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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Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Thursday, July 05, 2018

BIG CAT ROUND UP

The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper-column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. 

There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived by us in some way, so we are publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. 

The worldwide mystery cat phenomenon (or group of phenomena, if we are to be more accurate) is not JUST about cryptozoology. At its most basic level it is about the relationship between our species and various species of larger cat. That is why sometimes you will read stories here that appear to have nothing to do with cryptozoology but have everything to do with human/big cat interaction. As committed Forteans, we believe that until we understand the nature of these interactions, we have no hope of understanding the truth that we are seeking.


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.




NESSIENEWS (Caveat Lector)





What makes the Loch Ness monster a monster instead of, say, a new species? In another world, this 90-year-old urban legend might be a viewed as a ...

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



Old stories of bigfoot
One of the most bizarre Bigfoot stories in American history took place in Arkansas more than 165 years ago. Of course, he had a lot of time to consider ...

BLOODY HELL ITS THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

The Gonzo Daily: Thursday
And so the great dance of life continues. The Mayor of Sheffield has "banned" US President Donald Trump from visiting the city. Magid Magid made the announcement while chairing a Sheffield City Council meeting and donning a sombrero "in solidarity" with Mexico. And the latest estimate for fixing my car is a hundred quid up on yesterday. The two things are not related but both seem to be perfect illustrations of the surreality of the world around me.
And for those of you who are interested in such things, the Gonzo Privacy Policy is here:
And the CFZ Privacy Policy is here: http://tinyurl.com/y7b9rlog And, yes,
Forgive me for always banging on about our webTV show, but it matters a lot to me, and I would be grateful for as many people as possible to see it, and spread the tidings of it far and wide:
And if you fancy supporting us on Patreon:
And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore seems to be in order: if you want to make me a happy fellow, you can:
buy my novel:
buy the record by the main protagonist of the novel who isn't me in an elephant mask, honest:
buy my single:
But for now, here is the news:
THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY:  KATE WESTBROOK GOODBY...
Peter Sellers - Parkinson Interview: very funny!
A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT YES
FRANK ZAPPA NEWS
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem</
Gonzo Weekly #293
THE LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE STONES ISSUE
In this remarkably eclectic issue, which is one of my favourites for a while, Alan discusses the events surrounding this summer’s Solstice  Celebrations at Stonehenge, Doug presents the first of two looks at the delectable Annabella Lwin and Bow wow wow, Jon looks at where this magazine stands vis-a-vis the music press as a whole, we celebrate a partial victory for the tree protestors over Sheffield City Council, John goes to Yorkshire for the Shangri-La of speakers, Jeremy critiques the new book on the Flamin’ Groovies, together with fantastic pix from George Alexander’s collection, and Graham brings us up to date with Hawkwind news.
#Hail Eris!
And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Mack Maloney, BUT Friday Night Progressive is on hiatus this week, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, although Neil Nixon, and Roy Weard, and C J Stone, and Mr Biffo are having a well-deserved week off. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and red kangaroos who've lost their shoes (OK, nothing to do with the largest extant macropods who are in a quandry with regards their footwear, 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:
Mojo, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Canterbury Sans Frontieres, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Fedor Freso, Vincent Paul Abbot, David Bianco, Daniel Trombley Ingram, George Cameron, Geoffrey Oryema, Leslie Michael Grantham, Joseph Walter Jackson, Steve Soto, Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, Rick Wakeman, Paice, Ashton & Lord, The Mitchell Trio, Doug Harr, Bow Wow Wow, Annabella Lwin, George Alexander, Flamin' Groovies, Alan Dearling, Summer Solstice, Stonehenge Festival, Thom the World Poet, John Brodie-Good, Rebound Records (York), The Sound Organisation, Linn Isobaric Loudspeakers ('Briks'), Kev Rowland, Ghoul + Ill Bill, Loathe, Holding Absence, Joel Grind, Midnight, Nil Eye, Ringworm, Ghoul, Acid Witch, Multicult, Like Rats, Shed The Skin, Immortal Bird, Child Bite, Brain Tentacles, Ritual Howls, Superfecta, Cyril, Gygax, Innfight, Giuda, Jari Tuira, Jirm, Hawkwind, Jon Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Rolling Stones, Freddie Mercury, Shania Twain, Gorillaz , Beatles, Damon Albarn, Nordoff Robins
And the last few issues are:
Issue 293 (Stonehenge)
Issue 292 (Rolling Stones)
Issue 291 (Alien Weaponry)
Issue 290 (Frank Zappa)
Issue 289 (Misty in Roots)
Issue 288 (Paula Frazer)
Issue 287 (Boss Goodman)
Issue 286 (Monty Python)
Issue 285 (ELP)
Issue 284 (Straqngelove)
Issue 283 (Record Store Day)
Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
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 58 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two half grown 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 Archie and the Cats?

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Thursday

ON THIS DAY IN -  1806 - A Spanish army repelled the British during their attempt to retake Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Tegu Lizards Spotted Around Florida, and They Coul...
  • Faecal transplants ‘could save endangered koala’
  • Mixed signals from poisonous moths
  • This 240-Million-Year-Old Reptile Is the 'Mother o...
  • No, This Tiny Beast Is Not Half-Mammal, Half-Repti...


  • 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)