PS your Haptic Werewolf behind bars is brilliant!

Hello Heleen,

here's wishing you a fijne zondaag, and to help you along just a little bit, here's the Headline News from my Birthday Analysis.

(The Viewing figures are still going up, too).

Regards, Val

***

ONE MORE DAY TO GO: there's been a fall in the number of predicted IUOMA"s 'Active' membership to 632, or 19% of the total number of members. With just a single 'Birthday Day' to go, can the Active Membership receive a last minute birthday boost?

The Statistical Analysis suggests 'No', but, as Mark Twain said, there are 'Lies, damned lies, and statistics'. However, he didn't have anything to say about Mail Art and/or IUOMA

The FINAL & EXCITING EPISODE of this Nail-Biting Drama where EVERYTHING will be revealed will be broadcast about 06.30 (CET) tomorrow where EVERYTHING will be revealed!! DO NOT MISS IT!!!!

                                 And an INTERPRETATION of the figures will be offered.

Goede morgen, Heleen!

I have finished my Birthday Aanalysis. the findings are below. Hope you are well. Regards, Val

I have been 'monitoring' those IUOMA members whose Birthdays have appeared on the 'Birthdays Today' part of this site. I started this, because I did not recognise many of their names, and wondered if they were indeed active members of IUOMA?

This led me to try and define what an 'Active Member' was, and to see how many of those whose birthdays were listed are indeed active.

I found that about 1 in 5 of them were active, and extrapolated from this that the Active Membership of IUOMA (based on the starting figure of 3263 Members on 22 December, 2013, was, at the end of the month's analysis, about 630.

The daily statistics for the month long period are below. (As are the methodological and statistical shortcomings, of which I am only too well aware.)
Mark Twain wrote that there are 'Lies, damned lies, and statistics', and you can read whatever you like into my statistics (and lies!).

I draw the following conclusions from them:

i) about 20% of IUOMA's Members are 'Active' as I have defined it.

ii) the remaining 80% may or may not be active Mail Artists outside the IUOMA network

iii) at one time this 80% were active IUOMA Mail Artists --that's why they joined (but see vii) below!)

iv) it is not necessary to be in any network to be a Mail Artist (well, I suppose you have to have at least one other person in your network to send Mail Art too!)

v) within IUOMA, a small number of people are responsible for a large amount of activity. They are the 'Super Actives'.

vi) as to the rest of us, well, we have different levels of Mail Art activity. I see it a bit like a love affair: start enthusiastically and with great passion, but then what you do and how vigorously you do it sort of tails off over time, and eventually you just get to live with your Mail Art personage.

vii) many IUOMA Mail Artists have been and gone, and, I trust, are still Mail Arting. As Mail Art is supposed to be enjoyable, and it certainly is for me, I would like to dedicate this whole Blog to one of our number who you have probably never heard of, but whose approach to Mail Art somehow seems to encapsulate what it is all about: fun. This is Deletemeplease's profile:

She bcame a member of IUOMA, joined one Group, but never posted a message, photo, or blog, or joined a discussion, and has not been heard of or from since.

Vive Mme Deletemeplease!

http://princessandpee.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/dutch-delicacies.html

WOW!!!!!! Thank you!!!

Thanks for your mail and lovely letters Heleen. Very busy right now, so will come back to that when I find some time......

Hi Heleen, Just published a blog with some photos of the lovely letters you sent me!

Hi Heleen. Thx for your participation in the zalop show in atlanta ga. 

Oranje Boven!

Postzegel art van Val

Posted some of your beautiful envelope art over at Dimitra's group...

always fun to see your stampings..and onions, of course! Thanks xxx

Bdedankt!

Mijn eend is ook Oranje-- kijkes:

Hahaha, Heleen, Val is blinding you with ORANJE!

(one needs to ride in it for the full experience!)

We need a little bleach:

Hi Heleen...you like turquoise?

See that washi tape in the center there that Kim sent from Korea? heeheehee

Thank you Heleen!

see: http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gift-from-heleen-de-va...

Mailart call:
http://garagen3gallerygac.blogspot.it/

Edmund Hippo sends greetings to Debbie N. !

Thank you so much, Heleen, his fantastic cards are posted at

Erni's "Jamming with Edmund" and Erni's "Mail Art, too.

He promises to answer his fan mail soon :-)

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/events/send-a-bird-to-stripygoose

Hi Heleen, Your wonderful stripy goose has arrived through stripygoose's postbox. That's a really super design. Thank you so much for sending to me! 

dear Heleen,

thank you very much for your b-wishes...i survived the chocolate cake! :-)

and thank you for the lovely mail art! the reply is on its way!

hugs

Heleen, you have me smiling ever since the mail delivery this morning!

What a great "Banana Art"...

but also THIS:

Thank you so much xxx

posted at Banana group, and also at Onions ;-)

Also at this blog:

Going Bananas for Feb. 21 from Jen and from Heleen

It is really fun...especially with the BLUE onion!

xxx Thanks for putting a smile on my face!

AH! Another Banana Art! Edmund sooooo loves this moon-banana xxxxx

Thank you , Heleen, he even has his own postage stamp!

You are wonderful, girl! Posted at Bananas group,too.  :-)

Thank you, Heleen, xxx Love, Edmund.

Thank you, it is a great honour to be in your fantastic blogs, Heleen. you do so much. Yesterday I went to visit an old manor house and collected (photos) lots of horses, they will get into my art no doubt.

Wonderful, it arrived!!!! :) Thank you for the cards, will be used properly. The front of the envelope has many names and I will resend the envelope to east southern Europe. Will tell you if it arrives, or the onr that gets it will.. The envelope is on!

Thank you for your contest entry.

http://iuoma-network.ning.com/profiles/blogs/heleen-de-vaan-enters-...

Thanks for your great free spirited dancer! Also the stamp with the dancer on it! I'll blog soon.

Love the cards you sent me, Rainbow tree and Blobvis &  Blob! You are way talented my friend!! I wish you could scan and post the cards for all to see because i don't have a scanner!

You Rock!

Neil

I have just now seen the magnificent display you have made with my silly ostrich and the photo I found of the puffins, which really made me laugh. Thank you very much, you are very kind!

Thank you, Heleen, you are absolutely correct to say that Salonica,( or Salonique, or Selonik, or Salun,) is really the same place as Thessaloniki. We sometimes cut it short and say "Thess"...but really, the city was named after Alexander the Great's sister who was born to their father, King Philip, just at the time of his battle and victory ("niki"- Nike?) over Thessaly. Thus her name means "Victory over Thessaly" = Θεσσαλονίκη.

Nice city-by-the-sea :-)

And thank you for the dear comment about "Walnut Tree". Nazim Hikmet is a very favorite poet here in Greece. It is amazing how he wrote decades ago about environmental problems.

hello Heleen  !!!!

I sent you this mail art in the beginning of January ....Received or lost ????

Thanks for your answer !

Dear Heleen !  Many thanks for this nice answer, I am impatient to receive it, but

don't hurry we have time.....Friendly yours!

Hey dearest Heleen!!!! I am loving your 50 shades of ORANGE!!!! So hilarious and clever!!! I LOVE your mailing!! Sorry I've been so slack in responding, but you are in my mind and on my list Ms Leech/eel/knitting prawn....???

Dear Heleen, I don't often use this word but today I have to: awesome. That bird parcel you sent arrived during the week and I saved it until today so I could relish opening it. I'm so happy to receive such a bountiful gift! See you soon in the post for sure.

By the way, have you ever watched the Piip Show ... ?

http://www.nrk.no/piipshow/about-the-piip-show-1.11575642

Heleen -- so glad you liked the postcard.

Heleen, no need to apologize, I didn't remember either what had I sent you or said!

Perhaps on your next envelope addressed to me ( absolutely no hurry!) you could stick s Kevin stamp, please? It will be a surprise for my postman.

Forgot to say that you have done a super report on my mail to you, thanks! And that I love that blue platipus

I hope you will receive the other two envelopes soon. But maybe you need to wait a little... This kind of mail needs a lot of trust in postal services!

I'm glad that the first two in arriving show the beginning of the message... :D

Gracias por avisarme de la llegada de mi mailart!!!!

http://realweirdanimals.blogspot.nl/2014/05/lautaro-salgado.html

Saludos desde Chile.

Hi Heleen,

Thanks for the lovely rubberstamp!

Ruud

Hello Heleen !  i just finish  a MA for you ...wich will be sent to morrow ...

and now I read the theme  """orange """....so something  will join you more later..;

Keep an eye on your Box !

Your post arrived safe and well! Thanks Heleen! I'm just starting to introduce Mailart here in Bangkok to a new audience. :-)

That'll solve it! I had the same problem too.

Thanks for the blogs.  I think I found them all.

So glad the "security" mail art arrived , securely!

Take your time blogging...no rush :-)

20.08.14 Dare Ms. Heleen de V.,  ... just curious, how much to send a copy of" the Englishman who mailed himself" my way?... & Congratulations for penetrating the inner sanctum of Ripley's "Believe it or not"!!! Most interesting...the fact that Ripley's has finally discovered mail art. Best to you. Richard 

Gave Mail Art, Heleen. Dank je wel. Ben zelf ook met blokjes aan de gang ;) Binnenkort meer en blog op snailmailsuus.blogspot.com