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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Monday, January 27, 2020

PROMOTION FOR CARL MARSHALL

Things have been changing fast here at the CFZ and, I would like to stress, mostly in a positive direction. However there are a lot more things to do than there have been, and with Corinna and me both on the sick list, I have decided to re-jiggle the Permanent Directorate. So, for the first time in 14 years, and for much the same reason, there is now an Assistant Director for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and I don’t think anybody will be particularly surprised to learn that it is Carl Marshall

Carl has been becoming increasingly central to what we do, and deals with my irrational temperament, as well as all the other crap that has been going on, with calm good humour. He was incredibly helpful when we had to organise Mother’s funeral, and I think that the amount of work that he does deserves to be recognised in this way.

He can be contacted at carl@cfz.org.uk.

THE GONZO BLOG DOO DAH MAN CHANCES HIS ARM

The Gonzo Daily: Wednesday
I did indeed manage to automate Monday's blog posts, apart from the daily news, and so this is something that is likely to happen more and more often at the moment. Corinna is in hospital: she had an operation on her pancreas to replace her stent on Monday and is having kidney surgery as we speak. Carl went home early this morning, but he will be back in a few weeks. Graham is doing my tax return and I am on enormpous doses of antibiotics for my feet. For some reason the new Eminem album is acting as a perfect soundtrack to all this madness..
Reember us in your thoughts and prayers, please.
On which point, thank you so much to all of you who wrote to us giving kind words about Corinna and/or condolences for Mother. I will be writing back to you individually, but there were a lot of messages, and my time is embarrasingly limited at the moment. So, if you are one of the kind people who did so, please don't take offence that you have not had a reply.
POSTSCRIPT
I have decided to try my hand at scheduling the blogs for tomorrow. It is purely an experiment, and I cannot work out how to schedule to daily Gonzo newsletter. In fact I can but I cac't work out how to get the data for the newsletter before we post the blogs. So, hopefully, there will be news stories posted on Blogger, and syndicated to Twitter and Facebook, but there will be no newsletter and digest. Sorry about that.
CFZ people check the fromnt page of www.cfz.org.uk
YER EDITOR SEZ: THE DIGITAL PRAYER FLAG
You guys have been doing massive amounts of praying for Corinna. I believe that the outpouring of good vibes transmitted electronically, being a little like a Tibetan prayer flag. Find out more:
https://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/p/a-prayer-flag-lung-…
Blessed be.
CHECK OUT THE GONZO STORES:
AND OTHER STUFF FEATURING VARIOUS GONZO CONTRIBUTORS:
Our webTV show:
https://www.facebook.com/OnTheTrack/posts/632561497117057
And if you fancy supporting it on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/CFZ
And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore may seem to be in order:
https://gonzotesting.blogspot.com/…/a-notion-of-shopkeepers…
Meanwhile I continue to pretend that I am a popstar, because now I have sold eleven whole copies of my new album Coldharbour. If I continue at this rate I will get a silver disc sometime at the beginning of the next millenium. Coldharbour, by the way, can be found here: https://jondownes1.bandcamp.com/releases
I think it is really rather good, but then again I would say that wouldn't I?
AND THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE GONZO MAGAZINE:
Gonzo Weekly #371/2
THE END OF THE WORLD ISSUE
http://www.gonzoweekly.com/
In this humorously eschatological issue, Alan reports on the End of the World Party in Yorkshire, Graham reports on the death of ex-Hawkwind drummer Martin Griffin, Jon muses on Paul McCartney, Bill Drummond and various other things, Iccy meats Neal X from Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and Doug gives us part two of his article about the immortal and invisible Terry Hall.
And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney and Friday Night Progressive AND Canterbury sans Fronieres AND Merrell Fankhauser, but no sign of Strange Fruit this week, there is a column from Kev Rowland, but Mr Biffo, and C J Stone, and Neil Nixom abd Roy Weard, are on hiatus. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and antichinuses who have lost their shoes (OK, nothing to do with tiny marsupials who are searching for 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:
The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Brian May, The Boomtown Rats, Glastonbury Festival, Bart Lancia, Tony Levin, David Bowie, Morrissey, Alan Dearling, 'End of the World' Party, Dave Croft, Gig, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Canterbury sans Frontieres, The Merrell Fankhauser Show, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Petar Introvic (born Petr Introvic), Alexis Alijai Lynch, Joan Benson, Martin Joseph Grebb, Thomas O. Hancock, Michael Lai Siu-tin, Victor Edward Jurusz Jr., Neil Ellwood Peart, OC., Emanuel Borok, Junko Kido, Bo Fredrik Winberg, Lorraine Chandler (born Ermastine Lewis), Wolfgang Dauner, Marc Morgan, Carlos Rojas Hernández, Robert L. Comstock, Jerome Cosey
(aka 5th Ward Weebie), Pat Collins, Tom Armit Alexander, MBE, Martin Griffin, Rick Wakeman, Gerry Beckley, The Waterson Family, The Fall, Richard Wright and Dave Harris - Zee, Chasing the Monsoon, Icarus Ruoff, Neal X, Doug Harr, Terry Hall, PAART, Kev Rowland, Madball, Sabaton, Salander, Gérson Werlang, Tony Klinger, Hawkwind, Jonathan Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Thom the World Poet, Bill Drummond, The 17
And the last few issues are:
Issue 373-4 (End of the World)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-373-4.html
Issue 371-2 (New Year)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-371-2.html
Issue 369-70 (Christmas)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-369-70.html
Issue 367-8 (Register to Vote)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-367-8.html
Issue 365-6 (Rick Wakeman)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-365-6.html
Issue 363-4 (Focus)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-363-4.html
Issue 361-2 (Martin Springett)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-361-2.html
Issue 359-60 (Robert Hunter)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-359-60.html
Issue 357-8 (King Crimson)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-357-8.html
Issue 355-6 (Elfin Bow)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-355-6.html
Issue 353-4 (Melanie S Jane)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-353-4.html
Issue 351-2 (Royal Affair)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CE…/gonzo-351-2-fvxuatzgf.html
Issue 349-50 (Experimental Sonic Machines)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-349-50.htm
Issue 347-8 (Gary Duncan)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-347-8.html
Issue 345-6 (RDF)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-345-6.html
Issue 343-4 (Auburn)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-343-4.html
Issue 341-42 (America)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-341-2.html
Issue 339-40 (Kev Rowland)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-339-40.html
Issue 337-38 (Zee)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-337-8.html
Issue 335-36 (Raz)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-335-6.html
Issue 333-34 (Nepal)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-333-4.html
Issue 331-32 (Scott Walker)
https://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo-331-2.html
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:
http://www.gonzoweekly.com/pdf/
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 60 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, three other cats, 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 and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?

THE LATEST FROM CFZ CANADA

The Centre for Fortean Zoology was founded in the UK in 1992 - nearly 20 years ago. Over the past two decades it has expanded to become a truly global organisation. We opened our American office in 2001, our Australian office in 2009, and in 2011 - we were proud to welcome CFZ Canada, curated by Robin Bellamy to the CFZ global family.

How Would You See This?

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 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.



NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Round up

ON THIS DAY IN -  1827 - Peru seceded from Colombia in protest against Simón Bolívar's alleged tyranny.
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • .
  • Dung beetle discovery revises biologists' understa...
  • Searching for frogs in the jungles of Borneo – via...
  • Sumatran rhino is extinct in Malaysia as lone surv...
  • First in vitro Puerto Rico crested toad gives scie...


  • 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)