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...




Tuesday, May 10, 2016

WW2016: Steve Ignorant to headline

We are very chuffed to announce that our headliner at this year's Weird Weekend. which will be held in Hartland on the third weekend in August, is none other than Steve Ignorant, one time lead vocalist with anarchopunks Crass.

He is less well known as having been a Punch and Judy Professor for many years working under the name 'Professor Ignorant'. He has always been interested in the history of Punch and Judy, and this is what he will be talking about at this year's event. Personally we can't wait!

Find out more about the Weird Weekend at www.weirdweekend.org.

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF




This inspires a wave of Bigfoot-related tourism, boosting the town's economy, and it eventually even attracts the host of a reality show about hunting ...

KING5.com
"We kind of have a saying that you don't find Bigfoot, they find you,” Ellis said. "So just be aware of your surroundings in a hyper state and you may, ...

Howls Recorded in Iowa
Now when you think of Iowa, you typically think of flat land & corn fields, not Bigfoot. But according to the BFRO database, there have been 64 ...

Bigfoot In New Mexico News Report (Video)
New Mexico is abuzz with bigfoot rumblings while Jeff Meldrum is visiting the state for a confernce on bigfoot in New Mexico. There have been quite a ...

Dog Attacks Hairy Biped In Kentucky
A young hunter has the shock of his life when he finds his dog attacking a hairy creature on two legs. Most reports involving dogs and bigfoot creatures ...

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.



THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN JUST WANTS PEACE AND QUIET

The Gonzo Daily - Tuesday
 
We are very chuffed to announce that our headliner at this year's Weird Weekend. which will be held in Hartland on the third weekend in August, is none other than Steve Ignorant, one time lead vocalist with anarchopunks Crass. He is less well known as having been a Punch and Judy Professor for many years working under the name 'Professor Ignorant'. He has always been interested in the history of Punch and Judy, and this is what he will be talking about at this year's event. Personally we can't wait! Find out more about the Weird Weekend at www.weirdweekend.org.
 
THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: The Crazy World Of Art...
WILD MAN FISCHER IN SHINDIG
INSIDE VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR
NIC POTTER Interview (youtube edit)
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
 
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:
buy tickets to the Weird Weekend:
buy the CFZ 2016 Yearbook:
 
THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Hippie From New York C...
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
Arthur Brown Interview
Billy Cobham interview 1993
Badfinger - The Tragic Story
 
Gonzo Magazine #181
 
Beatles, Neil Nixon, Elton John, KLF, Bill Drummond, Bob Calvert, John Russell, Star Wars, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Dogwatch, That Legendary Wooden Lion, Hawkwind, and Yes fans had better look out!
 
This issue features Neil Nixon tells us about his new book covering the Myths and Legends of The Beatles, we
talk to 4th Eden about his
new Atmospherik Mekanisms  project, Alan talks to John Russell, guitar improviser extraordinaire, John remembers the Bob Calvert Tribute Concert, Doug muses on Elton John’s finest hour and Biffo asks Star Wars actors whether they had ever smuggled a possum inside their costumes,
and there
are radio shows from Strange Fruit and Mack Maloney, Friday Night Progressive, and as it was full moon last week, Canterbury Sans Frontières. We also have the latest installment of the saga of Xtul, and columns from all sorts of folk including Roy Weard, Mr Biffo, Neil Nixon and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and pademelons ouyside 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:
Bill Drummond, The Who, Octopus Syng, Radiohead, David Bowie, Corky Laing, Mountain, Marillion, Arthur Brown, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mac Maloney's Mystery Hour, Canterbury Sans Frontieres, Phil Ryan, Lars Olof «Olle» Gustaf Ljungström, Doug Raney, The Beatles, Osibisa, Billy Cobham, Wayne Kramer at the Pink Fairies,  Al Stewart, The RAZ Band, The Flying Burrito Bros, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Rick Wakeman, Neil Nixon, Elton John, John Russell, Alan Dearling, 4th Eden, Martin Eve, Roy Weard, Bob Calvert, John Brodie-Good, Mr Biffo, Hawkwind, Xtul, Elvis, Barbra streisand, Abba, Nikola Tesla, ArcAttack, William Burroughs, Ocelon
                                                                                    
Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
 
Issue 180 (Beltane)
Issue 179 (Gregg Kofi Brown)
Issue 178 (Viv Stanshall)
Issue 177 (David Gilmour)
Issue 176 (Joey Molland and The Raz Band)
Issue 175 (Larry Sanders)
Issue 174 (Keith Emerson)
Issue 173 (Pink Fairies action figures)
Issue 172 (4th Eden)
Issue 171 (Keith Levene)
Issue 170 (Wildman Fischer)
Issue 169 (Wildman Fischer)
Issue 168 (Wakeman/Bowie)
Issue 167 (Paul Kantner)
Issue 166 (Spirits Burning)
 
 
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?

WW 2016: Updated Schedule


FRIDAY
7 - 7.15Intro
7.15 - 8.00TBA
8.00 - 8.30Break
8.30- 9.30TBA
9.30 - 10.00Break
10.00 - 11.00Lars Thomas: The Vikings and their Monsters
11Raffle
SATURDAY
12.00 - 12.30Jon and Richard: Intro to Cryptozoology
12.30 - 1.15Glen Vaudrey: The Health and Safety Beast
1.15 - 2.15Steve Rider: TBA
2.15 - 2.45Break
Kids Nature walk with Lars and Nick
2.45 - 3.15Quiz
3.15 - 4.15Matt Cook: High Strangeness and hill forts
4.15 - 4.45Break
Mad Hatter's Tea Party
4.45 - 5.45Mick Walters: Werewolves in Staffordshire
5.45 - 6.15Break
6.15 - 7.00Julian Vayne: Chaos Magick
7.00 - 7.30Break
7.30 - 8.00Music from Stargrace
8.00 - 8.15CFZ Awards
8.15 - 9.15Steve Ignorant: The history of Punch and Judy
9.15 - 9.45Break
9.45 - 10.45Richard Freeman: Tasmania 2016 Expedition Report
Raffle
SUNDAY
12.00 - 1.00Joe Thomas: Cryptozoology on film
1.00 - 1.30Richard Muirhead: Devo and the Monkeyman
1.30 - 2.00Break
2.00 - 3.00Matthew Watkins: Retrocausality and other reverse-time phenomena
3.00 - 3.30Break
3.30 - 4.30Shoshannah McCarthy: tba
4.30 - 5.00Break
5.00 - 5.15Results of nature walk (Lars/Nick/Jon)
5.15 - 6.00Ronan Coghlan: Robin Hood: Origin of the legend
6.00 - 6.15Jon Downes: Keynote Speech
6.25Raffle
7.00 -Speaker's Dinner at the Small School
PLUS:
The Tunnel of Goats
A Haunted Teddy Bear's Nest
The Spider Baby
FOR KIDS:
Make your own weird creature out of clay
Colouring/drawing
Photograph competition
Film showing
Fill a matchbox with 100 things challenge
The world famous cake eating contest
Nature walk with Lars Thomas and Nick Wadham
Animal handling with Bugfest
Face Painting
STALLS
CFZ
Devon authors
Steve Ignorant
Wyrd Records

ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

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

From CFZ-USA:

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Tuesday

ON THIS DAY IN - 1503 - Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands. 
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Yes, New York City Has Sea Turtles and Seals, and ...
  • Survival of the oldest: Why do some species make i...
  • How tree crickets tune into each other's songs
  • Bats' flight technique could lead to better drones...

  • Bob Carr backs bid to abolish dolphin captivity in...


  • 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)