CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: 10/23/12

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...

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

JESS HEARD WITH A 54ft LONG SNAKE

Why? Come along to Barnstaple Museum and find out...

CRYPTOLINK: Rare Seahorse video

Simon Reames sent this:

Footage of a little-known species of seahorse has been released for the first time by researchers.

The video from the Zoological Society of London shows a vibrantly coloured West African seahorse, or hippocampus algiricus, bobbing in the water off the coast of Senegal.

The seahorse was caught by fishermen to study more closely and then released, unharmed.

It forms part of a joint investigation between ZSL's Project Seahorse, Imperial College London, and the University of British Columbia into West Africa's burgeoning seahorse trade.

hRead on...

DALE DRINNON: Bigfoot, ancient voyages, Cedar and Willow, and Benny's Blog

New at Frontiers of Zoology:

http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/10/bigfoot-chicks-with-african-archive.html

New at Frontiers of Anthropology:

http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.com/2012/10/indonesians-to-midieval-africa.html

New at Cedar and Willow:

http://cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/2012/10/hugo-son-of-hercules.html

http://cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/2012/10/postscript-to-thomasina-and.html

New at Benny's Blog, The Ominous Octopus Omnibus:

http://bennypdrinnon.blogspot.com/2012/10/carol-forman-and-spider-lady.html

KENTISH APEMAN

My old pal Lloyd Pye sent me this letter that he has just received. I have removed the writer's surname for obvious reasons:

Hello Lloyd

Oh my gosh, I stumbled on your talks on Youtube today and can hardly believe what I'm about to tell you.

I'm a house painter working in and around Tunbridge Wells in Kent, south east England. A few years ago I as painting the house of an elderly lady. During a tea break we touched on her army service and she told me that, during the second world war she was on leave and was at home in T-Wells. One particular day she went to the common with her husband and was sitting on a bench when they became aware of a shuffling noise behind them. Upon turning around both her husband and herself saw what she decribed as " a tall, hairy ape like creature with eyes that were "burning" had a redish colour" and it was moving towards them at a slow pace. They observed this creature for some time until they became afraid and they both fled - terrified.

She went on to say that they told the police and members of their family, thinking that a gorilla had escaped from a zoo but were laughed at and were not belived.

Now all this happned in WW2 and a very long time ago and I, like many others thought that she was obviously mistaken and, although curious,thought no more of it. Untill that is recently, when reading the Tunbridge Wells courier, a local newspaper, and in a tiny article on the 6th or 7th page, there was an account of a local man who was walking on the common, which is wooded and covered in bracken, when he stumbled upon what he decribed as "tall hairy apeman, with long arms and red, burning eyes"!

This article was brief and no other details were given. Coincidence? But your talk on Humanoids living in woods and forests has certainly given me food for thought.

Best wishes

Graham S

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

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

From CFZ Australia:

Tasmanian Devils on the lam in WA — Three devils escape from a zoo...
CFZ exhibition promotional video — Promoting the CFZ exhibit at Barnstaple Museum...

CRYPTOLINK: In search of Bigfoot Enthusiasts look for signs of elusive creature

Creeping deep into the dark woods at 3 a.m. was old hat for Mark Hudak, 45, of Clinton, Ohio.
An avid bow hunter, Hudak often began hunting long before daylight. So 11 years ago, when Hudak got an opportunity to hunt on more than 2,000 acres of private land with his brother and two friends near Barnesville, he was ecstatic. Little did Hudak know, but he and his hunting partners were about to experience a frightening encounter they would never forget.
"It started out that we heard some owls hooting at us. Well, that is normal, so we didn't think nothing of it," said Hudak.

Article Photos

SOSBI member John Veal photographs and investigates a giant tree that has been split down the center and arranged symmetrically around the base. Strange tree formations, many of which display signs of symmetry and would have required super human strength to create, are often seen as physical evidence of bigfoot’s existence.

But as the men continued walking, they noticed that the owl sounds emanating from both sides of them were getting closer. Not only that, but every time the group stopped, so did the hoots. "We continued down the ridge, and one of these critters screamed at us," said Hudak.

Then a low growl started and crescendoed louder and louder.

"We finally noticed that something else was not right. Not a single other animal was making noise anymore. No nighttime sounds. Now if you're a hunter, you'll know how weird that it," said Hudak. With the absence of nighttime sounds, Hudak and his partners could finally hear what they had not yet noticed - footsteps. It became very apparent that Hudak and his companions were not dealing with owls. But whatever they were dealing with was most certainly following the hunters.

"I would almost compare them to a Navy Seal team the way they flanked us," he added.

Read on...

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.

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.

NEWSLINK: More on the Novato goat attack

NEWSLINK: Leopard attacks

NEWSLINK: More on the Indian Teenager killed by a ...

I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

And so life trundles on. It is a particularly good day for news today with all the blogs having more stuff on them than usual. I am half way through reading an anthopology of Hunter Thompson's writings for Rolling Stone, and will - I hope - get to hear the new Galahad album this afternoon. In the meantime I am working on issue one of the Journal of Cryptozoology, and occasionally writing bits of my new book as well...

I think Peter McAdam is one of the funniest people around, and I cannot recommend his book The Nine Henrys highly enough. This week we shall be running a series of Henrybits that are not found in his book about the nine cloned cartoon characters who inhabit a surreal world nearly as insane as mine...
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/henry-in-ancient-egypt.html

Our daily visit to the singular universe of Thom the World Poet; a man for whom I have ever increasing respect
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_23.html

I wasn't at the Borderline gig last weekend, but Rob Ayling was, and he tells me that Jefferson Starship were even better than usual! Here is some supporting evidence nicked from YouTube...
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/jefferson-starship-crown-of-creation.html

On October 16th Michael was among the artists honoring Steven Van Zandt at Little Kids Rock’s annual “Right To Rock” benefit event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, alongside Elvis Costello, Southside Johnny, Tom Morello, Bruce Springsteen and others. Here is a write up of the event from his website...
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/michael-des-barres-little-kids-rock.html

Whilst photographing the wonderful Gonzo Ladies - Kristian Darling (soon to be Lady Fromage) and Liz Lenten (Auburn). A strange enigma was captured by the camera on the frame before the shot that was used on the blog.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/exclusive-strange-paranormal-activity.html

Richard Stellar, a friend of us all, walks for Alzheimer's
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/richard-stellar-is-walking-to-end.html

I have been trying to interview Tony Hawks for months, and each time something got in the way. However, in the meantime, I saw both of his films, and was struck by the difference in them. The first Round Ireland with a Fridge is a straightforward comedy film about a bloke hitch-hiking around Ireland with a fridge in order to win a drunken bet. The second is far less straightforward...
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/exclusive-tony-hawks-interview.html

Some amazing news for fans of Mike Westbrook
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-westbrook-trio-30th-anniversary.html

There are some things (not many) more important than Rock and Roll. Last week Thom the World Poet highlighted one of them. 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai has received worldwide attention for her efforts to promote the education of girls in Pakistan. On October 9th, she was targeted by the Taliban while on her way home from school and shot in the head. It’s been reported that she recently emerged from a coma in London where she is being treated for her grave wounds. A team with both personal and public ties to Malala and her family have started a campaign to help fund Malala’s future educational and medical costs. Your support for Malala is also support for all the girls for whom she fights.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/malalas-fight-in-pakistan.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?