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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Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Thursday, February 08, 2018

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.


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  • NEWSLINK: Tiger cub rescued from dry well
  • NEWSLINK: As Africa’s Big Cats Face Serious Threat...
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  • THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN WELCOMES THE ADVENT OF THE WEEKEND


    The Gonzo Daily: Friday/Saturday
    For the second time in a week, you can read tomorrow's blogs today. Why? It is all part of my forlorn attempts to catch up with myself, and not be eternally rushing around in circles like Archie when he chases his tail. The equipment is working better today and getting the car through its MOT didn't bankrupt me, so we are ahead of the game already.
    ciaou....
    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:
    But for now, here is the news:
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Rachmaninoff: Piano So...
    COMING THIS WEEKEND
    FAIRPORT CONVENTION IN THE NEWS
    RICK SPRINGFIELD NEWS
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    Gonzo Weekly #272
    THE GUDBUY T'GEORGE ISSUE
    In this poignant issue, Tim bids a fond farewell to his friend George Butler of the Pink Fairies who died this week, John investigates Op Art, Richard writes about Mickey Hart, late of the Grateful Dead, Graham about Hawkwind, the saga of Xtul comes to an end for now, and Jon feels blessed by the comfort of strangers.
    Hail Eris!
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Friday Night Progressive, AND Mack Maloney. TheRE ARE columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Roy Weard, C J Stone, Mr Biffo AND the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and southern dibblers who have gone for a snooze (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have probably got hangovers and have decided to have a little rest, 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:
    George Harrison, Phillip Glass, Jon Anderson, Prince, Elton John, Joey Molland, John Payne, Dukes of the Orient, Erik Norlander, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Asmund Bjorken, Eddie Shaw, Heinz Jakob "Coco" Schumann, Grant Fell, Neil Harris, Reese Francis "Buzz"  Clifford III, Floyd Miles, David Holland, Hannah Hauxwell, George Butler, Barbara Dixon, Jessica Lee Morgan, Rick Wakeman, Billion Dollar Babies, Tangerine Dream, Tim Rundall, John Brodie-Good, Bridget Riley, Jim Lambie, Victor Vasarely, Richard Foreman, Mickey Hart, Kev Rowland, Isenordal, Jason Paul Curtis, Jeff Dingler, Jessica Wolff, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Xtul, Martin Springett, John Lennon, Elvis, Cream,
    Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd
    And the last few issues are:
    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)
    Issue 259 (Out come thee Freaks)
    Issue 258 (The Devil's Jukebox)
    Issue 257 (Judge Smith)
    Issue 255/6 (John Lennon)
    Issue 254 (Mr Biffo)
    Issue 253 (Dana Gillespie)
    Issue 252 (Cropredy)
    Issue 251 (Scott Walker)
    Issue 250 (Jamms)
    Issue 249 (Bill Bruford)
    Issue 248 (The Selecter)
    Issue 247 (Don Airey)
    Issue 246 (Steve Hackett)
    Issue 244-5 (Summer Special)
    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?

    NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Friday/Saturday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1974 - The three-man crew of the Skylab space station returned to Earth after 84 days. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Brain chemical differences suggest possible reason...
  • All the buzz—bigger honeybee colonies have quieter...
  • Canada limits crab fishing to save right whales

  • 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).

    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.


    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 DISLIKES THE LAWYERS

    The Gonzo Daily: Thursday
    Yesterday was a horrible day, with all the computers in the house rising up to attack me in force. The singularity came early in Woolsery, as anything with a memory chip took arms against its human overlord (me). Artificial intelligence? Pah! Eventually the rule of might held sway, and I banished the digital gremlins to the digital realms from which they came. The post battle deliberations went the way one would expect, and today I have a hangover.
    ciaou....
    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:
    But for now, here is the news:
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: ✥ PURCELL - Music for ...
    YES ARTICLE
    FRANK ZAPPA NEWS
    GARDENING CLUB REVIEW
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    Gonzo Weekly #272
    THE GUDBUY T'GEORGE ISSUE
    In this poignant issue, Tim bids a fond farewell to his friend George Butler of the Pink Fairies who died this week, John investigates Op Art, Richard writes about Mickey Hart, late of the Grateful Dead, Graham about Hawkwind, the saga of Xtul comes to an end for now, and Jon feels blessed by the comfort of strangers.
    Hail Eris!
    And there are radio shows from Strange Fruit, AND Friday Night Progressive, AND Mack Maloney. TheRE ARE columns from all sorts of folk including Neil Nixon, Roy Weard, C J Stone, Mr Biffo AND the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and southern dibblers who have gone for a snooze (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have probably got hangovers and have decided to have a little rest, 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:
    George Harrison, Phillip Glass, Jon Anderson, Prince, Elton John, Joey Molland, John Payne, Dukes of the Orient, Erik Norlander, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Asmund Bjorken, Eddie Shaw, Heinz Jakob "Coco" Schumann, Grant Fell, Neil Harris, Reese Francis "Buzz"  Clifford III, Floyd Miles, David Holland, Hannah Hauxwell, George Butler, Barbara Dixon, Jessica Lee Morgan, Rick Wakeman, Billion Dollar Babies, Tangerine Dream, Tim Rundall, John Brodie-Good, Bridget Riley, Jim Lambie, Victor Vasarely, Richard Foreman, Mickey Hart, Kev Rowland, Isenordal, Jason Paul Curtis, Jeff Dingler, Jessica Wolff, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Hawkwind, Xtul, Martin Springett, John Lennon, Elvis, Cream,
    Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd
    And the last few issues are:
    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)
    Issue 259 (Out come thee Freaks)
    Issue 258 (The Devil's Jukebox)
    Issue 257 (Judge Smith)
    Issue 255/6 (John Lennon)
    Issue 254 (Mr Biffo)
    Issue 253 (Dana Gillespie)
    Issue 252 (Cropredy)
    Issue 251 (Scott Walker)
    Issue 250 (Jamms)
    Issue 249 (Bill Bruford)
    Issue 248 (The Selecter)
    Issue 247 (Don Airey)
    Issue 246 (Steve Hackett)
    Issue 244-5 (Summer Special)
    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?

    NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Thursday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1861 - The Confederate States of America was formed. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • The killer whale that can say 'hello' and 'bye bye...
  • Moustached monkey is separate species
  • Why don't turtles still have tail spikes?
  • Mantis shrimp size each other up before ceding a f...
  • Frogs Tote Tiny Radios to Save Their Species – via...
  • New Jaguar Frog Discovered on Abandoned Highway – ...

  • 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).