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...

Search This Blog

WATCH OUR WEEKLY WEBtv SHOW

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON
Click on this logo to find out more about helping CFZtv and getting some smashing rewards...

SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER



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...




Wednesday, July 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.










THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN SINGS

The Gonzo Daily: Wednesday
 
YER EDITOR SEZ:
 
Goodness me. It’s Wednesday already, and I have no idea where the first half of the week has gone. Yesterday, because I had been off sick last week, I was in the peculiar position of having Olivia there to dictate things to, and having run out of things to dictate. However, we muddled along, and got pleasingly ahead of ourselves for once.
 
I wrote a jolly piece about oarfish for the Patreon only subscribers for On The Track, and speaking of On The Track – I very much hope that this afternoon, when Charlotte comes over, we will put the latest episode to bed. One can only dream.
 
ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO PRINT:
 
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
FAIRPORT CONVENTION NEWS
GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Nico - Janitor of lunacy
IAIN MATTHEWS NEWS
BARBARA DICKSON NEWS
 
OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF FROM THE GONZOVERSE:
 
For those of you who are interested in such things, the Gonzo Privacy Policy is here:
 
And the CFZ Privacy Policy is here:
And, yes,
 
CHECK OUT THE GONZO STORES:
 
UK
US
 
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:
 
AND THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE GONZO MAGAZINE:
 
Gonzo Weekly #294
THE SEE JUNGLE SEE JUNGLE GO JOIN YOUR GANG YEAH CITY ALL OVER GO APE CRAZY ISSUE
 
In this remarkably eclectic issue, which is one of my favourites for a while, Doug meets Annabella Lwin from the legendary Bow Wow Wow. Wow! Alan discusses the rewilding of the British coastline, John takes a critical look at Dweezil Zappa, Wooden Sjhips, Jessica Risker and more, while Jon talks about Mott the Hoople and Sadie Mae Glutz and Graham brings us up to date with Hawkwind news. YOU CANNOT GET MUCH MORE ECLECTIC THAN THAT!
 
#Hail Eris!
 
And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive is on hiatus this week, AND there are columns from all sorts of folk including Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, although Neil Nixon, and Roy Weard, and C J Stone, and Mr Biffo are having a well-deserved week off. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and red kangaroos who've lost their shoes (OK, nothing to do with the largest extant macropods who are in a quandry with regards their footwear, 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:
 
Rewilding Britain, Mott the Hoople, Paul McCartney, Public Image Limited, Andrew Boff, cannabis, Yes, Morrissey, Richard Freeman, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Henry Butler, Alan Longmuir, William Russell Watrous III, Roy Carr, Jahvante (Smoke Dawg) Smart, Eugene Sampson Pitt, Big Bill Bissonnette, Harlan Jay Ellison, Richard Swift, Rick Wakeman, Michael Bruce, Natural Gas, Doug Harr, Bow Wow Wow, Annabelle Lwin, Alan Dearling, Rewilding Britain, Devon, Berwickshire, John Brodie-Good, Wooden Shjips, Jessica Risker, Rusty Young, Poco, Diana Mangano, Dweezil Zappa, Darryl Williams, Kev Rowland, Johannes Luley, Karkaos, Bugra Sisman, King Goat, Krepuskul, Last Days of Eden, Legend of the Seagullmen, Letters from the Colony, Hawkwind, Jon Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Susan Atkins-Whitehouse (aka Sadie Mae Glutz), Helter Skelter, Charles Manson, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett, Beastie Boys, Michael Jackson, Blackbeard
 
And the last few issues are:
 
Issue 294 (Bow Wow Wow)
Issue 293 (Stonehenge)
Issue 292 (Rolling Stones)
Issue 291 (Alien Weaponry)
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?

NESSIENEWS (Caveat Lector)




The Loch Ness monster: "You can disprove her all you like but she'll endure," writes Joe Bennett. "We much prefer our pretty stories to the dreary truth.

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Wednesday/Thursday

ON THIS DAY IN -   1553 - Fifteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey was deposed as Queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days. Mary, the daughter of King Henry VIII, was proclaimed Queen. 
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk


  • Two Frogs Were Married by Indian Governor to “Appe...
  • Gardening trade sparks surge in new moths to UK
  • Clever bees can identify different flowers by patt...

  • Research shows diet shift of beluga whales in Alas...


  • 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)