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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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

HIT PARADE FOR JANUARY (CFZ PRESS/FORTEAN WORDS)

UK

1=. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (1)
1=. In search of the Hexham Heads by Paul Screeton (-)
3. Haunted Skies Volume Four by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
4=. The Journal of Cryptozoology Volume One edited by Karl Shuker (4)
4=. Dark Dorset by Mark North and Robert Newland (-)
6=. Those Amazing Newfoundland Dogs by Jan Bondeson (2)

6=. Wildman! by Nick Redfern (5)
8=. Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo by Karl Shuker (4)
9=. Man Monkey by Nick Redfern (5)
9=. Haunted Skies Volume One by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (2)


US

1. The Journal of Cryptozoology Volume One edited by Karl Shuker (-)
2. Cats of Magic, Mythology and Mystery by Karl Shuker (8)
3. Monsters of Texas by Ken Gerhard and Nick Redfern (4)
4. Extraordinary Animals Revisited by Karl Shuker (7)
5When Bigfoot Attacks by Michael Newton (2)
6=. The Inhumanoids by Bart Nunnelly (-) 
6=. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (6)
8. Wildman! by Nick Redfern (1)
9. Weird Waters by Lars Thomas (-)
10. Landmark Northam by Jim Jackson (-)

Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. Sales are still strong after Christmas, quite possibly due to all the hard work Emsy has put in on the Facebook Group. Thank you honey.

KEVIN AYERS OBITUARY AT MOJO

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Photo: Getty Images
Kevin Ayers possessed a voice like no other, intrinsically British and full of whimsy and mischief. This latter quality animated much of his life as well as his music.
Born in Herne Bay, Kent, in 1944, Ayers was raised in Malaysia before returning to England at the age of 12 where he attended Simon Langton Grammar School For Boys, later described as "a hotbed for teenage avant-garderie". His first band, The Wilde Flowers, formed in the summer of '63 and also featured Robert Wyatt andHugh Hopper, both of whom (along with Ayers) would have a huge effect on what became known as The Canterbury Scene.
By mid-1966 The Wilde Flowers had morphed into The Soft Machine and featured Ayers on bass and vocals, Robert Wyatt on drums and vocals, Mike Ratledge on organ and Daevid Allen on guitar - the latter, both older and wiser, and a key influence on Ayers. The band's sound evolved dramatically, as they began blending jazz influences and beat-inspired incantations to their psychedelic sound.
Appearances at London's UFO Club led to a French tour which proved hugely successful but which marked the departure of Allen who, being Australian and lacking the requisite visa, was denied entry back into the UK. He would, of course, remain in France where he formed Gong, while Ayers, Wyatt and Ratledge continued for the most part as a three-piece.

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Kevin Ayers (1944-2013)

The world is a far poorer place today

DALE DRINNON: Scytho/Sarmatian sea monsters, Benny's Blogs, Cedar & Willow

New at the Frontiers of Zoology:

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES (CFZ)

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. So after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.


THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN DOES SOMERSETS ON SOLID GROUND

Today has been a very strange one so far. I am very saddened at the death of Kevin Ayers, of whom I was a huge fan, but apart from that absolutely nothing has gone wrong apart from me losing my temper at an automated bank machine asking impertinent questions. But it still feels strange and otherworldly, and I feel like a spectator of my own peculiar life. I would like to thank Richard Stellar and Thom Woodruffe for their kind messages (in Thom's case a poem) to me about diabetes, and I would like to thank Graham, and even more so Corinna for putting up with me. Now, time to dust myself down and get on with the show.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alan Dearling presents: A Pianist at St Pancras (and DOESN'T that sound like a P.G.Wodehouse title?)
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/what-pianist.html
 
 
 

*  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:
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
 
* 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 53 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) 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 the orange cat?