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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So the last of the deadlines are in and now we just wait for word on the speakers list.....






The acknowledgement page for submissions!




All we can do is wait and react. We submitted our oral speech early, so early they revised the web page so I hope I we didn’t get lost in the shuffle. All we can do is wait. I also submitted a request for an intervention at one of the high panel meeting and that web content has disappeared also after I apllied. No response on that either. Regardless I will be there both weeks and try my best to express myself - and above all else - make the play!





An email about our desire to speak at an intervention at one of the discussions!




We just keep waiting.....




Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I actually have time to punch on my old but pristine IBM click Keyboard from 1988. These old keyboards are owned by serious journalists and writer alike. They go for hundreds and hundreds of dollars used because they are the best keyboards for those that live on them (IBM Model M). There are new ones being made still – I think – and they cost hundreds of dollars. But I love getting back on this thing and punching things out.



Anyway I was distracted by several things the last few days and typed out short updates as I soaked in my tub. Mostly car stuff starting with my dad's Buick Enclave but it just kept going. The reason is the really cold weather and stuff that was just marginally functioning breaks with the shock of the colder temperatures. So I was Mr. Fixit for a few days and, actually, I am probably better off for this distraction, but now back to work…..



First of all is the UN stuff and specifically the oral presentations. I pine endlessly about this because it means much to me on several levels. I want to disseminate the positive major mandate idea of course; but it goes further than that. For the past two decades brown males like me with Muslim last names have had the worst optics of anyone in the world. Just based on looks I will have nothing but the most negative snap judgments from people because of the media and how it portrays the brown guy. So it would probably be a good thing for people to see a brown guy like me proposing free expression and progressive development for humanity at the United Nations. Just saying that at this venue that tries to be so politically correct, that maybe the reality of showing who is presently pushing this would be a good and proper thing at the United Nations and at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development. Anyway that will sort itself out in the next few days - I hope. Regardless I will book the plane flights and be there anyway. Like I say, I have to try my best because of that moral imperative!



Other stuff? There is no gas available in my area. The cold weather has disrupted gas delivery to the stations. You start to panic when the gas tank shows less than half like it did last night. You start to drive around looking for the gasoline, and then you all fight over the gas pump before it runs out at that station. I filled mine up at almost two o’clock last night. I asked the guy when he got the gas and he said he will run out in an hour. So the gas shortage continues. It s becoming like "Mad Max: The Road Warrior" where finding gas is cause for warfare. You never know what you have till it is gone. Then all hell breaks loose.




Goodnight…..





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n29c-q3_8Q&feature=share


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdr-f3MZgqo&feature=share


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2gVXd7FzhQ&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2019 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now we get down to work…..


I should have the interventions/questions from the floor done today and just practice. We still don’t know what is happening with oral presentations yet but I plan for the worst and hope for the best. I will also tweak the side event videos and have that ready. Early in the week everything from planes to hotels and such should be finalized and then all you do is pack and go down there.


It’s as simple as that.


Years were spent getting to this moment in time and it could all be for naught. But that is what it is like in an adventure. Nothing is for certain and you take chances. Adventures are also dangerous. Take people out of their normal routine and put new pressures on them and all sorts of things can happen. So while some say I lead and exciting life – the “exciting” part is not always a good thing in the end. I do this because the payoff is worth it. Even if I fail, doing this via a moral imperative validates your life and existence. Someone has to do this stuff and the job found me. Like I said the world needs people like me shaking the cage and presenting new ideas even if they don’t want to hear it.


So I just keep at it.




Later…..
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 9:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well – I have two version of the side event, one with video and one without. I of course have the speech if selected and I have to question/intervention options done. The only thing to do is just start packing and getting ready for this.....



This is reality and there are no guarantees, just what happens.



Unlike TV and the movies, we are never sure what will happen. In fact anything can happen. You just try your best and run the plays. I must sound like a broken record but you get no real encouragement on stuff like this. Secretly many want you to fail so they can feel smug in themselves that they did the right thing by not trying to do the right thing. I get it, but I have to try. So even though it seems like a slam dunk that an idea for the betterment of all would get the support of all – the reality is the exact opposite. For all the petty reasons, good ideas get dropped and trashed and perverted out of all proportion because we are flawed humans. The world could easily be a much better place except at every turn there is a human with a selfish agenda that does not jibe with the true humanitarian effort and the effort dies. There really is no answer to this save for the fact that this is human nature in action. And ultimately humanity will stand or fall on which side is victorious.



But that will all sort itself out shortly.



Sort of off this topic, but remember our movie “The Fortress Experiment” premiered just six weeks ago; I have taken a keen interest in directors and actors who have self produced their own movies and made money off them. Vin Diesel for example, took out a mortgage to produce the third Riddick film called “Riddick” and was successful. But I really took an interest in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie “Glass.” He had some big scores like “The Sixth Sense,” “Signs of the Village” and of course “Unbreakable”. But his last three films were all self-financed.”The Visit” was 5 million out of his pocket with a 98.5 million return. Split (the sequel to Unbreakable) was a 9 million budget out of his pocket for a 278.5 million dollar gross. Currently “Glass” has made 199 million on a 20 million dollar budget on its first three weeks and has lead everything for those three weeks. So he is making money in Hollywood all on his own and the budgets keep getting bigger. But what I love most about this is that he gets to make films that he wants and probably has the most control. And now makes the most money. Of course this is a gamble and he could lose big. But he seems to be constructing things that are going in the right direction. For many years real filmmakers have stayed out of movies because of big business and their influence on creativity. But now it appears the director him or herself can get into the distribution system and make films the way they want. Anyway I took an interest in this film because he’s a brown guy nobody wants to work with right now and he keeps making serious money of his films basically made on shoe string budgets as Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson probably got the lion’s share of the initial budget anyway. But congrats to Shymalan and his latest film. Ignore the lukewarm reviews, he lives to direct another day!




Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ghQs5AmNk&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was a productive day for the UN stuff.


I got a deal on some luggage as the current luggage is literally splitting at the seams. I also had to buy some socks and I am a big fan of smart wool socks. The problems is that three pair is 100 bucks but they are the best and your feet will thank you! Just a lot of running around in the beautify 11 degree weather was nothing but good for me.


Having said that, I have to prepare for the worst and book the flights and prepare for the worst case scenario for any kind of oral presentation to the Commission. No word yet on speeches but the longer this drags on the more bleak the prospects. And we are late in the game already. So more and more it is looking like we will have to fight to speak and I am slowly gearing up for that scenario. It means being at the Session for the major themes and general discussion and then trying to get in on the discussion when they open the floor to questions. And you are expected to “wing it” so that is a new wrinkle.


With regard to the side event I have to contact A/V services and make sure we get the audio and web stream stuff squared away. It’s all starting to happen quickly now.


Schools out for us at the UN and we have to fight the good fight on our own. I may have been a curiosity at the start with a few doors conveniently opened for me as I served a purpose in the journalism arena. But now we are pushing our own agenda that may or may not fit in with the present scheme of things. So we are on our own and in the trenches. That is fine as the spell had to break sooner or later. You start to wish it was just over and done with and soon it actually will be. Just make the plays as promised. This is reality as I keep telling myself. There is no sure thing. Just do what you can so you don’t have second thoughts, and no regrets.



The Positive Mandate Booklet


I have my work cut out for me. I need this week just to prepare so that turned out not to be wasted time. I’ll even go over with some promotional material so I have to make up some of that. And with me there is always Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. And you just keep trying until the opportunity runs out. I have a hierarchy of things that have to be done. First is to get to the USA and specifically New York before the Session starts. Then get my UN pass and stuff has to be done ahead of time for that. Then make sure you are registered so you can get into the Session, and then make the play. I know how things work around there so I really am as ready as I will ever be. And I’m not so much nervous as wanting to do this and get it over with. Just no regrets - that Is all. No regrets and that I did everything I could. I can’t make humanity do anything, I can only offer…..




Goodnight…..
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Today is when I lock down all the outstanding items with regard to the UN stuff.


Tuesday was a productive day as I got most of the supporting material printed up. The only thing left was some custom printed labels for the DVDs of the movie and that is now done and only needs to be printed.




The Fortress Experiment DVD disc face!



From then I only need to book plane fare to New York and finalize the hotel stay and just concentrate on the actual presentations. It pretty much looks like I will have to fight to be heard with regard to the Commission. So I will just practice “winging it” if I get a chance to speak during question periods – but you never know – we shall just have to go down there and see what happens.


Taking this week off seems to have been a good idea as I needed the time to get things ready. This is a two part trip to the United Nations, the first IAIJ has ever had. So planning wise, things are moving along well. As I look back at the 15 years it took to get here I believe I did things as well as I possibly could have. I met and exceeded all original goals and we are now reaching and I am beating myself up at not reaching goals where I keep moving the bar further and further ahead. So that is what’s happening here. Everyone was nice letting me reach the original goals but we didn’t pack up and go home to live “happily ever after” but instead we are sticking around pushing our own ideas and agenda. So we have to huff about there like any other NGO. That is fine as we are there…..



But enough of this; I have to keep planning and then packing and going over bullet points in my mind if we get a chance to express ourselves over there. Then we come back and prepare for the side event that happens the week after.




Goodnight…..
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A really late one today but by tomorrow morning I should be on top of everything!


Yes it is amazing how you figured you made a mistake taking off a week before a trip and then you find out you needed the whole week and can just get everything done before you board the plane! So another productive day on Wednesday and half of Thursday. The only thing left to do is to contact webcasting services at the UN and then pull out some US cash and start to preen myself up.


There is not enough time to think about things or get introspective. You just do this and then do that and there is always something else to do. The DVD labels are done and at the office. I made a flyer for the event:





Later tonight I will finish the concept note and send all that stuff to webcasting services tomorrow morning. It is all happening now and I truly will be winging it next week. Probably better that way. So now that preparations are done all there is to do is get down there and make the plays.



Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another late one today but I am almost ready.....





United Nations Headquarters in New York City!




We got some good news this afternoon – it appears we have been approved to speak to the Commission for Social Development. Now there are no guarantees, and we don’t have any idea yet when we may speak, but I had all but given up on a formal speech. So BAM - this is good news!





2018 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development!




This also means that I got everything that I wanted for this venue. Everything is still in play – everything – Wow. Let me say that again – Wow!!!!!


We will make a formal announcement and plans for the next two weeks. But for now it is back to work!




Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well basically all I have to do is pack the clothing in the suitcase and take a cab to the airport. That happens early in the morning tomorrow. I’ll go over everything three times and make sure I have everything. However, I have been a the UN many times and know how to function in Manhattan so even if I just arrived with the clothes on my back I could make it all work with a credit card.



Tyrone Taiwo wrote:
IAIJ Approved to Speak to the Commission for Social Development!




By Tyrone Taiwo, IAIJ Inc.





The International Association of Independent Journalists have been approved by the Bureau of the Commission for Social Development to speak at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development (February 11-21, 2019 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City). The designated speaker is the President and CEO of IAIJ Maurice Ali:






Maurice Ali


"We at the International Association of Independent Journalists are excited to be given the opportunity to speak at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development. On behalf of myself as President, the Board of Directors and the general membership, thank the Bureau of the Commission for Social Development and the Commission for Social Development for giving us this opportunity!”




So from all of us at IAIJ, we wish Maurice all the best of luck with his trip to the United Nations and once again thank the Bureau of the Commission for Social Development and the Commission for Social Development for giving us the opportunity to speak at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development!




http://humandestiny.org






IAIJ: JOURNALISTS IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD!




So we have official notice of the oral presentation. No guarantees but I have everything I wanted now.


Now we just go there – make the plays – and see what happens. Things are getting exciting though – I will admit that…..


Later and Goodnight…..
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sam had a baby boy on Saturday morning!





Congrats Samantha!


So Sam is a mom, now that is strange as I knew her since she was this 15 year old emo kid tagging along with the organization because we were into music. Then she joined IAIJ as a “junior journalist” as she describes herself. So yes, the last time we met Sam she was signing paychecks and very pregnant. So a new part of her life starts. She still wants to be with all the orgs and can do so from home with the child so that works for me.....


As for me I arrived early for my flight to New York and as soon as I arrived they cancelled the flight. The official reason is mechanical delay but me thinks the real reason was not enough passengers. So the bad luck starts. You know how I like it. Major good luck like getting to speak at the United Nations, and then little bits of bothersome bad luck as payback for the good luck. They messed my Starbucks order up at the airport so I add that to the payback slot. It also looks like I may have my registration hung up for the session at the UN, though sometimes they leave this for the very last minute. If not I toss that into the back luck column and fix it when I get my annual pass for the UN grounds.


I’ll add more to this post as I will be at the airport for awhile because of the cancellation.....


Some time later: So I had to eat something waiting for the next plane. They said I’d get a meal voucher but that hasn’t arrived yet - so 12 bucks for some finger food in plastic! That doesn’t bother me as much as spending extra for seat selection, then getting bump out with the slogan that is was “an act of God” which is what they say to get out of refunding some money. Well I’ll try and get back the seat selection payment. They owe me that! We shall see what happens.....



Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TruXhuAO4IY&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’m in Manhattan, I’ve settled into my hotel room, and I’m posting again.....




The United Nations on February 10, 2019!



I’m in bed, a half ironed shirt on an ironing board near the bathroom. For some reason the wrinkle free shirts wrinkled. Yes, I’m happier to do this on the phone than the laptop - how about that!


I had to print some labels at FedXEx Office and the lady there helped me out and got interested; and man was she interested and impressed. The same for anyone I meet who finds out what I’m doing. Juxtapose this with people who have known me for years and they say nothing. Zero interest and mostly zero support or encouragement. Sort of like the movie premiere - all the people who came were mostly from the walk-in crowd and they love it and were impressed.




The Red Phone - only 2000.00 CAN dollars!



I just mention this as this is my experience. Those two worlds of before the experiment and after the start of the experiment - well they haven’t collided yet. And remember that Shane and Tyrone and those of my gang that did show up are in there after the start of the experiment camp - amazing how that works out! It is like the before people don’t want to admit that people can change if they get the chance to express themselves. As if their model of the world gets upset by what happened to me and the others in the experiment. Accepting the results of The Fortress Experiment means that if you treated people by stereotypes - you now have to face the reality that you may have been treating all those people badly and that can’t be a fun idea to swallow. I represent that idea and maybe part of the reason is that.....


No matter, I have to get my annual grounds pass first thing. That gets me into the United Nations. Then I have to see if I’m on the registered sheet at the entrance to Conference Room 4. The registration form still says “pending” but you can’t count on that. So get the annual pass and then make sure you are registered so you can get into the session and get make sure you are available and present to get your chance to speak. That is the plan going forward today.





Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well the session is off and running.....



The session in Conference Room 4 on Feb. 11, 2019!


I was there for the opening and took a keen interest in those opening speeches. Those from a military background would look for signs of weakness, but I was looking for signs of opportunity.


And I found it!


I now have strategy going forward. So as I keep saying - make the play. I was pretty happy when that happened, because there are no guarantees in this life. No guarantees that even though approved, that I would actually get to speak to the Commission. But whatever, there is a plan A, a Plan B and even a Plan C. We can only wait and see what we get in the end. There is snow tomorrow and at the end of today's session we were told that there could be delays in the proceedings. The first to go would be our NGO speaking positions I figure. So nothing is for sure but I have been approved which means I will not take time away from others who may not have approved speeches from asking questions and interventions. Those actually took place today.....


Anyway I got to the grounds pass office early and actually found that I didn't have to wait in line, for a change. So I got the new pass good till the end of the year with access to open various turnstiles and security revolving doors. So now it was into the United Nations compound itself and find out what happened to the registration. Sure enough the registration was not completed but this has happened before so it's no biggie and I got quickly registered and got my pass to Conference Room 4 (a pass needed with the other pass to get in).


By-the-way, one quick word about the annual pass. My first pass was this temporary pass but it was beautiful with a beautiful hologram layer with the UN logo. Then when I got the first annual pass you could hardly see the logos and they were upside down but it had that stripe on the back to get you in places on your own. Now the front of the pass looks like it has areas where it is delaminating between layers but the stripe works way better than the others. The UN police don't give it a second glance though - so..... It could be that all these variations are deliberate and a new security measure, but it could just be my luck getting substandard passes.....hehehehehehe.....


Anyway, Tuesday is a new day and the weather may play a part. Do I get to speak? That is a question, and the anxiety over this isn't about my ego, it's my responsibility to my friends who had to lead very hard lives for no reason, for those in my organization who were homeless when they helped me get this organization started, for all those disenfranchised people. I can feel their eyes burning the back of my neck while I am here.....


I'm still in a place here where I need their good graces to get where we need to go in terms of advocacy, but the options are opening up a bit. Maybe I don't get to speak but our idea goes places at the UN. Maybe I do speak but it means nothing in the end - this is how "real life" happens, and probabilities and destinies work - there are absolutely no guarantees, it's an adventure after all! We just have to wait and see, there is nothing else to do.




Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeVgcIFEh3I&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, we are getting clarity on some events at the UN. First it seems the oral statements probably will happen on Tuesday next week. So it would seem to many of you that this whole trip this week was a waste, but nothing could be further than the truth.


I had to be there at the start to see how to leverage my request and I got it! Plus, trust me that if I gambled, the oral presentations would have happened this week and I would have been shut out - always happens that way. The other thing was to emancipate, truly emancipate, any feelings of inferiority or doubt anymore. I keep running into movers and shakers and usually by accident and get a really close look and feel for those people, and they are just people like the rest of us. There is no divine right! So I know I can compete. In the past people would tell me as much to my face but I would refuse to listen. Like people would tell me I'm an intelligent guy and true to my past training I would argue against that - and they would just cut me short, tell me I'm an intelligent guy and walk away before I could protest..... Or another quip that the only exceptional person there (I'll leave the place up to you) is me. Now that is untrue and unfair, but they were trying to empower me and not like a mother saying things that aren't true, because some of it is. I say that as more and more I see that I have no choice but to continue doing what I am doing - as there don't seem to be many doing it.


Mostly what I hear is repetitive and derivate stuff coming from different faces - but I distinctly heard the desire for new and innovative ideas - hummm..... Always that problem of new and innovative ideas. They would probably have preferred derivative new and innovative ideas but those don't truly solve their problem. But the new and innovative idea is also a hard sell especially when it is the lone guy on the street barking it out - so I'm a few steps higher and at the UN but you get the drift. The report is deliberately simple and un-fleshed out. I could get more specific, like how my mandate makes much of the Declaration of Human Rights self-evident. I don't get specific anywhere other than Article19, but here is the list:


Article 1, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30.


About half become self-evident with this mandate of greatest expression of humanity's mental and physical abilities because it makes us happy. But I know where I want this idea to go from UN Headquarters and they do this stuff for a living there, so I won't steal their thunder if things are successful.


All I want to do is disseminate the idea and get it moving through the proper channels and hopefully get tacit approval that the idea could work in the present system. This would of course augment current efforts but we need to change perceptions in each and every mind to truly change things for everyone. My idea has to make sense to people, be easily understood by all - and it must "feel" viscerally right. This mandate does!


This is reality in the making, there is no right or wrong in how things pan out, and nobody has a crystal ball. You just take what life hands you and make the most of it. I do like the fact that I am comfortable enough at the UN that I can start to play games there as those that play games there give more credence to others that play games back - it shows competence and sureness in their eyes. But we are all not showing the full set of cards.....


We play our games and risk is around every corner, but I guess it has to be this way.




Goodnight.....




B&H Photo



BTW: Since I now have some time on my hands, I went to B&H Photo, a place I purchased stuff on-line for my video productions. It was only a twenty five minute walk from the hotel so I went there. The place was smaller than I thought it would be but this was probably the largest photo and video store in North America. So I did that during the snow storm. Also, it seems I can finally get a proper night sleep in New York - only took four years! The other thing of note is that my hair just wants to stand upright! I know this sounds trivial but sometimes you don't want to look like a cave man, but I guess I don't have a choice now.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8o_YqzMBoo&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was sort of in the dumps on Wednesday, when you sort of feel that this is all for nothing. That it was a big waste of time and that humanity is doomed.




I hate posting updates in that mood so I slept on it. The actual reality is not that far off, but the mood is a bit better - blame it on hormones. That is why I keep at that mantra of "make the play." You are a machine and you have been worked! So I make the plays. Nothing is guaranteed that much is true and they even tell you this about the oral presentations. Even the side-events can be cancelled by bad weather and so on. The plane could be delayed and all sorts of stuff can happen. But most of all I had this foreboding feeling that we were coming to the end of our adventures. It drives you crazy that this has to be you and that even though you don't have a wife and family you are nevertheless intertwined with humanity.

I never met anyone better than me in university - I tried - but it just never happened. Fellow students would come up to me after class telling me about the profound things I had said while others told me that sooner or later I would come up against someone who would put me in my place. That was thirty years ago. I am not as creative anymore. But the fact I never met anyone of greater ability means I have to follow through with this moral imperative and disseminate the positive mandate at the UN. I have no choice in the matter.



What happens after next week is anyone's guess but things could be wrapping up fast - or just starting out.....



I really just don't know. All I know is that I make the play. It would be nice to shirk responsibilities by getting an illness or running out of cash and such. But I am in perfect health and I have all kinds of money to get the job done. I have to make the plays.....




Lady Liberty



Aside from that I took the Staten Island Ferry and took some shots of Lady Liberty. You do this once and never again. It is cold and the wind just whips through your clothing. Never again!



I also checked out a side-event at the UN, but for Thursday it is tidying up things for next week and paying bills at the UN (never thought I would be saying that), then home and shoveling my driveway. And so it continues.....



Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Home.....



Manhattan at Night!


That photo above is actually a nighttime arial shot of Manhattan. A change from the usual Toronto shots so there!


Anyway my last day this week in New York was paying bills in the Secretariat Building on the 20th floor. When I got to the United Nation Headquarters for the first time all sorts of places were off limits. But I’ve had access to pretty much all of the places there now. I spent a few days on the floor of the General Assembly either behind the State of Palestine or behind the IMF/World Bank and UNESCO. I ate a banana at the open entrance to the UN Security Council in session. The library and all the conference rooms, and of course, the Secretariat Building - but nothing past the thirtieth floor, not yet.....


So pretty much been there and done that. Even eaten at the now defunct UN cafeteria which overlooked the Hudson River and now closed due to a security renovation. It’s now all about the business at hand and not the “gee wiz” I’m at the UN vibe of the past. The things that matter now are not just getting into the UN on official business like it was the first time. My grounds pass looks like a manufacturing defect reject fished out of a garbage bin - but it works. It’s attached to a white SDG neck band with a SDG logo retractable cord spool device so I can tap through the security barriers and all that. So I sort of look like someone who is familiar with the place and belongs there.

Anyway, I pay the guy and boot out of the UN to walk around Central Park and then over to the Museum of Modern Art and hang out there for a bit. It’s pricy but there is always new stuff and you never feel cheated going there.




An art exhibit at MOMA!



Finally back to the UN to hang out until I left to get the shuttle bus to the airport. And that is when trouble starts. First I get stuck with this guy who sounds like he has the flu. I think I was getting over that one as even in New York, I had some of the symptoms that you get at the end of the flu. So I probably was getting over it anyway plus I got the flu shot. I should be bulletproof but I stuck my nose over the fresh air vent all the way to the airport as he blew his snot fill nose and coughed all that mucus into the cabin. He wasn’t beside me but on the other side of the bus - the droplets can travel for 200 feet so the virus is all over that bus. Then my flight was delayed almost two hours. Then we got stuck on the tar mac for another half an hour due to congestion. Finally get home to see a snow drift the size of Mount Everest on my driveway! I just left it till Friday.....


Friday is making my nameplate and stand up display for the free DVDs of the movie. Then practicing the speech and answers to possible questions and the same for the side event. No rest for me!!!!!


Oh, and while all this was going on it struck me that all my problems as a youth mysteriously have disappeared entirely now that I am doing what I always wanted to do. In the end it was all in my head. The positive mandate gets verified again. It is the truth!




Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTxOKsyZ0Lw&feature=share
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