Thursday, February 28, 2013

HIT PARADE FOR FEBRUARY (CFZ PRESS/FORTEAN WORDS)

UK

1. Haunted Skies Volume Six by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
2. Those Amazing Newfoundland Dogs by Jan Bondeson (6)
3. Quest for the Hexham Heads by Paul Screeton (1)
4. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (1)
5=. Haunted Skies Volume Four by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (3)
5=. Haunted Skies Volume Three by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
5=. Wildman! by Nick Redfern (6)
5=. The Journal of Cryptozoology Volume One edited by Karl Shuker (6)
9=. Dragons: More than a Myth by Richard Freeman (-)
9=. Monstrum! by Tony 'Doc' Shiels (-) 

US

1. The Journal of Cryptozoology Volume One edited by Karl Shuker (1)
2When Bigfoot Attacks by Michael Newton (5)
3. Those Amazing Newfoundland Dogs by Jan Bondeson (-)
4=. Cats of Magic, Mythology and Mystery by Karl Shuker (2)
4=. Monsters of Texas by Ken Gerhard and Nick Redfern (3)

4=. The Inhumanoids by Bart Nunnelly (6) 
4=. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (6)
4=. Wildman! by Nick Redfern (6)
9. Weird Waters by Lars Thomas (9)

10. The Owlman and Others by Jon Downes (-)

Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. Sales are still strong after Christmas, quite possibly due to all the hard work Emsy has put in on the Facebook Group. Thank you honey.

CFZ CANADA: ...on a stick

In 2010, a Canadian gentleman south of Ottawa, Ontario found something really unusual in his nearby woods. It was on a stick.

Now, urbandictionary.com defines "poop on a stick" as an interjection used when all other phrases are inadequate at expressing one's feelings.  Their example is

 Person A: Sorry, I can't come over and give you the math answers, my bulimic hedgehog just barfed all over my floor. 
Person B: Poop on a stick.

I think that is fitting, as there are no words to describe this.

Read on...

TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS

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.



FEATURELINK: Big cat sightings 'everywhere' in '57

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.






THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN HAS TEA WITH A RHINOCEROS

Today is one of those strange days when I feel like I am in a peculiar kind of limbo. There are all sorts of things happening that I can't really talk about. However, yesterday we went to Northam Burrows and did a spot of birdwatching, and saw various waders and four species of ducks and geese which was rather nice.
 
 
 
 
A bizarrely good mash-up of Jefferson Airplane and Fatboy Slim
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/02/jefferson-airplane-vs-fatboy-slim.html
 
 
Guitarist Stuart Ryan is interviewed by Gordon Giltrap about his life playing guitar
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/02/guitarist-stuart-ryan-is-interviewed-by.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 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
 
* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

*  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

Chelonian Conservation and Biology Volume 11, Issue 2 (December 2012)


Chelonian Conservation and Biology
Volume 11, Issue 2 (December 2012)
Articles

Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Burrow Densities in Scrub 
and Flatwoods Habitats of Peninsular Florida                                                                            153
Traci D. Castellón, Betsie B. Rothermel and Saif Z. Nomani
162

Population Viability Analysis of a Long-Lived Freshwater Turtle, Hydromedusa maximiliani (Testudines: Chelidae)
Shirley Famelli, Sarah Cristina Piacentini Pinheiro, Franco Leandro Souza, Rafael Morais Chiaravalloti and Jaime Bertoluci
Abstract |  
170

Seasonality of Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Reproduction at Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles (1980–2011) in the Regional Context of the Western Indian Ocean
Jeanne A. Mortimer
182

Conservation Status of an Endemic Kinosternid, Kinosternon sonoriense longifemorale, in Arizona
J. Daren Riedle, Philip C. Rosen, Richard T. Kazmaier, Peter Holm and Cristina A. Jones
Abstract |  
190

Declining Reproductive Parameters Highlight Conservation Needs of Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Margaret M. Lamont, Raymond R. Carthy and Ikuko Fujisaki
197

Notes on the Nest Predation Dynamics of Graptemys at Two Wisconsin Sites Using Trail Camera Monitoring
Gregory A. Geller
206

Notes on the Nesting Ecology of Ouachita Map Turtles (Graptemys ouachitensis) at Two Wisconsin Sites Using Trail Camera Monitoring
Gregory A. Geller

214

Mate Selection Based on Genetic Relatedness of Loggerhead Turtles in Captivity
Ken Sakaoka, Makoto Yoshii, Hitoshi Okamoto, Fusae Sakai and Kazuya Nagasawa

Notes and Field Reports
223

Distribution of Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) Bush Meat Poaching Effort
Ryan C. J. Walker and Tsilavo H. Rafeliarisoa
226

Road Mortality in the Greater Padloper, Homopus femoralis (Testudinidae)
Victor J. T. Loehr
Abstract |  
229

Nest Location and Clutch Success of the Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) at Shidvar Island, Iran
Ruhollah Zare, Mahdieh Eftekhar Vaghefi and Stephanie Jill Kamel
Abstract |  
234

Fluctuating Asymmetry in the Eurasian Spur-Thighed Tortoise, Testudo graeca ibera Linneaus, 1758 (Testudines: Testudinidae)
Raluca Ioana Băncilă, Rodica Plăiaşu, Marian Tudor, Ciprian Samoilă and Dan Cogălniceanu
239

Increased By-Catch Rates in the Gulf of Taranto, Italy, in 20 Years: A Clue About Sea Turtle Population Trends?
Paolo Casale, Aida Aprea, Michele Deflorio and Gregorio De Metrio
Abstract |  
243

Each to Their Own: Inter-Specific Differences in Migrations of Masirah Island Turtles
ALan F. Rees, Ali Al-Kiyumi, Annette C. Broderick, Nancy Papathanasopoulou and Brendan J. Godley
Abstract |  
249

Nesting Ecology and Conservation of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Eron Paes e Lima, Juçara Wanderlinde, Daniella Torres de Almeida, Gustave Lopez and Daphne Wrobel Goldberg
255

An Investigation of Organochlorine and Polychlorobiphenyl Concentrations in the Blood and Eggs of the Carnivorous Flatback Turtle, Natator depressus, from Queensland, Australia
Maria P. Ikonomopoulou, Mary Hodge and Joan M. Whittier
Abstract |  
259

Growth in Kyphotic Ringed Sawbacks, Graptemys oculifera (Testudines: Emydidae)
Will Selman and Robert L. Jones
261

A Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) Preying on Fish Within a Mixed-Species Feeding Aggregation
Shigetomo Hirama and Blair Witherington
265

First Report of Callinectes sapidus (Decapoda: Portunidae) in the Diet of Lepidochelys olivacea
Natalie Elizabeth Wildermann and Héctor Barrios-Garrido
Abstract |  
268

First Report of Turtles from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan
Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal, Dorji Wangchuk and Indraneil Das

Commentaries and Reviews
273

Testes Morphology in Cuora flavomarginata: A Response to Kuchling and Griffiths (2012; Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11[1])
Charles J. Innis
274

Reply to the Commentary of Charles J. Innis: “Testes Morphology in Cuora flavomarginata
Gerald Kuchling
Citation |  

Turtle Poetry
276

A Turtle's Dream
Abbey Lincoln

LINK: Julia Pastrana and Her Tribe by Mark Russell Bell

During the late 1980s I was researching Julia Pastrana, who I had first learned about uponreading one of Frederick Drimmer's books.  I was curious to see what further information was available and obtained photocopies of some of the printed materials about Julia that had been made at the time of her public appearances during the mid-nineteenth century.  I featured the first portion of a Boston playbill in a previous blog article and similar information appears in the Worcester flyer (presented below) that provides a brief account of her life until then.  The Boston playbill also reported about Julia: "She has a thick, heavy skull, and half an inch of flesh over it; a small brain, well-proportioned and capable of being cultivated and improved, like a child's eight years old.  Her disposition is mild and childish."

Read on...

A SHAMELESS PLUG

UFO MATRIX is not just a magazine about UFOs, it is also a magazine about the wider implications of UFO Culture. It examines the history and the mystery of the subject in depth, bringing on board the cream of the world's UFOlogical and Fortean researchers. 

Issue 10 brings a new look at the riddle of the Anunnaki, still on the archaeological theme, a new theory about the origins of civiliisation, a world exclusive picture of a Kuwaiti UFO, a major interview with UFOlogist Nick Redfern, Physics for UFOlogists, and columnists including BUFORA and Richard Freeman's World of Sci Fi.

Editor Jon Downes has been a central figure of British paranormal and Fortean research for several decades, and is one of the best known British researchers and authors in the field. Contributors to issue 10 include veteran researchers such as Nick Redfern, Richard Freeman, Malcolm Robinson, Dr Andrew May and Ronan Coghlan. At last a valid UFOlogical magazine for the 21st Century 


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.





THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN MAKES FRIENDS AND INFLUENCES PEOPLE

The recovered hard drives have arrived! Yay! However, because I am still not sure of the integrity of this computer they remain untouched until my new computer arrives in a few days. Still in computer news, Corinna's aged computer has given up the ghost, so her hard drive is being slaved into the secondary office computer. My current computer will become the secondary office computer when the replacement arrives. Confused? I certainly am. Yesterday we went for a walk to Powler's Peice and photographed some enormous paw prints. There have been several alleged big cat sightings in the area...
 
 
 
Forgive the shameless plug, but the latest edition of UFO Matrix is available. I am the editor, and we need as many readers as we can get
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/02/forgive-shameless-plug.html
 
 
 
There are some Yes-related stories to weird for me to have made up. Beam me up Billy.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/it-prog-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it.html
 
Another very peculiar story - apparently Jefferson Airplane/Starship have friends in high places
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/link-heres-song-jefferson-airplane.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 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
 
* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

*  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly 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




On this day in 1964 the Italian government put out an international request for experts to help save the leaning tower of Pisa from toppling over and collapsing. The work on the foundations was eventually completed in 2008.

And now the news:









Superman can be a real git at times:

CRYPTOLINK: Inverness Courier on upcoming Nessie Conference

The Inverness Courier has a large part to play in modern sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. It was their report of a "strange spectacle" on Loch Ness in May 1933 that was the first in an innumerable stream of journalistic write ups on this phenomenon that continue to this day.

Unlike the prior era when such eyewitness testimonies were dismissed as old Kelpie legends, the Great Depression of the 1930s and the need to boost the local economy provided an ample reason for letting this story run - whether there was a monster in the loch or not! One quote apposite to this is from Charles Paxton:

Despite his sole visit, Mr Paxton maintains he is qualified to take part in the conference as he will focus on the statistical analysis of more than 800 eyewitness reports, many of which had been obtained by trawling back issues of the Courier.


He found the peak years for recorded sightings were 1933 and 1934.

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.


THE TENBY THING

I had an email from Gavin Lloyd Wilson, our erstwhile News Editor earlier. He wrote:
Hi Jon, You may have seen this story already, but just in case...
He included THIS LINK. The story began:
For those not aware the Western Telegraph website ran a story this morning about a bizarre creature that had apparently been washed up on Tenby’s South Beach on the weekend of the 23rd-24th of February 2013, Click Here for the story.
We started receiving emails about this as the story broke and it is genuinely quite interesting because it is eerily similar to the Montawk Monster/Manhattan Monster:

Both creatures are, on initial viewing, very odd looking. Both are virtually hairless, both have strange proportions, both are discoloured, both seem to have long almost human-like fingers and both seem to have a beak/nose not usually associated with animals of this size. Could this really be evidence of Alien life in West Wales?
The article was from a website run by a paranormal group called Pembrokeshire Beyond who certainly seem to have their heads screwed on, because they go on to say: continued:
Without further examination, which would be impossible as the remains were moved by people who appeared to be council workmen, we can’t be 100% sure what it is. But I do not believe it is in any way extra-terrestrial in origin, nor do I believe that it could be the result of any bio-experiment gone wrong.
The Montawk Monster is believed by some to be a decomposing Raccoon, I believe that something similar has happened here. An animal the size of a small Dog (looking at the teeth it could even be a Dog) has fallen into the waters of the Bristol Channel just before or prior to death.  In the waters of the Channel it has begun to decompose which has caused the skin to discolour and rot around the snout/nose giving an almost beak like appearance, the fur to fall out which is making the animal appear almost unrecognisable upon first glance (although there are hints of white fur on the creatures back) and the body itself has swollen due to internal gases caused by the breakdown of organic matter.

In a world were such things quite often get blown out of all proportion by people who really should no better, it is refreshing to find such a sensible account. I wrote to them:
Hi Guys,
I am passing the picture over to one of our zoologists to identify. My guess is dog.
However, I thought I can do a couple of things to help. Firstly, you have mis-spelled Montauk on the graphic. Its an easy thing to do. And secondly, there is photographic proof that the MM was a dead raccoon. Check this out:
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/montauk-monster-revealed.html
But well done on correctly describing it as a dead aniomal made hairless by immersion in seawater rather than jumping on the 'alien' bandwagon. There are too many people these days prepared to make capital out of stories like this. I am glad to see you guys don't

Jon Downes, Director, Centre for Fortean Zoology
I am sending the original picture to Max, Lars and Richard. I will let you know what happens next.

POSTSCRIPT: Lars confirms it is a dog but because the picture is not terribly good he can not identify it to breed. Max, who is terribly busy, wrote back that it is probably a dog. So no alien then?

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN MAKES FRIENDS WITH SOME POULTRY

Yesterday was an interesting day. A dead dog washed up on a Welsh beach provoked comment, more news on David Bowie's new album whetted my appetite, and we had a long and interesting walk through the woods at Huddisford with the dog. It is still bloody cold though, although I have been told that the weather will start getting warm again soon. I hope so, because yesterday I spent too much time chilling with my bitch (Prudence and I both got awfully cold - if this weather continues I am going to have to look at buying her one of those doggy coats).
An interesting interview with Eric Burdon, together with a snippet from his new album. The player works on my computer, so I hope it works on all of yours.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/ground-control-to-eric-burdon.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 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
* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

*  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

CRYPTOLINK: Mystery animal photographed in Oklahoma reminds of legendary creature...

A word about cryptolinks: We are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting, usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... mythical creature?

Chupacabra_main_20130219181359_JPGOne Oklahoma man believes that's exactly what he managed to photograph. Craig Martin recently captured three images of an animal he thinks could be a Chupacabra, a legendary species rumored to feed on the blood of goats. The pictures show the animal feasting on the carcass of a dead animal, and even captures the face of the animal. To Martin, it's a match for the elusive prowler.

Read on...


NOTE FROM JON: Look on the haunches.