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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Thursday, May 28, 2015

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.


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.

UK SIGHTINGS: Mystery surrounds big cat sighting

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN GETS TECHNICAL

The Gonzo Daily - Thursday
 
Julia the Psychic went on her way yesterday, and we hope we will see her again soon. The house will be full of teenage and nearly teenage girls today as all things being equal we shall have Jessica, Tammy and Charlotte all doing their thing here. Poor Jess will be in the office all day, whilst Tammy and Charlotte will be changing the substrate in the tortoises and the hedgehogs. While this is happening, Graham will be replacing the roof of the museum, and Danny will be doing arcane stuff in the garden. Meanwhile I shall write deathless prose and play with the kitten. Sorted.
 
 
The Gonzo Weekly #131
www.gonzoweekly.com
 
Boomtown Rats, Midlake, Beatles, George Harrison, Apple Scruffs, Roy Weard, Dogwatch, That Legendary Wooden Lion, Hawkwind, Jon Anderson, and Yes fans had better look out!
 
The latest issue of Gonzo Weekly (#131) is available to read at www.gonzoweekly.com, and to download at http://www.gonzoweekly.com/pdf/. It has The Boomtown Rats on the front cover together with some exciting news about a hitherto lost video from 1978 inside. There is a look at Midlake by Doug, Jon examines a book by one of the Apple Scruffs, and discovers the sad story behind it, and talks about a very peculiar week dogged by Mercury Retrograde, whilst the legendary Roy Weard continues his regular column. Xtul gets even more peculiar, and there is a radio show from M Destiny at Friday Night Progressive. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and pademelons trying to choose (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials having difficulty in making choices, 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:
David Crosby, Garry Johnson,Eric Clapton, Noel Gallagher, Steve Hackett, Genetics, Marillion, Edison's Children, System 7, Steve Hillage, Karnataka, Friday Night Progressive, Sam Zaman, Mick Abrahams & Sharon Watson, Tommy James, Hugh Hopper, Third Ear Band, WMWS, David Peel, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Eliza Carthy & Jim Moray,The Boomtown Rats, Midlake, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Yes, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Wyrd, Martin Eve, Xtul, Elvis, onkees, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Richards, FängörN
 

Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
 

Issue 130 (David Peel cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo130.html
Issue 129 (Clepsydra cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo129.html
Issue 128 (Louie Louie cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo128.html
Issue 127 (Roy Weard cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo127.html
Issue 126 (Atkins-May Project cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo126.html
Issue 125 (Mick Abrahams cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo125.html
Issue 124 (Karnataka cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo124.html
Issue 123 (Cream cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo123.html
Issue 122 (Anthony Phillips cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo122.html
Issue 121 (Annie Haslam cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo121.html
Issue 120 (Frank Zappa cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo120.html
Issue 119 (Eliza Carthy cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo119.html
Issue 118 (Dave Brock cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo118.html
Issue 117 (Daevid Allen cover)
http://www.flipsnack.com/9FE5CEE9E8C/gonzo117.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/
 

* 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/…/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit
 
* 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 55 who - together with an infantile orange cat 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 infantile orange cat?

CARL MARSHALL: A First For Warwickshire?

Grey Seal in Alcester.

In Late January, The Wildlife Trusts received a couple of reports of a Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus in the River Arrow at Alcester with one observer seeing the Seal feeding on fish in the river.

Apparently, in November, [2014] Claire Ramos, a local resident noticed a "very heavy trail through the grass on the river bank, with scales/bones, flesh, evidence of something large taking fish. The trail was at least a foot wide for about 10 foot distance".

One other resident on the same street also reported the sighting but their have been no observations since. 


A photograph exists taken by Claire Ramos and can be viewed at www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk

NEWS FROM NOWHERE - Thursday

ON THIS DAY IN 1805 - Napoleon was crowned in Milan, Italy. 
And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Top 10 new species for 2015 announced
  • Charity joins the national fight to rescue red squ...
  • Many Americans Support Equal Rights for Animals
  • Lowly 'new girl' chimps form stronger female bonds...

  • Enable Big Cats to Thrive, End Extinction Fears

  • 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)