Re: In (premature) defense of the USNM

["Aspidel" <aspidel@wanadoo.be>]

From: "Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>


> Greetings,
>
> I know that many of you find the idea of showing Dinotopia art at the
> Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History a bit
> disturbing.
> (snip)
> I would imagine (hope) that the Gurney display is similar:
> clearly demarcating fact from fiction, but showing how the former was used
> to create the latter.
>

My point of view is that Dinotopia is only a dream, but I can imagine a
museum doing a good exhibition about it. This reminds me this eminent
Belgian zoologist (I forgot his name, sorry) making a serious, scientifical
paper about the "Marsupilami", which is only a comic strip animal, it
doesn't exist in reality, and placing it between monotremes and marsupials.
Just a serious scientist who also likes good comic strips!

I think that, in this case, making the difference between fantasy and
reality is very easy to do, such intelligent dinosaurs and cohabitation with
'em never existed and will never exist.

> Now if only we could get Jim Gurney to start feathering the
coelurosaurs...
>
't would be a good idea.

Friendly - Luc J. "Aspidel" BAILLY.
(ps: I've also drawn reptile comic strips, just fantasy...)