Spam Roundup October 2019

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.

Imaginary conversations

Here's a new twist -- spammers commenting on my replies to them. Only I never replied...

 - It's fantastic that you are getting thoughts from this post as well as from our dialogue made here.

 - Nice answers in return of this query with firm arguments and telling all about that.

And the reviews are in!

 - What I don't understood is, in reality, you are no longer really much more smartly-favored than you might be now. [Agreed. I like to think I'm pretty smartly-favored.]

 - Such clever work and coverage! [I cover cleverness with smart favor.]

 - All the time care for it up! [?!]

The challenge: try to figure out what the vintage toy
pictured above has to do with any of these comments.

"Lumbering along" still attracts the 'bots

The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along keeps attracting the comments. This month, in particular, those comments seem about as far removed from the subject as possible. Remember, this post was about a 1960s tin friction toy car.

 - Thanks for sharing your thoughts on weight loss stevia. [!!]

 - I have got much clear idea about this piece of writing. [I have an even less clear idea thanks to your translation app.]

 - Have you ever thought about creating an ebook or guest authoring other blogs? I have a blog based on the same ideas you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information [This from the owner of a click-bait celebrity news blog.]

 - I'd keep an open heart next time because it only hurts you in the long run. [Wait -- wouldn't an open heart hurt more than a closed one?]

In conclusion

An insightful life-hack from one of my many (fake) contributors:

You do have the ability to purchase toiletries at a lower price when they are generic.

That's all for now. Next month we'll have another round of generic comments. Till then, care for it up!

Victor Rosenbaum gives mature insights into Beethoven

Victor Rosenbaum performs an engaging program of Beethoven piano music for Bridge Records. This is his third release with the label, and it's a great partnership.

Bridge knows how to record the piano to capture its natural warmth. The recordings are clean, with just enough room ambiance to make the recording sound natural, as if the listener was in the same room as the performer.

And what a performer! Rosenbaum has lived with this music for a long time. His playing has a quiet power to it. Sure, he could deliver crashing crescendos and dazzling runs, but that's not the point.

Rosenbaum's thoughtful liner notes provide some context. He's reached below the surface of the music to give us Beethoven the melodist. These are quiet, understated performances that speak volumes with simple gestures.

I don't often think of Beethoven as charming, but that was just my reaction to Rosenbaum's interpretation of the Op. 26 sonata. In fact, it was my reaction to the entire album.

Victor Rosenbaum is a mature artist. In this album, he shares insights that only maturity can bring.

Beethoven - Victor Rosenbaum, piano
Piano Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 26; Six Variations in F major, Op. 34;  Sonata in E, Op. 90; Six Bagatelles, Op. 126
Bridge Records

Mexican composer Alexi Aranda delivers satisfying concertos

Alexis Aranda is a composer whose star is rising -- and not just in his native Mexico. Aranda's style incorporates native folk traditions into a post-tonal classical language. The blend is exciting, accessible, and yields music of real substance.

This release features three concertos by Aranda; a concerto for flute, another for piano, and a double concerto for flute and guitar.

Flutist Marisa Canales matches her performance to Aranda's language. In his flute concerto, her playing is quite breathy. The effect emulates the sound of Mexican pan pipes and accentuates the connection between Aranda and his roots.

That connection is further reinforced in the double concerto. Guitarist Jaime Marquez's performance, though classically based, leans towards flamenco.

Aranda performs his own piano concerto. He knows exactly what he wants to achieve with this music. And as the work unfolds, so does the listener. The work is quite rhythmic, with the piano delivering short, percussive bursts throughout.

And yet it's melodic structure continually pulls the listener along to its quite logical and satisfying conclusion.

Aranda may reference folk elements, but he knows his business. The harmonies are quite sophisticated. And the fugue in the flute concerto finale shows Aranda's skill as a classical composer. The counterpoint is sure-footed in a style that could only have been written in this century.

Highly recommended.

Alexis Aranda: Conciertos
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra; Concerto for Flute, Guitar, and Orchestra; Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Marisa Canales, flute; Jaime Marquez, guitar; Alexis Aranda, piano; Camerata de Coahula, Ramon Shade, conductor
Urtext JBCC3306/7
2 CD Set

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAutumn Week 4

In 2019 the Classics a Day team has been making its way through the seasons. We've had Classical Winter (January), Classical Spring (April), and Classical Summer (August). For October, we complete the cycle with Classical Autumn.

I tried to steer clear of the really obvious choices (like Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"). In the process, I managed to discover a few pieces and a composer that was new to me. Which, for me, is part of the fun of participating in the #ClassicsaDay feed. 

Here are my posts for the fourth week of #ClassicAutumn

10/21/19 Toru Takemitsu - Ceremonial, An Autumn Ode

Takemitsu wrote this work in 1992 for orchestra with sho. This Japanese reed instrument has several pipes and dates from the early 700s.

10/22/19 Jules Massenet - Pensée, D'Automne

Massenet's "Thoughts of Autumn" was based on a poem by Armand Silvestre. The narrator in the poem looks back to a lost love.

10/23/19 Oliver Knussen: Autumnal, Op. 14

This work for violin and piano is dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Britten. It takes its name from Britten's "Nocturne."

10/24/19 Darius Milhaud - Concertino D'Automne, Op. 309

Milhaud completed this work in 1951. It's written for two pianos and eight instruments. It was the second of four concertinos he wrote based on the seasons.

10/25/19 Thea Musgrave - The Seasons, "Autumn"

Musgrave's "The Seasons" are impressions of various paintings at the Metropolitan Musem of Art. The Autumn movement, with its wild hunt, was inspired by Picasso's "End of the Road."

Lessons from York - Part Two: Deacquisition

Dad and I recently returned from our semi-annual trip to the Train Collectors Association (TCA) Eastern Division toy train meet in York, PA. This is the largest such show in the United States and provides an interesting snapshot of the state of the hobby. 

It can also hint at the current state of collecting in general. As is our tradition, we spent a lot of time discussing what we saw a lot of (and what we didn't) -- and the reasons behind them.

Deacquisition

In part one I shared some of the positive signs of a changing hobby. We saw larger selections of newer vintage toy trains than in the past.  This suggested that another generation of collectors had entered the hobby.

Looking for a good reference book?
$10 at the York meet.

There were some negative signs as well. It appeared that another generation was leaving the hobby for good. The primary cause seemed to be simply old age.

The final sale
Last April I postulated that we were seeing the last remnants of collections coming onto the market. We had already seen toy trains of the prewar years flood the market. And then we saw the same with early postwar trains.

Life of a toy train collector
I think the lifecycle of a toy train collector is something like this. You build your collection over time, starting in late middle age. At some point, you build a place for your collection, either in the basement, above the garage, or in a dedicated structure (it does happen). The walls are lined with shelves so you can display your treasures. And there's a layout in the center of the room to run your best equipment.

This was an expensive book back in the day.
At the York meet, it was $10.

After retirement comes the need to move to a smaller home. The reason may be health-related, or having to live on a fixed income, or just not needing a home with multiple bedrooms anymore.

The smaller home has less space, and so the collection has to be thinned. You keep your best items and sell the rest. Perhaps the layout has to be dissembled (or replaced with a smaller one).

At some point, you may have to move an assisted living facility, or perhaps even share a room at a nursing home. At that point, the collection has to go. But there's probably room for a few books. And so you keep your library of reference books and train history books (or at least some of them).

In the final stage of life these, too, will need to go.

Even general history books like this
were going for just $10.

Books-a-thousands
At the April show, we saw a lot of books. But that was nothing compared to what we saw in October. There were stacks of books in virtually every aisle.

We saw a fair selection of reference books, such as Ron Hollander's "All Aboard." And we also saw some technical publications, such as Model Railroader's Train Cyclopedias. And there was even a substantial amount of general-interest train coffee table books.

What we didn't see, though, were price guides. That's not surprising. There's practically no value in a an outdated price guide. I'm sure most of those were sent straight to the recycle center.

But there was plenty of everything else. And the standard price was $10 a volume. For some books, that was close to the original price. But for volumes that originally sold for $50, $75, or more, that was a little sad.

And while there were some real bargains to be had, what we didn't see were a lot of people buying. I'm curious to see if this sea of vintage publications washes back for the April meet. 

Need a coffee table book about trains?
Yours for $10 at the York meet.