Tanjectory.com

What’s New Is Old

wallruss — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:28:16 +0000

They say everything has a cycle. Every fad, no matter how crazy, goes away and comes back years later. Old movies are re-imagined and remade. Characters die and are reborn. I have a friend who writes stories for comic books. He told me there was no new super power to write about. They had all been used at least once before. Are there no new ideas under the sun?

I still believe there are plenty of new ideas possible. They are just waiting to be given life to. That being said, I do appreciate the good use of an old idea. Some of the fads that I loved years ago will be back and I’ll have a head start on those. Some of those stories, TV shows, and movies I loved as a younger person have and are being revisited, much to my delight. This is what I thought of when I saw the trailer for movie Tron: Legacy. It’s hard to believe that the original movie hit the screens 28 years ago. Man! I feel old.

The Best Present

wallruss — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:18:02 +0000

As birthdays go, this past one wasn’t among the best of them. I’m broke and out of work and therefore unable to finance my usual joyful traditions. Except for a evening dinner with a new friend, I spent the entire day alone. That is not to say that this birthday was terrible. I had a roof over my head, a small amount of money in the bank, and food in the refridgerator, not to mention a few good friends. I received multiple happy birthday wishes via email and facebook and even a few small gifts from people far broker than I.

Usually I have an adventure to tell about what I did for my birthday but this year I’m just going to talk about my favorite birthday gift. It was from my Mother. She sent me some steaks and not the cheap stuff either. She got them from the Kansas City Steak Company. They came via UPS in a container that held them in dry ice. I prepared one just like the online instructions and it was delicious, possibly among the best I’ve ever had. Every broke person should be able to have a steak. Six pieces came in that container and I am having one a week until they’re gone.

I am thankful for all my gifts even if they were just words from people that care but nothing beats a insightful gift. So this year my Mother wins the prize. You know there was a time when I actually considered becoming a vegetarian. I can’t even remember what that felt like.

What Am I Collecting?

wallruss — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:05:41 +0000

I understand the value of collecting things. While one can share his or her collection, the feeling you get from collecting cannot be shared. Collecting involves research, resources, maintenance, time, space, and care. The amount of people in the world that might understand willingly paying these costs are few. Some collections are passive, they sit on the wall, in books, or in plastic, waiting to be admired. Others are safe to touch and use like one’s music collection or even supermarket coupons.

The value of one’s collection comes from two sources, how much it means to you and how much others will pay for it. There are of course those who collect things that no one else would want and there are others that fight and pay high price for highly coveted items. Lastly there are those things we collect indirectly like magazines, newspapers, tickets stubs, ink pens and the like. What are we to do with those? If they have no value to you and none to anyone else then you are still paying the collection cost to maintain them. One of the biggest costs is space. Another is the cost of not maintaining that collection. Collections can collect dust. As I look around my home at all the things that fill it up I wonder. What am I collecting that has no real value to me and how much is it costing me to keep it?

New Music Monday

wallruss — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:11:51 +0000

It’s another new music Monday. Feed your mp3 player. You know it’s hungry.

Silhouette Brown – Constant Questions
Ras Kass – The Endangered Lyricist Mixtape
Gonja Sufi – EP
Erykah Badu – Jump Up In The Air and Stay There f/ Lil Wayne and Bilal
Janelle Monae – Tight Rope feat. Big Boi
Common – The People (Original Version)
Devin The Dude – What I Be On
Nas & Damian Marley – Strong Will Continue
Emilio Rojas, Scheme, Astonish – Helluva Year (prod. Dario)
Jaguar Wright – And Your Point Is?
UKSoul.org Mixtape
Aloe Blacc – I Need A Dollar

The J Dilla Tribute Continues

wallruss — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:11:32 +0000

Much is being done to pay tribute to and celebrate the life and work of J Dilla. It seems that while he contributed to a lot of artists prior to his passing, a considerable amount of good new music and collaborations have come into being after. The following is a clip from an upcoming DVD called ‘Timeless’. It features Dwele singing his song ‘Angel’ backed up by The Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra. Enjoy!

FULL SCREEN
The Sounds of VTech / Angel Feat. Dwele

Storm Fade

wallruss — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:42:01 +0000

I spent most of this past weekend visiting an old friend, actually a video game. It’s called City of Heroes and I got back into it mainly because I found someone else that’s into it too. It’s a multi-player online game with a monthly fee so lately I haven’t found any personal friends willing to pay. Still, there are people online to play with and that works well enough.

Anyway I’m back playing the game and I’m addicted and dedicating an embarrassing amount of hours to it. While I have many, the main character I’ve been playing is named Storm Fade. He’s an assassin that strikes from the shadows. An that, my friends, is how I spent my weekend. If you’re interested and would like to try out the game, send me your email address and I’ll send you a link for a free two week trial. We’re fighting on the Guardian server.

My New Favorite Web Show

wallruss — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:04:19 +0000

I used to love Yo! MTV Raps back in the day with Dr. Dre and Ed Lover. I knew they moved on to radio and other things but Ed Lover has this new online show called C’mon Son and it’s great. Here’s the latest episode. Oh, there’s some profanity in it so if that offends you, keep pushin’.

Despite Racial Advances…

wallruss — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:01:36 +0000

“Begin all your liberal posturing, when it’s time to blame a bullshit crime on an imaginary man — that fucker will always be imagined Black.”

– The Last Days of American Crime #1

Some New Smoothness

wallruss — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:01:21 +0000

I’m very proud of this week’s new music, some from people you know and some from people you don’t. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the ‘Listen To Some Music‘ section on the right side of the blog. You’ll find some smooth grooves there including a couple from Sade’s upcoming album. Enjoy and share some music with your friends.

Keep RIZEing to the Top – A Selection of unreleased Dwele songs
King Britt – Now feat Astrid Suryanto
Mos Def – The Tournament
Corinne Bailey Rae – It Be’s That Way Sometimes
Raheem DeVaughn – Ms. High Heels (prod. K-Murdock)
Nas & Damian Marley – As We Enter
Benjamin – The Times E.P.
DTMD – The Basics E.P.
DJ DRAMA & B.o.B – May 25th the Mixtape

I Need A New Roommate

wallruss — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:50:26 +0000

I lost my roommate the other day. It came time to pay for February and he didn’t have it so he had to go. I don’t mean that in a bad way. He knew the deal. He spent the whole day packing and was ready to go on the 31st. The only problem is he didn’t let me know ahead of time. We had a discussion a couple of weeks ago. The agreement would have made us good through the end of February but I guess at the last minute he realized he couldn’t get the money together. Now I’m at a serious loss for this month and am going to have to increase my hustle to make ends meet. He wasn’t the greatest roommate but his money was good. I guess I can’t complain too much. At least I have a place to stay. Who knows where he’s sleeping tonight.