a mast with suckers the size of hats.

Another man, Reynolds, told of seeing what he thought was a red sea serpent laying next to a whale they had killed. It was discovered to be a massive tentacle 45 feet long with suckers as large as plates.

Writing in his Histoire Naturelle Générale et Particulière des Mollusques, de Montfort classifies two giant cephalopods, the colossal octopus and the kraken octopus, the latter referring to gigantic squid.

He writes of a votive painting (now long lost) in the chapel of St Thomas in Brittany. The painting showed a titanic octopus attacking a ship. It was supposedly based on real events that occurred to a ship from that port whilst anchored off Angola. A giant octopus has supposedly attacked the ship, wrapping its arms about the rigging and causing the ship to list dangerously. The crew attacked with cutlasses and managed to get the monster to relinquish its hold by hacking off some of the arms. The painting was made to commemorate the events, the scared sailors having prayed to Saint Thomas.

Such huge creatures had been mentioned by Louis Marie Joseph O’Hier, Comte de Grandpre in his book Voyage a la cote occidentale d’ Afrique written between 1786 and 1787. The natives told him that a giant octopus known as Ambazombi would often attack their boats and canoes dragging them to the bottom. They believed the monster to be an evil spirit. The name Ambazombi may be linked to Nizambi, the supreme god of the Bakongo people of Angola.

Captain Jean-Magnus Dens, a Danish man and former employee of the Gothenburg Company now retired to Dunkirk, told a similar story to him. He had once been becalmed off the coast of West Africa, and took advantage of the situation to scrape barnacles off the side of the ship. Men were lowered by ropes whilst sitting on planks. As they worked, a huge cephalopod rose from the water and wrapped tentacles around two of the men dragging them under. Another arm coiled about a third man who clung to the rigging. His shipmates managed to save him by hacking off the monster’s writhing member. The unfortunate man later died of shock. The Captain informed de Montford that the portion severed was 25 feet long, and the whole arm had been 35 to 40 feet long. It tapered to a point and was covered with suckers. The Captain felt that if the monster had attached all its arms onto the ship it would have capsized it.

Another captain by the name of Anderson told de Montfort of finding two huge tentacles, still connected by part of the mantle, on some rocks near Bergen, Norway. They were so thick he could barely put his arms about them, and were around 25 feet long.

Delving into maritime disasters,de Montfort thought that many disappearances of ships could have been caused by attacks from giant cephalopods. One in particular was the disappearance of ten ships in 1782. Six French ships had been captured in the West Indies by British Admiral George Rodney during the Battle of the Saintes, and were being taken to port under the escort of four British ships. All ten vessels vanished and de Montfort postulated that an attack by a kraken was to blame. In fact, the ships had been lost in a hurricane. This rash and rather gullible statement was to be the beginning of the end for de Montfort, who became a scientific pariah. He had not helped matters when he jokingly suggested that the kraken’s arms were so vast they could bridge the Straits of Gibraltar (8.9 miles). Some humourless zoologists had taken him seriously. From then on, his name was mud in scientific circles.

Out of work in scientific agencies, he retreated to the country and wrote books on bee keeping and linguistics. Returning penniless to Paris, he scratched the most meager of livings identifying shells for naturalists and collectors. He became a wretched, ragged figure and finally a destitute alcoholic. He was found dead of starvation in 1820, a pitiful end for a man once associated with the most august scientific institutes in Paris. Pierre Denys de Montfort has been largely forgotten. Despite having created 25 genera still in use today, de Montfort’s career barely merits a footnote whilst his better off contemporaries such as Georges Cuvier are still celebrated today.

Gallingly, after his death, de Montfort was proved correct when parts of gigantic squid began to fall into the hands of scientists. Danish zoologist Professor Johannes Japetus Smith Steenstrup published the first scientific description of the giant squid.

To this day de Montfort has been given little, or no, credit despite having amassed the greatest amount of accounts, and carrying out the most research into giant cephalopods. It is time for that to change and for the scientific community to recognise him for the ground-breaking and dedicated researcher he was, and to realise that the same pigheaded arrogance and prejudice still rides high in the world of science this very day.

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO DAH MAN

I'm actually writing today's Blog stuff about twelve hours early, but I am going out all day tomorrow, and it makes things easier to do the blogs tonight instead of in the morning.
We have all sorts of jolly things for you, starting off with an exclusive track from the new 'Genre Peak' album:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/genre-peak-blue-filter.html

In the absence of footage from last weekend's triumphant Japanese visit by 'Silverhead' here is a track of them live, back in the day:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/silverhead-live.html

Auburn really are an outstanding band. Here is news of the first live outing for the new album, and in case you can't wait, an exclusive track officially bootlegged by yours truly:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/auburn-premiering-new-album.html

And whilst on the subject of Auburn, here is some other stuff that may be of interest:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/link-fascinating-auburn-article.html

Levon Helm of 'The Band' died recently, and by way of our tribute to him, here are 'Spooky Tooth' doing a cover version of 'The Weight' from the Lost Broadcasts DVD:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/link-fascinating-auburn-article.html

I am getting old. I have some information about new music from Mimi Page, and I don't understand a word of it:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/various-odds-and-sods-from-mimi.html

And last (but by no means least) here is a newsletter with all the latest news from 'Wally' and 'Jackson Webber':
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/wally-newsletter.html

We will be back to normal on friday morning...