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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, November 09, 2020

LAKE AND SEA MONSTER NEWS

 

The hunt for Lake and Sea Monsters is probably the most iconic branch of Cryptozoology. Following our successful Mystery Cat and BHM Study Groups, we feel that these sightings should also be archived and published in a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. Curated by Richard Freeman and Richard Muirhead

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BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF

 Regular readers will know that in recent years we have migrated the two specialist Study Groups – Mystery Cats (curated by Carl Marshall and Olivia McCarthy) and Lake and Sea Monsters (curated by Sally Watts and Richard Muirhead) – to their own standalone blogs, although when there are postings, notifications of them can be found on the main blog.


Now, we are doing the same for the BHM Study Group, curated by Glen Vaudrey and Nathan Jackson

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 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.

THYLACINES IN THE NEWS

 

... able to describe certain details of the thylacine's iconic appearance. A self-confessed folklore tragic, Mr Williams 17 years of dedication to the tiger's ...

WHAT HAS THIS WEEK GOT IN STORE FOR THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN?



The Gonzo Daily - Monday
Monday, Monday (bah-da bah-da-da-da)
So good to me (bah-da bah-da-da-da)
Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday mornin', Monday mornin' couldn't guarantee (bah-da bah-da-da-da)
That Monday evenin' you would still be here with me
Monday, Monday, can't trust that day….
It’s been a very strange 24 hours. I did the Zoom church service with my brother last night. Sadly, it’s the last Sunday evening one for a while, because of the Coronawhatsit, but I shall be trying to join in the Sunday morning ones instead, because they have become increasingly important to me.
Disturbingly, later on, I tripped over Archie and fell down and hurt myself, and had to shout for Graham to help me up. I was really rather shaken by this.
Changing the subject and moving swiftly on, I am really enjoying the remastered version of the Rolling Stones 1973 album Goats Head Soup. I have always been massively underwhelmed by this record, but the new mixes have given it a much needed touch up, and Mick Taylor’s guitar contributions are particularly impressive. However Taylor was on bass for much of the LP, filling in for Bill Wyman, who was absent for reasons thar I have not been able to ascertain, and as Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts were one of the great rhythm sections of their generation, and Taylor is a perfectly good bass player, but not a great one, this is possibly one of the reasons I have never appreciated this album until now.
But the songs are pretty good on the whole, and both guitarists are on fine form. And as Mick Jagger said at the time: “I really feel close to this album, and I really put all I had into it…I guess it comes across that I’m more into songs.
“It wasn’t as vague as the last album which kind of went on so long that I didn’t like some of the things,” he continued, in a disparaging reference to Exile On Main St. “There’s more thought to this one. It was recorded all over the place over about two or three months. The tracks are much more varied than the last one. I didn’t want it to be just a bunch of rock songs.”
Mais a-pro-pos de moi.
I am still feeling shaken and wobbly, but this afternoon a bloke is coming out to fix my favourite chair to make it taller so it will be easier for me to get up and down. And if this works, it will certainly give me a boost
But we do have a new episode of OTT
And a new edition of A&M for you
Like Marge Simpson, I never really knew what it meant, but keep on trucking!
The Gonzo Books site is now pretty well done, and there is also a new CFZ Publcations website at https://baboon.wixsite.com/website then tell me what a clever fellow I am. It even has a haiku to explain why some links are not finished:
"These links do not work,
now but they will do so soon,
we apologise"
ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO SQUINT
And the CFZ Privacy Policy is here:
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:
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 #415/6
PHOREVER PEOPLE ISSUE
This magazine continues to go off on strange tangents that I never expect, but I am very happy to see it do so. What is in this week? Ooooh lots of things. Such as Iona, Phideaux, John Lennon, Covid Communications, Bob Dylan, making money through ipad games and oodles more.
And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney and Friday Night Progressive, AND Merrell Fankhauser, and the Real Music Club, AND Strange Fruit, and Mr Biffo, there is a column from Kev Rowland, and C.J Stone, but Mr Biffo, Tony Klinger and Neil Nixon, are on hiatus. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and dibblers who have got the blues (OK, nothing to do with tiny marsupials who are listening to the new Bob Dylan album, 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!!!
..And the last few issues are:
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 a recently widowed old hippy of 61 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 a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Monday

 ON THIS DAY IN - 1911 - George Claude of Paris, France, applied for a patent on neon advertising signs.

And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk


  • DAILY MAIL: Spider rediscovered (via Kev)
  • BBC: Dogs are humans' oldest companions, DNA shows

  • 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)