Wednesday, January 13, 2021

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.

THE LAST WEEK AT THE CFZ-USA BLOG


THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS

 The Gonzo Daily: Wednesday

So today is one of those days in which I go out into the wild wild world. Assuming that the car actually works (and it has done the last two days) Graham should be driving me into Bideford to have things cut off my feet. As well as that we have to collect medicine from the pharmacy, and do some shopping. Oh joy.
It is cold and grey outside, and I have to admit that despite the fact I like seeing the girls at the podiatry department, I would rather stay at home with Lilith sat on my shoulder as I try and write deathless prose. This, by the way, is not some wyrd occult reference, because I am not referring to Lilith the Babylonian daemoness who may or not have been Adam’s first wife, but a small black cat who has decided that she loves me more than ever.
ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO SQUINT
John Lennon 'In His Own Write' - post show Q&A wit...
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: David Essex - Rock On
LEONARD COHEN: His curious cure for stage fright
FRANK ZAPPA: Eating pizza with teen band
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 #423/4
THE SOLID STATE LOGIK 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 KLF, looking forward, Frisco Boogie, Whisky Priests, Shuggie Bain, Gardening Club and 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?

OTT Xtra #118.1 (Introductionists, Bryan Sykes remembered, hominin research, microscope madness)


Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the latest episode in our new series: On The Track Xtra! We hope that you enjoy it.
It contains:
* Update about Lockdown
* Jon does peculiar things with a microscope
* Louis gets violent
* More on the Forest of Dean project
* Introductionists
* Mazarine blue
* Remembering Bryan Sykes
* Richard Freeman interview
* Mystery hominin research
* Gef the talking mongoose
* Wally and Kev Jevons tell us stuff
I think the production values are ever improving and we are learning (slowly) all the bells and whistles which are now available via YouTube. I should - however - warn you that If you hear strange noises in the background of the segments which feature me doing a piece to camera, those are the filters of the two tanks in the office; one containing Clarence the walking catfish, and another containing a large and massively elusive Pristolepis leaf fish that we have been looking after for Max ever since he went off to university, something in the region of ten years ago.
I really miss doing the Weird Weekends each year, but with the health problems currently bedevilling the CFZ to restart them is impossible. But I truly hope that these shows have something of the taste of the mixture of hard science, weird shit and surreal odness that made the 17 Weird Weekends such a joy to be part of.
_________________________________
Some useful contacts:
CFZ Website
Jon on Twitter
@cfzjon
CFZ Next Generation Initiative

THYLACINES IN THE NEWS

 

Baby Tasmanian tiger skulls more similar to wolf pups than to other Australian marsupials
The thylacine's extinction made the discoveries bittersweet for the researchers, who wished they could observe the marsupials in the wild. "Being able to ...

Despite Isolation, Tasmanian Tiger Pups Were More Like Wolves Than Other Marsupials
The thylacine has long been considered a truly remarkable species. ... wasn't limited to adult thylacines (Thylacinus cynocephalus) - it was present ...

Wolfish thylacines
The extinct Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine(Thylacinus cynocephalus), remains one of Australia's most iconic and mysterious native species nearly 90 ...

Tasmanian tigers start to look like dogs in the pouch
However, it clearly did not prevent the evolution of the thylacine's unusual wolf-like skull," Dr Weisbecker says. Another finding was that these regions ...

Thylacine Look More Like Wolves Than Other Marsupials
The thylacine are considered a truly remarkable species. The extinct Australian beast was a marsupial, but it is almost identical to grey wolves.

NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Wednesday

 ON THIS DAY IN - 1128 - Pope Honorius II granted a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar. He declared it to be an army of God.

And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk


  • BBC: Swan rescued after hours on frozen loch
  • BBC: Hundreds of dead birds cover Rome street
  • Buddy the Beefalo

  • 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)