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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Monday, April 30, 2018

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 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.

  • NEWSLINK: Wildlife warden demands SIT probe into R...
  • VIDEO: Rare sighting of Leopard eating a Cheetah
  • UK: All the times big cats have been sighted in Es...
  • NEWSLINK: Reported black panther sighting in bushl...
  • NEWSLINK: The Asiatic lion thrives in Gujarat’s Gi...

  • NEWSLINK: Rarest big cats in the world battle back...

  • 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.


    THYLACINES IN THE NEWS




    Andrew Pask, a scientist from the University of Melbourne, was part of a team who worked for 10 years to discover all the genetic information of the thylacine. They did this with the help of a four-week-old thylacine joey that had been preserved in a liquid chemical when it died a long time ago. This joey is ...

    'You would have to make a lot more changes to make the numbat DNA look like a thylacine but the technology for making those changes has gotten exponentially easier in the last five or so years because of the people who are doing the mammoth work,' Professor Pask said. The Tasmanian Tiger ...
    Google Plus Facebook Twitter Flag as irrelevant 

    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN RETREATING

    The Gonzo Daily: Monday/Tuesday
     
    And so, another week trundles into play. Mike was here yesterday afternoon and evening, and we put another song to bed. I have been recording with him since 1982, and it is still fresh and exciting. Lady Selene has retreated back to her great dance in the sky, and I have not had a drink for a fortnight tomorrow. Graham is off to Arizona in the morning, and Carl arrives on Saturday. So everything is chugging along reasonably as normal.
     
    Changing the subject completely, is there anyone reading this who has any experience in coding apps? Even more importantly, if you do, would you be prepared to lend your expertise to us for a few hours? Email me please at jon@eclipse.co.uk.
     
    Forgive me for always banging on about our webTV show, but it matters a lot to me, and I would be grateful for as many people as possible to see it, and spread the tidings of it far and wide:
     
     
    And if you fancy supporting us on Patreon:
     
    And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore seems to be in order: if you want to make me a happy fellow, you can:
     
    buy my novel:
    buy the record by the main protagonist of the novel who isn't me in an elephant mask, honest:
    buy my single:
     
    But for now, here is the news:
     
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Rachmaninov Piano Conc...
    Nico interview 1972
    ARTHUR BROWN MEETS ALICE COOPER
    Mick Farren - Isle of Wight and David Frost Show 197...
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
     
    Gonzo Weekly #284
    THE NO LOVE LIKE STRANGE LOVE ISSUE
     
    In the week where things get stranger than strange, Doug interviews the mighty Strangelove, we interview Biff Vernon about a series of maritime art projects in Lincolnshire, John gives us a debriefing about Record Store Day 2018, Alan remembers the Necessaries, and Jon muses on Morrissey and remembers Anarchopunk LPs.
     
    #Hail Eris!
     
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit's Neil Nixon doing something rather naughty, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, and Roy Weard, and C J Stone, tho' Mr Biffo are sadly absent this week. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and long nosed potoroos who have stood around waiting for other potoroos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have decided to stage a reading of the Samuel Beckett classic, 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:
     
    Morrissey, Biff Vernon, Marcus Vergette, Time and Tide Bell, Nile Rodgers, Asia, Kate Bush, Prince, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham,  Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Paul Gray, Bob Dorough, Tim Bergling (aka Avicii), Ian Stuart Colman, Ramon Conchas, Robbee Mariano, Brian Henry Hooper, Inuka, Nabi Tajima, Rick Wakeman, Natural Gas, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Michael Bruce, Man, Doug Harr, Depeche Mode, Strangelove, Alan Dearling, Event Horizon, The Necessaries, John Brodie-Good, Record Store Day 2018, Kev Rowland, The Dark Element, Deluge Grander, Diable Swing Orchestra, Eden Shadow, Elaine Samuels & Kindred Spirit, Electric Wizard, Eye of Nix, Flames of Genesis, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Chris Stone, Hawkwind, Jon Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Gary Miller, Steve Ignorant, Anarchopunk, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Neil Nixon, Peter Frampton,
     
    And the last few issues are:
     
    Issue 283 (Record Store Day)
    Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
    Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
    Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
    Issue 279 (Biffo)
    Issue 278 (The Beatles)
    Issue 277 (Auld Man's Baccie)
    Issue 276 (Dukes of the Orient)
    Issue 275 (Martin Gordon)
    Issue 274 (Steve Took)
    Issue 273 (Live Dead 69)
    Issue 272 (George Butler)
    Issue 271 (Mark E Smith)
    Issue 270 (Eric Clapton)
    Issue 269 (Narnia)
    Issue 267-8 (Happy New Year)
    Issue 265-6 (The Who)
    Issue 264 (John McLaughlin)
    Issue 263 (The magic Band)
    Issue 262 (DikMik)
    Issue 261 (Leonard Cohen)
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
     
    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 an old hippy of 58 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two half grown kittens, 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 his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?

    Sunday, April 29, 2018

    THE HO HO HEN

    The Gonzo Daily - Sunday
    And for no real reason Sunday's notifications are done in rhyme
     
    It's Sunday so again its time
    to do the daily blogs in rhyme:
     
    On Friday the boys came over, and Greg showed us pics of his trip to Hong Kong
    and I very nearly got tearful, 'cos I've not been back home for so long,
    and the fact my Godson has been there, means more to me than I can say,
    and because my time is running out I have to get back one day
     
    ciao....
     
    Forgive me for banging on about our webTV show, but it matters a lot to me, and I would be grateful for an many people as possible to see it, and spread the tidings of it far and wide:
     
     
    But now, here is the news:
     
    Dave Brock interview with "Jet" Martin Celmins on ...
    Captain Beefheart on Late Night, November 11, 1982...
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    Gonzo Weekly #284
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY:  Aretha Franklin - I S...
     
    Gonzo Weekly #284
    THE NO LOVE LIKE STRANGE LOVE ISSUE
     
    In the week where things get stranger than strange, Doug interviews the mighty Strangelove, we interview Biff Vernon about a series of maritime art projects in Lincolnshire, John gives us a debriefing about Record Store Day 2018, Alan remembers the Necessaries, and Jon muses on Morrissey and remembers Anarchopunk LPs.
     
    #Hail Eris!
     
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit's Neil Nixon doing something rather naughty, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, and Roy Weard, and C J Stone, tho' Mr Biffo are sadly absent this week. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and long nosed potoroos who have stood around waiting for other potoroos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have decided to stage a reading of the Samuel Beckett classic, 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:
     
    Morrissey, Biff Vernon, Marcus Vergette, Time and Tide Bell, Nile Rodgers, Asia, Kate Bush, Prince, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham,  Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Paul Gray, Bob Dorough, Tim Bergling (aka Avicii), Ian Stuart Colman, Ramon Conchas, Robbee Mariano, Brian Henry Hooper, Inuka, Nabi Tajima, Rick Wakeman, Natural Gas, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Michael Bruce, Man, Doug Harr, Depeche Mode, Strangelove, Alan Dearling, Event Horizon, The Necessaries, John Brodie-Good, Record Store Day 2018, Kev Rowland, The Dark Element, Deluge Grander, Diable Swing Orchestra, Eden Shadow, Elaine Samuels & Kindred Spirit, Electric Wizard, Eye of Nix, Flames of Genesis, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Chris Stone, Hawkwind, Jon Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Gary Miller, Steve Ignorant, Anarchopunk, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Neil Nixon, Peter Frampton,
     
    And the last few issues are:
     
    Issue 283 (Record Store Day)
    Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
    Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
    Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
    Issue 279 (Biffo)
    Issue 278 (The Beatles)
    Issue 277 (Auld Man's Baccie)
    Issue 276 (Dukes of the Orient)
    Issue 275 (Martin Gordon)
    Issue 274 (Steve Took)
    Issue 273 (Live Dead 69)
    Issue 272 (George Butler)
    Issue 271 (Mark E Smith)
    Issue 270 (Eric Clapton)
    Issue 269 (Narnia)
    Issue 267-8 (Happy New Year)
    Issue 265-6 (The Who)
    Issue 264 (John McLaughlin)
    Issue 263 (The magic Band)
    Issue 262 (DikMik)
    Issue 261 (Leonard Cohen)
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
     
    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 an old hippy of 58 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two half grown kittens, 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 his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?

    Gonzo Weekly #284

    Gonzo Weekly #284
    THE NO LOVE LIKE STRANGE LOVE ISSUE
    In the week where things get stranger than strange, Doug interviews the mighty Strangelove, we interview Biff Vernon about a series of maritime art projects in Lincolnshire, John gives us a debriefing about Record Store Day 2018, Alan remembers the Necessaries, and Jon muses on Morrissey and remembers Anarchopunk LPs.
    #Hail Eris!
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit's Neil Nixon doing something rather naughty, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, and Roy Weard, and C J Stone, tho' Mr Biffo are sadly absent this week. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and long nosed potoroos who have stood around waiting for other potoroos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have decided to stage a reading of the Samuel Beckett classic, 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:
    Morrissey, Biff Vernon, Marcus Vergette, Time and Tide Bell, Nile Rodgers, Asia, Kate Bush, Prince, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham,  Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Paul Gray, Bob Dorough, Tim Bergling (aka Avicii), Ian Stuart Colman, Ramon Conchas, Robbee Mariano, Brian Henry Hooper, Inuka, Nabi Tajima, Rick Wakeman, Natural Gas, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Michael Bruce, Man, Doug Harr, Depeche Mode, Strangelove, Alan Dearling, Event Horizon, The Necessaries, John Brodie-Good, Record Store Day 2018, Kev Rowland, The Dark Element, Deluge Grander, Diable Swing Orchestra, Eden Shadow, Elaine Samuels & Kindred Spirit, Electric Wizard, Eye of Nix, Flames of Genesis, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Chris Stone, Hawkwind, Jon Downes, The Wild Colonial Boy, Martin Springett, Gary Miller, Steve Ignorant, Anarchopunk, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Neil Nixon, Peter Frampton,
    And the last few issues are:
    Issue 283 (Record Store Day)
    Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
    Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
    Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
    Issue 279 (Biffo)
    Issue 278 (The Beatles)
    Issue 277 (Auld Man's Baccie)
    Issue 276 (Dukes of the Orient)
    Issue 275 (Martin Gordon)
    Issue 274 (Steve Took)
    Issue 273 (Live Dead 69)
    Issue 272 (George Butler)
    Issue 271 (Mark E Smith)
    Issue 270 (Eric Clapton)
    Issue 269 (Narnia)
    Issue 267-8 (Happy New Year)
    Issue 265-6 (The Who)
    Issue 264 (John McLaughlin)
    Issue 263 (The magic Band)
    Issue 262 (DikMik)
    Issue 261 (Leonard Cohen)
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
    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.

    NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Monday/Tuesday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1250 - King Louis IX of France was ransomed for one million dollars. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • 85,000-Year-Old Finger Bone May Rewrite the Story ...
  • 500 Million Years Ago, a Sea Worm Hosted a Poop Pi...
  • Human drugs could help treat transmissible cancers...
  • Climate change threatens rare British orchid that ...

  • EMA: Ill-treating leatherback turtles can cost you...

  • 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)

    Friday, April 27, 2018

    THE LAST WEEK AT THE CFZ-USA BLOG

    CFZ-USA

    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.

    Sick sea birds are showing up on central Florida b...

    THYLACINES IN THE NEWS




    Andrew Pask, a biologist from the University of Melbourne, was part of a team who worked for 10 years to successfully sequence the entire genome of a Tasmanian tiger, also known as a thylacine, with the help of a four-week-old joey preserved in a different solution to other damaged specimens.

    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IN A LOST WORLD

    The Gonzo Daily: Friday/Saturday
    And so, dear friends, we come to the end of another week. As regular readers of my burblings here will be aware, me and the full moon don’t mix terribly well, and Our Lady Selene will be paying us a scheduled visit this weekend. So, to help grease my mental wheels as it were, as I prepared this week’s issue of Gonzo Weekly, I listened to the other four radio plays by Bill Drummond that I mentioned in passing yesterday. Actually, it’s not four radio plays, it’s three radio plays and a monologue read by Richard Strange, but that as may be, I was very impressed by all of them. I particularly liked the final one, in which Drummond carries on an unsatisfactory dialogue with his bank manager and with his ex-wife, whilst travelling to Scotland, Liverpool and Siberia, trying to pitch movie ideas. How much of that is true, I have no idea, but assuming that – as Bill usually puts at least of kernel of truth into all of his art – this might explain why last summer’s Welcome to the Dark Ages event happened as and when it did.
    Check them out at this link:
    Forgive me for always banging on about our webTV show, but it matters a lot to me, and I would be grateful for as many people as possible to see it, and spread the tidings of it far and wide:
    And if you fancy supporting us on Patreon:
    And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore seems to be in order: if you want to make me a happy fellow, you can:
    buy my novel:
    buy the record by the main protagonist of the novel who isn't me in an elephant mask, honest:
    buy my single:
    But for now, here is the news:
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY:  Nico - Janitor of lun...
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    FAIRPORT CONVENTION IN THE NEWS
    ZAPPA NEWS
    COMING THIS WEEKEND
    Gonzo Weekly #283
    THE BACK TO THE VINYL FUTURIST ISSUE
    In the week where it has been announced that the recorded music industry in the UK has had its best year since Britpop, John looks at Record Store Day 2018 from the point of view of a Gonzo reader, Alan does some extraordinary things in Lithuania, Doug looks at an unfairly overlooked Genesis album, and Jon mutters on about Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, and global reapolitik.
    #Hail Eris!
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive is on hiatus this week, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, although Roy Weard, C J Stone, and Mr Biffo are sadly absent this week. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and southern dibblers who have stood around in twos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have paired up under last weekend's blue moon, 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:
    Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Corky Laing, Morrissey, Kino, Sting, The Damned, Nick Mason, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Tom McBride, Maurice Reedus Jr., Deborah Coleman, Irwin Gage, Arthur William Bell III, Barbara Bush, Randy Lynn Scruggs, Rick Wakeman, Natural Gas, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Michael Bruce, Man, Doug Harr, Genesis, Alan Dearling, Uzupis, Poliarizuoti stiklai, Uprising Tree, Nerius Peciura, Rakija Klezmer Orchestra, Baltasis Kiras, Sen Svaja, Arklio Galia, Balandos, John Brodie-Good, Record Store Day 2018, Kev Rowland, The Billy Lester Trio, Joe Elliott's Down 'N' Outz, Blood Red Saints, Blues Pills, Brad Garton & Dave Soldier, Bugenhagen, Christina, Hawkwind, The Blackheart Orchestra, Martin Springett, Pink Floyd, Elvis, Jerry Garcia, Elton John, Neil Nixon, Roddy Frame, Manic Street Preachers
    And the last few issues are:
    Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
    Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
    Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
    Issue 279 (Biffo)
    Issue 278 (The Beatles)
    Issue 277 (Auld Man's Baccie)
    Issue 276 (Dukes of the Orient)
    Issue 275 (Martin Gordon)
    Issue 274 (Steve Took)
    Issue 273 (Live Dead 69)
    Issue 272 (George Butler)
    Issue 271 (Mark E Smith)
    Issue 270 (Eric Clapton)
    Issue 269 (Narnia)
    Issue 267-8 (Happy New Year)
    Issue 265-6 (The Who)
    Issue 264 (John McLaughlin)
    Issue 263 (The magic Band)
    Issue 262 (DikMik)
    Issue 261 (Leonard Cohen)
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
    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 an old hippy of 58 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two half grown kittens, 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 his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?

    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 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: All the times big cats have been sighted in Es...
  • NEWSLINK: Reported black panther sighting in bushl...
  • NEWSLINK: The Asiatic lion thrives in Gujarat’s Gi...
  • NEWSLINK: Rarest big cats in the world battle back...


  • NEWSLINK: Panic in Narela school after leopard spo


  • NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Friday/Saturday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1509 - Pope Julius II excommunicated the Italian state of Venice. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Jaw bone on British beach belonged to huge ancient...
  • Sperm whale 'clicks' help scientists understand be...
  • Bowhead whales: jazz artists of the deep whose cal...
  • Warming climate could see butterfly loved by Churc...
  • Exotic milk snake found at McDonald's drive-throug...

  • Turtle shells help decode complex links between mo...

  • 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)

    Thursday, April 26, 2018

    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 IS STILL ON THE WAGON, ALTHOUGH WITH A FULL MOON APPROACHING LIKE AN OUT OF CONTROL JUGGERNAUT HE IS NOT SURE HOW LONG THIS WILL LAST

    The Gonzo Daily: Thursday
     
    Last night I discovered that a quintet of plays by Bill Drummond, written under the soubriquet of 'Tenzing Scott brown' and called 'The Cherry Blossom Quartet' (yes, there are five of them) was performed on Resonance FM just over a year ago. Furthermore, they are all available to listen to online, and so - appropriately - I accidentally listened to the final one first last night. Between Heaven and Helsinki, is based on the rise and fall of Kristina Bruuk, the imaginary singer invented by Drummond and Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction's Mark Manning for their book, Bad Wisdom. In their epic voyage to the top of the world, the pair created a record label, Kalevala, and released six singles by make-believe bands, with Bruuk – described as 'the Nico of the north-lands' – contributing guest vocals to a record by fictional all-female Finnish quartet, Dracula's Daughter. The play that has come out of all this is something of a rock and roll tragedy.
     
    Check them out:
     
     
    Forgive me for always banging on about our webTV show, but it matters a lot to me, and I would be grateful for as many people as possible to see it, and spread the tidings of it far and wide:
     
     
    And if you fancy supporting us on Patreon:
     
    And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore seems to be in order: if you want to make me a happy fellow, you can:
     
    buy my novel:
    buy the record by the main protagonist of the novel who isn't me in an elephant mask, honest:
    buy my single:
     
    But for now, here is the news:
     
    Kevin Ayers in "Wild Thing" music documentary
    Nico - rare NZ interview (1985)
    RICK SPRINGFIELD IN THE NEWS
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY:  Frederick Delius: Flo...
     
    Gonzo Weekly #283
    THE BACK TO THE VINYL FUTURIST ISSUE
     
    In the week where it has been announced that the recorded music industry in the UK has had its best year since Britpop, John looks at Record Store Day 2018 from the point of view of a Gonzo reader, Alan does some extraordinary things in Lithuania, Doug looks at an unfairly overlooked Genesis album, and Jon mutters on about Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, and global reapolitik.
     
    #Hail Eris!
     
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Mack Maloney, AND Friday Night Progressive is on hiatus this week, there are columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Kev Rowlands AND the irrepressible Corinna, although Roy Weard, C J Stone, and Mr Biffo are sadly absent this week. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and southern dibblers who have stood around in twos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have paired up under last weekend's blue moon, 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:
     
    Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Corky Laing, Morrissey, Kino, Sting, The Damned, Nick Mason, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Tom McBride, Maurice Reedus Jr., Deborah Coleman, Irwin Gage, Arthur William Bell III, Barbara Bush, Randy Lynn Scruggs, Rick Wakeman, Natural Gas, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Michael Bruce, Man, Doug Harr, Genesis, Alan Dearling, Uzupis, Poliarizuoti stiklai, Uprising Tree, Nerius Peciura, Rakija Klezmer Orchestra, Baltasis Kiras, Sen Svaja, Arklio Galia, Balandos, John Brodie-Good, Record Store Day 2018, Kev Rowland, The Billy Lester Trio, Joe Elliott's Down 'N' Outz, Blood Red Saints, Blues Pills, Brad Garton & Dave Soldier, Bugenhagen, Christina, Hawkwind, The Blackheart Orchestra, Martin Springett, Pink Floyd, Elvis, Jerry Garcia, Elton John, Neil Nixon, Roddy Frame, Manic Street Preachers
     
    And the last few issues are:
     
    Issue 282 (Neil Finn and Fleetwood Mac)
    Issue 281 (Carl Palmer)
    Issue 280 (Steve Andrews)
    Issue 279 (Biffo)
    Issue 278 (The Beatles)
    Issue 277 (Auld Man's Baccie)
    Issue 276 (Dukes of the Orient)
    Issue 275 (Martin Gordon)
    Issue 274 (Steve Took)
    Issue 273 (Live Dead 69)
    Issue 272 (George Butler)
    Issue 271 (Mark E Smith)
    Issue 270 (Eric Clapton)
    Issue 269 (Narnia)
    Issue 267-8 (Happy New Year)
    Issue 265-6 (The Who)
    Issue 264 (John McLaughlin)
    Issue 263 (The magic Band)
    Issue 262 (DikMik)
    Issue 261 (Leonard Cohen)
    Issue 260 (Amsterdam Squat Festie)
     
    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 an old hippy of 58 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two half grown kittens, 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 his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?