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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...




Monday, January 04, 2021

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF

Regular readers will know that in recent years we have migrated the two specialist Study Groups – Mystery Cats (curated by Carl Marshall and Olivia McCarthy) and Lake and Sea Monsters (curated by Sally Watts and Richard Muirhead) – to their own standalone blogs, although when there are postings, notifications of them can be found on the main blog.


Now, we are doing the same for the BHM Study Group,aggregated ny Guin Palmer, curated by Glen Vaudrey and Nathan Jackson


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 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.

CFZ Members Newsletter #63

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 just now) included articles on OTT, changes at the CFZ, Coronavirus stuff, Asiatic cheetahs, lions on the Arabian peninsula, CFZ births, big cats in the Forest of Dean, Louis and the smart trailcam,  CFZ Yearbook 2020, the way forward,  Patreon, Richard Muirhead's new book, my new book, 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 you 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

AND SO IT BEGINS SAID THE GONZO BLOG DOO DAH MAN

 The Gonzo Daily: Monday

In early 1976 I became friends with a schoolboy a year or so younger. His name was Martin “Dickie” Dowding, he was a fine guitarist even aged fifteen or whatever he was then, and was happy to become embroiled in various projects of mine over the next few years. He would always tell an embarrassing story about me and events that I caused of which I have no memory whatsoever.
Apparently, he was aged about 17, which would’ve made me pushing 20. He was queued up outside the old Stella Maris convent in Bideford, which for many years was a girl’s school, and he was hoping to gain entry to a dance there. The problem was that his ticket was forged, and he didn’t want to attract any attention from the fierce looking nuns on the gate. Along comes me, slightly wasted, and shouts from the other side of the road: “Dowding you old M*********** how the ***ing *** are you?” Whereupon the fiercest of the two nuns reached over and silently tore up his ticket.
So we went down the pub instead.
Seven or eight years ago his wife Sara died of cancer, and so, when Corinna died, I knew somebody who had been through the same thing before I had. Martin was heartbroken, and never really recovered. Yesterday he died of COVID-19 and 45 years of my life went with him.
He used to come out and have dinner with me and Corinna and Mother and we always enjoyed his visits. I don’t know if I ever told him that I loved him, but I always did. He was a quiet, gentle, unassuming man and the world is a considerably shittier place without him.
Love and Peace
From me and Lilith Tinkerbell the cat
ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO SQUINT
AND OTHER STUFF FEATURING VARIOUS GONZO CONTRIBUTORS:
Our webTV show:
And if you fancy supporting it on Patreon:
And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore may seem to be in order:
Meanwhile I continue to pretend that I am a popstar, because now I have sold eleven whole copies of my new album Coldharbour. If I continue at this rate I will get a silver disc sometime at the beginning of the next millenium. Coldharbour, by the way, can be found here: https://jondownes1.bandcamp.com/releases
I think it is really rather good, but then again I would say that wouldn't I?
AND THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE GONZO MAGAZINE:
Gonzo Weekly #421/2
THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE
This magazine continues to go off on strange tangents that I never expect, but I am very happy to see it do so. What is in this week? Ooooh lots of things. Such as Rick Wakeman, lotsa Covidstuff, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Jon's 2020 Top Ten, The Crown, and oodles more...
And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney and Friday Night Progressive, AND Merrell Fankhauser, and the Real Music Club, AND Strange Fruit, and Mr Biffo, there is a column from Kev Rowland, and C.J Stone, but Mr Biffo, Tony Klinger and Neil Nixon, are on hiatus. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and dibblers who have got the blues (OK, nothing to do with tiny marsupials who are listening to the new Bob Dylan album, 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!!!
..And the last few issues are:
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 a recently widowed old hippy of 61 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, three other cats, 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 a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Monday

ON THIS DAY IN - 1884 - The socialist Fabian Society was founded in London.

And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk


  • BBC: Rare black fox spotted in Somerset is back ho...
  • Songbird trade in Indonesia threatens wild Sunda l...
  • MONGABAY: Top 15 species discoveries from 2020 (Ph...

  • 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)