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, February 21, 2013

CFZ CANADA: All the Ills that Flesh is Heir to



The old ways of researching cryptids are sometimes not very useful.  Perhaps it is time to start thinking beyond the “let’s get a photo or a corpse” mentality and look to modern research to see if it may apply.  One of the newest studies compares animals of all kinds to humans with respect to disease.  Animals and humans share a remarkable similarity in that respect.  If we continue to assume that our Fortean creatures are indeed biological animals, perhaps studying comparable diseases may yield new clues.

CRYPTOLINK: Minnesota Ice Man - For Sale!


After a number of blog posts about Fortean property you need something to put in it.  Well how about what is claimed to be Frank Hansen's original 1960's Minnesota Ice man sideshow exhibit?
The listing reads
"This is the actual sideshow gaff billed as "The Minnesota Iceman" by Frank Hansen in the 1960's. This is a one of a kind hoax that was
fabricated by a mid-20th century showman. The Iceman was featured in an issue of Argosy Magazine (as you can see in the pictures) and spawned decades of debate as to its authenticity....

SUMS IT UP PRETTY WELL

funtimes: google

CALLING ALL CARTOONISTS

THE CFZ IS ON THE WANT AGAIN
Are there any Fortean or Cryptozoological cartoonists out there in the blogger readership? Or even non Fortean cartoonists who fancy turning their hand to the weirder end of the natural sciences.

If there are, please email me on jon@eclipse.co.uk

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.


Tragedy strikes Critically Endangered New Zealand ...

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN GOES ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND

Last night it was the 2013 Brit Awards. And I didn't know anything about it, because my mind was elsewhere. However, this morning I looked them up to see what I had missed. And I had hardly heard of anyone. Once upon a time I used to consider myself hip. Even now, I write about music every day, and music is a very important part of my life. Unlike the stereotypical 53 year old, I still listen to new music, and I have very broad tastes. So tell me this:
WHY WERE ALL THE NAMES ON TODAY'S LIST OF WINNERS VIRTUAL STRANGERS TO ME?
I had hardly even heard of most of the nominees. On the BBC page about the event, the only person I recognised was Boy George. I felt completely bypassed by the whole thing. The Smiths once sang:
"Because the music that they constantly play It says nothing to me about my life"
I know exactly what they mean. Sad innit?
A Real Exclusive: Part one of our interview with Merrell Fankhauser
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/exclusive-merrell-fankhauser-interview.html
KEVIN AYERS
I was surprised yesterday at the level of my reaction to the death of Kevin Ayers, but it seems that I am far from the only one. Today we present a whole slew of tributes to a remarkable man, and a unique talent.
The Guardian have reposted what was probably Kevin's last interview
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/remembering-kevin-ayers-possibly-his.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 1918 the Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) became extinct when the last known individual died in Cincinnati Zoo in the USA.
And now the news:

  • Meerkats Use Subordinate Animals as Guinea Pigs Wh...
  • What do you do when you find a 15 foot long snake ...
  • Seals judge size using their whiskers
  • RSPB Ham Wall 'slime' baffles experts
  • Whales benefit from action on ocean noise
  • Finding 'Mr. Right,' How Insects Sniff out the Per...
  • Old leopard still roaming Iran
  • The world's most adorable frog

  • A talking parakeet (or it could just be it's owner putting on a silly voice off cam, I can never be sure with vids like this) :