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...

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

MATTHEW AND EMMA RESCUE A TOAD

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


Yesterday’s News Today

On this day in 2012 Pokemon Black and White version 2 is released, something Max and myself have been looking forward to for some time.
And now the news:
Music from the Pokemon games performed by a concert orchestra:

DALE DRINNON: Cedar and Willow/Benny's Blog

Odds and ends of links, still catching up

New at Cedar and Willow:
 
And two new ones for Benny's Ominous Octupus Omnibus blog:
 
And

HAUNTED SKIES: Sun (The) 29.9.69.


http://hauntedskies.blogspot.com/2012/10/sun-29969.html

WATCHER OF THE SKIES: Today's Fortean bird news

In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that - whereas the study of out of place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot, or lake monsters - it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean Zoologist to be interested in. So, after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo, Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.




CRYPTOLINK: Hominids in thailand


Any self-respecting country laying claim to ‘wilderness areas’ has to have them! Reports of large ape-like creatures emanate from remote mountain and forest areas of every continent bar Antarctica: the Sasquatch or Bigfoot of Canada and the United States, the yetis of Siberia, yowies of Australia and abominable snowmen of Tibet — and Southeast Asia, with its stretches of dense and often little-known jungle, is not immune.
Vast primary forest along the Malaysian/Thai border
What lies beneath?
(This post actually comes with a soundtrack, so at this point you may wish to click this link.)
Malaysia in particular has persistent reports of creatures at home in Endau Rompin national park, or check out this report from Setapak forest. Laos and Vietnam have sightings of ‘hairy wild-men’ from the Truong Son mountains along the remote border area (see here) and Cambodia, the Kulen yeti.
With an estimated 15% forest cover, Thailand is not traditionally a yeti hotspot, but we uncovered similar legends on a visit to Nan province’s Mae Charim national park. Mae Charim lies in a mountainous region of eastern Nan, backing onto the Lao border, and contains extensive forest area and very few inhabitants.
Rom Khlao Village
Rom Khlao Village
In fact part of eastern Nan is even known as the ‘empty quarter’ and in Mae Charim there is just one village: the Hmong settlement of Rom Klao. We began our trip in Rom Klao where we met up with our old friend, former communist guerrilla, ex-hunter and now local guide Pha.

Read on...

INAPPROPRIATE CORNER: Italian supermarket attacked for ‘selling offensive wine bottles with Hitler on the label’


A woman whose relatives died in Auschwitz says she was shocked to discover wine bottles featuring images of Hitler in an Italian supermarket. Cindy Hirsch from Philadelphia, U.S. was holidaying with her husband Michael in Garda, northern Italy, when the couple spotted the wine bottle labels featuring pictures of the former Nazi leader.
One of the bottles being sold in a supermarket near their hotel was called 'Mein Kampf' after the right-wing dictator's famous book, another was called 'Ein volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer' (one people, one empire, one Fuhrer).

Offensive: Cindy Hirsch from Philadelphia, U.S. was holidaying with her husband Michael in Garda, northern Italy, when the couple spotted spotted the Fuhrer wine bottle labels featuring pictures of the former Nazi leader
Offensive: Cindy Hirsch from Philadelphia, U.S. was holidaying with her husband Michael in Garda, northern Italy, when the couple spotted spotted the Fuhrer wine bottle labels featuring pictures of the former Nazi leader

Other labels depicted Hitler in different poses including one in which he is shown making the Nazi salute. Another bottle featured an image of Pope John Paul II.


Read more: Read on... 

TODAY'S BIG CAT ROUND UP

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 by us in some way, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. In September 2012, Emma Osborne decided that the Mystery Cat Study Group really deserved a blog of its own within the CFZ Blog Network.




Here is the latest tranche of news...


  • SIGHTINGS (Canada): New big cat reports
  • NEWSLINK: Conservation of Amur leopard
  • NEWSLINK: Mountain lions moving west
  • SIGHTING (UK): Dog Walkers Unnerved By "Big Cat" S...
  • TERATOLOGY/CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Maned lionesses explaine...
  • NEWSLINK: Conservation proposal for Pakistani snow...
  • SIGHTINGS (USA): Arizona mystery cat


  • I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

    And so another day begins. David B-P has been made redundant, the toads have settled in, Graham is having a couple of days off, and it seems that we won't get the car back until next week, and I am supposed to be filming Jefferson Starship on tuesday. Life is generally crappy, but I expect that it will get better.

    Yesterday evening I had a long chat with the ever lovely Helen McCookerybook, and - as always - what was supposed to be a ten minute conversation about a new limited edition release of hers, became a long and rambling chat during which we talked of cabbages and kings until I realised that we had been talking for over half an hour. During this chat she told me about her friend Acton Bell, with whom she has done a number of gigs and also is organising the very groovy sounding Club Artyfarle which seems like an event after my own heart. So, being a nosy bugger, I typed Acton's name into Youtube, and ladies and gentlemen I am smitten! She has an extraordinary talent which is unlike anyone else I have heard in yonks.
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/actons-sunday-with-helen.html

    Yesterday I had a jolly e-mail from Liz Lenten who is remarkably upbeat, probably because she is off on tour with Jefferson Starship. I shall be talking to her at 4:00 so expect more news...
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/an-email-from-liz-lenten.html

    And whilst on the subject of the Jefferson Starship tour here is a rather nifty poster I found...
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/jefferson-starship-pat-mcmanus-auburn.html

    I have received so many emails over the past few days about Michael Des Barres and his current projects, that I felt that we should do an interview with him quickly before his life got any more complicated. So I dropped him a quick email, and ten minutes later we were chatting. He began by saying all sorts of nice things about the Gonzo Daily...
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/exclusive-interview-michael-des-barres.html

    Our daily visit to the remarkable abode of Thom the World Poet; a man whom I admire very much
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_11.html

    Yesterday afternoon the ever attentive Mr Ayling sent me a link to a documentary about Ginger Baker. We have to run this he said. So I have.
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/beware-of-mr-baker.html

    The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

    The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The Editor is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat - puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today



    On this day in 1982 the Tudor warship, The Mary Rose was salvaged from the sea bed of the Solent where she had lain since the 16th century.
    And now the news:
    This is good if you're lazy; follow this link to visit the new Mary Rose Museum without having to bother leaving your pc: