CFZ PEOPLE: Joan James

A very happy birthday to my dear mother-in-law who is 83 today.

WE ARE AWAY FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS

We are going to Lancashire later today. Lizzy and Paul are getting married on Saturday and she has done me the honour of asking me to give her away. We will then go to Rutland to collect my beloved mother-in-law, and we will be back in Woolsery on sunday or monday.

In the meantime if you want to get hold of me or if you have bloggystuff email graham@cfz.org.uk

Slainté

BIG CAT NEWS: Few and far between at the moment

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

Big cat sighting? Town/Country in England? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland ...
Today I was walking my mate back home when we hit a big black path, He ... Give Sherlock Holmes a ring. ... A Panther was actually spotted on Dartmoor a couple ...

There is not much that one can say about this sighting. There is no location and no photograph, and a slew of facetious comments. This following piece is even less use from an evidential point of view, although it is mildly amusing...

Big Cats In Sussex - Look Out
SICK CHIRPSE
Are there big cats roaming the English countryside? I hope so.

So, dear fellow, do I.

BIG CAT NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Whilst the focus of the CFZ Mystery Cat study group is predominantly the search for proof of the British big cats, it would be unrealistic to forget that this is only part of a global mystery cat phenomenon.

Here are a selection of mystery cat stories from around the world:

What's this paw print?ABC OnlineBy Maynard (Online Goose) His friend Robert sent it to us here at ABC (Alien Big Cat or Australia's Biggest Circus) so we immediately passed it on to someone who actually knows what they are talking about. "Easy - a big dog and probably moving at speed ...

USF area bobcats pose little threat to humansThe OracleBy By Jessica Velez, NEWS EDITOR While the member of the big cat family may seem more exotic than the more ubiquitous squirrels, ducks and frogs on campus, the sighting isn't abnormal, an official from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation ...

'Big as a cattle dog': When giant cats attackNEWS.com.auRANGERS have set traps on Magnetic Island, off the Queensland coast near Townsville, to try to catch a mystery big cat that has been spotted near residents' homes. The giant Maggie moggie, which has been reported to be at least as big as a cattle dog, ...

When Mystery Cats Aren't?These photos were taken of a “cougar” seen in a backyard. d say they are images of a domestic cat with a tabby pattern. Nothing mysterious here. When Mystery ...

HAUNTED SKIES: Guardian (The) 26.10.67.

http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/06/guardian-261067.html

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1822 Charles Babbage proposed his 'difference engine' to the royal astronomical society. His designs worked, as was shown conclusively by the science museum when they finally constructed the machine, and had it been made in 1822 it would have been the worlds first working calculator/computer... Who knows what that might have led to?

And now the news:

• UK Great bustard population to be boosted with egg...
• Wing Bling: For Female Butterflies, Flashier Is Be...
• Rare Scilly Bee Spotted On St Martin’s
• Fund gives Dh2m to study rare species
• New species of bird identified in Colombia
• New home created for one of UK’s most endangered b...
• Bahamas shark station comes under attack - but the...
• Two new species of frog identified in Australia
• Ruling on dunes sagebrush lizard likely on Thursda...

One of Babbage's difference engines in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0anIyVGeWOI

I'M THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

Well, here we are; my last set of Gonzo Daily stuff before handing over my conceptual baby to the tender loving care of Graham Inglis (expect lotsa Hawkwind in the next few days), and wending our weary way up the M5 to Lancashire.

But we have lots of good stuff for you as always, and I am confident that Graham will keep up the high standard of tat reporting that we have so lovingly set.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/graham-is-in-charge.html

Today starts off with the second installment of our roving reporter Davey Curtis' trek around the northern part of England following Hawkwind:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/dave-curtis-onward-with-hawkwind-to.html

My last postbag pic for a while features the lovely and multi-talented Helen McCookerybook:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/jons-last-postbag-before-he-left-for.html

There is a link to an interesting article about Adam (Rick's son) Wakeman, and his new band:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/link-interesting-article-about-adam.html

We have a set list from Jon Anderson's Seattle gig:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/jon-anderson-seattle-6th-june.html

It seems that the Gonzo Daily posse are not the only people excited about the new releases from the multi-talended Erik Norlander:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/it-seems-that-everyone-is-excited-about.html

And finally, a review of the latest compilation from Merrell Fankhauser:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/06/link-merrell-fankhauser-review.html

We shall probably be back on sunday, but it might not be until tuesday. Graham will keep you posted. Until then...

...JON DOWNES HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

SHUKERNATURE: BLACK LIONS - MANIPULATION, MELANISM, AND MOZAICISM

In recent weeks, two very stunning black lion photographs have been circulating online. One of them is the picture above, opening this ShukerNature blog post, and the other one is documented further down in it. Why they attracted such interest is that according to mainstream zoology, black lions simply do not exist. If they did, and were wholly black in colour, they would most probably be melanistic specimens, analogous if not homologous genetically with black panthers (melanistic leopards) and mutant all-black individuals of other felid species.

Read on...