[meteorite-list] Meteorite Men invite, and thanks

From: meteorhntr at aol.com <meteorhntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:04:06 EST
Message-ID: <f9a2.65d9937f.3888bbb6_at_aol.com>

Hey List,

It is with great pleasure that I invite all of you to sit down tonight and
to take a journey to Canada with Geoff Notkin and myself on Science
Channel (9pm Eastern) on our first episode of our first season of "Meteorite Men"
the Series.

I haven't seen the episode myself yet, but some of our friends in the
production office have, and it promises to be a fun adventure and (don't tell
anyone I said this, but) we do find some meteorites in this episode.

Geoff and I are keenly aware that this TV series might be the best
opportunity for the meteorite collecting community to put our best foot forward
and show the world a glimpse into what makes our passion of collecting so
exciting. Of course we have to mix the geeky science with a little humor and
drama, or people won't stick around for the end of the show, and won't come
back next week.

I want to give a HUGE amount of credit to our LMNO Productions team. We
have had over 95 people working on this show on the production side, not to
mention the hundreds of people working over on the Science Channel and
Discovery Network to make this happen. Millions of dollars have been invested
to bring this episode to air, and it is very humbling realizing that while
Geoff and I have our faces on screen, NONE of this would be possible
without the team behind the scenes.

And, I would be remiss to not take the time to thank ALL of you that have
supported me over the last 18 years when I have tried to eek out a living
in this crazy business. If it weren't for the scientists who study these
rocks, if it weren't for the collecting customers that buy a piece here and a
slice there from me, tonight would never have become a reality.

I have to give a huge shout out to Blaine Reed who was my one and only
customer for the first 6 years of my meteorite career. In a business of "buy
low and sell high," somehow, Blaine had a philosophy of "How much can I
afford to pay Steve for what he brings me?" as opposed to "How cheap can I get
these rocks from Steve?" Blaine, if it weren't for you buddy, I would have
 been out of this business before I even got into it. I owe you a big
Margarita at the Birthday Bash, and every Birthday Bash from here on out. In
fact, anyone who likes this show tonight, buy Blaine a drink before you
offer me one, ok?

Of course kudos have to go out to THE Meteorite Man Bob Haag, who blazed a
trail through a jungle that we all are enjoying the fruits of now.

Harvey Nininger, Oscar Monnig, Glen Huss, H.O. Stockwell, just to name a
few, are pillars that hold the roof over all of our heads now.

I have to thank my amazing wife, Qynne, and the two greatest daughters a
guy could ever hope to have, Lauren and Kelsey who have shared me and my
time with this calling.

A big thanks goes out to Phil Mani who on a gut feeling supported the
Brenham adventure a few years back, which was one domino in the series to fall
that led to all of this.

There is a huge amount of credit and thanks that needs to be extended to
the 8n8 crew that inadvertently journeyed with me to the Alpha site several
years back which ended up being in our pilot episode. All of you guys are
getting your financial return on the project, but also know from me that
you guys also deserve a monster sized "Thank You." You are appreciated more
than you will ever know.

And personally, I have to give the greatest amount of credit to my hunting
partner Geoff Notkin. If it weren't for Geoff's talents and true
gentlemanly qualities, none of this, and I mean NONE of this would have happened.
For some reason, one guy hunting rocks on TV is not enough to make anyone
take a second look. And even two guys hunting for space rocks is not enough
either. Geoff's ability to articulate WHY these amazing visitors from
space are so special adds an element that I don't think anyone else in the
meteorite world could have been able to do. Of course there are others that
can talk about why meteorites are great, but Geoff will get his fingernails
dirty, jump in a hole, get excited with the rest of us, and still be able to
 articulate to the audience why he is, so excited, and why the viewers at
home should be too.

You might notice in the written descriptions about the show where
sometimes it might say "Steve Arnold and Geoff Notkin..." and other times it will
say "Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold..." I suppose the powers that be want to
give us equal credit in flip flopping our names from time to time. And
while ego might want one's name to show up first, I really do like it when
Geoff's name is first, because I know I could be replaced in this show far
easier than he ever could. In fact, I am certain without Geoff, none of this
would be remotely possible. Geoff, thank you. I am so proud to count you
as a dear friend, first, and as a hunting partner second. Cheers ol' chap!

The more that happens, the more I see that we are one big "organism" that
depends on itself to sustain itself. I found myself so excited for Shauna
Russell today as I watched the video of her digging out the Springwater
meteorite. Yes, she is a competitor of mine in our field, but she is also a
colleague in the field of rescuing these rusting messengers before it is too
late. Congrats Shauna. We all should be excited for her. Competition
makes us all sharper. So a big "thank you" goes out to the other dealers and
hunters in our community, that compete with passion with and even against
us, but still compete fairly.

We live on a big planet. There are plenty of meteorites for all of us to
find. And the "Meteorite Men" series is undoubtedly going to increase both
 collectors and hunters alike. It is my desire that in the end, many more
meteorites will be found, more collectors will be generated to support the
expeditions of us all, more kids will be encouraged to follow a vocation of
 being scientists and more meteoriticists will be entering the field, and
more funding will be provided for research, curating and displaying
meteorites world wide.

Our goal isn't to get more of the limited sized pie, but to help make the
pie much bigger for us all.

Add everyone up that gets credit for the new series, and we are easily
into the thousands.

It is Geoff's and my desire that we do you all proud. Of course, as the
saying goes, "If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one."
So, the bottom line is: the network wants to please enough people so that
the advertising revenues will justify the money invested in the project.
Some of America will undoubtedly not be impressed. Some in the meteorite
world too will undoubtedly not be impressed. For that we are sorry. But,
we are doing our best, and we want to thank everyone that has helped make
tonight a reality.

If I could do it, I would give ALL of you a Harvey Award!

Cheers!

Steve Arnold
Received on Wed 20 Jan 2010 03:04:06 PM PST