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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’m taking today off.....


No particular reason, just because it is dry and the weekend will be snowmageddon. The Pitch got sent out on Wednesday and cross your fingers on that one! The work on Twenty6Hundred’s latest album will continue into next week for mastering. Things just go along.





Sam with a Fortress Experiment poster (BTW I love that expression on her face)!



Blackberry is still dogging me for renewal of some pretty exotic secure communications. I really don’t need it and waffle a bit. I told them to forget it in November but they refuse to cut me off from their enterprise servers. I don’t care about talking about it here, my enemies can know I have it, but they can’t do anything about it (Canada:1 everyone else:0). The lone wolf thing I do at the UN is as secure as you can get. With Blackberry nobody can crack it as all wireless communications are caught and scrutinized at the UN according to Snowdon; so there is a point but me, myself and I still rule. But other IAIJ folk will start to go there so..... What would you do? Man, if a Blackberry dude calls me up again maybe I may just renew the thing as a just in case “shit hit the fan” moment type of thing. Me on Blackberry Enterprise, me on Samsung Knox (or whatever they call it now)! They also called me up and refused to let go. Next off is Google, these people never give up. I have an account with Microsoft for extra security with emails and such. It gets tedious. The bottom line is I don’t trust anyone except Blackberry in Waterloo (as opposed to BBM and Blackberry Mobile in Indonesia where BBM and the handsets went). Blackberry has a stay of execution as it went software and has been upgraded to guarded watch with the indices so they may stick around. The secure communications is another matter. I may just renew, they know what I am up to in advocacy and the best any mortal can get is corporate business security because business matters. I won’t get government level security so that is a no go. All the rest is a joke – you have no privacy – get used to it.....


And that is what runs through my mind right now. You wanted to know so now you know.....



Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I reneged on taking yesterday off and did stuff. I basically got more material for the pitch kits like DVD cases and more stick-on DVD labels and such. I also popped into the office and said hi to everyone there and took off.


I may take a lull at this time just to gauge reaction of the pitch as it is today. If we get the same criticism from these guys we still have the opportunity to change stuff before we run out the field so it seems this is the plan going forward. Regardless of what happens I have to relax on the outcomes. I tell you - you guys this stuff everyday is like taking a shower in front of everyone! Actually, I would be less bothered if it was just photos of me naked on the internet as opposed to me trying and possibly failing at things that matter to me. And that is the honest truth there folks. As long as you don’t have micro-penis or something out of the ordinary, nude photos of you are now almost passé..... Your junk just looks like everyone else’s. Some celebrities have something out of the ordinary but that is the exception rather than the rule. But pouring your heart and soul to everyone about your dreams and ambitions like the TV series stuff, and then have it all go nowhere is the crueller cut than nude photos surfacing of you on the internet. My own gang seem to think I can walk on water and always win – not always guys and gals..... Everyone evaluates you on the present projects. Look at what we have done; all sorts of things normal people don’t – yet that whole resume does not matter anymore, just whether the shows get on the air or whether that positive mandate gets enshrined at the United Nations. People, sooner or later someone is going to say no! We keep reaching and reaching and sooner or later the rejection and grief have to happen. That does not stop me from trying, but you are keenly aware that your life as of this moment is being scrutinized by everyone who reads this and you just hate the idea of failure.....


But that is the state of my thoughts in the here and now. The positive side to this is that I actually get this almost psychic energy from all of you looking at our adventures. If nobody came here I would just re-evaluate what I was doing as nobody has the slightest interest. It does keep you motivated and on track to do things. But that other side! I wonder how sports players feel when they lose the big game and all the cameras and all the eyes of the world are focused on you at that moment. We always think of the victor, but what about the vanquished – Just what does that feel like? Sooner or later this is going to happen to me big time. It’s just a matter of time and all eyes on you for that performance!




Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7frGJf77AA&feature=share.



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



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7XO0u4RS3g&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 1:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will prepare the DVDSs for the next broadcaster and send it off on Monday.


I will also start preparing for the trip to Manhattan and the UN. There are other things going on for the two days I will be there like some more TV stuff and that final decision on where the future office for IAIJ-FOF will be in New York. But we are primarily there to support the 56th Commission for Social Development and this year’s focus which is poverty. IAIJ and many other NGOs go and monitor proceedings to ensure and support the good work of the Commission and this year is no exception. I’ll take the two new suits and use them finally, and visit some old haunts. I’ve been there so many times it is like a home away from home now.



UN playing cards. Yes I have UN playing cards!


I actually fell asleep typing this out and it is bright and beautiful outside so I will cut this short and get on with the day. I will soon start to bring some of my gang to the UN for events and get them acclimatized to things. I can’t do this forever and there will be succession. Most of my young folk were street kids, homeless youth, and I think that sort of presence there would be invaluable. These kids are now working and off the streets, but some have a college education and with that background can speak to a reality many there can’t relate to. We need an organization like ours to keep pitching ideas, to keep sending the message from the ground to those in power, about what is really going on and ideas to improve things. Culture is changing at an ever rapid pace and old affectations will not work anymore. Welcome to the future folks.....



Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m78gYyTrG7Y&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 8:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’m burning DVDs as I type this for our next pitch and thinking of things…..



Me and Sam at YDS when we got the date!




Samantha Blackwell of FOF holds the contract for FOFSTOCK!


It may surprise you what I am thinking of: FOFSTOCK 2! At the end on FOFSTOCK I swore up and down that I would never, ever, entertain the thought of another concert/music festival!!!!! That was at five in the morning the next day after we loaded up all the equipment and took down the banners. That was one of the longest days of my life. That competes with my General Assembly speech at the UN and dash back to Toronto and my dying mother – another never ending day! But at the time that really was the longest day of my life and the “fun” never stopped. Seriously folks, you have to have a screw loose in your head to put these big outdoor concerts on – you have to be sort of insane!



Night time crowd!



Jelleestone's fans at FOFSTOCK!


So yah, the problem of FOFSTOCK 2 was FOFSTOCK 1! Not only the hassle of putting it on, but the cost. FOFSTOCK cost the same as that Mustang I bought last year; practically the same amount. Which does make you think. I could have been driving a new car for those past six years if FOFSTOCK didn’t exist. So the question exists: Would I rather have drivien a new car for six years or put on FOFSTOCK with all the problems that went with it?


Surprisingly I didn’t have to think long about it - but – I would put on FOFSTOCK without question!


Yes, with all the crap that went with it, it was one big life experience! We got really good luck getting one of the few long weekends during the summer: August 1, 2011 the civic holiday or Caribanna weekend – at – Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) no less. Yonge-Dundas Square is the most heavily trafficked intersection in all of Canada, BTW and is informally considered Canada’s Times Square….. We got that back in December of 2010 and me and Sam went down to Yonge-Dundas Square to shoot some video. I had no idea what would be in store for me when we signed the contracts that week. Anyway things went along in the usual manner except I got 20 million special event insurance as opposed to 2 million which was the minimum for YDS (because of the Rap music and all that goes with it). I even spent 3 thousand dollars in advertising on the hippest radio stations in Toronto. Sue came the week before and we would stop the car when an ad came on to make sure it aired, but we also just wanted to hear the ad during regular programming – so fu**king cool…..



FOFSTOCK fans at the stage barricades at FOFSTOCK!


I could go on and on and we did make a documentary about the whole thing as everything was taped. The music still lives on, you just have to know how to monetize it and that concert went on as the idea of TV coverage made sense in a business perspective. In fact it was TV airplay possibilities that made FOF Records a reality; otherwise it would never have become reality in the first place. But the concert went on and the weather was great, even the Jelleestone incident where they shut down the concert due to the profanity, and a mini-riot ensued which prompted them to put the concert back on, worked out great and made the documentary even better! So in the end it was all good and I figured that was that and just store it away as another life experience. Then the TV series stuff gets more serious and you have to entertain the thought that the wild musings of FOFSTOCK 2 becoming a reality with TV airplay, may actually have to be considered.



FOFSTOCK backstage!


So that is where we stand now, considering FOFSTOCK 2 just in case something happens with the TV series. It is still fresh in my mind what happened after FOFSTOCK 1, which was everyone disappeared. Shane quit on video and had Damian give it to me surepitisiouly with some other video and I came across it reviewing the material – where did he ever pick up this form of subterfuge? Oh yah, some brown guy I am sure….. Then he and Anna ran off together to the East Coast. Man, the day afterward I had my first sunburn ever (and for a brown guy that is something special) and crawled on all fours like an animal as every muscle hurt from that damned concert the day before! When we submitted our proposal to YDS for safe harbor times when profanity would be allowed, it was just me and Jessica running the label. But everyone came back in the end. I guess most of them figured FOFSTOCK was the last hurray for the label and the experiment. Boy were they wrong! So we are back to considering FOFSTOCK 2. Who would have ever thought…..?




Goodnight…..





http://fofentertainment.com/FOFSTOCK_Incident.wmv
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The pitch is finished and off today it goes.....


That is it for the time being. I have to concentrate on the upcoming trip to Manhattan and the UN and all that stuff. I am playing the numbers game with the pitches to broadcasters so we just keep lobbing in pitches and see what happens. There are no guarantees just like there is no guarantee I will wake up tomorrow morning, but that does not stop me from planning what I am doing tomorrow or next year. I really hope the numbers work out like they are supposed to, but this is all just probability theory in the end. You just keep going and handle the stuff that happens to you. That is all you can do. And eventually it is lights out for us all. Ravishing beauties turn wrinkled and old. Famous minds become senile and so on. That much is not probability but fact. You only have so much time left and then the laws of nature take over no matter what you desire. All kinds of people have tons of money and they still can’t have it all. Their bodies break down and all the rest, there is no escape for anyone.


So on that note I submit another pitch and cross my fingers knowing the real reality of my chances. But you have to keep trying because you never know.....


In other news more work on the upcoming album for Twenty6Hundred. I start on the taxes again – never ending taxes. Then it is off to New York. And that is the update for today. The weather sucks and this the worst time to be doing pitches, but we have maybe two months before all the bad news comes in so maybe the start of spring will make it all feel better.....


Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesterday was a rotten day.....


Lousy weather that just compounded everything else. It was one of those days when you wonder why you are doing what you are doing. I could have had all sorts of money in the bank and all sorts of time to devote myself to hobbies and such. Why did you go down this thankless path?


I don’t get money, girls, wealth or even a fancy chair to sit in. You still get treated like crap from society as you are still a visible minority. So why do it at all, why not just live for yourself? Well the reason has to do with not finding anyone better at what I did when I was in university and at my prime. If I truly knew that someone like me but with more talent was doing what I do now, I would be free!

Free of the shackles of that moral imperative, free to do whatever I wanted. Truth be told I don’t think anyone wants public service if it truly is “public service.” There is no fulfilment for your selfish self. You are compelled by a moral imperative that if you don’t do it someone with less ability will have to step up and that puts your world in more peril. I’m talking in extremes to make the point, but I hope you see it. The really sorry part is that when you do make the move to get involved, you see that the situation is worse than you thought and you have to persevere. There is a whole army of people like me doing the same thing in their area of expertise because they realize they have to get involved – or else..... I thought maybe when I got to the UN I would meet minds that were superior to mine and in the end – you – end up explaining things to them. Well you found that place or it found you. You do what you do more out of obligation. Sure there may be a bit of satisfaction that you influenced some things your way in the end, but that is not the sum game that made it worthwhile.


So you end up in this bizarre situation where you want the power to affect positive control in your world and at the same time you really don’t want it! "If you really want it, the world is yours!" And just what does that mean? The world being yours’ is all the problems of the world coming to your doorstep! Who in their right mind wants that? You end up there by being obligated mostly from your rational mind. But subconsciously you just want to live selfishly. So you do everything in your power to take control yet whine that you don’t want it! I know that does not make sense but it is the truth. There are all sorts of examples, the most obvious being kids of wealthy families being made to enter politics as an obligation to their community, they do it but they don’t want it. Examples are everywhere. Anyway I did my best to explain it and yesterday just brought that whole dichotomy out in the open.....


For Tuesday and maybe Wednesday I will take it off and just file receipts and such. Clean up the house, things ramp up quickly in a few days.



Goodnight.....




(NSFW)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOo6B976pkA&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’m taking Wednesday off too.....


I still do stuff but don’t “have” to do anything. I got a call from one of the broadcasters which was fun and meant nothing but nice to be in this again. We may have to wait two months before the news starts to come in so mid to late march is almost perfect.


Right now I am doing receipts which means taking a bag of receipts and sorting them out as a prelude to doing taxes. Then I may shovel more snow and figure out what else to do. People I know now are retiring and they are talking about it. This is ok as I am another oldster but maybe a few years younger but it does remind you that your life is played out!


Played out – Who would have ever thought? I remember when I was 19 and thinking that I am still technically a teenager and my life is still ahead of me – and now look at me. How the hell did it go so quick? When you think back you can parse your memories and slot your life into chapters like school, university, work, marriage and all that. The years are all accounted for. But it went quicker than I thought. I used to try and just get past the winter months and into the spring as soon as I could. Nowadays, with time at a premium you savour the crappy days of winter and try to do things because now every day is precious. And precious with health so you can do things unfettered. With age comes health and mobility problems which I have dodged so far. I can still pretend to be young and reach. And so far so good. But it’s like the picture of “Dorian Grey” where you still do things as usual and the people around you age and disappear into retirement..... I am fortunate that I was able to get the orgs set up and get into the UN and its special agencies and disseminate those ideas that were important to me. If we can go further than that then it is all gravy but the original idea was just to get in there and then disseminate ideas. That objective has been obtained.



Possible office in Geneva!


For most it seems the typical age for retirement is welcome if they can afford it. It is interesting how some are going about it. But for me I am still charging forward. It is sort of like how most people reach their last promotion in their fifties and then that is it until retirement. A few others continue to climb the ladder and they need the time for this and stretch things out until they have to retire or even go past the usual retirement ages. So on the advocacy front I seem to be on this track. I think it is a good idea to have organizations like ours with access to international bodies of power like the UN and its special agencies. I think it would be perfect to have one office in New York and one in Geneva or Vienna (or both) and one in Nairobi, all UN headquarters and covering three continents disseminating ideas and advocacy. I think that would be almost perfect. I February I finally lock down where we sign the contract for that Manhattan office when needed and move on. Like the last visit I think it is the one on Park Avenue, but we shall see. In the upcoming years I hope to visit all UN offices and set things up there also. But I need time to make it happen. I even need time for succession. It takes years to groom people for what I am doing now. Me and my big ego made it easy for me to learn and try to fit into the UN level of advocacy, but for others it is harder as they are not as motivated on a base level as I am. So I stretch things out and don’t talk about retirement until I am forced out. I still have a ton of things to do.....




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, it’s back to work!





First off is the new Twenty6Hundred album titled: Until The End, which is almost finished mastering. Below you will find an almost finished album cover (along with the artist's watermark) submitted by the artist on Instagram. Typical Twenty6Hundred album work if you remember the last album "Electric For All" which had people running down streets being zapped by electric streams of plasma. So more of the same with this ode to the ravishes of global warming or whatever you want to make of this post card.....Hehehehehehe.....







Next was IAIJ with our latest member from Norway. We get members from all over the world and if the article is appropriate we post them to our forum as we did with his article:


http://iaij.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=950


Speaking of which I am already getting ready for my little trip back to Manhattan and the UN. It is funny how this is all so normal; but back in the day for the first time this was such a big event. My folks actually ordered me this airport limo to take me to the airport on my first trip there (at least it was not a stretch limo). Nowadays I drive and park at the airport over here (but may keep my Mustang at home and take an Uber or something) and pay through the nose for New York cabbies to drive me from the airport to the hotel. These days I do it all on the cheap and take the airport shuttle (riding with the stewardesses) that drops me off just one or two blocks away from the hotel for 1/5 the price. It is really just a part of my life now – these trips. But whatever, I will still take things easy and chill, because it never lasts.....


Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A late one today.


Apart from Twenty6Hundred’s upcoming album we have at least two other projects on the go right now at the label and I was listening to some of that music a few minutes ago. So the death of the traditional record label is not quite there yet though corporate indie labels are a very rare bird indeed these days. But we persevere. I also forgot to show Twenty6Hundred’s previous album artwork for those who are new here and so here it is:







What else.....


Just a whole bunch of small niggling stuff of no consequence to mention here. Just your usual trials and tribulations of everyday life. Though my life would be considerable easier if I didn’t have them – That’s for sure..... I would add that listening to Blackberry 10 and Window mobile users cry about the impending death of their phones is starting to get a bit tiresome. My Passport is going onto its fourth year now past the age most upgrade. I can see the love for both OS platforms but it is over. Sailfish is not viable either. Any business knows when to cut its losses and move on. Blackberry is not Microsoft and does not have those deep pockets but seems to have dodged death as a software company. The brand still exists also. At my local mall you can still buy a KeyOne or Motion with the famous BB logo on the back – but running Android unfortunately. Listening to Windows phone users is like listening to Blackberry 10 users. Workarounds for apps that don’t quite work and the goodbye posts from people jumping ship. The rest of them keep hoping for the Andromeda foldable Windows phone – Good luck with that.....


Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiuxW3bOtYE&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A late one today.....


I’m taking it easy this weekend as from now on things get hectic. I do think about the future of this organization and my legacy. If you were to take a snapshot of me at this moment you would see that who I am is integrally linked with the orgs I founded and continue to operate. I did not start a family or anything like that, this is what I did. The family guys get to have everlasting legacy for the most part as the human race continues. For me it is just this advocacy and the orgs that support it. I guess I can live with that as the alternative is no legacy at all. With that said I think it best all six corporations continue with their mandate to nurture, support and express creativity of all kinds to the world at large, and advocate for the fullest expression of humanity’s being. I think that all artists and staff here don’t mind their creativity and talents and hard world becoming a part of the fabric of such a venture. I would like and hope we become a permanent fixture internationally disseminating ideas and artistic expression to add the humanity’s culture. How long that will last is anyone’s guess, but that is all I have left.


At my age every week someone retires or dies, my black suit gets the most use lately. There is no denying what my fate will be personally, but my legacy is another matter. Probability says it won’t matter in the end and my death will be as anonymous an any other. But there is that slim chance we can make a difference as part of those forces that help guide humanity into a more positive direction. I could live with that.


Anyway, that is what was going through my mind at this moment. Pie in the sky I guess, but nobody knows the future.....




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Still taking it easy but making plans.....


I slept through much of the day and finally got around to watching some of the new X Files season 11 shows. It was fun to watch Mulder driving around in a 2017 V6 Mustang just like mine trying to save the world, the funny part is that he even uses the same iPhone as me! Juxtapose that with me trying to save the world by giving humanity a positive mandate that works for all its ills too, and there I am driving around in my 2017 V6 Mustang with my iPhone and yet – what would the broadcasters prefer, fantasy or real life.....





Well the fantasy part is already playing on TV big time and we have yet to wait on the reality part of the same story. But I have done my part for the most part. The shows are submitted, and the advocacy has taken place. I did disseminate the idea on the world stage. I don’t get to talk to many people about all of that because they don’t want to hear it. So you are on your own for the most part and that can play tricks on your mind but the reality is that you did disseminate those ideas at that side event at the UN. If anyone wants to run with the mandate and make it a reality I would only be too happy to oblige and wish them good luck! It may happen but I can’t wait. So I have to try and do it myself. I do know the roadmap for this crusade, and having status at the United Nations makes this type of advocacy all the more easier than going it outside of the UN. So we shall see – but all of that is very real. It just flies in the face of those bedside stores of how the world “should” work. But whatever works works!


Look, I was low enough on the social totem pole as it was and yet got to a position to influence the direction of human development. It would have been even better for TV land if I was a homeless guy on the streets panhandling – and then – decided to point the world in the right direction and rose from panhandler, to regular working stiff, to business owner, to president of a corporation, to president and CEO or a conglomerate of corporations accessing all sorts of broadcast media and cultural icons; to finally accessing the special agencies of the UN and then the United Nations itself disseminating ideas and that positive major mandate for humanity! Now that is a story! And that is the story minus me panhandling on the street. And so good may come out of it. The positive mandate actually could become reality.

But you watch what happens to that story at the broadcasters. They may look at it and say: “This story is boring, some bum on the street rising up and showing humanity what its ultimate goals are..... Even though it is reality, there is no story here? How come he isn’t saving the world from collision from a huge asteroid by using alien technology to dematerialize it before it hits earth and rematerialize it after it passes through earth like I saw on this sci-fi show. Now that is entertainment!” And that is what is wrong with TV today. But we will see what the broadcasters say about our adventures shortly because, in the end, you never know. But get ready for some pain folks.....


Apart from that rant it will be another day of taking it easy. Nothing wrong with that.....



Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39BFAtXw7JU&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 9:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So another weekend doing nothing.


Others in my gang are doing stuff but I took it easy. I caught up on the X Files mostly showing my dad how to use the “on demand” feature that I used for the first time this weekend as I don’t have cable at my place. It was warm so I did things I haven’t done in a while. I looked at some cars even though mine is now EOL and seven months old. I still like the car and no problems yet. But I can see maybe an evaporator core failure of the A/C which is a bugger and 2,400.00 repair out of warrantee. With cars you have to monitor stuff like this and make informed decisions. So this was a problem in the 2015 and 2016 models and apparently they changed suppliers in 2017, but when? The bad news for me is that one guy said his evaporator already went with a build date within days of mine. So – I have resigned myself to the fact my A/C is on death row. I have the lousiest luck with A/C and my loaded Mustang 5.0 back in the day never had the A/C work properly from day one. This one did work through the summer so we shall see. If they finally get a part that does not leak and my A/C goes then you replace it as the entire dash has to come out. Best to do this when the car has some wear on it so you don’t lose that new car feel early on. Aside from that potential problem everything else has been flawless in operation. V6 engines are a dying breed in passenger cars so it is cool to have one instead of the four banger I was supposed to have. With V6 and now I4 Mustangs you always are in the shadow of the V8 but that was 20 grand more off the dealer lot, so no way – and you still have problems with the A/C..... But so far so good, and I do need to change the oil in the next 2 months. It can go 10,000 miles on synthetic but I play it safe and will do it at 7,500. And that was the car update.



Damian, Gritz, Shane and others


When I was talking about being homeless and pan handling and all that, I didn’t live that life, but many of my gang who were with me early on did. Shane, Sam, Jessica and a whole raft of others sprinkled over the years were down and out. I value loyalty and about half my gang were middle class and half down and out. The older crowd were the middle class and the younger down and out. There are even more homeless that I haven’t mentioned because they are now placed and settled in good jobs (some of that I take some credit for – and never saw myself in that role back in the day). But I was the “Pied Piper” for many of these kids and they believed in me and here we are. What they saw in me is anyone’s guess but they have stayed by my side through all these years. So I value loyalty and I’m not ditching anyone because of their socio-economic status or any of that. They are my gang as they are. If that makes the story more interesting we can work more of that in, but the origins of what this organization is, stems from the disenfranchisement of the people on the street, and their empowerment and voice through this organization.....



Jessica, Shane and Ryan



What else?


Just waiting on things; waiting and waiting. You seem sure that your life is shit and that most other people are happy and living it up. It must be true. Walk down a mall and you see people all paired up with wife and kids and all. So unlike your life. Don’t be fooled by the stuff we do here and advocate. It could quickly all end and I would be left with nothing. As simple as that. Lonely with nothing, and nobody morns for an old man. And basically that is my fate in a few short years if not sooner. That in itself is depressing, it should be. In the end the dynamics of human anthropology don’t change, and it won’t for me. I will remain lonely and isolated and an outcast or the rest of my days. Anything positive from this advocacy has to be labelled a form of freakishness because of my unique position. And that will be my life. You watch when people die what the end result is: “Sorry to hear of your loss.” “ He/she was a good person.” Then the funeral and some flowers and that person is forgotten, like they never existed. The only legacy is in their family that carries on. For a guy like me there is very little of that. No kids to carry on. When I go it is a slate wiped clean. “Tabula Rasa” in reverse. The only impact my existence will have is if I can score in influencing policy change through ideas disseminated on the world’s stage. That is the “why” of the push to go further in the advocasy. But that is a long shot......


It could happen but don’t count on it. My plays are all long-shots or “Hail Mary” plays, but where there is life there is hope I guess. Fairly tail endings are rare. You will disappear and the world will not care. The world will not remember your name. Almost as if you never existed. And how much value is placed on someone who in the end never really existed.....


Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeExa2R2nf0&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well Monday turned out to be a very busy day.....


Tyrone Taiwo wrote:
IAIJ Receives an Invitation to Attend the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development



By Tyrone Taiwo



The International Association of Independent Journalists Inc. (IAIJ) has received and accepted an invitation to attend the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City on January 29 – February 7, 2018. The IAIJ representative attending the session will be Maurice Ali who is President/CEO of IAIJ and has issued this statement regarding IAIJ’s participation at the event:



Maurice Ali


“It is with great pleasure that IAIJ will attend the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development. We at IAIJ applaud the work of the Commission especially with its upcoming focus on poverty! IAIJ will be at UN Headquarters in New York City on February 5 and 6 (2018) to observe and advocate in order to help make the world a better place to live in for all!”


For those not familiar with the Commission for Social Development, there is a brief explanation of the Commission’s mandate from the United Nations website:



Purpose

Since the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) has been the key United Nations body in charge of the follow up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action.

Originally known as the Social Commission but renamed in 1966, CSocD was established by ECOSOC res. 10 (II) (1946). Its purpose was to advise ECOSOC on social policies of a general character and, in particular, on all matters in the social field not covered by the specialised inter-governmental agencies. The Commission’s mandate was further developed by ECOSOC resolutions 830J (XXXII) (1961), 1139 (XLI) (1966) and 1996/7. Since 2006, the Commission has taken up key social development themes as part of its follow up to the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit.”




The International Association of Independent Journalists will continue to provide updates of happenings with regard to the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development. So let us all wish Maurice all the best at his attendance at the 56th Commission for Social Development!



http://iaij.org



IAIJ: JOURNALISTS IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD!




United Nations Headquarters in New York!


First, we got our invitation to the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development. That means we are set to go down there in February and observe and advocate on social development on a global level which is what I am particularly interested in as you all know well. So that is all set to go but other things happened as well. Twenty6Hundred finished mastering of their latest album “Until The End” and I’m listening to it now actually. We will make an announcement and I will comment more on this tomorrow as there is simply too much happening to cover everything right now.


Dan and Pize of the old AAVRY KNAPP fame are back in studio making new music. Shane is doing the same as it seems everyone wants new music to compliment that music in the TV series if it goes to broadcast. Dan and Shane are also working on autobiographical books at the moment that should complement the music. I think everyone is getting up there in age and want to have some form of documentation to go with the music and our broader documentaries. This is the way to do it. If there is interest in the documentaries and the music then there is more new music and in-depth print on the artists involved so I guess that is their plan.


I’m also almost done with the office in Manhattan. This will be a sort of go-to virtual office where we can book conference rooms and send and receive material and all the rest. Our head office actually has a permanent physical presence, but these offices – around the world – will be almost a pay as you go type of thing. The one in Manhattan does have the option to go full permanent if we need it but I like to keep everything on the cheap until you actually need the office space so we will do it this way for the time being. The London office is actually manned by one of our directors and that was taken care of long ago. The next one after New York should be Mumbai (India) and then Tokyo (Japan) and then Hong Kong. Tallinn (Estonia) and Paris would come after that but that is more in the future. More later on in the week on all of this.


And that is about it for now. Tuesday will be a busy one also. Oh well.....




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shane Murphy wrote:
TWENTY6HUNDRED Finishes Music Production on its Latest Album!




By Shane Murphy – Fortress of Freedom Inc. / FOF Records Inc.





Twenty6Hundred





The Fortress of Freedom and FOF Records corporations are excited to announce that Twenty6Hundred has finished music production on its latest album Until The End! The nine song album is the third with FOF and continues with the unique and popular sound that can only be Twenty6Hundred! Here is a list of the tracks on the album:



Title: Until The End

Band: TWENTY6HUNDRED

Producer: Mihai Trusca

Songs:
1. Artificial Me
2. The Cage
3. Defective
4. Feed The Machine
5. Here Together
6. Nothing Lasts Forever
7. Stealing Fire
8. Transformation
9. Until The End




Work on the album artwork has already begun with this sneak peak of the album cover by Amy May:











More news as the album approaches its release date but congratulation to TWENTY6HUNDRED on completion of music production on their album Until The End!




http://twenty6hundred.com
http://fofrecords.com






FOF RECORDS: CUTTING EDGE MUSIC!





Congratulations Twenty6Hundred!


This was especially true under the conditions some of the band had to work under. Michael started dialysis during production of the album so finishing the latest album was a sort of “tour de force” of determination for Michael. But music production is done. The final stage was mastering wherein all the tracks are made to be a cohesive unit so that you would never have a reason to change any settings on the player’s controls (due to volume, bass, treble, etc.) because your ears got uncomfortable with the aural changes to the sound. Mastering also sets up the album for music production be it conversion to digital downloads or traditional CD production. Mastering signals the end of music production.


There are some changes to me from the last album we produced. First is that a production master is not used anymore. That is a physical production master.





Electric For All production Master!



There is no physical CD that the CD manufacturer used to duplicate the production run as we had with the band's previous album “Electric For All”. Instead we have a special file. The advantages are that the data cannot be damaged or corrupted as it can on a physical disc. However for us old timers it is not the same as having that special virgin disc master – sort of like the metal masters used for vinyl pressing back in the day. But whatever, time moves on.....


We now move on to the usual CD production and distribution through the usual download and streaming sites. More news on this as it happens. I've been listening to the tracks since mastering and my favorite at the moment is "Nothing Lasts Forever", but we shall see if this changes as I listen to the album some more!


In other news we just carry on as usual. There is enough coming up that I don’t need to start anything new now.....




Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thursday is a things to do “scratch off list” day.....



15 Allstate Parkway


Just a scratch off the list day for Thursday. I will also get ready for the trip and all that but the thing now is infrastructure for all the corporations. We have our permanent location at 15 Allstate Parkway in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) just north of the city limits but effectively Toronto for those out of the country. I never talked about it but when I met up with Sue in London we scouted some spots for our office and decided on Canary Wharf and that was done all the way back in 2013.




Even the topless women of Times Square came out on February 8 - unbelievable!



So now we nail down Manhattan! For me it comes down to two offices. The third was located in Times Square which has the obvious ease of finding it but there were other problems. First of all there is the problem of Times Square. Noisy and always something going on, good or bad. You have people dressed up as Disney characters or Spiderman/Statute of Liberty or even topless women, all of them asking you for cash! The topless women bugging your guests for money and a picture would not go well with United Nations attendees of any kind so that was the final nail in the coffin for that location.





Proposed office on Madison Avenue in Manhattan!



The remaining two were Madison and Park locations. I like the Madison location by Central Park as it has this older cliental and older more staid decoration – but – our organization is predominantly youth orientated, so the Park location with its upbeat yet business orientated graphics and clientele almost makes that one a shoe-in. But I will have one final look and then decide. I prefer to actually see the locations for myself or at least have someone from the orgs look and get back to me. You just never know until you check it out, could be in some crime ridden neighbourhood or all sorts of esoteric stuff that only a physical look-see would reveal. We will be doing this for all our phone in locations, one-by-one, as we slowly set up a global connectivity for all IAIJ and FOF organizations. That also happens during my two day trip to the States so a busy time there for me.



And that is about it for now.....




Goodnight.....
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