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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Tuesday, May 06, 2014

CAVEAT LECTOR: Nessielinks

Loch Ness monster a serpentine water deity, according to Buddhist leader | Mysterious Times
The Loch Ness Monster could be confirmed as a “spiritual entity” when a new Buddhist centre opens in the Highlands, it was revealed today.Britain's ...

Talking Point with Gazette chief reporter Ron Harris
Aye; dinnae let the truth get in the way o' a guid money-spinner and Nessie has served Bonnie Scotland weel in this respect ower the years.

National Paranormal Association: Mystery object captured on Loch Ness cruise boat scanner
"It's impossible to tell what we've picked up here, but along with those satellite images, you can't help feeling that reports of the Loch Ness Monster's .

Has sonar finally found the Loch Ness Monster?
Some experts believe the beast represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs, a type of carnivorous aquatic reptile from millions of years ago. Nessie ...

LOCH NESS MONSTER: Ted Holiday's Little Monster
LOCH NESS MONSTER Glasgow Boy
Back in the 1960s, when the modified plesiosaur theory held sway amongst Nessie believers, we had Ted Holiday and his little monster. The letter

Today In History: May 2, 1933: Loch Ness Monster sighted | Mysterious Times
Although accounts of an aquatic beast living in Scotland's Loch Ness date back 1500 years, the modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born ...

Is this Nessie? New sonar image shows large mystery shape be : News & World Events - Disclose.tv
A new sonar image of a large mysterious object beneath the surface of Loch Ness has sparked fresh speculation about the existence of Nessie the ...

Is the Loch Ness Monster Actually A Naga? | Stranger Dimensions
Stranger Dimensions Rob Schwarz
Britain's first Buddhist Lama apparently believes the Loch Ness Monster exists, and may actually be a “spiritual entity.” A Nāga. A Nāga is a water deity 

Loch Ness Monster: Mysterious Sonar Image Released Amid Fears The Elusive Creature Has Died ...
A sonar image showing an unidentified object in the depths of Loch Ness has reignited speculation on the existence of the famous monster.

Could this finally be proof that the Loch Ness Monster is real? - Express.co.uk | OL - Latest First
ukTHIS amazing image from a boat on Loch Ness has sparked fresh interest in the ... Published: Thu, May 1, 2014. loch ness, loch ness monster, spot.

Hey You Guys, The Loch Ness Monster Is Back (PICTURE) |4iNews – UK Latest News - UK news
A sonar image showing an unidentified object in the depths of Loch Ness has reignited speculation on the existence of the famous monster. Read full ...

Dueling cruise companies on Loch Ness continue nonsense | Doubtful News
The Highland News and subsequently the publisher of all woo, The Daily Mail, posted a new Nessie sonar capture. It turns out that was a mistake but ...

Loch Ness Monster Sighting: Has Sonar Technology Found Nessie? | Nets247.com:Updated Every ...
Sonar images show mysterious object beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland....

Loch Ness Monster: Mysterious Sonar Image Released Amid Fears The ... - NewsFiber
A sonar image showing an unidentified object in the depths of Loch Ness has reignited speculation on the existence of the famous monster. The long ...

Daily 2 Cents: Sonar 'Image' of Nessie? -- Enigma Atlantic Sturgeon Reappears -- Experts Think ...
Sonar scan picks up 'image' of Loch Ness monster. A startling sonar image from the depths of Loch Ness is set to spark further speculation that Nessie 

1933: Scotland - the Loch Ness Monster legend began with a sighting described as "an enormous ...
1933: Scotland - the Loch Ness Monster legend began with a sighting described as an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface. by 

Sonar image of Nessie? - The Museum of Hoaxes
The latest Nessie news is that a Loch Ness cruise ship, operated by Jacobite Cruises, picked up a mysterious sonar signal in the Loch. Skipper John

The first written account of the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, was made in 565AD. : LeadToday
1933: Scotland - the Loch Ness Monster legend began with a sighting described as "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface."

Could this finally be proof that the Loch Ness Monster is real? - newsuk24
THIS amazing image from a boat on Loch Ness has sparked fresh interest in the existence of the lake's most famous inhabitant. Most Read Stories in 

George Edwards has been on a 26 yr quest to find the Loch Ness monster. Lish chats with George ...
George Edwards has been on a 26 yr quest to find the Loch Ness monster. Lish chats with George next on Sunday Brunch ...

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



Bigfoot Evidence: Squamish Bigfoot Video Shot by B.C. Wildlife Biologist
It tuns out the man who shot the video of a possible bigfoot outside of Squamish, B.C. is a wildlife biologist. According to him, the subject of the video is 

Bigfoot Sightings & Finding Bigfoot: Hiker Allegedly Films Sasquatch in Mountain Range Near ...
A man from British Columbia recently uploaded a video that claims to show footage of a Bigfoot that he spotted two years ago during a hiking, News ...

Bigfoot - Hunting Washington
Well I have not seen any bigfoots in Tacoma yet....there is a kinda cool park across from the apartment thing I stayed in the one night... this location sort ...

Bigfoot Evidence: Todd Standing Has Proof that Bigfoot Photo is Legit
For the past month or so, Todd Standing has been the main attraction of the bigfoot world. The man behind the Sylvanic projects of long ago has

Hiker releases possible Sasquatch sighting near Squamish, BC
Back in October, a group of Bigfoot enthusiasts in Texas played several short clips that they described as "never before seen HD video" of the 

Bigfoot Evidence: Watch This: Mr. Spock Searches for Bigfoot
Bigfoot Evidence Matt K.
My first on-screen introduction to bigfoot took place in my living room in the early 80's during a re-broadcast of the legendary "In Search Of" with

Todd Standing: Legit Bigfoot Researcher or Hoaxer? | - Team Squatchin USA
Recently, there's been a lot of confusion circulating around in Bigfootdom regarding Todd Standing and whether or not he's a legit Bigfoot Researcher ...

Is this Bigfoot? Watch hikers' footage of a 'Sasquatch' climbing up a sheer slope in the Canadian ...
A Canadian hiker has released a video of what he thinks could be Sasquatch in the mountains near Squamish, British Columbia. The video was

Bigfoot Spotted In Canadian Mountains News inquisitr.com Animal News - News.nom.co
Bigfoot has allegedly been spotted climbing up a steep slope in the Canadian mountains by hikers who recorded the footage. The duo made the,

FARK.com: (8248882) Bigfoot spotted in Canada, this time for real. it's not a bear or anything
Satirical views on interesting, bizarre and amusing stories, submitted by a community of millions of news junkies, with regular Photoshop contests

Rocky Mountain Sasquatch Organization: At a famous 77 Bigfoot sighting location we film what we suspect to be one of many Bigfoot territorial ...

Bigfoot Scientists and Enthusiasts Gather in Ohio
Five prominent bigfoot researchers will be speaking at this conference in May; the presenters include Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Bill Munns, John Mionczynski,

Bigfoot Evidence: The Brown Family Releases "YIP Yeller" Bigfoot Audio
Bigfoot Evidence Shawn
Here are some amazing audio captures from the Brown family in Washington. According to Sara Brown, the audio clips contain about two months of

Bigfoot Witness Interview: Dustin Ostrowski | Bigfoot Now
This interview was conducted by TCC Team Member Jimmy Craze. Dustin tells us about his bigfoot sighting in Parksburg,W.Va 

TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS


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. 

  • US SIGHTING: Cougar found dead on Bellingham beach...
  • NEWSLINK: Tyga's 'pet tiger is confiscated by auth...

  • NEWSLINK: Big cat of Dakotas
  • MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: FROM ROCKET CAT TO HONKY CAT,OR WAS SIR ELTON JOHN ZOOLOGICALY CHALLENGED?!

    A story came to light today from the 16th Century which proves that the world of cats is far stranger than even the great Sir Elton John could believe and that he must have been zoologicaly challenged in the politicaly correct sense, as no way could any Honky Cat have evolved from the pitifull cats of 16th Century Germay, as today`s (Friday March 7th) Guardian reports. What happened after 1972 when Honky Cat was released has so far eluded Forteans and Uber Geeks such as myself. Perhaps John-ites/afficionadoes/devotees will tell us , as they listen to Rocket Man.

    Read on...

    ROCKET CAT ? Mystery of 15th*-century flaming feline

    You`re a 16th - century German prince plotting to crush a peasant rebellion or perhaps leading an army against the Ottomans or settling a score with a rival.What`s a guy looking for an edge to do? The answer of course is rocket cats.

    Illustrations from a circa-1530 manual on artillery and siege warfare seem to show jetpacks strapped to the backs of cats and doves , with the German text helpfully advising military commanders to use them to
    "set fire to a castle or city that you can`t get at otherwise".

    "...The illustrations caught the attention of researcher Mitch Fraas.
    " It clearly looks like there`s some sort of jet of fire coming out of a device strapped to these animals," said Fraas ,a historian at the university` library...The treatise was written by an artillery master, Franz Helm of Cologne. According to Fraas`s translation, Helm explained how to use animals to deliver incendiary devices: 

    " Create a small sack like a fire-arrow. If you would like to get at a town or castle, seek to obtain a cat from that place. And bind the sack to the back of the cat, ignite it, let it glow well and let the cat go, so it runs to the nearest castle or town...Where it ends up in barn or hay or straw it will be ignited" (1)

    * This should be 16th.

    The only comfort I can draw and it`s only a small crumb is that we are slightly more civilized today.

    The story reminds me of the one in Judges chapter 15, in the Old Testament where Samson ties burning torches to the tails of 300 foxes or jackals and lets them loose in the crops of the Philistines , which
    burn down.

    1. The Guardian March 7th 2014.

    POULTRY POLTROONERY: Residents panic after chicken begins talking before being slaughtered

    Chicken illustration 
    By: Aarav Sen 
    Residents of a small town in Nigeria, have fled in panic after a chicken began talking in Arabic before being slaughtered, police said.

    Benue State Police said that the incident of the talking chicken occurred at a local market in Makurdi.

    Residents living near the Wadata Market, fled as the news of the talking chicken spread like fire. “I heard that the police have taken the chicken into their possession, and that is why the police station is so crowded. Everybody wants to see the chicken talk,” a woman who identified herself as Aishetu, said.

    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 HOPS AND SKIPS

    The Gonzo Daily - Tuesday
    It may be Tuesday, but I have that Monday morning feeling, and am finding it inbcredibly hard to get anything done. I am not depressed, not ill, not preoccupied, but just massively unmotivated. The trees in the garden are now all but covered in fresh new foliage, and it is getting to the stage that the lawn needs to be mowed at least twice a week, which will keep Mark R happy. The latest butterfly news is that a swallowtail (presumably of the mainland European race P.m.gorganus was seen in Kent a few days ago.
    For those of you who don't know, the British race of the Swallowtail (P.maechon britannicus) is our largest and one of our rarest butterflies. It is now restricted to a small bit of marshy East Anglia where it only has one larval foodplant. The much more widespread and hardy European race of the swallowtail is much more widely distributed, has several foodplants and - it is hypothesised - was a British resident until about 200 years ago. Occasional specimens stray across the channel into the UK and last year at least one pair (in Dorset) bred. Could they be about to stage a comeback? It would be great if they did, except for one important point. If they do recolonise the United Kingdom it means that they will probably interbreed with the indigenous British race at some point, and we will end up gaining a beautiful new resident, but losing one of our rarest butterflies. Catch 22 huh?
    Ultimate Power-Trio Bassist Jack Bruce Steps On thE Silver Rails
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2014/05/ultimate-power-trio-bassist-jack-bruce.html
    Flatulent dinosaurs and tales from the centre of The Earth
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2014/05/flatulent-dinosaurs-and-tales-from.html
    GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Captain Beefheart - Observatory Crest
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2014/05/gonzo-track-of-day-captain-beefheart.html

    This week's issue of Gonzo Weekly is here. I was up until 4:00 on Saturday morning finishing it, accompanied (except for the last ten minutes) by my wonderful wife and helpmeet Corinna. This issue (up at www.gonzoweekly.com) features - amongst other things - Rick Wakeman at the Royal Albert Hall in exclusive words and pictures, interviews with Keith Levene the founding gunslinger of both The Clash and PiL, René van Commenée (aka Mr Averell) and David Jackson (ex of Van Der Graaf Generator, and the legendary Italian prog band PFM. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and golden mantled tree kangaroos (OK, no arobeal macropods from Irian Jaya, 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!!!
    The full list of artists covered this time is: Rick Wakeman, Roger Daltrey, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Wilko Johnson, Galahad, Ginger Baker, Keith Levene, Clepsydra, Iona, Erik Norlander, Steve Ignorant, Beatles, Marillion, Strange Fruit, Canterbury Sans Frontières, Sub Reality Sandwich, Bob Hoskins, Jean Philippe Rykiel, Joey Molland, David Jackson, René van Commenée, Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, Clearlight, Planet Earth Rock ‘n’ Roll Orchestra, Kevin Ayers and the Whole World, Mr Averell, Xtul, PFM, Pattie Boyd, Yes, Steve Howe, 1D, Goresoerd, Hell, In Process, Indoctrine, Manegarm
    These issues (and the current one) 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. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
    To make sure that you don't miss your copy of future issues make an old hippy a happy chappy and subscribe
    http://eepurl.com/r-VTD
    *  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.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 54 who - together with an orange kitten named after a song by Frank Zappa puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. 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 kitten?

    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


    On this day in 1919 the author L. Frank Baum died. Baum created the world of Oz and some of the greatest children's stories ever written.
    And now the news:

  • Rainforest essential for world's smallest kangaroo...
  • South Africa claims elephants are safe because of ...
  • UK proposes greater transparency on animal researc...
  • Rare goblin shark caught in US
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  • Canine 2.0: Dogs in High-Tech Gear Could Aid Searc...
  • Spider Evolution Should Make You Even More Terrifi...
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  • Scientists puzzled by odd creature found on South ...
  • A charming and joyous celebration of manslaughter: