CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: 05/26/13

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...

Sunday, May 26, 2013

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

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 took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.

DALE DRINNON: Frontiers of Anthropology, Cedar and Willow, Benny's Blogs

New at the Frontiers of Anthropology:

http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.com/2013/05/guest-blogger-jayasree-supplemental.html

http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.com/2013/05/vedia-astrology-debate-additional-who.html

New at Cedar and Willow:

http://cedar-and-willow.blogspot.com/2013/05/lucs-speculations.html

New at Benny's Blog for Thelma Todd:

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/05/carole-landis-article-determined-lady.html

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

http://bennypdrinnon.blogspot.com/2013/05/editorial-cartoons_25.html

One more: also at the Ominous Octopus Omnibus:

http://bennypdrinnon.blogspot.com/2013/05/dick-tracy-meets-rhodent-pt-v.html

And there shall be no new links for Monday in observance for Memorial Day (USA)

Best Wishes, Dale D.

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS ON THE WAY TO SUSSEX

It's Sunday, I don't mean to frighten
but I'm just about to go to Brighton
to see The Deviants do their thing
and to video Mick Farren sing

But before I go there is just time
to pen another stupid rhyme
to do the blogs like I do each week
cos it amuses this particular journo-freak

to do the blogs in rhyme each Sunday
cos it makes the chore a fun day
so to start the Gonzo Track of the Day
is my favourite Farren-song Wayhay!
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-gonzo-track-of-day-mick.html

But now its time to meet the Nexus
of our poetry synapses down in Texas
he does his thing in Austin Town
"Thom the World Poet, come on down!"
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_26.html

Kevin Ayers was a great great man,
I can truly say I was a fan,
he died sometime earlier this year
and there's an appreciation of him here
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/link-all-this-crazy-gift-of-time-kevin.html

He's always cheerful, never surly
Gordon Giltrap interviews Ray Burley
about how he managed to get so far
playing on the acoustic guitar
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/ray-burley-is-interviewed-by-gordon.html

The other day we gave you news
about Stephen Stills playing the blues
the band's first album groweth near
and we've got the first track for you here
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-music-from-stephen-stills-new-band.html

Renaissance are a great band, see
and they've just released a new CD
so here presented just for you
is some sort of video review
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/video-review-of-new-renaissance-album.html

Also, remember Judy Dyble is on the radio later this morning
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/judy-dyble-on-air-tomorrow-morning.html

Byeeeeeeeeeeeee

* 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: The 5 Most Endangered Canine Species

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.

Domesticated dogs are some of the most popular animals on the planet, but their cousins in the wild aren’t always as beloved. For thousands of years humans have persecuted wolves, jackals, dingoes, foxes and other members of the family Canidae,pushing many species into or close to extinction. Here are five of the most endangered canine species and subspecies, three of which only continue to exist because a few people and organizations have taken extraordinary efforts to save them.

Read on...

ALLEN SALZBERG: New York State Snapping Turtles Under Attack

Speaker Silver is receiving emails and calls to defeat the turtle bill and still reviewing the bill , now please take this opportunity to present your own NYS legislator with the facts too.

Tell your assemblyman to vote against A2490, a bill that legalizes the capture and killing of snapping turtles by trapping. A bill that is speeding through the NYS Legislature.

Snapping turtles are already permitted to be killed by gun and longbow and therefore recreational and commercial trapping will dramatically increase the number of these turtles deaths. A devastating blow to these vulnerable animals. The bill has passed the Senate is and is currently in the Assembly Codes Committee. This proposed legislation is cruel and scientifically wrong. It is not based on any proven science regarding snapping turtles, or any turtle species.

So please contact your Assemblymember.

Please take one minute to ask your own NYS level Assemblymember to vote no on A2490.

To Locate the name and contact page of your Assemblymember go to:

1. http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?sh=search

2. Fill in your address

3. Click on your Assemblymember’s name

4. Click on the Assemblymember’s CONTACT page and write your email and/or call.

If you know your legislators name and wish to call the Albany office -- 518-455-4100. ( Assembly operator)

If you have time you may wish to add the following points:

1. The flesh of snapping turtles is tainted with toxins .

2. Non- intended endangered and threatened species of turtles will be captured and killed if this bill if passed. Ie:the Endangered Bog Turtle and the Threatened Blanding’s turtle.

1. Turtles are already vulnerable to an existing multitude of threats such as loss of habitat, mortality rates of pregnant females crossing roadways, high hatchling death rates etc. Killing snapping turtles by traps will only increase their population loss. They need to be protected, not killed.

2. What sort of state passes laws to make it easy to eat their state reptile, the common snapping turtle?

For those wanting to see a copy of the bill, A2490, email me at asalzberg@herpdigest.org.

Thanks. Please do it.

Allen Salzberg

Publisher/Editor

HerpDigest:The Only Free Internet-Only Weekly Newslettter that Reports on the Latest Reptile and Amphibian Scientific and Conservation News

Go to www.herpdigest.org to subscribe

Committee Chair Conservation & Media Committees New York Turtle & Tortoise Society

Member of the IUCN Species Survival Group for Tortoises and Fresh Water Turtles

Sixth Diamondback Terrapin Symposium - Abstract Submission Open

Plans are well underway for the 6th Symposium on the Ecology, Status & Conservation of the Diamondback Terrapin to be held at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center on Seabrook Island, South Carolina from September 13-15, 2013. We are planning an exciting meeting at a great location right on the beach!

We are now welcoming abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Abstracts should include a title, complete list of authors, and an abstract body of no more than 250 words. Please include affiliations for all authors and indicate the presenter with an asterisk (*). Please follow the formatting of the sample abstract attached to this email.

Abstracts should be submitted electronically to terrapin2013@davidson.edu.

Include in the subject line Abstract Oral or Abstract Poster followed by the first and last name of the lead author (e.g. Abstract Oral – Dorcas). We may have more requests for oral presentations than we can accommodate and thus, some who submit as oral presentation may be invited to present as a poster.

Deadline for abstract submission is June 7, 2013. Registration is not required for abstract submission but will be required for final acceptance.

Early registration will be open from June 7 – July 15, 2013 with regular registration from July 15 – August 15, 2013. Capacity is limited, so register early! We expect registration fees to be below $75. See http://www.bio.davidson.edu/terrapin2013 for more information regarding transportation and lodging at Camp St. Christopher as well as a tentative meeting agenda.

We look forward to seeing you in September!