CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: 06/22/13

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...

Saturday, June 22, 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.

WEIRD WEEKEND UPDATES

Just a couple of updates. Yesterday's post which gave the running order of the event had Richard Freeman marked down as TBA. He obviously isn't. He is talking about his 2013 expedition to Sumatra which commences next week.

A few days ago we asked for volunteers to film the event for us. The Curtis clan have shouldered that responsibility. Huzzah!

Thanks chaps!

DALE DRINNON: Giant Snakes, Benny's Blogs

Its late so I don't know if I'll make it in for tomorrow's posting but here goes:

New at the Frontiers of Zoology:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2013/06/giant-snakes-of-mediterranean-and-north.html
New at Benny's Blog for Thelma To...dd:
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/06/more-from-photoplay-in-thirties.html
http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/06/judy-holliday.html
New at Benny's OTHER Blog, The Ominous Octopus Omnibus:
http://bennypdrinnon.blogspot.com/2013/06/night-of-wanderer-by-tom-sutton.html
http://bennypdrinnon.blogspot.com/2013/06/editorial-cartoons_21.html
Best Wishes, Dale D.

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN LURKS IN THE SHRUBBERY

It has actually been rather a nice week here in the badly converted potato shed where my new assistant editor Captain Frunobulax the Magnificent and I labour on all the different projects that I do. Nothing much has gone wrong, and various things have actually gone right, and at the end of another week it is almost unprecedented that I have nothing much to complain about. Jessica and Matthew are here today labouring in the garden, and the kittens are being more noisy and exuberant than ever. Midsummer Madness in Woolsery.

What's new on the Gonzo Daily?
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com

The Gonzo Track of the Day is from Blodwyn Pig
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/gonzo-track-of-day-blodwyn-pig-same-old.html

Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_22.html

Exclusive interview with Carol Hodge
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/exclusive-interview-with-miss-crystal.html

A peculiar artefact from Robert Wyatt
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/cabinet-of-curiosities-robert-wyatt.html

A review of The Dutch Woodstock
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/dutch-woodstock-review.html

Yes 2014 Tour Dates
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/yes-tickets-for-2014-uk-tour-on-presale.html

...and yes, Issue 31 of the Gonzo Weekly magazine is out. Do me a favour and subscribe - it's free
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/06/gonzo-magazine-31.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) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. 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?

SOMERSET BIG CAT SIGHTING

Letter received re big cat sighting

W. Somerset

25.5.13

Dear Sir/Madam

Last Monday evening at 21.15 hrs I saw a panther in the field next to house. It was there for about 5-10 mins. I had a v. good view of it. I did not get a picture – sorry!

Someone gave me the book “Big Cats Loose in

Britain

” (Marcus Matthews) for my birthday, today, which has prompted me to write this to you.

I trust this information is useful to you?

Yours faithfully,

Gordon Evans

CRYPTOLINK: British fisherman lands a 115-pound ‘UK Monster’

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 (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. cat 1

A British man hooked the biggest fish of his life—a fish said to probably be the most well-known catfish in England—and then needed an extra pair of hands to drag it onto shore after his son managed to get the behemoth into the net.

Rodney Hills, his son, and a fellow fisherman from their group lifted the massive wels catfish onto the shore of Oakwood Lake in Norfolk, U.K., and weighed it with a digital scale hanging from a tri-pod. The fish went a whopping 114 pounds, 11 ounces.

“It was hard work getting it in,” Hills, 67, told the Bucks Free Press. “It was quite a struggle.”

It took Hills 30 minutes to reel the fish to shore on 40-pound-test braided line. His son Adrian, using the biggest catfish net on the market, netted the massive wels catfish and immediately recognized the obvious.

“Once we had got it in the net, Adrian said to me you better go and wake someone else up, as we are going to have trouble getting this out of the water,” Hills told the Bucks Free Press.

Hills summoned another member of their fishing party from a nearby tent. The 10 fishermen from the Catfish Conservation Group spent the night camped out on the shoreline, fortunately allowing for additional help.

Read on...