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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Friday, November 23, 2012

CRYPTOLINK: Mystical creatures star on tourism posters

    BIGFOOTLA artist Fernando Riza has created travel posters like this one, inviting tourists to check out mythical creatures all over the world. Picture: Fernando Riza
IF REGULAR, touristy sight-seeing isn't your thing, then these posters might just entice you.
Los Angeles-based artist Fernando Reza has produced these whimsical, retro-style travel posters enticing travellers to seek out some of the world's most-talked about mythical creatures.

Featuring Big Foot, the alligators of New York's sewers and the Loch Ness monster, Reza says the photos were born of his childhood fascination with these mystical stories.

"As a kid I was pretty fascinated by urban legends and mythic beasts," he said. "I think most kids are. "Specifically, I loved the feeling that anything could be out there. Big Foot, the Loch Ness monster, they made the world feel really big, and mysterious. When you grow up that feeling becomes a bit harder to tap into."




Reza says he used the style of old-world travel posters to capture that feeling of emotion and excitement.
"I thought a good way to capture that would be through the aesthetic of old travel posters that were made specifically to give that feeling to people, that the world is big and exciting," he says.

posters 1


posters 1

The legendary chubacabra is rumoured to live in parts of the Americas, and English children have been told for generations that fairies live at the bottom of their gardens.

Read on...

CRYPTOLINK: Bigfoot enthusiast on DEC letter: ‘It’s all good mambo’


Bigfoot fan Peter Wiemer totally understands why the state Department of Environmental Conservation claims it doesn’t believe in Bigfoot.

“Obviously the DEC wants to play it safe,” he said Wednesday, a day after YNN’s Nick Reisman reported on a letter sent to Wiemer by DEC’s Chief Wildlife Biologist Gordon R. Batcheller. “They don’t want to get ridiculed by their own people or by politicians.”

Wiemer is the organizer of the Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo (“It’s the only Bigfoot convention in New York State”), which will hold its second annual gathering in April.

“This mythical animal does not exist in nature or otherwise,” Batcheller wrote in his Nov. 6 letter to Wiemer, who had asked DEC to provide endangered species protection to the creature.
“I understand … that some well organized hoaxes or pranks have occurred leading some people to believe that such an animal does live,” the biologist wrote in the letter, sent at the behest of DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “However, the simple truth of the matter is that there is no such animal anywhere in the World. I am sorry to disappoint you.”

Batcheller ends his letter on a positive note, pointing out the “great richness of naturally occurring wildlife” in New York, and the DEC’s work to manage it properly, “including highly regulated hunting and trapping opportunities.”

“It’s all good mambo,” Wiemer said Wednesday in a phone interview, referring to the media attention that had resulted from the agency’s determination.
Bigfoot sightings have occurred in almost every heavily wooded region of the nation, from the Pacific Northwest to Florida.

Read on...

CRYPTOLINK: Giving Thanks for Free Speech: NH Supreme Court Upholds the Right to Dress Up as Bigfoot for the Fun of It


Fighting for the First Amendment can often mean confronting and defending vile, caustic, hurtful, and downright disgusting speech. But not all free speech cases address the words of the most hateful or offensive amongst us. Every once in a while you get a case concerning speech at its most fun and playful. In that spirit, and in light of tomorrow's holiday, I'd like to share an update from a case in New Hampshire that Marc Randazza first blogged about here last October.

The case concerns Jonathan Doyle, who decided to dress up as Bigfoot one day in September 2009 and walk around Mount Monadnock State Park to see how people would react (as you do). He filmed some of the interactions he had with passing hikers, and even convinced two park employees to write a note confirming a "bigfoot" sighting on Mount Monadnock.
Doyle decided to return a week or so later, this time announcing his trip in advance through a press release in the Keene Sentinel.  Doyle brought along some of his friends, including a friend dressed up as "Boda the Blue Yoda" (your guess is as good as mine) and a child dressed up as "the Pirate Ambassador." The trio of disparate characters hiked up the mountain and did some more filming, to the delight and amusement of the participants and scattered spectators.

Read on...

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES (CFZ)

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.






DALE DRINNON: Sea Monsters/Cedar and Willow/Benny's Blog

New Links for Tomorrow
Shorties for Friday Off for most people here:

New at Frontiers of Zoology:
 
New at Cedar and Willow:
 
 
 
And New at Benny's Blog, The Ominous Octops Omnibus:
 
Best Wishes, Dale D.

I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO DAH MAN

Today we are still beset with computer problems; something which has been somewhat of a feature of the last week. We are also sad to note the death of Michael Dunford of Renaissance; our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends, as well as to the other members of the band. On a more pleasant note? There isn't one really. However I am sure things will look up; they usually do...

We start off today with our regular visit to the demesne of Thom the World Poet

I am very fond of Erik Norlander. As you may or may not know I did an interview with him last week, but when it was all over he posted the following resume of the whole thing on Facebook, which was so nicely put that I couldn't resist reposting it..

New music from the multitalented Mimi Page

Steve Howe reveals his doubts about the future of Yes

I woke up this morning to an e-mail from Rob Ayling telling me the sad news that Michael Dunford of Renaissance has just died. He wrote: "I will miss Michael, he was always good fun and absolute pleasure to deal with, as well has being a stunning composer and musician - the Prog world will miss him as will I". 

In which I muse about the minutae of the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

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 1963 the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast.
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