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...




Monday, June 18, 2018

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.



THYLACINES IN THE NEWS




The thylacine was an apex predator. It is likely that it hunted small animals such as possums and was smarter and more social than the scavenging ...

CRYPTOLINK: Caddy story

A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. 


For many, the mention of a group of people dedicated to finding definitive evidence of a legendary sea serpent may evoke an almost reflexive ...

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN CARRIES ON REGARDLESS

The Gonzo Daily: Monday/Tuesday
I heartily recommend Tony Palmer's film about Shostakovitch. A review by Derek Elly reads:
"Testimony is one of those comparatively rare events nowadays; a real piece of cinema. Palmer's prowess as an editor, his knack of juxtaposing image and music, something which has remained his forte since he first caused a stir back in the Sixties with Buddhist monks burning to The Beatles, has a field day in Testimony. Most importantly for a movie about a composer, there is always the feeling that Palmer understands the music. For a start he puts to rest the hoary old cliche that the private Shostakovich is only to be found in his chamber music (try listening to the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Fourteenth symphonies) but he also brings vividly alive musical details (like the composer's use of unison scoring) in colour sequences showing the orchestra, as in the climax of the Fifth...a truly remarkable film."
Richard was here over the weekend in order to pick uo the equipment for his trip to Tajikistan. We are all very excited about this, because it is a place none of us - and very few crypto-types - have visited. Olivia (plus cat) arrives here this afternoon, because - for a whole range of reasons with whichI shall not bore you - her cat Morticia is coming to live with us. The latest OTT is just being tweaked and will be out early this week.Apart from that? Nada!
And for those of you who are interested in such things, the Gonzo Privacy Policy is here:
And the CFZ Privacy Policy is here:
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:  Benjamin Britten - Fo...
Original Alice Cooper Band Guitarist Michael Bruce...
VOTE FOR BILL BUFORD IN THE PROG AWARDS
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
YES feat ARW NEWS
Gonzo Weekly #291
THE APPLES AND ALIENS ISSUE
Kev meets Alien Weaponry, the blue eyed boys of New Zealand Maori Metal, Doug waxes lyrical about ex Stray Cat guitarist Brian Setzer, Alan reads about Francoise Hardy, Jon encounters the Apple help desk and critiques Genevieve Ching. And there is Hawkwind and the lovely Corinna. Who could ask for more?
#Hail Eris!
And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, though Neil Nixon, and Roy Weard, and C J Stone, and Mr Biffo are absent this time arounf. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and tiger quolls who are havinga little snooze (OK, nothing to do with small dasyurids who are a little sleepy, 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:
houghty2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Prince, Black Grape, Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Robert Smith, The Cure, Richard Freeman, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Wayne Dockery, Philip John "Jon" Hiseman, Jaroslaw Kozidrak, Maria Butaciu, Neil Evans Boyd, Ras Kimono, Daniel David Kirway, Dominic Joseph Fontana, Jimmy Gonzalez, Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, Rick Wakeman, Paice, Ashton & Lord, The Mitchell Trio, Alien Weaponry, Kev Rowland, Doug Harr, Brian Setzer, The Stray Cats, Alan Dearling, Francoise Hardy, Black Royal, Machine Head, Nightwish, Bruce Lamont, Caba, Cave Bastard, Chris Bay, Coreleoni, Hawkwind, Matthew Wright, The Wild Colonial Boy, Jon Downes, Martin Springett, G.P.Ching, Iron Maiden, Elvis, Beatles, Sex Pistols, Jimi Hendrix, Franz Liszt
And the last few issues are:
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?

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



Bigfoot In The Bayou
Blue Ridge Bigfoot writes "A retired personal detective recounts his story of missing persons and a Bigfoot connection in the bayous of Louisiana."

Alabama Bigfoot Pine Forest
This was a perfect place for a Bigfoot encounter. Alabama Bigfoot find this spot that would be perfect for a Night Investigations. Alabama Bigfoot ...

'Skinny, Neckless Bigfoot' Shows Up in Florida
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Central Florida woman says she saw a hairy bipedal creature she believed to be a Bigfoot. The woman reports that she was ...


NESSIENEWS (Caveat Lector)



Scientist launches hunt for Loch Ness "monster DNA"
Tales of a giant creature lurking beneath the murky waves of Loch Ness have been around for more than 1500 years - and one academic hopes the ...

LOCH NESS MONSTER HUNTER CONCLUDES: IT'S A CATFISH
Steve Feltham, who gave up his girlfriend, house and job in southwest England in 1991 to spend his life looking for the Loch Ness monster, believes ...

Scientist searches for Loch Ness monster DNA
A New Zealand scientist has traveled to Loch Ness in Scotland with a team to collect water samples from the lake that may give clues as to what ...

worldnews
LONDON - After nearly quarter century camping out by the banks of Scotland's Loch Ness hoping to glimpse "Nessie", the most dedicated hunter of the ...


NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Monday/Tuesday

ON THIS DAY IN -  1155 - Frederick I Barbarossa was crowned emperor of Rome. 
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk


  • Stick insects expand territory after being eaten b...
  • A rare great ape, a 130-foot-tall tree and an exti...
  • Mongooses remember and reward helpful friends
  • Research into fish schooling energy dynamics could...



  • 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)