This week we chat to the amazing Jonathan Downes, the director of the Centre of Fortean Zoology. Jonathan is a real-life monster hunter and has uncovered many mysteries surrounding bizarre and weird sightings of unknown and unidentified creatures. In this weeks episode we discuss The Owlman and the decline of education, The Chupacabra and tiny goats, Hitler's Koi Carp and many other weird and wonderful topics.    My new co-host is George Mortimer of the amazing Media Underground, who's been adding the great new 'Armchair Anarchy' feature to the site. As is usual, Claire brings us this weeks Weekly Weird news.   Our new music feature comes from DaddyTanks 'MySpace Heroes' music picks:   Pang - http://www.myspace.com/pangmusic Disolved - http://www.myspace.com/dissolvedamberrooms Raleigh St. Clair - http://www.myspace.com/raleighstclair   Background music comes courtesy of the amazing Martin Denny, and even Mark Snow (if you listen to the interview closely).    We'll be back next week with Lon Milo Duquette, who you'll remember from episode 5 of the show.   Jonathan Downes Biog (from Wikipedia):     Jonathan Downes is a cryptozoologist, author, film-maker, journalist, composer and singer-songwriter, with a background in radical politics and mental health care. His father, the explorer and Colonial Service Officer J. T. Downes, authored several books on wide range of subjects, such as African history, theology and Devonshire dialect. His mother ...

So, episode 18 should be out tomorrow! Sorry about he delays on it! We've been working on upgrading everything on this end, including the show itself! So here's what to expect: New music section in the main show by Daddytank, this will be mainly underground/unsigned stuff, but very cool! New music show: Myself and Mario will host this each week. It will be a short 30 minute show covering loads of cool bands that we like. There should be interviews with some cool artists as well! Website 2.0! We are getting a complete facelift on the site, hoping to make it more user-friendly new messageboard! I hated the old message board, and the new one is sweeeet! So, once again, sorry for any delays recently, but we are working hard behind the scenes to get a whole new SittingNow up and running for your enjoyment!   Ken

It appears that Obama is so popular in the states right now, even dogs are singing his praises: Roll-over 'Obama-Girl'!

George T. Mortimer is the editor and webmaster of the amazing Media Underground, as well as being the author of The Probationer's Handbook, and The Key of it All. Each week Mort will be teaching you ways of keeping 'The Man' on his toes, and all from the comfort of your home.   Junk Mail Japery   Everyone hates receiving junk mail. In fact, on average, each UKhousehold receives 18 items of junk mail every week with 21 billion junk mail items being distributed to UK households every year.   There are already many websites out there that will show you how to eliminate junk mail by opting out altogether, or by saving it up and sending it all back on an appointed day as a statement of protest. I’m not going to encourage you to do any of the aforementioned, since neither of these options helps out the future of Royal Mail which is already put under strain through the overpowering regulations set by the government’s Postal Services Commission (Postcomm).   The problem that faces Royal Mail is simple: the government, whilst expecting Royal Mail to provide a universal postal service, also expects Royal Mail to handle its competitors’ bulk mail. This means that rival mail companies get paid ...

Each week we send our Queen of the Weird, Claire Lumiere, into the wilderness of the Internets to find the weirdest reports from the Underground, CounterCulture and the Paranormal mileau! If you have news that you feel demands the attention of the SittingNow community then drop us an email at wwn@sittingnow.co.uk   Apparently the facts that you mostly vote behind a curtain and are not necessarily at the polls for a very long time does not seem to have sway over Florida nudists who recently have been lobbying for clothing optional polling places. They say it would make it easier for the nudist community to pass their ballots.     Fifty-two cows were struck dead after lightning hit a wire fence they were grazing next to in Uruguay last week recently. In more valiant animal-electrical news,     An octopus menace named Otto at the Sea Star Aquarium in Germany shot out a bright lamp with a precise jet of water and short-circuited the building recently. Spokespeople from the Aquarium say he is the victim of ennui, allegedly having seen him juggle hermit crabs and throwing stones at the tank before.   A French man on a high-speed TGV train in France got his arm stuck in the ...

This book made an exceptionally long wait for the train home from this weekends 'Unconvention' in London, far more bearable and amusing. I mean come on, what's better than reading stories about Koi?...no, really!   Jonathan Downes is one of those writers that you'll naturally levitate towards if you're a fan of the 'Fortean' way. He runs the amazing Centre for Fortean Zoology, has written a whole load of books, and goes looking for crazy anomalous creatures in the wildest parts of the world, thus making him instantly one of my heroes.   After finally meeting the man at the Uncon this weekend, I was persuaded by a young lady, I think maybe his daughter, into buying this book. At first I was reluctant, I mean, how can a book about Koi Carp be any fun to read right? I know nothing about carp, nothing at all; luckily for the reader, neither does Mr Downes! We've all been there; broke and desperate for work to pay the rent. But I would never have had the balls to trick a Koi Carp Magazine into running a series on the 'Fortean aspects of their hobby'.    After a hilarious forward, we are propelled into the semi-true Fortean-world of Koi ...

    Release The Bats - ATP/Capsule Halloween Party   Lightning Bolt When someone told me that Lightning Bolt were playing here in Birmingham, I started to run around making a high pitched sort of girlie noise. I love Lightning Bolt and I firmly believe that they are the best band in the world. If you don't agree then take it outside. So imagine my surprise and horror when I turned up at quarter past seven (have you ever got to a gig that early?) and while walking in I thought "...that sounds like Lightning Bolt." It was Lightning Bolt. Finishing. I am not having a good year for gigs, having missed Secret Chiefs 3, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nine Inch Nails in the last year. Anyway, it sounded like a new tune so hopefully they have an album coming out soon.     Pissed Jeans I had never heard of three of the bands in the line up and this was one of the surprises. The vocalist came out and stripped to the waist before he'd even started, but he had reason to because when they began their Neurosis / Isis style assault, he expended a lot of energy. I mean a lot. A disturbed hybrid of Mick ...

Annoying little B-list celebrity brat, Peaches Geldof, daughter of scruffy 'Live-Aid' organiser Bob Geldof, has apparently taken a shine to 'The Great Beast 666' himself, Aleister Crowley.   That pillar of journalism, The Daily Star, reports:   We can reveal Peaches, 19, has become fascinated by Crowley – who filed his teeth into fangs and started his own religion – since picking up his book Magick Without Tears.  And she ditched musician Faris Rotter, 22, after discovering Chester French singer Drummey, 23, was also a student of Crowley’s dark works. Last night a source close to the couple said: “Peaches is obsessed with Crowley’s books and is completely taken by his teachings.  “Most of her mates think she’s nuts for getting into it all – they just think it’s too weird – but she found a kindred spirit when she met Max. “Peaches feels he’s the only one who understands her. He even has the Crowley quote ‘Quo stet olympus’ or ‘Where the gods and angels live’ tattooed below his neck.”   I know that Crowley's public profile is increasing, and I guess this was an inevitable side-effect of that, but come on!!!....Peaches....Geldof???   In other celebrity news, Jeremy Kyle has been spotted with Israel Regardie's 'The Golden Dawn' and Jade Goody is said to have ...

  The amazing Fortean Times are throwing their annual meeting of the strange this weekend in London. The Uncon, which has been running since 1994, is always one of the better Fortean get-togethers of the year, and normally boasts some really interesting guests, exhibits and workshops.    This years spooky-speakers include: Gail-Nina Anderson, Jan Bondeson, David Clarke, Mike Dash, Jon Downes, Patrick Huyghe, Kittie Klaw, Theo Paijmans Mark Pilkington & John Lundberg, Andy Roberts and Ian Simmons Of course, our roving reporters Ken Eakins and Mark Foster will be attending and hopefully getting enough material for a UnCon/Sittingnow podcast episode. We will also be writing up coverage of the event as well as getting some feedback from the attendees!   As far as we are aware there are still tickets available for the event, which can be obtained via We Got Tickets. Or follow links on www.forteantimes.com for more details.

  Raymond Wiley and Joe McFall, formerly of OutThere Radio, launched their new show 'The DisInfoCast' today. Raymond, you'll probably be familiar with from many of our shows, and Joe from episode 1.    To kick off events, the dynamic-duo interview Sphinx-obsessed Robert Bauval, who just recently released his latest opus 'The Egypt Code' earlier this month.  The new show, released monthly, is complimented by a weekly news rundown 'DisInfo World-News' which will feature Ken and Claire of this very site, as well as our latest guest Austin Gandy. We'll be joining the fray in November presenting the latest DisInfo news with a European slant.   Subscribers to Out There can get the first few episodes of the show via the old feed before it totally migrates accross to the new Disinfo.com page.    The crew here at SittingNow are excited to hear some new material from the guys, and wish them all the best for the show...break a leg guys!