LINK: Gloucestershire granddad and former lecturer at the Royal Agricultural College Mick Ponting has written a book about his encounter with the Loch Ness Monster

Mick Ponting and grandson Fred with their book Bumpop and the Loch Ness Monster

A RETIRED Cirencester vet who recently cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats has written a book about a particularly unusual encounter during his trip – with a little help from his two young grandchildren.

Mick Ponting, former lecturer at the Royal Agricultural College, has written Bumpop and the Loch Ness Monster, which features colourful illustrations by grandchildren Rosie and Fred.

The story, which is described as “mostly true”, tells the tale how a bag belonging to Mick – named ‘Bumpop’ in the book after Rosie and Fred’s nickname for him – was eaten by the mythical resident of the Scottish lake.

Read on...

ITS NOT A CHUPACABRA (part 85)

Note, please that it is a male, and does have the pouches on its haunches. But it is NOT a chupa-bloody-cabra

Game cameras caught a picture of an unknown animal, that many people think looks like a Chupacabra, on hunting land in Archer County.
"I didn't know what to think. I thought it was just a "Hairless Wonder" is what I was calling it," said the landowner, who did not want to be identified. "I've seen a lot of weird stuff in the wild, but I've never seen anything like this."
Comments lit up our Facebook page when we posted the picture, with people all sharing their own theories on the animal's species.
The landowner is now on the hunt to capture the animal. "I'd like to find out for sure what it is, instead of people guessing or telling me what they think."

Read on...

KARL SHUKER - THE GOUROCK SEA SERPENT

Do the remains of a cryptozoologically-priceless specimen lie buried beneath a football pitch in Scotland? Karl Shuker investigates.

Read on...

CRYPTOLINK: Bigfoot Update: Melba Ketchum to release high-definition video of Sasquatch

(Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization claim this is a baby Bigfoot. Others say it’s a bear.)
Bigfoot DNA scientist Dr. Melba Ketchum is back at it again.
She unveiled another explosive claim — she has a high-definition video of Sasquatch that she says is a hybrid between a human and an animal.
This follows her claim she submitted more than 100 samples of DNA evidence to independent researchers who confirmed her findings that Bigfoot exists. Check our previous story on her claims and study here.
She never released the names of those scientists but did issue a press release about her findings, which immediately puts her study in question by the scientific community, who rather not go public with things until they can be checked out in and reviewed. The findings she says are under peer-review and to be published in a scientific journal. She doesn’t say which journal  or who is reviewing her work either.  Once the study is published, the video will be released to the public.

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.

Jackson Hole Airport to make bird analysis public

• RSPB Cutting-edge science reveals bird of prey per...
• Vero Beach water bird with throat obstruction need...
• Bird Merit Release at Phnom Penh Riverside

I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

It's sunday lunchtime don't you know it

its time for Jon to be a poet,
cos each Sunday at about this time
he does the Gonzo blog in rhyme

 

and why is that? some people ask,
trying I think) to take him to task
and like a broken phonograph
he just says 'cos it makes me laugh'

 

so what have we in store today?
NEWSLETTER #4 wayhay!
featuring Yes, Frank Zappa (is this OK so far?)
and Judy Dyble and Michael Des Barres
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/gonzo-weekly-4.html

 

Now each day I try to take a look
at the blog of Ms McCookerybook
and today, well I was touched the most
by this Christmas Carol service post
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-very-touching-post-from-helen.html

 

And now we can present part two
of my Michael Des Barres interview
it makes me want to scream and shout
cos he has a new Live Album out
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/exclusive-michael-des-barres-interview_16.html

 

From yesterday each day we'll play
a Gonzo Daily Track of the Day
today it's the turn of my friend Liz
a Princess of the Music Biz
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/gonzo-daily-track-of-day-cry-by-auburn.html

 

And now its time to take you down
to a poet's home in Austin town
we do it each day (don't ya know it?)
Hooray for Thomas the World Poet
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_16.html

 

To the great sadness of this editor freak
Huw Lloyd-Langton passed last week
and news comes in from near and far
of tributes to this late rock star
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/link-huw-lloyd-langton-tribute.html

 

And that is about it for today
there's nothing much for me to say
except if the world doesn't end
the poems'll be back next weekend

*  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 same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html

 

*  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures 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, his mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

Yesterday’s News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 1917 the science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was born. Clark is best known for presenting paranormal t.v series and being the writer of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film of 2001 is perhaps the most over-rated film ever made as it is, unlike the book which is quite good, a pretentious piece of art-house tosh which Kubrick should have been ashamed to put his name to (but then Kubrick only ever made 2 and a half genuinely good films, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and the first half of Full Metal Jacket, the rest being unremarkable at best). If you don't share my opinion then consider this: The first cut Kubrick released of 2001 had 11 minutes of jogging in the spaceship on a loop to convey how boring long distant flights were, a scene which led to Clarke storming out of the movie theatre in tears at the première. The Star Wars Holiday special is a better sci-fi film then 2001 in my opinion because at least that has Boba Fett in it.

And now the news:

Massive African ivory seizure in Malaysia

Fish attracted to same-sex flirts

Snow leopard cubs – A video from Tajikistan

$19 billion per year illegal wildlife trade threat...

Secrets of Mali’s desert elephants revealed by GPS...

The Definitive Sea Serpent

New to Nature No 90: Fukomys ilariae

BPA in Dog Training Aids: High Estrogen-Mimicking .

According to the compilation album “Now That's What I Call Christmas” this is a Christmas song, I really don't see it but it ties in quite well with the original cut of 2001:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=O3tNylJr7Z4