[meteorite-list] Hunt for Amazing Treasures - TLC

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:55 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C8698E564D_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

Hi Frank and List,

I was thoroughly impressed with Bob's on-camera performance:
he came across very poised and professional -- you can tell
he has public speaking experience, and the camera likes him.
I was also happy to see that Dr. Rubin had some significant
camera time, and enjoyed his polished delivery, clear
explanations, and relaxed demeanor.

Frank wrote:

> The main problem I had was the use of what looked like comet
Shoemaker-Levy
> animation to depict meteors entering the Earth's atmosphere.

I noted this as well, and thought that the depiction of multiple =
independent
"meteoroids" on a pipeline to earth might confuse the layman about how
strewnfields come about.

> ... those not familiar with the story might think Bob to be a little
strange
> as he was wearing a respirator and long rubber gloves while cleaning
> up the rock boxes.

Hah! I had some friends ask me about that, and had to explain the =
business
about the rats. The only other faux pas was the statement at
one point that the Los Angeles meteorite was the only
Mars meteorite from North America -- Bob knew about their
error long ago, but it was too late in production to
make the correction.

I was with Bob when the "desert" scenes were being filmed
last year, along with my fianc=E9e and a number of other
people in our southern California meteorite recovery group,
so it was a lot of fun to see the final product. Lisa and
I even appear briefly in the "desert" with Bob toward the
end of his segment.

I liked Bob's closing remarks about the enjoyment of being
out in the desert, the thrill of the hunt, and especially
the personifying line about the meteorites "allowing
themselves to be found." As a fellow field investigator,
I can tell you that that's exactly how it feels: if you
just relax and enjoy yourself, meteorites seem to have a
way of picking up on the good karma.

Congratulations, Bob, on a great segment with a nice
balance of science and the human side of the story.

Cheers,
Rob
Received on Tue 04 Sep 2001 01:33:49 PM PDT