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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Friday, August 26, 2016

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

From Nick Redfern's World of Whatever:
From CFZ-USA:

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES


What has Corinna's column of Fortean bird news got to do with cryptozoology? 

Well, everything, actually! 

 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.





BRIAN MAY: The extension of the badger cull is horribly cruel – and it won’t help farmers

Badgers
Tuesday was a sad day for our wild animals. The BBC reported that the badger cull will be extended into five new areas, although the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would not confirm that the selections had been made.
News that the already failed cull would be expanded is particularly disappointing to those who hoped that a new government would bring new wisdom. This tragic development is born of a distortion of the real facts, supported by false promises and propaganda heaped on to the farming community.

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF




ATV Rider Has Close Call With A Bigfoot
My guest on Sunday will be Dave Groves. Dave shares with us an encounter he had with one of these creatures while riding his ATV, Dave says “I was ...


THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS THEREFORE HE IS

The Gonzo Daily - Friday/Saturday
One of the most striking talks at the recent Weird Weekend was—as I have mentioned elsewhere—by Matthew Watkins who is better known to Gonzo afficianados for presenting the monthly radio show celebration of Canterbury music. His talk was about mathematical proofs of time playing silly buggers (although he put it far more elegantly than that, and as far as I recall didn’t use the term ’silly buggers’ once). But time does play silly buggers. I have spent months alternately looking forward to and dreading the seventeenth Weird Weekend, and now it is a whole week since it started. Where has that intervening week gone? I have absolutely no idea. I had a birthday, drank too much brandy one night, put this issue of the magazine together, drank too much vodka last night, and now I am writing this with a nagging and mildly irritating hangover. I know that dear Chloe was here for a couple of afternoons working, I know that she and I corrected a proof by Brian Allan, and finished Karl Shuker’s book on the Loch Ness Monster. I know I have been reading the various books I got for my birthday and listening fairly solidly to The Beatles white album, but I have no idea in real terms what has happened to the last few days.
Weird huh?
And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore: if you want to make me a happy fellow, you can:
buy my novel:
buy my single:
And now for the news................
COMING THIS WEEKEND
THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Fairport Convention, R...
BRIAN MAY: The extension of the badger cull is hor...
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
GREGG KOFI BROWN REVIEW
Gonzo Magazine #196
We talk to the mighty Paul May about his work on Al Atkins’ (ex Judas Priest) anthology. Alan investigates glissando guitar, Doug goes to see Radiohead, and Jon burbles on about John Lennon.
Funky eh?
And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, Mack Maloney, and Friday Night  Progressive. We also have columns from all sorts of folk including Roy Weard, Mr Biffo, Neil Nixon and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a thrilling and slightly disturbing episode of Xtul. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and pademelons outside zoos(OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have escaped from captivity, 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!!!
This issue features:
John Lennon, Madness, Prince, Icarus Peel, John Blaneym Brimsley Schwarz, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Kenneth George "Kenny" Baker, Ruby Wilson, David Enthoven, Barbara Gibb, The Boomtown Rats, Karnataka, Rick Wakeman, Paul May, Al Atkins, Radiohead, Alan Dearling, Steve Hillage, Gong, Glissando Orchestra, Neil Nixon, The Beatles, Chris Hadfield, Starmus Festival, Ken Gerhard, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Stacia, Xtul, Cavern Club, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Elvis, Devo, Brian Eno, Johnny Cash                                                                                  
Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
Issue 195 (Dave Brock)
Issue 194 (Auburn)
Issue 193 (Genre Peak)
Issue 192 (Rick Wakeman and Brian May)
Issue 191 (Karnataka)
Issue 190 (Erik Norlander)
Issue 189 (Rick Wakeman at the O2)
Issue 187/8 (Yer holiday special)
Issue 186 (Beatles)
Issue 185 (Judge Smith)
Issue 184 (Mick Abrahams)
All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
You can download the magazine in pdf form HERE:
SPECIAL NOTICE: If you, too, want to unleash the power of your inner rock journalist, and want to join a rapidly growing band of likewise minded weirdos please email me at jon@eclipse.co.uk The more the merrier really.
* 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.co.uk
* 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 56 who - together with an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two small kittens, one totally coincidentally named after one of the Manson Family, purely because she squeaks, 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 infantile orange cat, and the adventurous kittens?

NEWS FROM NOWHERE - Friday/Saturday

ON THIS DAY IN - 55 B.C. - Britain was invaded by Roman forces under Julius Caesar. 
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Luna moth's long tail could confuse bat sonar thro...
  • Alberta weighs ban on spear hunting after man film...
  • Neonicotinoid insecticides linked to wild bee decl...
  • These lizards bleed green - Blood chemistry unknow...
  • New species of extinct river dolphin discovered in...
  • Giant goldfish found in Australian rivers after be...
  • Capybaras could become Florida’s next invasive spe...


  • AND TO WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK... (Music that may have some relevance to items also on this page, or may just reflect my mood on the day)