Pop Culture

Help Cryptomundo get a Bloggie!!

Are you one of the growing number of regular and new readers who enjoy reading Cryptomundo for the latest Bigfoot news and Cryptozoology happenings? Then help get us get nominated for "Best New Weblog" of all the weblogs that began in 2005. < THANK YOU ALL FOR VOTING…CHECK BACK FOR RESULTS AFTER JANUARY 20TH http://2006.bloggies.com/

Our deepest sympathies to Art Bell

Sorry to have to mention someone else who has passed away, but this is shocking news. Coast to Coast AM has posted this sad message: January 6, 2006 In Memoriam: Ramona Bell Art Bell’s beloved wife of fifteen years, Ramona, died unexpectedly last night after an asthma attack. At present, the exact cause of Mrs. Bell’s death has not been determined. It apparently took place during her sleep. Until her death, Art and Ramona Bell had not been apart a day since they were married. Mrs. Bell had suffered from asthma for years, and took her normal steps to control [...]

Wired, Boing Boing, Fimoculus, and Cox: America’s Still Going Crazy for Cryptozoology

This week, Rex Sorgatz’s Fimoculous.com Best Lists site, which annually compiles a “best of best” list, has posted their final “Top 20 Lists of 2005″ list. I was pleased and sincerely humbled to see Cryptomundo.com’s “The Top Cryptozoology Stories of 2005″ listed on Fimoculus’s “Top 20 Lists of 2005.” On December 29, 2005, Phil Kloer at Cox News Service put Cryptomundo.com’s list, “The Top Cryptozoology Books of 2005″ as #7 on Cox News Services’ “A Top 10 list of Top 10 lists” for 2005. Cryptomundo was honored by that recognition, as well. Wired News’ Mark Baard’s often-quoted comment captured in [...]

What does 2006 hold for Cryptozoology?

What are your cryptozoological predictions for 2006? Where will new expeditions search? What cryptids will dominate the news this year? What cryptozoological wonder will be filmed? Will someone use a cellphone camera to "capture" an image of a cryptid this year? Who will win the $5000 top prize for a cryptid-related photo in February, and what will it show? Can the opening of Disney World’s new ride and mini-exhibition on the Yeti renew interest in the pursuit of the Abominable Snowmen of the Himalayas? Does the Malaysian hominoid flap have any staying power? What lakes have expeditions planned to search [...]

The New Yorker: “The Cryptozoologist” (A Critique)

The magazine The New Yorker will publish a contribution to fiction entitled “The Cryptozoologist” by Tony Earley, on the 9th of January 2006, but it is online now. Here’s my early literary critique of this effort at capturing cryptozoology in The New Yorker: We are introduced to the concept of Skunk Apes, cryptozoologists, and organized cryptozoology in one specific paragraph about midway through this fictional piece: About her Bigfoot sighting, Rose learned that such creatures were routinely spotted in all of the Southeastern states—although the scientific authorities of course denied their existence—and the animals were commonly referred to as skunk [...]

Cryptid

What is a “cryptid”? What meanings are in circulation? Here’s the definition, as I noted in my 1999 book, co-authored with Jerome Clark, Cryptozoology A to Z. I share it with those on Cryptomundo that are not aware of the full meaning. And throw it out for discussion and debate by those that feel it has expanded or shrunk. +++++ “Cryptid” is a relatively new word used among professionals and laypeople to denote an animal of interest to cryptozoology. John E. Wall of Manitoba coined it in a letter published in the summer 1983 issue of the ISC Newsletter (vol. [...]