Spam Roundup, January, 2016

There's spam, and then there's spam so oddly written it's somewhat amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world. 

Hey, somebody broke the English

- I've been browsing on-line more than three hours as of late, yet I by no means found any attention-grabbing article like yours. I'ts pretty price enough for me.

- You actually make it appear so easy together with your presentation however I to find this matter to be actually one thing which I feel I'd never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely wide for me.

- I loved as much as you'll receive carried out right here

Lumbering Along into a New Year

This one post about the lumber truck has been featured
so many times in the Spam Roundup, I decided to take
some new pictures to keep things fresh. Enjoy!

The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along continues to be a high-traffic post. And I continue to be amused by the comments it brings in. Remember -- we're talking about a brief post about a small, cheap, Japanese friction toy car here.

- Its such as you read my thoughts! You appear to grasp a lot approximately this, like you wrote the e book or something. [Well, actually, I did write an e-book. But not about this!]

- If some one wished to be updated with most recent technologies afterward he must be visit this website and be up to date every day. [Sure. If you say so.]

- This piece of writing will help the internet viewers for creating new website. [No it won't.]

- Hi, i think i saw you visiting my site so i came to "return the favor." I'm trying to find things to imporve my site! suppose its ok to use some of your ideas! [No, and no.]

A fastidious end?

I'm not sure about these final two comments. Has the word "Fastidious" finally run its course among the spambots?

- thanks in support of sharing such a fastidious thought, paragraph is fastidious [iFastidious -- I got it.]

- thanks for the auspicious writeup. It in truth was a entertainment account it. [Is auspicious the new fastidious?]

That's all for this month. Overall, I think this month's selection is pretty price.

Haji Theme and Variations

Updated 6/14/15

One of the things I find fascinating about vintage toys is how manufacturers created a seemingly wide variety of items by just changing a few basic things (I'm sure current toy makers do this as well, but that's not my area of interest).

A good example of this (among many) are the inexpensive fleet of trucks produced by Mansei Toy Co. Ltd. Mansei used the brand name Haji. All of their products have the word "Haji" in an oval on them somewhere. Mansei was a small company, and produced toys from about 1951 through 1960, when they disappeared from the market. Documentation about the company and the products they carried are virtually non-existent, so all I know about these toys comes through observation.

Their series of 3-inch friction-powered trucks seem to be all produced around the same time. It's not clear if they were ever offered in sets. It's more likely they were imported just for individual sale.

As you can see, Mansei used the same frame and cab for the entire line. What they put on the truck bed changed, as did the colors of the trucks. What I find most interesting, though, is that they also changed the design of the lithography. If you look carefully, you'll see that the windshields and side doors vary on the cabs. Some have running lights on the roof, some don't.

Placed side by side, it's easy to see the variations. I'm not sure if it's significant, bot so far, I've only found two variations of each truck body type.

Delivery truck

Note how different the cab designs are. (click on images to enlarge)

Dump Truck

Again, Mansei didn't just change the color of the trucks -- the lithography is completely different for both. Even the font of the word "Dump" is different. 

Cement Mixer

It was difficult funding good examples of the cement mixer. These were very fragile toys, and because they were so inexpensive were often considered disposable. Although the cement tumbler is missing on the blue truck, enough of the frame remains to show how different these two mixers were in decoration.

Winch Truck

I wonder if these two were made slightly later. Note that, with the exception of the body color, the lithography is identical. Did Mansei decide it was cheaper just to change a single color plate rather than do a complete redesign?

Fire Truck

Although this shares the same chassis as the rest of the series, the fire truck has some major differences. The closed cab has been replaced by an open cab and a driver. This is a relatively expensive change. The closed cab was created with the same stamper used for the other models in the line. The windshield and fireman were created with new dies. And that means two pieces to be hand-attached rather than one. Of course, that expense is relative -- perhaps adding t2o cents to a nickel more to the retail price?

There are two questions I'd like to find the answers to. Did Mansei produce other types of trucks using these Haji chassis? Are there more than two versions of the examples I've discovered so far?  If I find out more, I'll update this page accordingly.

Let the Wind Speak - Kaija Saariaho flute music

The cover for this release perfectly represents its contents. It's a photograph of Camilla Hoitenga playing her flute. The image has been manipulated, though, with added layers and textures. And it's been slightly distorted, giving the flute a very gently S-curve. Saariaho's music for the flute seems to do the same -- it ever so gently bends and distorts to create something beyond the sound of the traditional flute.

"Let the Wind Speak" also documents a friendship. In the liner notes, Hoitenga discusses how her career intersects with Saariaho's, beginning with "Laconisme de l'alle" in 1982. And it's a dynamic relationship. Some works, such as were commissioned by Hoitenga, but others have a different story.

The version of "Couleurs du vent" on this release is the shorter version of this work -- a version that came about when Hoitenga accidentally skipped several pages during a performance. Saariaho thought the accident worked and so made this revision.

Also included are some arrangements by Hoitenga, made in consultation with the composer. The opening track "Tocar," for example, works well in its flute and harp arrangement (originally written for violin and piano). As does "Oi Kuu," a study in multiphonics. Although Saariaho wrote the work as an exploration of tonal contrast between a bass clarinet and cello, this alternate version for bass flute and cello yields similar insights with the interplay between the two instruments.

As compelling as the solo works and duets are on this album, for me the centerpiece is "Sombre I-III," written for Da Camera of Houston in 2012. This dark, introspective work features settings of Ezra Pound's last Cantos. The use of "dark" instruments -- bass flute, baritone voice and double bass -- give "Sombre" its emotional weight.

While I might not recommend that someone start their exploration of Kaija Saariaho's music with "Let the Wind Speak," I do think it belongs in the collection of anyone who's responded to her work. It's intimate, personal, beautiful music that certainly resonated with me.


Kaija Saariaho: Let the Wind Speak
Camilla Hoitenga, flutes
Aussi Karttunen, cello; Daniel Belcher, baritone; Héloise Dautry, harp; Da Camera of Houston Ondine ODE 1276-2

Danish Romantic Piano Trio collection delivers

If you're familiar with Denmark's rich musical heritage, then you might already be predisposed to give this release a listen. If not, then let me encourage you to do so. These works compare favorably (I think) to those by the famous composers that inspired them -- Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Wagner.

Peter Lange-Muller was a pianist as well as a composer. Robert Schumann was one of his major influences (Danish folk song being another). Indeed, his 1898 Trio for piano, violin, and cello in f minor, Op. 53 has a certain Schumann quality to it (and not just the piano part).

The work has a certain impulsive restlessness to it. But while Lange-Muller's music is highly emotional, it never threatens to go off the rails the way some of Schumann's later works seem to. Perhaps it's the folk song element that keeps the work grounded. Nevertheless, Lange-Muller's trio is an exciting and beautifully crafted work.

Niels W. Gade is represented by two works; the Piano Trio in F major, and the Piano Trio Movement. Gade became director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra after Mendelssohn's death. His music also shows the influence of his colleague and friend. Gade was also influenced by Danish folk song. His 1863 trio has clean, uncluttered lines and the emotional restraint of Mendelssohn, but all with a completely original voice. His 1838 Piano Trio Movement is an interesting torso. The 22-year-old Gade may have been overly ambitious with his projected four-movement trio, but the surviving completed movement satisfies on its own.

Rued Langgard was best known for his orchestral works. Fjeldblomster (Mountain Flowers), written when he was fifteen, concludes the album. This short work shows Langgard's love of Wagner in its construction, and only hints at the original composer Langgard would become.

Danish Romantic Piano Trios: Gade, Lange-Muller, Langgaard 
The Danish Piano Trio 
Dacapo 8.226119

Sally Forth -- Into the Funky Past

For some reason, 2015 seemed to be the year of time loops. In Funky Winkerbean a time/space wormhole let the strip's original cast meet their future (our current) selves. The story line was a little problematic (even accepting the basic premise). The high school versions of Funky Winkerbean, Crazy Harry, Bull Bushka, Cindy Summers, Les Moore, Holly Budd, and Lisa Crawford encountered their older selves at a class reunion in an August, 2015 sequence.

Missing, of course, was the older version of Lisa, who had died of cancer years before. Various older characters made excuses for her absence, but the young Les Moore saw the tribute photo album and read his older self's book "Lisa's Story." (click on images to enlarge)

And that's where it gets problematic. When they returned, did the memories fade for the high schoolers? I hope so. 

Because when Lisa's cancer returned, a mix-up of charts indicated it wasn't serious. By the time the mistake was sorted out, it was too advanced to treat. One would assume that Les,armed with that knowledge, would have changed history and ensured his wife got the treatment she needed promptly -- instead of it being as much of a surprise to him as it was to her. 

Much less problematic is the Forth family encountering themselves in the corn maze. The family's inability to navigate the maze is a recurring trope in Sally Forth. In this sequence they encounter younger versions of themselves -- in a way.

Unlike Funky Winkderbean which has its characters age, Sally Forth is more or less frozen in time. In this case, its a meta time warp. On the left are the characters as drawn by original creator Greg Howard. On the right, the characters as depicted by the current team of Jim Keefe, Francesco Marciuliano and Steve Alaniz.

And Ted's right. His eccentricities didn't really blossom until Howard turned over the writing duties to others.