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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Thursday, November 23, 2017

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.





TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS

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.

  • NEWSLINK: Uttarakhand villagers set fire to farm l...
  • NEWSLINK: Leopard enters Dhirenpara school, mauls ...
  • NEWSLINK: West coast hunters aim to capture suspec...
  • NEWSLINK: Tiger killed by carnivore in buffer zone...
  • PHOTOS: Three Sunda Clouded Leopards Caught on Cam...
  • NEWSLINK: Epic India leopard rescue photo wins awa...

  • NEWSLINK: State forest department to promote solar...



  • THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN HAS BLISTERS ON HIS FINGERS

    The Gonzo Daily: Thursday
     
    A reasonably pleasant day so far at least. I interviewed the legenary Tony Klinger about his work with The Who and his subsequent book, and had a massively enjoyable time because Tony is one of my favourite raconteurs. And, like others across the universe, I am waiting eaerly - with Twitter feed in hand - for news of what happens when the 99 converge upon the Metropolis to meet the Undertakers to the Underworld and Burn the Shard (part one, which implies there will be a part two). Don't know what I am talking about? Look it up dudes...
     
    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:
     
    But for now, here is the news:
     
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Man 'Day and Night' (...
    Tramshed's Interzone - Dave Brock from Hawkwind
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    FAIRPORT CONVENTION ARTICLE
    FRANK ZAPPA NEWS
     
     
    Gonzo Weekly #261
    THE LAMENTING LEN ISSUE
     
    Marking the anniversary of Leonard Cohen’s death, we take a look at the outpouring of grief the tributes manifest, Alan looks at Matthew Smith’s Exist to Resist, Richard presents part three of the Steve Kimock story, and Jon looks at Black Mirror and Netflix.
     
    Hail Eris!
     
    And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney, Strange Harvest, Friday Night Progressive and Canterbury Sans Frontieres. We also have columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Roy Weard, C J Stone, Mr Biffo and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and long nosed potoroos who have done lots of poos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have been at the laxatives, 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:
     
    Black Mirror, Beatles, Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, Prince, Alan White, Elton John, Walter Becker, REM, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Charles Henry Mosley III, Frederick Lee Cole, Chad Hanks, Little Mama, Keith Barron, Michael ‘DikMik’ Davies, Lillith and Nilly, Barbara Dickson, Jessica Lee Morgan, Rick Wakeman, Billion Dollar Babies, Tangerine Dream, Peter Perrett, Jeremy Smith, Alan Dearling, Exist to Resist, Matthew Smith, Leonard Cohen, Richard Foreman, Steve Kimock, Kev Rowland, Thy Art is Murder, Travelin Jack, Trem do Futuro, The Two Tens, Ultranova, Venom Inc., Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Martin Springett, David Bowie, Gerald Scarfe, Pink Floyd, Chopin, Queen, Elvis, Freddie Mercury, Jim Morrison
     
    Marking the anniversary of Leonard Cohen’s death, we take a look at the outpouring of grief the tributes manifest, Alan looks at Matthew Smith’s Exist to Resist, Richard presents part three of the Steve Kimock story, and Jon looks at Black Mirror and Netflix.
     
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
    Issue 259 (Out come thee Freaks)
    Issue 258 (The Devil's Jukebox)
    Issue 257 (Judge Smith)
    Issue 255/6 (John Lennon)
    Issue 254 (Mr Biffo)
    Issue 253 (Dana Gillespie)
    Issue 252 (Cropredy)
    Issue 251 (Scott Walker)
    Issue 250 (Jamms)
    Issue 249 (Bill Bruford)
    Issue 248 (The Selecter)
    Issue 247 (Don Airey)
    Issue 246 (Steve Hackett)
    Issue 244-5 (Summer Special)
     
     
    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 - 1890 - Princess Wilhelmina became Queen of the Netherlands at the age of 10 when her father William III died. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk


  • Giant coconut crab seen hunting birds
  • Tiny bees play big part in secret sex lives of tre...
  • Whale learns same language as dolphins, research f...
  • Relocated squirrels moving to new areas, says char...


  • 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).