[meteorite-list] Treasure

From: Thaddeus Besedin <endophasy_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 27 12:07:40 2006
Message-ID: <20060427023522.66034.qmail_at_web32801.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

I'm referring to the pits that you are digging, not indices of impact force that scar the earth, such as craters. I am not calling meteorites relics - it is the presentation of meteorite hunting by this particular program as tantamount to treasure (cultural "relic" ) hunting with impunity. This relic hunting is being promoted by your show. The impact is great: it costs us all our cultural heritage. Meteorite hunting is not the problem. How many times must I repeat this? It is the attitude that is the problem. You do realize that no matter when the fall happened, Brenham meteorites were either observed by humans, a threat to life in the strewn field (with obvious ecological implications), or buried beneath sediments possibly containing traces of events too small for your slobbering regard. EBay: you said it all. You'd sell human remains to the highest bidder if it were legal. Notkin <geoking_at_notkin.net> wrote: Dear Listees:

Greetings comrades.

Just returned late last night from our Brenham/Glorieta documentary
shoot: sunburned, bruised, scratched, and battered, but what a great
experience. Our Travel Channel host, the glamorous Becky Worley, jumped
right into the action and was digging holes, riding ATVs, swinging
metal detectors, and generally working her way through an intense
meteorite-hunting apprenticeship in 48 hours flat. She's a knockout.

Thanks to Mark and Ruben for posting their photos of our expedition.
I'll post my own as soon as I can. Mark Bostick and his bro came all
the way down from Wichita for the dig on Thursday. It was good to see
some friendly faces and I appreciate the nice web presentation he put
together.


In other news: this Besednice character is a real corker isn't he? He's
gotta be just a fake ID, or a troll right? With a name like that I'm
putting my money on Jim Strope or Dave Andrews having some fun with us.

Thaddeus Besednice posted:

> Oh great - another glorification of looting (relic hunting)!

A relic is generally assumed to be a product of, or an item
specifically associated with, human culture and history (i.e. an
ancient religious relic), so it doesn't really work with a meteorite.
Also, how can you be looting something when its owner (the landowner)
has expressly asked you to excavate it from his own property? Answer me
that, Mr. Moldavite.


> Do Any of the Brenham pits get at least a cursory record of their
> possible prehistoric components?

They're not pits, silly. The Brenhams are completely buried, way, way
underground, a bit like your conscience. An "impact pit" is a modest
surface indentation made by a meteorite which is too small (or
traveling too slowly) to produce an actual crater. I suggest reading
Mr. Norton's "Rocks from Space" where you can learn some other helpful
meteorite terms, and then use them at parties.

FYI, Steve meticulously records the depth, orientation, GPS
coordinates, and other detailed info for every single find. A
scientific study (in association with a prominent geologist on the
List) is underway to determine the true age of the fall. I can't wait!
IMO the Brenham fall took place more recently than many of us think.

In addition, valuable and detailed strewnfield data is being collected
with each new find. The area around each excavated Brenham is carefully
checked for meteorite fragments, as well as the flattened, fossilized
carcass of an ancient Kansas plains camel, big sabre tooth kitty, or --
if we're super lucky -- Thaddeus Besednice himself. Steve is REALLY
hoping that directly beneath one of the big irons he will discover a
wafer-thin buffalo mummy. Imagine how much that would go for on eBay!


> I'm justifiably and unassailably an enemy of the irresponsible,
> counterscientific, hobbyist attitudes glorified by certain people and
> uncritically tolerated by others (accomplices).

Good lord that's fabulous. A sentence worthy of Thomas Pynchon! Yes,
that would be me, one of the accomplices. I know you're just jealous
you big Moldavite.


> No, we don't need degrees to collect lumps of asteroids, planets, and
> comets, but a bit of respect for irreplacable biological taxa and
> cultural residues would make us more than drooling, avaricious
> freebooters.

Unfortunately, most of the eminent scientists with degrees are too busy
with classifications, new papers, and important lab work to go
scurrying around in the mud with us, but we're happy to do our part. I
do agree with you though -- think of all the "irreplacable biological
taxa" that resides at the bottom of a hole in a field in a Kansas farm!
If you want to come out and study it, I'll be happy to hand you a
shovel.

Anyway, just to contradict you one more time, Steve has had recognized
academics up to Brenham to inspect the work-in-progress, notably the
excellent Dr. Art Ehlmann of the Oscar Monnig Gallery, TCU.

I know this guy Besednice is just a gag by someone, but replied for the
sake of some List members who might think this clown is a real person.

Good joke though : )


Yours in freebooting asteroids,

Geoff Notkin
(Arnold accomplice and part-time henchman)

www.aerolite.org
Rockin' Tucson

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Received on Wed 26 Apr 2006 10:35:22 PM PDT