CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: 09/01/16

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...

Thursday, September 01, 2016

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS AN IRRITABLE OLD SOD

The Gonzo Daily - Thursday

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/about.html

As you may or may not know, I have had a whole string of teenage girls working for me over the past few years, mostly as students. Some have been better than others. One I remember told me that "I have a bit of an attitude sometimes" to which I replied "not when you are working for me you don't". She left a few days later. Another was playing me up so badly when I was meant to be giving her extra tuition that I sent her into the office to wait for her mother telling her not to speak to her "elders and betters" like that. She never came back. Others have been lovely, and have great things ahead of them. I am pleased to say that the latest incumbent, Miss Chloe Gray is of the latter school.

Dear Chloe was here yesterday and toiled massively. Together we put together the latest CFZ Newsletter and sorted both hard copy and ebook versions of the last two issues of A&M - something we should have done weeks ago. She shows a real aptitude for what we do and is truly the best assistant that I have ever had.

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:

http://tinyurl.com/gmo6axf

buy my single:

http://tinyurl.com/zoex4d4

And now for the news................

Eric Burdon Interview

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/eric-burdon-interview.html

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Erik Norlander - "Surr...

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-gonzo-track-of-day-erik-norlander.html

MJ12 US review

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/mj12-us-review.html

GREGG KOFI BROWN IN RUSSIA

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/gregg-kofi-brown-in-russia.html

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/thom-world-poet-daily-poem.html

Gonzo Magazine #197

http://www.gonzoweekly.com/

In this issue we say goodbye to a gracious and very talented lady: Gilli Smyth of Gong. Doug goes to see Brian Ferry, Alan goes to see what the British Library has to say about Punk, and explains Futurology and Free Cultural Spaces, while Jon waffles on about stuff.

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:

Michael Moorcock, Dave Bainbridge, Celestial Fire Band, Gong, Bart Lancia, The Who, Stick Men, Brian May, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Canterbury Sans Frontieres, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Gillian "Gilli" Mary Smyth, Machali, Tom Searle, Matt Roberts, Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, CBE, DL, The Boomtown Rats, Karnataka, Rick Wakeman, Rob Ayling, Billy James, Matthew Watkins, Alexandria Krysinski, Brian Ferry, Alan Dearling, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Futurology and Free Cultural Spaces, Hawkwind, Xtul, Elvis, Queen, Keith Richards, Joy Division, Neil Nixon, Johnny Cash, The Beatles

Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:

Issue 196 (Paul May)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo196.html

Issue 195 (Dave Brock)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo195.html

Issue 194 (Auburn)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo194.html

Issue 193 (Genre Peak)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo193.html

Issue 192 (Rick Wakeman and Brian May)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo192.html

Issue 191 (Karnataka)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo191.html

Issue 190 (Erik Norlander)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo190.html

Issue 189 (Rick Wakeman at the O2)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo189.html

Issue 187/8 (Yer holiday special)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo187-8-the-summer-holiday-special.html

Issue 186 (Beatles)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo186.html

Issue 185 (Judge Smith)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo185.html

Issue 184 (Mick Abrahams)

http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo184.html

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:

http://www.gonzoweekly.com/pdf/

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 57 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?

THE GUARDIAN: Time for some honesty about the badger cull

FROM THURSDAY'S GUARDIAN:

Most scientific experts agree that data from the initial trial badger culling areas in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset do not justify further extension of culling (Scientists criticise badger cull extension, 31 August). In ignoring this advice, and extending culling to five new areas, the government risks not only wasting much money but also giving farmers false hope that the approach will contribute to reducing TB in cattle. The initial trial areas were set up to test whether free-range shooting could be done humanely and at the same time reduce badger populations by at least 70% – the figure previously established as the level needed to achieve a significant reduction in TB in cattle.

The government was able to announce last year that it had achieved its culling targets, but only because they were based on unrealistically low badger population estimates – not on the central or best estimate value, but on the lowest bound value of the statistical margin of error around this estimate. This was simply a fudge. In none of these exercises did it achieve a 70% reduction based on the most likely population estimate. As Professor Woodroffe, one of the scientists involved in the original 10-year badger culling trials, put it: “Setting the targets in this way gives a small possibility of reducing badger numbers by 70%, but a much smaller reduction is much more likely.”

Non-achievement of culling targets not only risks the whole exercise being futile but might actually increase the infection rate in cattle due to the wider ranging of surviving badgers within the culling areas.

Bovine TB has been declining since the introduction of stricter pre-movement testing of cattle in 2007-08, so it is difficult to tell what effect the culling is having on disease incidence within and around the culling areas. Nevertheless, contrary to anecdotal evidence from farmers, the only detailed analysis published so far showed no significant effect over the first two years.

An honest government would admit that the culling methodology doesn’t work and abandon it altogether. Failing this, an alternative would be to complete the initially planned four years of culling in the existing areas, basing targets on the most realistic population estimates, and then to follow up with a detailed analysis of the results before deciding whether to extend or discontinue culling.

Dr Francis Kirkham
Crediton, Devon

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF

This Bigfoot Documentary Looks Great!

Bigfoot Evidence

From youtuber Trace Unknown - Quest for Bigfoot: An Unknown Species. Filming for the first season has now been completed. Editing in process.

John Bindernagel - Wildman: My Search For Sasquatch

Vimeo

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SEPTEMBER 7th!! A short clip from my upcoming Bigfoot documentary WILDMAN: MY SEARCH FOR SASQUATCH.

This Company Is Trying to Raise $15 Million to Find Bigfoot

Fortune

BigFoot Project Investments, which focuses on finding and documenting proof of Bigfoot, filed for a public stock offering on Tuesday. The company is ...

This Company Is Trying to Raise $15 Million to Find Bigfoot

Fortune

BigFoot Project Investments, which focuses on finding and documenting proof of Bigfoot, filed for a public stock offering on Tuesday. The company is ...

CFZ MONTHLY NEWSLETTER #11

Dear Friends,

For those of you not in the know, at the beginning of each month we send out a newsletter to all members of the CFZ. The most recent (which went out yesterday) included articles on puffins in Northamptonshire, The 2016 Weird Weekend, the return of OTT, vagrant butterflies in the UK, Notes and Queries etc.

The infrastructure of the Centre for Fortean Zoology has changed rapidly over the last few years and truthfully doesn’t look like its going to stop changing anytime soon. The newsletter costs a quid a month (or the equivalent in your currency) and is delivered straight into your inbox by a plethora of tiny invisible elves, or email if your prefer it that way. You can sign up for it here: http://tinyurl.com/jtsq7ew

If you want to view a sample issue click here: http://tinyurl.com/pw7rw9l

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.