[Groop] Back from honeymoon.

[Tone]

	Sheesh, I go away for my honeymoon and come back to over 30
Groop e-mails. You guys like chattering behind my back, don't you? :) It
was almost like you guys planned the discussion of Groop Membership
Cards during the time I would be away!
	Hmm, maybe Gary's delay in telling the Groop of the CBLDF was an
attempt at timing it so I would be away during that too, especially
since it sounds like they had an initial limited number of prints. Well
guess what guys, I bet you did not count on me ordering both a
membership and the print on the night before my wedding. Surprisingly I
even got the membership card in my mailbox by the time I got back, along
with a postal note for the print being held at the post office. Not only
did I get married and have a nice honeymoon (two person Jacuzzis rock!),
but I had a happy Groo surprise right when I got back home. That was
much better than getting a bill!

Gary,
	Gary, you mentioned you do not care about Sergio's individual
signature being on each print or not. I do not really care myself
either, but I think it is really wonderful Sergio cares enough to sign
them individually rather than just have his signature reproduced. I
figured Sergio signed them each himself, and was just subtly pointing
that out, so everyone knows Sergio obviously both cares very much for
his adoring fans and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund cause.
	If anyone becomes a member they will also get a copy of the
CBLDF's comic-style newsletter, called "Busted!" You should take the
time to read it because there are some interesting articles. It is
pretty surprising to learn about some of the backwards and senseless
legal cases brought up against artists. Besides just getting the
membership card and the print with Groo on it, it is very cool to know
I/we are supporting something very worthwhile.

Gabriel,
	I can read 8 stories too! In fact my favorite number is the
number 8. Besides being hour-glass shaped like Ginger from "Gilligan's
Island", the number eight also conspired to help seven eat the number
nine, thus making eight the highest single-digit number.
	But alas, I digress. I would have thought the amount of original
Marvel/Epic comic issues in each of the reprints to be determined
predominantly by the alphabet. 120 Epic/Marvel comics divided by the 26
letters of the alphabet results in 4-5 issues in each reprint. This way
ultimately every letter in the alphabet would not feel neglected, and
the slight flexibility of four to five issues in each reprint could
still allow multi-issue stories to all be published in one reprint. Of
course this might be too logical and complex for the minds of Groo fans,
and more importantly bunching up eight issues into reprints would
probably help Sergio and Mark avoid having to come up with a title
starting with difficult letters, such as X and/or Z, etc. Here is some
assistance though, for Z just call it the "Groo Zoo."

Emmett,
	Sorry to have to correct you, but 3 stories is not more than 8
stories. Everyone knows 8 is more than 3 because 3 is less than 8 since:
3 = 8 - 8's left side.

Gabriel,
	You stated, "I was thinking more about old people diapers.  No
one said anything about S and M!" However in your earlier post directed
to Gary you said, "Gary, if S and M made an official adult disposable
diaper, you'd buy it." Clearly you did say SOMETHING about S and M. I
think maybe you should clarify what company you intended to refer to
when mentioning "S and M."
	Personally, I know of a freestyle trick-bike company named "S&M
Bikes." I believe their S&M lettering stands for Scott & Moeller, which
are the initials of the two founders' last names. Perhaps their company
makes adult diapers as well as bikes, so that extreme cyclists
performing mid-air tricks on ramps do not have a foul accidents when
inverted 20' in the air while a whole crowd is watching.

Gary,
	Do you REALLY need me to confirm my REAL interest in any newly
issued membership cards? The only debate from me is whether I want two
or THREE. :) Ok, so it is not a real debate. I would get three cards.
- Name on two (2) cards: Tone
- Name on one (1) card: Antonio Rodrigues
And YES, that is an "S" at the end of Rodrigues, NOT a Z like so many
people miswrite.
- Last four digits on ALL three (3) cards: 0808
If I am not mistaken I think Jorge has a list of all the numbers
Groopies chose during the last batch run of membership cards. I remember
0808 was not taken in that list.
	Regarding the change of "Member Since XXXX" I have a couple of
suggestions:
Groop established XXXX
Established XXXX
	Or more humorous,
Erring since XXXX
Mendicant(s) since XXXX
	Personally I really like the "Erring since" version. Obviously
the XXXX in my examples are not some super-explicit movie rating, but
rather the four digit year of the Groop's founding. I just do not know
exactly when that was. However, I do know I have been a Groop member
since Saturday, December 17 of 2005. :)
	I suppose instead of the Groop start-up year, maybe it could be
the year of the first Groo story publication in 1982, but of course that
number is already accounted for in the pre-determined third 4-digit set
of the card number. Perhaps then for any extra generic cards the last
4-digit set could then have the Groop establishment year. This could
obviously mean the Groop's founding year might appear twice on the card,
but only on the generic cards and it would seem like a natural
progression from 1982 anyway.
	Other than all this I just make one official request. Gary must
allow at least me (and by me I do not mean Mark, unless he really
insists on being super gracious) to pay for postage of my card to my
mailing address. ;) Seriously though Gary, as before my offer to provide
extra financial assistance to fund the initial start up process of the
card production is still on the table, so please do not hesitate at all
to ask me if anything is needed. You could consider it a long-term
no-interest loan from me, which could be paid back as you were
reimbursed by our fellow Groopies. As I have mentioned to you in the
past, I also have graphic design and ID production experience, so
perhaps my technical knowledge might be able to reduce the initial start
up costs somehow too.

Everyone,
	As usual, I keep my eyes open on eBay for rarer Groo items. In
case anyone is interested I noticed a Groo Ornament up for auction and
it seems like it might be in New-In-Box condition or close to that. Here
is the URL ink:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=008&sspagename=STRK%3AM
EWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=180103728969
	As of 11am Friday morning there is only one bid for it.
According to the Groop eBay User ID list I have been keeping, it does
not appear to me the bidder is in the Groop. Therefore those of you
interested in possibly bidding on the ornament do not have to feel
guilty of outbidding a fellow Groopie you may have come to befriend. By
the way, would some of you like to see a list of fellow Groopie eBay ID
names to avoid outbidding each other? I think there may also be some new
blood in our Groop, so if the newbies want to have their eBay names
included in a newly posted list I can wait a few days to post an updated
list.

	Sorry for the lengthy e-mail everyone, but I leave for a few
days and BAM. I much rather address everything at once.
_TONE_