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...




Monday, April 04, 2016

CFZ PEOPLE: Mary Downes (1922-2002)

My Mother would have been 94 today


The Mother by Robert William Service
There will be a singing in your heart,
There will be a rapture in your eyes;
You will be a woman set apart,
You will be so wonderful and wise.
You will sleep, and when from dreams you start,
As of one that wakes in Paradise,
There will be a singing in your heart,
There will be a rapture in your eyes.

There will be a moaning in your heart,
There will be an anguish in your eyes;
You will see your dearest ones depart,
You will hear their quivering good-byes.
Yours will be the heart-ache and the smart,
Tears that scald and lonely sacrifice;
There will be a moaning in your heart,
There will be an anguish in your eyes.

There will come a glory in your eyes,
There will come a peace within your heart;
Sitting 'neath the quiet evening skies,
Time will dry the tear and dull the smart.
You will know that you have played your part;
Yours shall be the love that never dies:
You, with Heaven's peace within your heart,
You, with God's own glory in your eyes.

MONTHLY CFZ NEWSLETTER


Dear Friends,

For those of you not in the know, at the beginning of each month we send out a newsletter to all members of the CFZ. The most recent included articles on dwarf wolves in Ireland, Richard's preliminary expedition report, Cryptozoological Notes and Queries,  and other stuff of interest.

The infrastructure of the Centre for Fortean Zoology has changed rapidly over the last few years and truthfully doesn’t look like its going to stop changing anytime soon. The newsletter costs a quid a month (or the equivalent in your currency) and is delivered straight into your inbox by a plethora of tiny invisible elves, or email if your prefer it that way. You can sign up for it here: http://tinyurl.com/jz66jgh

If you want to view a sample issue click here: http://tinyurl.com/pw7rw9l

 

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.





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.

  • NEWSLINK: Studying Sonoma’s big cats
  • NEWSLINK: Milwaukee Zoo recording big cats for stu...
  • BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



    Dogman Encounter Frightens Alaskan Outdoorsman
    Tonight's guest, Corey, lives in a small town, in Alaska. Corey loves spending time in the outdoors. He loves to camp, fish, hunt, and do pretty much ...


    Utah Sasquatch Trackway?
    It has been reported by many Bigfoot researchers that Sasquatch often walk with an inline step. In this particular trackway, found in the high country of ...


    Possible Bigfoot Face Captured On Video In Myakka
    From the youtube channel of the Trail To Bigfoot team: We go off trail to examine the knock location area. We find a super highway network of trees.

    Soldiers Have Encounter With Bigfoot (Video)
    Youtuber talkingcryptozoology discusses stories of soldiers who have had encounters with bigfoot creatures while in Vietnam. There have been ...


    Eyewitness Describes What He Believes A Bigfoot Is After Seeing One
    What is a bigfoot? Why do they stink? These and more questions are answered by a panel of eyewitnesses and researchers. The description one ...


    Cryptids: Crypto Crew Interviews A Virginia Man Who Shot A Bigfoot
    The incident happened over a decade ago, but the guest is only recently coming to grips with the event and telling his story. I think this man sounds ...


    Documentary Tells Story Of Whitehall Bigfoot Sightings
    Documentary tells story of Whitehall Bigfoot sightings. Whitehall Gosselin Documentary People. Please scroll down for video. It's not the first time ...

    Bobcat Goldthwait to Headline Ohio Bigfoot Conference
    As if the Ohio Bigfoot Conference didn't have enough of a stellar line-up already—word just came out that the comedian/actor Bobcat Goldthwait will ...

    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS BACK IN THE SADDLE

    The Gonzo Daily - Monday
     
    Well, having had a long chat to Glen Vaudrey this morning it appears that the inaugural Weird Weekend North was a great success and that he is already making plans for next year. Well done Glen. Today is always a bittersweet one for me because it is my Mother's birthday, and she would have been 94. Strange days.
     
    THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Patto - Time To Die
    THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
    Freak out! Buy Frank Zappa's house for $9 million
    Interview with Eric Burdon: Rock and Roll Hall of ...
    Entertainment Highlights: The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn...
     
    Gonzo Magazine #176
     
    Badfinger, Joey Molland, The Raz Band, Happy the Man, Live Music, Daevid Allen, Gong, Greil Marcus, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard, Dogwatch, That Legendary Wooden Lion, Hawkwind, and Yes fans had better look out!
     
    Joey Molland, the last man standing of Badfinger is on the front cover, with an interview with him about his work with The Raz Band inside. Doug gets all lyrical about Happy the Man, John asks worrying questions about the future of live music, Alan talks about his experiences with Daevid Allen the poet, while we review a book by Greil Marcus and Biffo is uncertain about Crowd Funding. There are radio shows from Strange Fruit and Mack Maloney, the latest installment of the saga of Xtul, and columns from all sorts of folk including Roy Weard, Neil Nixon and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and pademelons ouyside zoos(OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have escaped from captivity, 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:
    Motorhead, Pet Shop Boys, Brian Wilson,  Rolling Stones, Noel Gallagher, Barry Gibb, Paul McCartney, Tony Hawk, John Ellis, Strange Fruit, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, CBE, Andrew Laurence (Andy "Thunderclap") Newman, David Nathaniel Baker Jr., Roger Marcel Cicero Ciceu, Captain  Beefheart, Brand X, Osibisa, Pink Fairies, Gram  Parsons'- The International Submarine Band, Gib Guilbeau, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Sons of Fred, Percy Jones, Norman Wisdom featuring Rick Wakeman, Joey Molland, The Raz Band, Happy the Man, Roy Weard, John Brodie-Good, Daevid Allen, Alan Dearling, Mr Biffo,  Hawkwind, Xtul, Greil Marcus, The Beatles, Billy Fury, Jimmy Page, Michael Jackson, Cameron Mitchell, Bob Marley, The Who, Neil Nixon, Garth Brooks, Niburta
                                                                                        
    Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
     
    Issue 174 (Keith Emerson)
    Issue 173 (Pink Fairies action figures)
    Issue 172 (4th Eden)
    Issue 171 (Keith Levene)
    Issue 170 (Wildman Fischer)
    Issue 169 (Wildman Fischer)
    Issue 168 (Wakeman/Bowie)
    Issue 167 (Paul Kantner)
    Issue 166 (Spirits Burning)
    Issue 165 (David Bowie)
    Issue 164 (Free Festivals)
    Issue 163 (Lemmy)
    Issue 161-2 (The Christmas Double Feature)
    Issue 160 (Frank Zappa)
    Issue 159 (Jon Anderson and Matt Malley)
    Issue 158 (Billy Sherwood)
    Issue 157 (Drones for Daevid)
    Issue 156 (Rick and Emmie)
    Issue 155 (Pink Fairies)
    Issue 154 (Steve Ignorant)
    Issue 153 (Martin Barre)
    Issue 152 (4th Eden)
     
    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 56 who - together with an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, and two small 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 the infantile orange cat, and the adventurous kittens?

    NEWS FROM NOWHERE: Monday

    ON THIS DAY IN - 1581 - Francis Drake completed the circumnavigation of the world. 
    And now some more recent news from the CFZ Newsdesk

  • Whales are starving – their stomachs full of our p...
  • Deafening Atlantic oil prospecting to go ahead des...
  • ‘Troublesome lion' escapes from South African park...

  • Top scientists back federal plan to protect Alaska...


  • 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)