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...




Wednesday, August 07, 2013

DALE DRINNON: Megalodons, Loch Ness Monster, Frontiers of Anthropology

New At The Frontiers of Zoology:

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.



CFZ PEOPLE: Lars Thomas


Lars's birthday was yesterday, and I missed it.... Whoops 

TODAY'S BIG CAT NEWS ROUNDUP



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. In September 2012 Emma Osborne decided that the Mystery Cat Study Group really deserved a blog of its own within the CFZ Blog Network.







  • NEWSLINK: Camera trap to solve Choral big cat myst...
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  • Lee Brickley's Terrifying New Book



    UFO's Werewolves & The Pig-Man
    (Exposing England's Strangest Location – Cannock Chase)

    "UFOs, werewolves, orbs, more monsters than an old Universal Studio film. Cannock Chase has them all, and now Lee Brickley is bringing them all into your living room in his exciting new book."
                                       Brad Steiger


    The eternally mysterious woodlands of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, England, are known throughout the world as an entry point for bizarre and unearthly paranormal phenomena. From werewolf sightings and spectral encounters, to documented UFO crashes and spooky urban legends, this supernatural portal area experiences more inexplicable activity than you even dare imagine.

    In this book Lee Brickley chronicles his investigation into the very location many researchers call “England's Strangest”. With brand new sighting reports, spine-tingling tales of gruesome monsters, and fresh information on the alleged top secret military connection that could be responsible for it all, are you brave enough to find out what's really going down in the woods today?

    About the Author:
    Lee Brickley is a British freelance writer and publisher who works for several magazines and websites. Lee
    has a particular interest in paranormal/cryptozoological themes and has been writing on the subject for many
    years. With appearences on many top radio shows, big things are on the horizon for this dedicated new
    author. You can contact him directly at leebrickleyauthor@gmail.com

    Or for more info on the mysteries and happenings on Cannock Chase, his paranormal blog can be found at:
    www.paranormalcannock.blogspot.co.uk

    Quotes:
    "Cannock Chase has long been known as a UFO hotspot and a place where all sorts of other paranormal
    phenomena have occurred. It's one of the UK's most mysterious locations and might even get into a global
    Top 10 list of spooky sites, alongside such places as Area 51, Roswell, the Bermuda Triangle and a few
    others."  Nick Pope, MoD UFO Project, 1991-1994

    “At first glance, Cannock Chase is a wonder to behold with its amazing and abundant natural beauty.
    However, there is another part of Cannock Chase that dwells within the shadows. A place where madness
    has substance and nightmares have their own perverse allure. Cannock Chase is as mysterious as it is
    beautiful. It is a place where the veil is thin, allowing brief glimpses between this world and the next”
    Paranormal author Tim Swartz

    "A high plateau bordered by the Trent Valley to the north and the West Midlands to the south, the huge and
    picturesque Cannock Chase has been an integral feature of the Staffordshire landscape for generations.
    There is something deeply weird about the Chase: it has strange and monstrous inhabitants in its midst.
    Werewolves, large black cats, aliens, spooks and spirits, Bigfoot, wallabies, wild boar, and huge snakes
    have all been reported from within the depths of these mysterious woods..." Nick Redfern, author of
    many books including Monster Diary and Wildman

    "Cannock Chase has been the centre of many unusual sightings over the years. The Cannock Chase Beast' is
    probably the most legendary phenomena, but other supernatural horrors have been reported as well.
    Unknown hominids and serpents reportedly haunt the infamous forest, creating caution for those who
    travel through it” Fortean author Lon Strickler

    "Cannock Chase is like a slice of the ancient medieval forests that covered England. Somehow this world
    within a world has survived in the heart of modern industrial Britain. Should we really be surprised that
    some of its 'residents' are so strange?"  Cryptozoologist Richard Freeman

    “Lee presents a fascinating and detailed insight into Cannock Chase and the mysteries that surround this
    region. His understanding of the area and strong local knowledge offer any reader and fan of the
    unexplained the chance discover why this area plays an important role within the UK's rich history of the
    unknown” Colin Hall, author of Fact or Fiction? The Paris & M6 Crashes

    Check it out...

    CFZ PEOPLE: Clare-Elizabeth Bitakara'mire


    Happy Birthday, hun

    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS HOLDING THE FORT

    Today has not been the best of days. Corinna has not been well, although she is now on the mend, and all sorts of other petty annoyances have got in the way. However, none of this has anything to do with the fact that tomorrow's blogs are coming out tonight. Basically I am away all day filming a documentary about the Devil's footprints in South Devon, and rather than get up too early I am doing them tonight..


    *  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 1952 comedian and actor Alexei Sayle was born. Sayle is best known internationally for his part in the third Raiders movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (“And I even like the colour.”), but in Britain he is known for having been one of the leading lights of the “alternative” comedy scene in the 80s and 90s, without which we would have still had everyone thinking Morecambe and Wise and Little and Large were the height of comic sophistication.
    And now the news:




  • Deformed calf not caused by man
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