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, February 10, 2014

A painting of a Yeti in a Northern art style



My latest cryptozoology painting is of an encounter with a Yeti. 


This mystery creature than has been painted many times but this could well be the first time in the Northern School style. 


Recently one of my paintings sold for five thousand pounds, but you will be glad to know that this painting is very reasonably priced and is it is currently available for sale on eBay  


This contemporary painting which is oil on stretched canvas measures approx. 9" x 12" and is in excellent condition with lovely vibrant colours.

TODAY'S 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. 

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  • 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 SINGS DISCORDANTLY AND THEN WANDERS ABOUT THE ROOM WITH A SAUCEPAN ON HIS HEAD

    I have always been a supporter of zoos. As a devotee of the late great Gerald Durrell I believe that they are an invaluable tool in conservation, with captive breeding being one of the best ways of restoring species numbers. Zoos should be, or so I have always maintained, temples where one goes to worship earnestly and devoutly at the altar of Mother Nature. I have watched in horror as - due to the current financial conditions - some have reverted back to what Zoos were like in the old days and just become cut price amusement parks for the great unwashed, and some have even degenerated into being just a tawdry add on to a bona fide amusement park. But the news stories which have emerged in the last couple of days are truly disturbing. The industry needs to get its act together if it isn't to lose public confidence altogether.
    Over on the CFZ blog I posted what seemed to be some interesting results about the DNA Analysis Of the Paracas Elongated Skulls from Peru. "The Results Prove They Were Not Human" claim the headlines, but Sharon at 'Doubtful News' has revealed that the person who did the DNA testing is none other than Dr Melba Ketchum, which will - in some people's eyes at least - cast some considerable doubt on the findings. I am now going to throw down a gauntlet to everyone involved. If you would like to send ME some samples I will forward them on to my friend and colleague Lars Thomas in Copenhagen, and they will be analysed by scientists at a reputable academic establishment. If these findings match those of Dr Melba Ketchum, then I will be the first to admit it and apologise publicly.
    BTW the CFZ website and other websites on the same server seems to be down at the moment. This may mean that the front page will not be updated today...
    RICK WAKEMAN: Volunteers create new local sound and vision
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2014/02/rick-wakeman-volunteers-create-new.html
    Jon Anderson of Yes, Rock Academy students to play Woodstock.
    http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2014/02/jon-anderson-of-yes-rock-academy.html
    Apart from other things, you will be pleased to hear that Issue 64 of the Gonzo Weekly is OUT. This issue features Liz Lenten's scrapbook of the tour they did with Jefferson Starship, an exclusive interview with Bridget Wishart about Spirits Burning, Hawkwind and all sorts of other things, new music from Steve Ignorant's Slice of Life, new music from Mike Davis and Lizzy Rowe, the new Small Faces compilation album, the Small School in Hartland, the legendary Roy Weard on why we make music, Clepsydra tour dates and more news, reviews, views, interviews and brindled gnus (OK, no specialised African antelopes 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 COMPLETELY FREE!!!
    To make sure that you don't miss your copy of future issues make an old hippy a happy chappy and subscribe
    http://eepurl.com/r-VTD

    PS: If you are already a subscriber but think that you haven't been receiving your copies please check your spam filters. For some reason known only to the Gods of the internet, some e-mail programmes automatically count the magazine as 'spam' probably because it comes from a mass mailer. Either that or they are just jealous of our peerless content
    PPS: I am already working on Issue 65, which will feature an EXCLUSIVE Pink Fairies interview, an exclusive interview with prog album artist Sandor Kwiatkowski,the return of the mighty Six Foot Three, and lotsa other good stuff which I've not done yet..
    *  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/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 54 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?

    CRYPTOLINK: DNA Analysis Of Paracas Elongated Skulls Released. The Results Prove They Were Not Human

    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. 

    Paracas is a desert peninsula located within the Pisco Province in the Ica Region, on the south coast of Peru. It is here were Peruvian archaeologist, Julio Tello, made an amazing discovery in 1928, a massive and elaborate graveyard containing tombs filled with the remains of individuals with the largest elongated skulls found anywhere in the world. 
    These have come to be known as the 'Paracas skulls'. In total, Tello found more than 300 of these elongated skulls, which are believed to date back around 3,000 years. 

    A DNA analysis has now been conducted on one of the skulls and expert Brien Foerster has released preliminary information regarding these enigmatic skulls. It is well-known that most cases of skull elongation are the result of cranial deformation, head flattening, or head binding, in which the skull is intentionally deformed by applying force over a long period of time. 

    It is usually achieved by binding the head between two pieces of wood, or binding in cloth. However, while cranial deformation changes the shape of the skull, it does not alter its volume, weight, or other features that are characteristic of a regular human skull. The Paracas skulls, however, are different.

    Outrage as lioness and cubs who were the pride of Longleat are put downleaving staff in tears


    • Henry the lion, Louisa the lioness and four cubs were killed last month
    • Longleat bosses claimed the lions were becoming violent and dangerous
    • Employees wept when they heard what had become of the beloved animals

    Six lions at Longleat Safari Park have been put down, triggering outrage among staff who claim there was no obvious reason for the animals to be killed.

    An adult male called Henry, a lioness named Louisa and four of her cubs were all put to death last month in an operation supervised by vets.

    Bosses at the safari park on the Marquess of Bath’s Wiltshire estate insist the decision was taken because of ‘health risks’ after a population increase led to violent behaviour.

    At play: Lions and cubs, left, from the pride that was culled by vets at Longleat, pictured three weeks
    At play: Lions and cubs, left, from the pride that was culled by vets at Longleat, pictured three weeks

    But former workers in the lion reserve have questioned whether the animals should have been destroyed, and revealed that some employees were in tears when they found out what had happened.

    The lions are one of the biggest attractions at Longleat, which opened in 1966 as Britain’s first wildlife safari park.


    Read on...
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    OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

    http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

    On this day in 1963 the actor Philip Glenister was born. Glenister is best known for playing the part of DCI Gene Hunt in the time travelling/ (SPOILERS) supernatural dramas, Life  on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.
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  • Ever wondered who vandalised the Blue Peter garden in the '80s?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpiPEWDwK_Q