Spam Roundup, April, 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. 

Le bonehead mot

- I know this website presents quality depending articles or reviews and additional stuff, is there any other web page which gives these kinds of stuff in quality? [We only do quality-dependent work here, pal.]

- Great goods from you, man. I've have in mind your stuff prior to and you are simply extremely fantastic. [And a simply extremely fantastic thank you to you!]

- It's actually a pleasant for me to visit this web page, it includes helpful information. [Nothing like a pleasant to make the day better.]

Lumbering Along with Emotion

The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along continues to be a high-traffic post. The subject is a small, inexpensive vintage Japanese toy truck. Who knew it could elicit such strong emotions?

The original "Lumbering Along" post only showed one
Nomura lumber truck. Perhaps this photo of a pair will
boost traffic even more!

- I do accept as true with all the concepts you've presented in your post. They're really convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for novices. Could you please prolong them a little next time? [Long, drawn-out posts. Great idea.]

- But have you ever thought how much stress are you providing your own loved ones. [Geez, Louise, it's just a dime story toy! Lighten up!]

Fastidiously yours

For a long time, the word "fastidious" cropped up frequently in these comments -- always used incorrectly, of course. Recently, the word appears less frequently. Although I did receive the following comments on my 2013 post, Fastidious Spam.

- Spot on with this write-up, I really believe this site needs far more attention. [We can all benefit from a more fastidious attention to detail.]

- Incredible story there. What happened after? [They all lived fastidiously ever after.]

-I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This paragraph posted at this web page is in fact fastidious. [!]

That's all for this month. Just accept this as true and don't worry about the stress to your loved ones.

Isidora Žebeljan: Chamber Music

This was a difficult release to review. It was easy to form an option (I really enjoyed it). But trying to describe Serbian composer Isadora Zebeljan's music to someone who's not familiar with it is something of a challenge.

The liner notes gave it a try: "Isidora Žebeljan grew up listening to Serbian, Romanian, Hungarian and Gypsy music. This music, with its melancholic and passionate melodies, rich with ornaments, and its complex and elusive rhythms... defined the basic outlines of her musical thinking." True, but that's only part of the story.

Žebeljan's music also incorporates elements of jazz, pop and older classical traditions in her music -- and fuses all those disparate parts into an organic whole. While the external characteristics change, there's something underpinning each of these works that are consistent. I think it's the emotional honesty of the music. Kudos to the Brodsky Quartet and their associates for recording this program of truly inventive chamber music.

The disc opens with the Polomka Quartet, short 2009 serial work with outbursts of lyricism. The Dance of the Wooden Sticks for horn and string quartet has a more tonal and Slavic feel to it. This is a technical showpiece for the horn, beginning with a slow introduction then moving to a rhythmic "dance." New Songs of Lada for soprano and string quartet (2006) is a cycle of poems by anonymous 18th and 19th-century Serbian poets. I found soprano Anete Illié's voice particularly warm and full, giving these old poems a rich patina.

Žebeljan's Sarabande for piano had neither the serialism of the Polomka Quartet nor the folk elements of the New Songs. Rather, it was music that just seemed suspended in air, quiet and ethereal. By contrast, A Yawl on the Danube for soprano, piano, string quartet and percussion had an earthy quality to it. I loved the way the honkytonk-sounding piano and the string quartet would go off in different directions at times.

The Song of a Traveller in the Night for clarinet and string quartet showed yet another side of Zebeljan's character. This angular, loose-limbed composition sounded straight-up post-tonal. (I told you hŽebeljan's music is hard to describe.) The Pep It Up Fantasy for soprano, piano, string quintet, and percussion ends the program. It's a wonderfully complex work full of intricate rhythms. The soprano seems to float serenely above all the bustle, which nevertheless sounds connected rather than detached from the voice (at least to me).

If you're familiar with Isadora Žebeljan's music, then there's nothing I need to say, save that the performances are all top-notch. If you're not familiar with her work, then I encourage you to listen to some sound samples before downloading (or purchasing the CD). This is music that I just don't have the words to describe adequately.

Isidora Žebeljan: Chamber Music 
Polomka Quartet; Dance of the Wooden Sticks for horn and string quintet; new Songs of Lada for soprano and string quartet; Sarabande for piano; A Yawl on the Danube, scene for soprano, piano, string quartet and percussion; Song of a Traveller in the Night for clarinet and string quartet; Pep It Up, fantasy for soprano, piano, string quintet and percussion 
Brodsky Quartet; Anete Illié, soprano; Stefan Dohr, horn; Joan Enric Lluna, clarinet; Isadora Žebeljan, piano; Miroslav Karlovič, percussion; Boban Stošič, double bass; Premil Petrocič, conductor 
CPO 777 994

Lessons from York - What We Didn't See: People

A general interest publication from 1979 -- when things
were much different (and collectors were younger).

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 more importantly, the reasons behind them.

Lifecycle of a hobby (according to me)

As I mentioned in the first part of this series, I believe that the changes in what we saw (or didn't see) at the show all stem from the same cause -- the aging of the membership. I've seen many collectible fields go through basically the same lifecycle.


Stage one: An everyday object has common appeal. Like comic books, baseball cards, carnival glass plates, or teddy bears.

Stage two: Driven by nostalgia, a market develops for those vintage everyday items. Many collectors try to either recover objects they or their families had in their youth or objects they wished they had owned at that time.

Stage three: Manufacturers become aware of this secondary collector's market, and begin to create products for it. Limited edition versions, items marked "collector's item," multiple versions of the same item (collect them all!) are all examples of this trend.

Stage four: The object, either because of fashion and/or technology changes, no longer has an everyday function. It becomes exclusively a collector's item, which further spurs more exotic versions from manufacturers. At this point, the hobby has usually entered the public consciousness and attracts people who are interested in buying and selling these collectibles for the fabulous sums they reportedly command.

Stage five: The original market for the object dries up. This could be due to changing tastes (like Beanie Babies), or just the aging of the collectors as a group. People who collected Shirley Temple memorabilia because they remember seeing her movies as a child in the 1930s were probably born in the 1920s. Relatively few are alive today, and consequently, the demand is quite low. This is especially true for derivative collectibles -- objects made after well after the heyday of the original.

Entering Stage Five

And I think we're seeing the toy train hobby entering stage five. For some time, the meet has used six of the halls on the York Fairgrounds. This time, the smallest of those halls was closed. But the remaining halls weren't crowded. Many rows had empty tables. Some were sold, but not occupied, but a good portion was unsold. And the crowd seemed thinner than it had been even in the fall.

Decline or transition?

So there it is. I think it will be a slow decline, but there's hope. While the halls where people sold old and used trains had declining traffic, the two halls with current manufacturers of trains and model railroading accessories (like scenery and buildings) were booming.

Younger generations may not have grown up with Lionel, but they seem to be interested in operating layouts. And for that, new equipment is much more reliable than vintage trains. The demand for old toy trains may continue to weaken, but the interest in larger scale model (not toy) trains seems to be growing.

Collecting -- and collecting information 25

Sometimes it's good to pause and take stock. When I started the "Collecting -- and collecting information" series, I knew virtually nothing about the subject of low-end Japanese tin toy cars. Yes, it's an extremely tightly-focused subject, but the subject wasn't really the point.

I wanted to see what I could discover about this under-documented aspect of postwar toy manufacturing from primary sources. Like many trips, the adventure's in the journey. I ran across the item shown above recently. I was surprised at how much I knew about it.

Original packaging is always helpful. I was familiar with the importer, Cragstan, and knew they worked with a variety of Japanese toy firms. In this case, the supplier seems to be Ichimura. I recognize those road signs.

Perhaps because I most recently wrote about the Toy Merchandising Corp. of New York, I was sensitive to proper markings for imported items. No problem -- Cragstan played by the rules. The package is clearly marked "Made in Japan."

Mystery solved. In this photo are two roadway sets made
by Ichimura, and imported by Cragstan. 

And this package also yielded some information. In collecting information 16, I was wondering if the collection of cars and signs I purchased were originally part of a set. Now that I've seen the packaging for this set, I'm pretty sure I actually have two sets. And I wouldn't be surprised to discover they were also offered by Cragstan.

One had the same assortment of signs as the Cragstan Racing Car set: Keep Right, RR Crossing, and Speed Limit 50. It had three cars, one red, one blue, and one green. The second set had the same three cars, but a slightly different sign assortment, with Stop Ahead replacing the Speed Limit 50 sign.

Why the variation? Probably just expediency. These were low-margin toys, and I'm sure the only rule for assembly was three different car colors, and three different signs per package.

Diabelli Project 107 - Solo Marimba

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

This week I continue with another part of this solo marimba piece that's been rattling around in my head. I hadn't intended to write it in 10-minute weekly installments, but that seems to be what's happening.

 I think things had just started to get interesting when I ran out of time.

As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.