Wednesday, February 26, 2014

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN WEARS A RATHER FETCHING HAT

The Gonzo Daily - Wednesday
There is a saying which goes something like, "be careful what you wish for, it might come true". For decades I have been working trying to get cryptozoology a higher profile in the public consciousness. Now it has, and I wish that it hasn't. Cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals - is now big business with at least two high profile 'reality TV' series on the subject and a whole plethora of related books and documentaries. And, sadly, very little of this stuff has anything to do with the discipline that I have been espousing since the early 1990s. The search for Bigfoot (I refuse to use the vulgarism "Squatching"), for example is now a staple of mass market entertainment but I feel little or nothing in common with those who practise it. The lovely Sharon Hill from 'Doubtful News' has described it as being more akin to a religion than a science, and it is hard not to agree with her.
She writes: "...little presented has been confirmed as actually happening or investigated to see if an alternative explanation could be found. There is no critical thinking allowed. These events are for believers to share their experiences. Sound like a religious gathering? Yeah, it does for good reason. Many people who believe Bigfoot is in their back yard have zero solid evidence that it does but choose to believe out of faith and they wish it to be true. Due to such events like this gathering, the belief is reinforced and legitimized. In reality, there is no good evidence to do so."
Back in the day when, in the wake of the X Files, everyone and his aunt had a poster of Billy Meier's UFO picture on their wall, emblazoned with the words, "I want to believe". I thought then, and I think now that this is completely wrong. I don't "want to believe"; I want to know the truth, whatever it is. Fundamentalists eh? I confidently expect a fatwa against me in the next few days. My crime? Cryptozoological Apostasy! This is going to be worse than the time I wrote a bad review of The Smiths.
Work on the next issue of Gonzo Weekly has already begun, with lots of photographs and stuff relating to last weekend's Hawkwind-related activities in next weekend's Gonzo Weekly. There will also be an interview with the legendary Keith Levene, new videos from Judy Dyble and Galahad and tons more. The current issue which features an EXCLUSIVE Corky Laing interview, various tributes to the Norse Gods' last battle,Ragnarok, exclusive Hawkwind Space Ritual rehearsals, the return of the mighty Six Foot Three, Clepsydra box set details, news about Hawkwind live this weekend, a pork pie fight, and more news, reviews, views, interviews and packets of fruit chews (OK, no special chewy sweets, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
To make sure that you don't miss your copy of this and future issues make an old hippy a happy chappy and subscribe
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PS: If you are already a subscriber but think that you haven't been receiving your copies please check your spam filters. For some reason known only to the Gods of the internet, some e-mail programmes automatically count the magazine as 'spam' probably because it comes from a mass mailer. Either that or they are just jealous of our peerless content
*  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: www.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 54 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?
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