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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So the reason this post is late is because I woke up with nothing to do and decided to finish that laundry room water facet leak repair.



So up to now I just had two flex hoses from the new valves to pour water if I needed it - but no leaks. So this morning I knuckled under and bought a faucet and adapter from the 3/8 hose I had to the - connecter needed for the faucet. The connector didn't work when I got back home so back to Home Depot to get one that did and this had to be a complete hose. So back home with the two new hoses and extenders if I needed them and it worked. But getting the faucet in was a problem as it was a three hole and I only had two So out came the drill and bingo three holes and I was able to mount the faucet flush with the tub. I connected everything up and thought I could wash my hands of the matter, but the last connection seeped water. No matter how tight - it leaked! I pulled it out and checked the rubber seal and tightened it up again and still it leaked - so it is defective. I just shut that valve off and will get a new one tomorrow. The cold water feed is fine so everything stays where it is except for that hose. If it leaks again it is the valve but nothing to do with the tub or facet.





Cupboards back on and tub and faucet installed!



And so it goes. The home improvements never go like they do on the home improvement shows. But you all knew that already. Back to FOF stuff tomorrow with the DCP pickup but this is my life right now.....




Later.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I am back and have the CRU drives!


That was harder than it looks as downtown Toronto where I was (Richmond and Spadina) was doing the Toronto International Film Festival thing and right there at King and Spadina! Anyway I will update all of that tonight.





I really want you to get updated on my pet project which is of course the AI threat. No, while I wear North Face and Timerland clothing and shoes, while I drive around in this new sports car, and while I pretend to be this movie producer making at best "B" grade entertainment - I am also still advocating the big and important stuff. Like the two new 20 qubit quantum computers at IBM. These are developed and online to play with by a select few of which - technically - I am. One is Tokyo and the other is Austin. Remember that when I started playing with their stuff it was 5 qubit computers - and now 20 qubits.....






Anyway this was table conversation like over 35 years ago. The originators of this like my dad are too old to do anything about the threat now. It is up to guys like me. Guys born of the flesh of those that lead us into this situation. Folk like me that knew about this thing before anyone else even knew - right at the theoretical stage. I was like into quantum physics and I was into this as a philosophy student and one of the reasons I kept away from computers for over a decade. But now I am obliged through lineage to do my best to keep us all relevant in a world of AI. Even at 5 qubits I had a program of specific gobblygook to run and see if the computer tried to make sense of it or spit out error codes and timeouts. They refused to run it - but I suspect they did anyway unofficially. And that is how I advocate. Plant the idea and watch it spread like a virus. I get no recognition but that I disseminated the ideas in my mind - privately. And that is fine with me as the end result is all important.....




Later.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, back to the movie business.....




Traffic downtown!



So like I said yesterday on Thursday about mid-day, I drove downtown to pick up the DCP drives. One proper ready to go Linux version and the backup. The traffic downtown was crazy especially where they were which was at the heart of the Toronto Film Festival which had King Street just south closed off thus creating all the traffic mess. I didn't even bother looking for proper parking as there would be none now. I just picked a spot where the delivery trucks were and hid my Mustang there and ran in the door! So I got the two drives and paid the man and ran back to my car and then came the laborious trip back home. I did see TIFF stuff on the way back and the studio guys with short executive cut hair but with short beards or heavy stubble - which I believe was just grown for the festival so they would look cool and hip - instead of corporate..... Anyway I got the stuff home and looked at the contents. Everything was there and I took the backup drive and screwed it into the spare DCP enclosure I bought about a month ago. When I powered the backup I noticed he just moved the files over to the hard drive and so I could see them on a PC! So I checked out the data and it was correct (2K Flat and 5.1 Dolby with six tracks and 24 frames per second) and checked out the DCP video to make sure there was no color shift, but everything was OK. I had my preferences but I left it up to the guy who did it for a living and he came through. DCP creation is like mastering in music, it is an esoteric process with "quality" being the goal. Anyone could make a DCP, but it would probably be error prone with bad audio and such when you needed it to play for an audience - so I leave it for those that have done it hundreds if not thousands of times. Anyway, I will probably move the DCP files to our backup drives and format the one in the enclosure moving back the DCP files, and use that as a proper plug in backup.




The actual DCP kit!





Both drives.



So we are now good to go and see it at a real theater. We will scout out locations to play it just after TIFF closes and see what comes up. This is exciting though in a superficial way. But something new and something to do that gets people's attention. It could be worse.....




The actual data sheet for the DCP.





Summary properties on the DCP viewer.



BTW: The leaky faucet business is done! It was a defective hose all along. So I replaced it and it tested out good and then I returned all the unused stuff and that nightmare is over!




Later.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I'm on the go now as I have two weeks of vacation. But not 100% vacation as that never exists but less work and more time to myself.....


So I get Saturday started by getting a 1 terabyte 7200rpm drive and use that as the backup movie drive. My current drive in there is a 2 terabyte drive and it's only 5400rpm where the standard is 7200 so out it goes and back to regular duty. Most drives are 500 gigs but they had problems or concerns stuffing my entire movie into 500gigs so I will go 1 terabyte and be done with it. So off I got to the computer stores and get the drive and then set up the laborious task of transferring about 700 gigs to that dive. I will put the original DNxHD file in there along with the DCP and the original audio source files for good measure. Then if needed we just move the files to another drive, format for Linux and move just the DCP files on there and we are goo to go. So that is the plan for Saturday.



2017 issue of The Fortress!


When the files are transferring I may go and check out TIFF on King Street and see what that is like and stay in the mood or medium of movie man. I may as well have some fun now as all I can do is wait and then on Monday start checking out theaters to play the movie and see what it looks like on the big screen and especially what that 5.1 Dolby sounds like as the big thing was to get the audio up there. So I'll have some fun with this but other things have to be done. Corporate taxes for More Vision for one. Really updating some websites and another edition of The Fortress. Maybe even some work on the house but we shall see. Even on vacation I have to keep doing things.


So that is the plan folks.


Goodnight'..
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A late one today but we are very busy.....


I am doing a "zero base review" of our organization and companies. Seeing what we truly need and what we don't and making decisions. I have two weeks so it may as well be now. It was precipitated by our office contract coming up in the New Year and they have increased our monthly rate by 150% . We never use the office or the staff or even the mailbox, save for one bank statement a month. It looks good to the uninitiated as it is a real corporate address but the real business happens on one floor of my house. Yes my house has one entire floor with 1,500 square feet totally dedicated to the organization. You have two separate entrances to this place and I have one for the second floor. A reception area, audio booth, studio, storage area, bathroom, and the office with the editor and my desk. I can even convert the kitchen and living room/dining room upstairs and have my separate living area which is already behind a door to live in which has three bedrooms and a bathroom. That gives you 2,200 square feet of space if I need it. That other office is totally unnecessary and they have raised the rent. I am still under contract and there till the New Year. By all rights I should cancel that and just put out my home address. We have all the status connections we need and the only thing that could possibly help with the corporate address is impressing newbies, but our membership is large enough as it is - if I had any balls I would just let it lapse. But I will meet with them this week and try to get the cost down or we are out.



Anna at the reception desk!


Same thing for the phone numbers. I have only received one - one - call from all those phones lines outside of Canada in two years. And I pay for all on a regular basis. This is just money down the drain and I may just kill them all and be done with it. We will still have offices in Toronto and London where one of our directors lives and that is all you really need. Even in Toronto, we don't need three lines. Everyone, I repeat everyone, calls me on my personal line so why bother with the others. So we may kill the office and the phones lines in the next two weeks! And I pay in U.S. dollars!


Then there are the servers and domains. We are now approaching 40 domains and that is a lot of money to maintain. We only need the top-tier domains for FOF, IAIJ, and FOF Records and the rest can just live with one. I am even eyeballing the websites for artists we have done nothing within like ten years. Surly the bands and staff and active performers stay with dedicated websites but the others..... Don Brasseur is the only inactive one that will always stay and I will renew his domain after I post this. But we shall see. Another aggravation is two servers when I could get by paying for one. The idea was to have IAIJ and FOF on separate servers but now we have so many websites that the two accommodate all sorts of sister companies and organizations. But all that could be handled by one server and one yearly payment. More savings.....


And so that is what happens with a "zero based review" and that is what is happening now. You have to be ruthless with fixed costs as once they get ingrained into the DNA of an organization you can't take them away. Then they just add up and keep increasing. Then comes the moment you have to look outside for money to keep paying those bills. Then you find the money from some entity that now bankrolls you and starts to influence the organization because without them the doors get closed. Ultimately it becomes their organization or at least controlled from afar. That won't happen here and I am tending to really clean house and send a message that we are as lean and mean as possible. Screw image and posers!



Fan snapping pics at the entrance to TIFF!


But for Sunday I took off to downtown early to check out TIFF stuff on King Street and even at 9:30am things were starting to buzz. It seems some stars were going to show up early for some screening and CTV and such were already there to video the big wigs to promote the movie, but I just kept going. The usual: I came, I saw, and I left; but without the traffic and without paying parking - Perfect.....



Stars about to show up!


The rest of the day is finishing up backing up the editor which is probably going to be used very little in the next while so there is that. And cleaning the house and doing More Vision taxes!



Then on Monday we start phoning around looking for a theater to preview our movie after TIFF ends. Even Cineplex can be rented like the huge theater I saw Mission Impossible at, it is all there for rent if you are willing to spend the money. We are cheap so we shall see what the options are. More on this tomorrow.


And to the business men and women who follow this: Well I won't get fucked around because I let fixed costs bury me. You just watch, costs stay in line or I will prune like there is no tomorrow, and screw the optics!


Later.....





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



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

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Monday is the start of things and I hit the ground running.....


I start calling around about the theater rental. I already have my first theater in mind and that is the Royal Theater in downtown Toronto. This is my version of a theater, no Cineplex just the theater with a big outside marquee and all the fixings. This one might also be affordable. Anyway I will try to contact them today. By day this place is used for testing theater sound and such with a few labs located inside. So this may be just up our alley. We will also scout theaters for the festival in 2019 and a good experience here may cement the festival venue in the future. But all options remain open.




The Royal Cinema in 2017!



I still want one last stab at the record label going really heavy, heavy rock or Nu Metal/Death Metal. I think the screaming female lead on the extreme heavy side has an audience. No offense to Justin Bieber or Drake, but I listen to this stuff instead if I go new music. FOF Records is still relevant!


The weather is shit now with rain but I should be mobile by lunch time. Just remember there is no right or wrong here - it just is. All this around you is just so much inconsequence in the end. Everything I have done, while mildly interesting to some, is no lasting legacy in the grand scheme of things. We will all die and be quickly forgotten and that will be it. So we may as well have some fun as they lower the lid on the casket as we still breathe. This morbidity comes as I have time to sit back and think about things and look at myself in the mirror more closely.


It is always over before you think it is and I have been asking my question about that as of late. Oh, the organizations here may still continue as there a plenty to take over the reins at IAIJ and all sorts of young people at FOF, but as I see gray hair appearing all over me I know the trend won't be reversing itself ever. Think a few grey hairs on your arm are a problem - well then - it will only get worse. The hair on your head will gradually get thinner if it hasn't already up and left. Your jowls will sag just a little bit more and the joints will ach more with less work on them. It's a one way street - this - and there is no way to deny its existence unless you are totally consumed with work. But when you have time to see yourself, you see the reality. How much time do I have left? Retirement was always a thing far away but now it is just around the corner. The freewheeling days of spend now - pay off later are coming to an end. We can still do things like the theater and festival. Maybe one last concert and one more TV showing before TV changes forever. Then it is the slow fade out and the rocking chair on the porch.


And it will all (like the way I started a paragraph with "and") be over before you know it is over. Is it over for me? Well we have a reprieve with the movie thing. A new genre and such and the film festival keeps me relevant for another year or this could be over in two weeks. So at worst I am on life support and still pitching. At best I'm still relevant with many more years at the helm, nobody knows for sure. Do I live to 90 or into my 90's or does this blog of sorts just stop next year and then drop off the internet forever. It can go either way. If I truly figured it was over I would go for some extravagances I deny myself now because the money has to go to the orgs. Getting the cheapest sports car I could find (the V6 Mustang) was one such move that still said I was alive. Fresh on the heals of the cell phone app at the UN and the positive mandate at the UN, I could not go whole hog on the sports car now could I? But the Mustang and me fit well and it still allows me to do things even though it sucks up some cash. I threaded that needle as best as I could! But I definitely hear footsteps. I have to make the plays while I still can! Certainly the AI idea dissemination has to happen and something to make up for the environmental damage I also inherited (the Tar Sands/dad legacy thing) and maybe a bit more on the media access business which is connected to the positive mandate. How much time do I have? That is the big question for me.....




Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwTv45OW5Yw&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was about to pop out for the morning, but I think I will give you guys the proper morning update.




The Royal Cinema in 2017!



First of all I visited The Royal Cinema and it was everything I thought it would be. The atmosphere is perfect for me. A real old style movie theater complete with even the abandoned ticket booth at the front. They have a building permit outside so renovations are on-going but this was what I was looking for. I went inside and talked to the people and may return to get a look at the interior (which was being used at the time if we agreed on price. Now here is where your feelings get involved. When I went to the Cineplex to look at Mission Impossible: Fallout, I was struck by the size of the screen and wished to myself how perfect the world would be if I could get The Fortress Experiment on a screen like this! Well here is my chance and as the saying goes: "You only live once!"





The Royal Cinema Screen view!






The Royal Cinema back view!





While The Royal may look run down outside, inside it is state of the art. By day this theater is used for mixing movies in Toronto and there is an actual mixing sound board like the ones at Metalworks just for this task. A lab inside a movie theater so to speak. So when you see these opulent interior shots and then this huge mixing board with led screens in the middle - now you know why. This is actually a theater for testing movies like we are doing! So in that vein it is perfect and well within the film festival rules that they can't claim this showing was a premiere. They also have a modern Christie projector that is 3D capable and so on. So everything is up to spec and the screen there is 40' by about 15'. The largest AVX screens at Cineplex are 60 wide and 30 high so we are virtually there and even beyond as the 393 seating of the Royal bests all capacities at the Cineplex by a few seats. This is the real thing folks!





The Carlton Cinema!




The Carlton Cinema inside!



I checked out Cineplex but they were too expensive for one test screening but were very convenient as we could see it at the nearest mall. The Carlton was the only real contender and still is. It is way cheaper than The Royal but the theaters (I count about nine) are smaller like by about one quarter or 100 seats each and the screens are slightly larger than the largest home theater screens you can get, I don't have any information on the sound but it has to be at least 5.1 Dolby. Their advantage apart from price is schedule. The Royal's next spot is December 22 or almost the start of the Christmas Holidays. That can work or not work for us - it depends. The Carlton may be booked ahead in the same way but it might be more accessible due to the multiple theaters. Different strokes for different folks!


I drove back downtown at about 1:00am and checked the two out again. Still tending to The Royal though. I even took a trip to the old Opera House and checked that too though the vibe is not really "movie theatre" so not a serious consideration.


And that is how it stands right now. I talked it over with my gang, mostly Samantha and Tyrone, with Tyrone (the entertainment Mba businessman) pointing to The Royal as it helps the brand - so go large or go home type of argument. Sam was the opposite saying we would never fill the Royal and a crowded theater does bode better for the impression the film is watchable and popular. Decisions, decisions.....


For Tuesday I will start taxes on More Vision and maybe settle up with the office contract running out. I would hate to lose the location but money rules and you have to be ruthless to survive these days. That will interesting negotiations for sure.....




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A couple of thing happening on Wednesday.....



First of all we should tidy up the film Theatre rental business today. I also finished the More Vision taxes and that gets sent out today also. Then I have to tackle the latest issue of The Fortress and get that out and distributed by the end of next week. Stuff like that.....



I am pulling the plug on the film festival idea of a lottery (and then savage critique and moving on to the next film idea). Now that I am actually vetting theaters for a film festival, places like The Carlton charge by the movie regardless of length. That means every time we show a movie and it gets the gong, when the projectionist puts in another movie I get dinged another 400 bucks by the theater! That could put me in a "black hole" of debt in just the first festival! The other part is that nobody will recognize it as a "real film festival"; IMDB, for example, wants proof that for every one film selected, two have to be rejected before it has any impact on IMDB inclusion for example. Film Freeway and Withoutabox may have issues even listing it as a film festival. It is a battle to do anything and everything and I just can't be bothered to change the entire industry just for some tiny film festival in Toronto. I was thinking of pulling the plug on the website after some period of time just to keep thinking about it. But I will probably pull the plug today and cut my losses. It is hard enough to promote these things but we offer filmmakers virtually nothing and ask for their money which may not even be advertised to them on the usual film festival distribution pages. So the lottery system even with innovative ideas dies another death! Some may say why I didn't check it all out before I set up the websites and made the usual announcements. Well it looked good initially, only when you actually start doing it and such did the reality of the situation unfold like it did. This has happened before at FOF as we got the idea to have a theater play and put it in a real theater. Utter madness and a financial black hole there also. But I endorse the idea of throwing yourself into something first and then seeing if it will work - rather than - just talking yourself out of things before anything was even tried! There is some meat to that idea given human nature - just saying.



And that is about it for today - later.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well it's confirmed, our film "The Fortress Experiment" will have a screening for cast and crew on December 22, 2018 at The Royal Cinema on 608 College Street in downtown Toronto. I also did More Vision's taxes and sent them out today " Hurray! And the website for lottofilmfest.com officially went dark today.....



The 35mm projector!



The highlight of the day was of course snooping around The Royal Cinema, a landmark in the area being built in the early 1930s and slowly being refurbished with work going on as I was there. I had seen the concession stand for drinks and popcorn and chocolate bars and such and the office but not much else as they were mixing some film in the theatre. But today it was empty.





The film splicer and desk on the left!



The lights were off in the theater but it is much as you saw in the stock photos. I sat in one of the seats and they are roomy and comfortable. But I really wanted to head off into the projection booth.





The digital Christie projector!



These places were always locked and off limits for some reason but now I had entry. This place is unique in that it still offers 35mm film projection and beside the projector is a desk with a film splicer and other artifacts from a bygone era of movie projection.





The computer rack!



On the other side is the digital realm with a large Christie digital projector, a rack of computer hardware, a sound mixing station and so on. Just outside the room is a stack of actual films waiting there! Imagine that! I also checked out the bathrooms which were surprisingly clean and modern probably due to the renovation work going on. I had to check them out as this was a two and a half hour movie.....





The 35mm reels outside!



So everything checked out and I paid the man their down payment and that was that!



More interesting was the reactions of our crew when I gave them the news. But I was happy and excited. This is better than anything at Sudbury and bigger than any of the Cineplex theatres there. A real old fashioned theatre from way back when. How long these things continue to exist is anyone's guess but I am happy I get to see my film in a proper movie house like this!


So like I said reactions were muted by everyone. And to be honest I got kind of bummed out and depressed later. This screening has a bit of finality attached to the whole experiment - I get the reticence. Still it is something to be celebrated and not forgotten. Even if I am the only one there I will be there in my favorite aisle seat with my Coke and popcorn and watch the highlights of my life unfold in the larger than life screen that is the movies. I have this sneaky suspicion I won't be alone, however as the others will be there to see themselves in the same way I will be there, so a unique experience for all I am guessing. But it was a sobering afternoon. You wonder if this is the best it will get. You wonder if this moment is the best it will ever get. You realize life continues on with your gang; they are doing what humans do and that is hooking up and having kids and all the rest. You realize that out of almost all of them, you are the only single now and on your own. And you are getting old. That open future is still there but the opening is getting smaller. You have to start making some pragmatic decisions.



It is sort of like when I was into cycling/racing (in university) and when you hit a personal best, you would wonder if that would be it. If that would be the fastest you would ever be. If I re-read my training diary I could probably find that moment of greatest entropy. And after that it was all downhill. Maybe I am at that realization right now. I still have ambitions but it's just this feeling, this cloud over my head. I hope the premonition is wrong. I still have things to do and specifically with AI, but things are not as straight forward as they were a few years ago. You notice like I am right now, that you are alive when you are doing the FOF/IAIJ stuff but when you are not there is nothing else in your life. No family and kids like some face every day. Without the orgs I seem to have nothing. You get bored and uncomfortable fast. You are lost and just wander around the neighborhood aimlessly using the excuse that it is all for exercise. There is this hollowness, this emptiness that is the loss of some basic human experiences like a wife and family and all of that. I did have a wife for a while but that was as far as I got. Now there is nothing apart from the orgs. As many have said "you have a life, just no personal life". How true - how true..... Words cannot describe how disappointed I am in the human race. Of all things, if a lone wolf like me, alienated by humanity from school age on, why am I asked by the Fates to set things right and to help out. They don't consider me one of them and I don't participate in human society in some pretty basic ways. But I do have an extra gear most don't have and like Superman I feel obligated to help out even if they exclude me or look at me as a freak. Well, the freak show continues but for how long?


So that was the up and down day I had. On the upside, I even thought of reversing my decision to mothball the film festival idea. I could just rename it - something like that. But the idea is off the table for good now. Now I just have to concentrate of what we do best like the movie thing and distribution. That is our advocacy. The UN and the advocacy I still want to do, disseminate ideas and get them out there. Even IAIJ continues to grow. Two weeks ago we got a rather famous lawyer (who shall remain nameless) and yesterday we got our newest member from Australia and here is his article:


http://iaij.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=965


Now, we don't post an article from every member so the association is more active than the website may indicate. Things move ahead and some things shrink a bit. We don't close up any of the corporations. We just don't spend money on them and that forces new ways of generating money to keep them doing new things. This is a forced learning experience but it has to happen as I can't keep funding everything indefinitely. I funded it for the experiment. Now that is over and the rules of business now apply. Reality has hit and it is exhilarating on one hand and depressing on the other.



Goodnight.....





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



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

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 9:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So the screening is on and I hope to see many of you there!



Laura wrote:
The Fortress Experiment to Screen at The Royal Cinema!



By Laura Tommasone, FOF Inc.





The Royal Cinema in 2017!




The Fortress of Freedom Corporation is excited to announce that our feature length movie The Fortress Experiment will be screened for cast and crew at the Royal Cinema at 608 College Street (Toronto) on December 22, 2018. Built in 1939 The Royal Cinema was also known as "The Pylon' but is now one of the few cherished movie house landmarks left in the city. You can read more about the cinema and its unique place in the film industry establishment as a movie mixing house by day and indie/art house theatre by night here:


http://theroyal.to/about-the-royal/


Many more updates and reminders as the event grows near but this theatre is one of the best places to present our own movie to those that participated in its making and the friends and family that helped and put up with the making of this motion picture!






The Royal Cinema Screen view!






The Royal Cinema back view!




More news as it happens.



https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8770798/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


http://theroyal.to/





FORTRESS OF FREEDOM: BRINGING THE MASS MEDIA TO THE MASSES!




The question is whether this is truly a private screening or the World Premiere? If the rules allow it for the festivals I would go with the World Premiere as festival play is almost a lottery right now but in a non-lottery way. We shall see.


Speaking of lotteries I have moved but not destroyed all web presence of the lotto film festival except for this blog of sorts. The festival idea is still alive in my mind but if our version of the festival won't be regarded a film festival by everyone that matters - well then - we can't even begin to enter into discussion about changes to the status quo. This is too much of a battle when I have bigger fish to fry. I have to pick my battles. We could do this on a smaller scale just for kicks and giggles but the cost would be taken away from more worthy pursuits, and I am running out of time. I had to make a decision so I nixed it unfortunately.....

Back to the movie though..... Once we have the first big showing I will make the movie into Blurays or DVDs and sell them worldwide. Fact is I watch physical media movies all the time. I love the extras and deleted scenes and photos and director's and actor's commentary. I want them all in there including the 5.1 Dolby audio. I want a stack of these for me and for my cast and gang and for anyone else who wants them. If we can get real subscription streaming distribution that would also be nice but ultimately anyone should be able to see our bit of advocacy for free. But I want the movie to go down the usual distribution curve as possible. We will add the Real Life movie as an extra to the Bluray/DVD so both will be out there.


In other news, there was movement on the price increase at our official head office on 15 Allstate Parkway so I have renewed a contract for another two years and we will rethink our position again at that point. I have backed up the databases and such. As I take it easy on this vacation I am catching up on things and cleaning up around the house, something long overdue. So today it's more relaxing and then starting work on The Fortress. That is the last major IAIJ/FOF thing to do and then it is just my personal sphere of life.


Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tiding up and taking care of loose ends.....








I have resurrected The Lottery Film Festival from its death sentence as I believe I have found a way to keep the structure of the original idea behind the festival and keep costs down. I have already met with the people who can make this happen but will wait for things to develop on their 2019 programme. If this goes through this will have solved one major hurdle we faced. The others I look at as advocacy at its worse but we may be able to wiggle our way to legitimacy with some sound philosophical arguments on our part. They say I am good at this.....


So all posts and the website and Twitter and Facebook pages and accounts are back to where they were before. The Lottery film Festival lives!


Since I absolutely hate to abandon projects I have found a way to reconcile our failed participation in theater by donating to the The Toronto Fringe Festival! By supporting this event by donation I can reconcile our support for free expression in all forms as we cannot put on a musical in Toronto due to reasons of cost. I think that takes care of all my dynamic ambitions so far. Like I said, I hate to abandon projects I started. I have the reputation of following through on statements uttered by my mouth and this just keeps me honest. So the festival lives on in film and we are still supporting theatre through donations to The Fringe Festival here in Toronto. Why The Fringe Festival? Because they do the lottery thing for venues and artists. And so I close off the theatre ambitions, but not the support for theatre by FOF.


As we move into the weekend we should finalize The Fortress and get ready for printing and distribution.


Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGD7ZVOwAjw&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I waited till The Fortress was finished and it is.....




The Fortress 2018 front cover!



So I'll proof read it and then send it to our printers. This issue recaps the Side Event at the United Nations; funny that, it was only last year yet it seems like a zillion years ago.....



That takes care of all the FOF and IAIJ stuff and now it's on to my personal life. First up is the jacking rails for that Mustang of mine. It always bugged me with the other Mustangs pinching and bending these seams they want you to use for jacking rails and it always bugged me to see the mechanic trying to figure out where it would be safe to lift the car for repairs. Jacking rails solve that! They are these two boxy long rails that run the length of the regular seams and usually pock out from under so they are sure to use those instead. It also prevents them from possibly crushing the plastic side skirts on the car. So now I take care of that. Steeda in Milton has some light weight ones but they are shorter and so the shop would still probably raise the back of the car on the seams - so that would not work. But Steeda now has full length rails like everyone else but I only see them in the US catalog. So on Monday I will call them and if they have the long ones I will drive there and maybe even have it bolted on there. Otherwise I order from another manufacture that has the long ones in stock and when the rails arrive I put them on.




The Mustang and this kid that calls me "Uncle"



You just keep crossing things off your "to do list" on this sort of vacation of mine. I checked my blood pressure and it was low as in totally normal (and not even high normal - just normal). So physically I am fine. I may do some vacuuming as I did the large pile of dishes about two hours ago and on Monday or Tuesday I wash all the windows. Then if I have more time maybe put new tiles in the bathrooms. It is not so much about money now as it is about time. Time is the enemy for me now outstripping money which was the enemy before.....




Funny that.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm going to send the next version of The Fortress Tomorrow as *I want to add one of those "Messages From our Founder" before we delve into the articles from out members. Usually we had the in-depth report righ5 at the start but without a lengthy report this time we revert to the message from me first page insert. I should wrap that up after I send this update.


The personal life jazz is happening too. I ended up just giving my name and number to Steeda in Milton as they are bringing in a pile of those long jacking rail and then I will pick them up at their warehouse. I will probably wash the car and start looking over the house and planning what more to do. At least I got rid of that leaky faucet in the laundry room. So now all faucets have been replaced and nothing leaks anymore.


I will also do some life style changes. First is weaning myself off Starbucks. This will be hard but will save tons on money in the future. Not letting computers run at night. I have to learn to just turn off the computers and just go to bed - and that is easier than it looks. After Tuesday is should be sleep, boredom and exercise until I can't take it anymore. Then some home renos and that is it!


So are I have done all I could do and that is all I could do. In the coming days I will get more into that lottery film festival and how it will operate. I will also watch movies. Sunday was Bladerunner 2049 which got 2 Oscars but was a disappointment to watch from the plot line, but the visuals were first rate. Before that was Dawn of the Dead which is the first movie where I watched it for the first time with the audio commentary on. This movie was shot in Toronto during SARS and the Blackout and so I wanted to hear about that during the movie and I did and not regrets there.


Basically just chill and relax. When the opportunities come to disseminate ideas they will come when they come and since I can't predict that I do things this way.



Later.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Free at last..... Free at last.....


The Fortress is off to the printers! I have nothing else to do with the orgs - I can do what I want now! Probably clean up the house. Vacuuming and window cleaning the house. But I will start it with washing the car and then have lunch. Maybe binge on watching movies take the subway downtown and just wander around doing nothing but taking it all in.....


But I may try to make a digital cinema package out of the Real Life: Real Lives short. I would never try this with The Fortes Experiment as that is too long for render times and we needed 5.1 audio. But the short can be delivered on a thumb drive and all the rest. So I may give it a go. If it looks like shit then I may take it to a pro but we may have to do this for the Lottery Film Festival so - may as well try!


But the plan is that I will not be ashamed for doing nothing or being lazy. Thing will change and it will be 100% go, go, and go time..... So that is the plan.


Later.....
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 2:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, so as I said earlier I sent The Fortress to the printers and should get that back on Thursday.....


Then, I washed the car and checked the oil. Not much to check in today's cars as there is no more power steering fluid as it is electric. And no transmission fluid dip stick since its all sealed. But everything else was fine'..

So now I turned my hand to the house and rain was coming the next two days so I figured I would cut the grass. Now since I cut the grass the last time, I had to clear out wet grass from the mower at regular intervals and when done I just parked the mower in the garage even though I could smell the smell of freshly cut grass. Since then I always got a strong smell of grass whenever I went into the garage. It stayed strong and I started to wonder if the smell was playing tricks on me. Well I cleaned up the mower and washed it down and removed all the grass and the garage smells like a garage. So no dead animals or toxic spilled I worried about. Then I took a chance and decided to make a DCP for our short "Real Life: Real Lives." This was made with the same program as the feature length film of ours but is much shorter and the audio is simpler. So I set up all the usual parameters and I just let the thing start rendering. This still takes a few hours but we will have a dcp and this one I will have to test and see if we should include it with the feature presentation in our Christmas screening of The Fortress Experiment!


Lastly I looked at the finances and that vast amount of cash I spent on the movie stuff. But you only live once. Like keeping the office and option for office rental in New York and the phones like the New York line. This is all strategy. Now that I have consultative status, we were able to present the Positive Mandate along with the cell phone app at the United Nations. The positive mandate is fullest expression of humanity's mental and physical selves. This also sets the stage for disseminating more ideas on broadening our thought processes to accommodate more forms of thought and as such hold us in good stead, or at least relevant in a world dominated by AI. That is the big play there and we are already set up strategically to take advantage of any opportunity. We just wait and wait for our next move. Also, the org now is available to young people to join and let their creative ideas get the chance at dissemination at the UN - an opportunity I did not have at my peak thirty years ago - this problem or lack of access has now been rectified! Being where I am now attains the goal or fantasy I had as a kid, but builds on that with the possibility of real focused action and lays the foundation for more action from more participants in the future. So the past 14 years were worth it, if for no other reason than my personal self-actualization and identity. But I am sure it will be more than that.


All in all a pretty full day.




Goodnight.....
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