FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES (CFZ)

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. So, after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo, Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.





TODAY'S 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 should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. In September 2012, Emma Osborne decided that the Mystery Cat Study Group really deserved a blog of its own within the CFZ Blog Network.

NEWSLINK: Dog Survives Abduction by Cougar

I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN

I have been playing footsie with a head cold for about three weeks now, but despite the best efforts of lemsip and brandy it has kicked in, and I am feeling sorry for myself. Last night, dosed up with brandy and decongestants, mother and I watched Frost/Nixon (which was excellent) and I ate olives. I am probably going to be out of action for much of today, so I will get on with my reading, and sit in a corner with the orange cat...
More on the inspirational Malala from Thom the World Poet. As her father says: "“Malala and all other female human rights activists must be heard seriously and sincerely. If today, their voice goes unheard then coming generations will go without basic human rights and sublime values which men and women have been striving for centuries to achieve. We can’t compromise on the peace and prosperity of our future generations.”
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/thom-world-poet-she-terrifies-taliban.html
I am very fond of Erik Norlander. Not only is her a very talented musician and composer, but he is a damn nice guy as well. It is always a pleasure to chat to him.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/exclusive-erik-norlander-interview-part.html
Very soon we shall all be able to hear Rick Wakeman's new reworking of 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth'. I am looking forward to it immensely.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/link-wakeman-reworks-rock-epic-journey.html
More news on the ongoing project featuring Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/link-jon-anderson-at-work-on-new-studio.html
I found these details of an upcoming gig on Helen McCookerybook's blog
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/look-what-i-pinched-from-helen.html

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 Editor is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat - puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

2013 YEARBOOK: Call for articles

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is that time of the year again. I am starting to put together the 2013 CFZ Yearbook - the fifteenth in the series. If you have something that you would like to submit, please email me at jon@eclipse.co.uk

I am also very much aware that neither Animals & Men or The Amateur Naturalist has appeared in some time. We are still evaluating a new distribution method for Animals & Men but I do assure you that it will reappear in the near future. At the moment we don't know what is going to happen with The Amateur Naturalist but we will let you know once a decision has been reached.

There have been some queries on Facebook about The Journal of Cryptozoology. We are selling it issue by issue at the moment. It will be produced AT LEAST once a year, but it may well come out more often than this. Issue one has been priced at £6.99 because of the size. However, if issue two has considerably more pages, for example, it may be priced differently. With so many variables it is impossible to have a conventional subscription scheme.

WHATEVER THIS IS, IT AIN'T A WEREWOLF

I have a cold and am feeling sorry for myself today. I have a vague feeling that I may have posted this before, but even if I did, I have no idea what the answer is. C'mon gentlemen of academia - I sincerely doubt that this is a werewolf. But what is it?

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today



On this day in 1983 John Le Mesurier died, he was in Dad's Army along with Arnold Ridley who wrote The Ghost Train (“If it be a natural thing...”). Yeah, I know, slow Fortean news day, today...
And now the news:

  • Sick thieves butcher the hind legs off ten LIVE sh...
  • Super-Toxic Snake Venom Could Yield New Painkiller...
  • Bottlenose dolphins: Large pod sighted in Manx wat...
  • Third Critically Endangered Red wolf killed in Nor...
  • DNA tests for rare birch trees from Caucasus Mount...
  • Fin whale beached in Dorset
  • Snake eaters warned as the 'year of' approaches – ...

  • Here's a treat for you the entire film of The Ghost Train, you might want to bookmark it if you're busy right now and watch it later as it is rather good (oh and Arthur Askey's character is meant to be annoying, lest you don't get the joke):