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, July 31, 2013

CRYPTOLINK: (Big)foot in Mouth: Bigfoot Language

A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me.

Human characteristics are attributed to many legendary creatures. As part of this anthropomorphization, these mythological animals are often given language abilities. Fairies, elves, gnomes, goblins and genies of folklore speak human languages, and usually in addition to their own tongues. Many fiction writers have created artificial languages and writing systems for these creatures, including J. R. R. Tolkien’s Elvish languages. As for the undead, vampires retain the language skills they had when they were still alive. Zombies are no longer sparkling conversationalists, but they can still mutter “brains!” In popular paranormal theory, ghosts and spirits are believed to communicate with the living, although they often require a medium, or a device designed to contact the dead.

Cryptids are alleged animals whose existence has not been proven scientifically, like the Loch Ness Monster. According to legend, some cryptids are believed to have language skills too, especially hybrid-human creatures, such as Spring-heeled Jack, the Mothman, mermaids, and monkey men. An early version of the mythical goat-sucking chupacabra could allegedly understand Spanish, although not speak it. There are numerous anecdotal reports that the Indonesian cryptid Orang-Pendek (“small human”) communicates using vocalizations similar to non-human primates. What about the most infamous cryptid of all: Bigfoot?

Read on...

FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES

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 took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.


DALE DRINNON: Tianchi monster, kraken, Benny's Blogs

New at the Frontiers of Zoology:

HIT PARADE FOR JULY (CFZ PRESS/FORTEAN WORDS)

UK

1. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (1)
2. Haunted Skies Volume Six by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (8)
3. Wildman! by Nick Redfern (-)
4=. Haunted Skies Volume Two by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (3)

4=. Haunted Skies Volume Five by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
4=. Monstrum by Tony 'Doc' Shiels (-)


7=. Haunted Skies Volume One by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (-)
7=. Haunted Skies Volume Three by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (5)
7=. Those Amazing Newfoundland dogs by Jan Bondeson (6)
7=. Terror of the Tokoloshei by S. D Tucker (-)

US

1. The Cryptid Creatures of Florida by Scott Marlowe (4)
2. When Bigfoot Attacks by Michael Newton (6)
3. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (1)
4. The CFZ Yearbook 2013 (-)
5=. The Inhumanoids by Bart Nunnelly (3)
5=. The Journal of Cryptozoology Volume One edited by Karl Shuker (2)

5=. Cats of Magic, Mythology and Mystery by Karl Shuker (7)
5=. Wildman! by Nick Redfern (-)
9=. Big Bird by Ken Gerhard (8)
9=. Orang Pendek by Richard Freeman (-)

Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. Sales are quiet as they always are in the summer,  but I would like to say thank you for all the hard work Emsy has put in on the Facebook Group. Thank you honey.

A classic Scottish sea serpent on the radio



On Sunday night’s Morton Through Midnight show the regular cryptozoology feature Morton’s Mystery Creatures focused on a classic Scottish sea serpent report.

It was a clear, fine evening in 1882 when the captain and crew of the German steamer Kätie, en route from New York to Newcastle, sailing about eight miles off the Butt of Lewis, sighted something ahead in the water.

Captain Weisz recorded that there was a dark object lying on the surface of the water about 2 miles from the ship. At first it was thought to be an abandoned wreck, the highest part being the bow, the rest resembling the jumbled waterlogged remains of a ship. As the Kätie got nearer the crew could see the water eddying round it as though moving over something large beneath the surface. 

On getting nearer however, it became clear it wasn't an abandoned vessel they were seeing. Now the dark, hilly mass resembled dangerous rocks and cliffs. The captain, being familiar with the area, knew there were no such dangers in the vicinity, and so the mystery deepened.

The object lay quite still for some time; then out of the water rose a fin about ten feet in height, reckoned to be about 80 feet from the visible end. This fin moved a few times while the body gradually sank below the surface of the water; the highest end then rose up and was seen to be a tail of enormous dimensions.

The visible part of the creature was estimated to measure about 150 feet in length; the hills or humps, which were from three to four feet in height, and about six or seven feet apart, were smaller towards the tail. No head was observed before the creature disappeared from sight.

You can listen to this show on the following link morton through midnight  it is an hour and seven minutes into the show

THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN THINKS AHEAD

For the last thirty years I have been trying to get hold of a copy of Ken Campbell's 'School For Clowns'. It was originally shown on an ITV children's programme, repeated once and then forgotten about. Even Ken didn't havce a copy. I know, because I asked him repeatedly. Now it has been released as an extra on the DVD box of  Dramarama and it is still as anarchically wonderful as ever. I laughed all the way through. It has to be said, however, that Corinna sat looking stony faced with her "my husband is an idiot, and furthermore a puerile one" expression on her lovely visage. Richard Freeman arrives later for a Weird Weekend meeting, and I am very much looking forward to showing it to him. I wonder whether he will like it as much as me...
 
Another visit to our old friend Thom the World Poet.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/07/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_31.html
 
 
Luke Haines honours Mick Farren with reading at Borderline show
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/07/luke-haines-honours-mick-farren-with.html
 
‘You never knew what somebody was going to do’: Greg Lake on King Crimson’s improvisational start
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2013/07/you-never-knew-what-somebody-was-going.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) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) 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 cat?

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


Yesterday’s News Today

On this day in 1965 the author J.K. Rowling was born.
And now the news:
  • Wildlife Trust appeal to buy Dambuster airfield
  • Scientists Erase the Memories of Sleeping Mice
  • Small Herbivorous Lizards Can Grow To the Size of ...
  • En Garde! Gang of Feral Cats Attack Woman, Dog in ...
  • Frenchman survives crocodile head bite
  • Central Africa forests could die as keystone speci...
  • Prairie butterfly sliding towards extinction
  • More protection needed for vulnerable wildlife in ...

  • Here's something a bit more interesting than your standard J. K. Rowling interview: