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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok it’s the last day of my vacation this Monday. In the States it’s “President’s Day and here in Canada where I live it’s called “Family Day”. Anyway, here is the recap on what happened.



First of all we give thanks to the Commission for Social Development for allowing us to speak:



Sam wrote:
IAIJ at the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development!



By Samantha Blackwell, IAIJ Inc.



The International Association of Independent Journalists Inc. (IAIJ) is pleased to announce that we had a most successful outcome for the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development (February 6 -15, 2023). Our representative for this session was Maurice Ali who is President and CEO of IAIJ and he has issued this short statement on the event:





Maurice Ali




“I am happy to announce to the Board of Directors and the general membership that IAIJ had a very successful outcome at the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development. We were able to address the Commission for Social Development with our oral statement about a new Global Social Contract. The idea and concept came from a journalist in-depth report called: “A Global Social Contract”.


On behalf of myself as President and CEO of the International Association of Independent Journalists Inc., the Board of Directors and the general membership; we would like to extend the following messages of thanks and appreciation. We would like to thank the Bureau for the Commission for Social Development and the Commission for Social Development for a successful session and allowing us to give an oral statement to the Commission for Social Development. Secondly, we would like to thank the support staff at the event from all departments that helped make this session a success; our many thanks to all involved!


In addition to those I have already mentioned, let me give appreciation and thanks to all the participants of the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development. It was a pleasure to have met many of you and hope to meet you gain at a future session of the Commission for Social Development.”






IAIJ: JOURNALISTS IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD!





Then the recap of our speech at the United Nations:



Sam wrote:
VIDEO: Maurice Ali/IAIJ Speech at the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development!



By Samantha Blackwell





Conference Room 4 at the United Nations



On February 13 (2023) in Conference Room 4 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City; Maurice Ali (President & CEO) of the International Association of Independent Journalists made a speech about a new Global Social Contract at the United Nations for the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development! The speech lasted just under three minutes in length. We now have video of that speech and present it to you as a news report. The video is from the UN’s own video feed at webtv.un.org where anyone can see the session in its entirety. The individual video of Maurice Ali giving an oral presentation can be seen here (30MB):



(Regular video)

https://fortressoffreedom.com/Maurice_Ali_Speech_CSocD61.mp4



(Closed captioning)
https://fortressoffreedom.com/Maurice_Ali_Speech_UN_CSocD61_CC.mp4




Maurice Ali speech at the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development!



The entire session can be found at the UN website here:




https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1o/k1ol3xugg7




All of us at IAIJ would like to congratulate Maurice on a successful speech at the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development.




https://iaij.org




IAIJ: JOURNALISTS IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD!




I have been derelict in summarizing what happened at the session, so here we go. The session was all about statements, first from Member States, then inter-governmental organizations and UN entities, and finally NGOs. The Member States got seven minutes to speak, inter-governmental and UN entities got five minutes, and NGOs got three minutes.












Of all those speeches, three speeches stood out (apart from ours of course). First was the United States of America who concentrated on scaling down the Commission’s scope to make things run faster. Second was The Holy See (Vatican) that was almost the opposite of the US statement praising the interest in the issues of the aged and so on. Lastly was Poland whose words were true about its help for the Ukrainian immigrants and how they were taken care of. Actually the event was a big deal if I didn’t make it out to be. And on top of the speech I made the play to the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General. I wouldn’t call it fun but it was exciting and satisfying in the end!








I didn’t get depressed afterwards which usually happens, but I slept a lot! I also found that I now had free time. Time to work on my dad’s house. Time to work around my house. We still have new music coming out shortly and maybe one more TV episode and concert and paper newspaper for 2024. So for now I actually had time on my hands to do things regular people did. I don’t know how long this will last - or - maybe it lasts like this from here on?



I made it to the technical end of this adventure! Only The Fates know where it goes from here. However, I spent a week going over everything I did at the United Nations and couldn’t find anything I could have done better - and that is a very satisfying place to be!



Back to my regular life tomorrow. The weather turns bad on my return, but I got good weather on the trip so I can’t complain. This is about the longest vacation I have ever took and things always change while you are away - so there is that. All I want to do is just get back into some groove of regularity and just relax for a change. I deserve that at least…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/DJCHUog8KtY
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 7:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, the return to my normal life.




Basically it was all I expected, nothing but bad luck mixed in with awkward moments and more bad luck. Evenly stupidly simple things like getting a filter for my old vacuum ended in failure. Even my stupid garbage bin was bad luck also. Real payback for the The Fates right now! As I like it, just little bits of bad luck all over the place and small enough not to matter in the end. But really - today was just too much.



Add to this a winter storm bringing ice and then tons of snow. So I’ll be taking the bus tomorrow. This should last into the weekend. Just bad luck after bad luck! You can rationalize it from your perspective but it’s still crap loads of bad luck!



In other news. ….




Shane at FOFSTOCK!


New music mastered and in my hands. From Shane of all people! We still have to figure how to market it and all that, so that is all you get right now. See - I just wanted some peace and quiet and now all of this happening all at once.



And yes I get it - payback for the major good luck you received - but it’s still a bitch to deal with!



Change has happened. I walked through a door, new things show up and you leave things behind. It will always be this way….. Actually I just made that up - I have no idea what happens going forward - just being honest.




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/q31XA5JQjTg

https://youtu.be/AWDICGo1loY
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, Wednesday was probably one of the worst days for luck in the last few years!



I won’t even get into it, but the bus ride home took three hours to travel eight kilometres, and that is the sort of day I had.




The Fates



I must have truly scored at the UN for The Fates to do this to me - but in the end it was just hassle and nothing long lasting. It is like the kind of bad luck they parody in movies, for example. That bus trip did add levity to the whole thing. I was cursing and swearing at everything and when the bus trip happened all you could do was laugh!



Anyway Thursday is another day. I could take the SUV but I may just bus it one more time.




In other news:




I got my AVID editor working again and started that last extra show for the Positive Mandate TV series, and I’m calling it: “Epilogue Part 2”, so I just make the last show into a two parter and update things. And that should be it for that!




My editing work station!



Thursday just has me shovelling out driveways and hoping nothing more bad happens - this can’t go on forever…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/9CJ9EDtZ2p8
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I have no time but soaking in the tub, so you get an update.



The bad luck keeps rolling in - but - I got the first signs of some easing up on the bad luck. I found my new Airpods!







These got lost on February 4 and the “find me app“ on my phone had them at my new neighbours on February 3 - what the hell are they doing there? Anyway, after I set off the notifications as to it being lost, within hours I got that email from the United Nations telling me I was in to make the speech. So, I figured losing my new Airpods was the price in luck to getting to speak at the UN when like a day or two before I was telling you all hope was lost speaking there. I was still going and had a plan - a plan that in the end would have ended in failure.



I was so sure these were gone I went on Kajiji (sort of like Ebay) and bought used Airpods third generation from a guy a few miles away from me for like half price. I took those to New York BTW. So I was pissed at losing those two month old Airpods - but worth it if it ticked the speaking gig in my favour. But it also bugged me that the last location showed it at the new neighbours to the west of me. My other neighbours would have asked me about it if I dropped it in the driveway, but these new people…..



I wasn’t going anywhere with that as I don’t need any bad blood with the neighbours and just wrote the whole thing off! So surprise when Thursday I was cleaning up around the house - and - I find the new Airpods on a couch in the living room? How in the hell did it end up there? The pods we’re at 100% but the case was completely drained. So if any real battery damage occurred it would be the case - but it charged to full no problem, so I have my new Airpods back - along with the used Airpods I bought and my really old second generation Airpods.



So what did we learn from this? I have no ideas - not real good luck but like a little slide in that direction? The rest of the day was bad luck and I was physically wrecked from all that walking in unplowed snow - just a horrible day on Wednesday and then Thursday. But I did learn not to rely on the “find me app” all the time. It is great for tracking aging parents - absolutely no question there - but devices are hit and miss. Now I feel ashamed for thinking the new neighbours had my Airpods - but I always do that and never learn…..



What else…..



It’s crazy to think it took almost two weeks to start to fully take in all that happened on the trip to the UN. I scored with that speech about a new forum being needed at the UN and then the score at getting those packages to the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General. It was almost perfectly executed! That does not mean anything will happen but I did all I could and could not have done it better, and I needed to speak to make it happen.







It’s not unexpected I would pay the price for that good luck - as luck is always needed. And so far the bad luck is not serious like getting cancer or something like that, but the bad luck I like - lots of smaller “pain in the ass” bad luck. And it’s still coming, but hopefully lessening. Two weeks after the trip, and all I want to do now is “something close to nothing” and just relax and recover over the weekend!




Goodnight…..





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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 8:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What the hell…..



I heard an old song on the radio and I started looping it. It got me thinking about what happened to me and how things turned out.



When developing my philosophy, I had to divorce myself from some things people take for granted. First is that there is no God, there is no judgement and there is no afterlife. For obvious reasons you don’t want a society based on this or you will have total anarchy! But the people in power at the highest levels probably operate this way, which explains a lot in the world if you think about it.



You pay no price for being bad or evil. No price for being selfish and only thinking about yourself and on and on. But this mental state only works to your advantage in a caring society where you can take advantage of it. Without this and in a world that only operates this way, your life will be harder.



My Positive Mandate for Humanity that maximizes happiness is my gift to humanity. It keeps our “humanity” and acts as a directive to a better life for all while never listing that ultimate goal - only the journey. It’s not based on religion or faith, but practical thought - this can work in our times. The worldwide vote keeps smaller factions from disrupting overall operation of humanity and makes global decisions easier. This is what I’m preaching at the United Nations! This is where I perform - not FOFSTOCK - this is my stage and my song they heard two weeks ago…..



Otherwise you are back to “might is right” and all that other crap. Might is needed - but only to quell those that would abuse it. By divorcing myself from God and religion and embracing a moral imperative I can possibly make a difference here.




There is no difference between me and those you would call evil or monsters. The way I grew up, I really should be a monster! Actually I am but the philosophy and that moral imperative makes all the difference. I think it’s very small, but it is possible that embracing my ideas leads humanity to the brink of annihilation or even annihilation. That would make me the most evil man on earth ever. I really doubt that, but I am most definitely messing with the machine, no different than others you would call evil. Do these other people know or think they are doing evil? It doesn’t really matter as they know there is no God or judgement or Hell.



Satan rules that below the heavens and that means earth. Who rules humanity - those that shape human thought and actions. So you could make the analogy that those like me are Satan, that I am in a way Satan - and I even sort of look the part!




I’m definitely in that universe even if it’s a small way. You are all better not being where my mind is. True, in this verse, you are free - but so are the others and for my ideas to work I have to be smarter and more powerful than those that only operate for themselves. However, humans are all basically the same and the smartest are just marginally smarter. You have a chance if your are one of these monsters. And to be honest, humanity is better off being ruled by a monster (Satan) and not just anarchy. I think my vision is the best though - for our times.



Fate has given me a few extra years to play this out. Human lifespans are our greatest weakness in human development. My extra seven years though, is a huge advantage. Just keep playing it out…..




Oh, the song I was listening to was “Wherever I may Roam” by Metallica. For Saturday I do nothing but pig out on food and watch movies…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/cwPg8gJq_Kw
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I purposefully did nothing on Saturday and I happy about it!


Actually I cleaned up around the house which does not count. I’m still trying to get back to normal - but this time it doesn’t work - something as changed. Have I been chucked out of the advocacy because I finished what The Fates wanted me to do? Am I finally a free man?



Probably not as my identity is totally wrapped up with all the advocacy - that is who and what I am!



Last week was totally 100% a crappy week. This week may be no better, but I am different now. I can’t put my finger on it but there you go. I also
trimmed down and dropped at least one inch from the waistline. My new jeans want to fall down but the 33” waist now fits perfectly and I probably could squeeze into 32s if I tried. I fit a 28” waist in my teens to early twenties while bicycle racing so those days are gone - but what a surprise when I saw myself in the mirror this weekend! I don’t look my age and don’t feel my age. Even bouncing back from the snow storm was quick.




Un-retouched me yesterday!




Maurice at 49 - no lines around the mouth and a thick head of hair!



I also had some “six pack” definition starting and I took pictures of that. The beginnings of a six pack on a guy my age! So I really did get some extra years tacked on - it’s not to look young as I still aging, but I have more time to see this through - whatever “this” is…..




Goodnight…..





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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I still don’t know what to do with my life now…..



The only legacy I have is that which survives me and without children that means my ideas and philosophy. These are being disseminated as I type this. Not just the stuff at the United Nations - but other stuff.



Remember me as a nine year old kid watching dad on TV saying computers will never pose a threat to humanity. Then as a man in his early 20s learning about quantum computing and Qubits at the dinner table back in to the early 1980s. My dad actually understood quantum up till about two years ago. He and his contemporaries are no longer a factor in what happens with AI going forward - it is handed down to their kids to shepherd. Those others are in no position to pass judgement as they lack the perspective of others from the before times. I am one of the few left…..


As odd as that is, I have some ideas on initiating sentience in AI and this is necessary to save humanity or usher in a new entity that is better. Who ever said it was God that judges humanity. Who ever said it was humans who judge humanity in the end. Maybe it’s The Fates or maybe something else if you are truly a pragmatist…..








You can’t kill a ghost and ideas are immortal! My ideas - if truly original - will roam the world after I am dead and in my grave, the same way ideas and their philosophers of the past communicate with me. If the Positive Mandate is rejected by Humanity it will most certainly will be accepted by sentient AI. Wherever it may roam…..




I have my body and my mind and the ideas created. Human bodies are temporary but ideas live on beyond the grave. My task is to keep disseminating all my ideas and philosophy and have it permeate humanity like the spread of a virus. And if it fails there it can still live on - and so does a piece of me after I am gone.



So I go back to that Metallica song (Wherever I may Roam”) that is not about a band touring, but about the fall of Satan from Heaven. But for me it’s about me and my dissemination of my ideas and philosophy around the world.….




Goodnight…..






https://youtu.be/cwPg8gJq_Kw


https://youtu.be/OSQO7eum79A
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Maurice Ali



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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 6:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’ll add another one in here for the end of the weekend.



So I basically did nothing on the weekend except run errands and clean up around the house. That was the plan though and for a change I didn’t sleep through this weekend like the others since the UN trip. I did buy some more
DVDs as usual. Walmart is pushing more DVDs and magazines all of a sudden, I guess streaming and online reading is not as profitable as first thought!







I made a decision to nix the website “aidestiny.org” and just use “sentientai.net” as the home for the sentient AI advocacy. Nobody will go to either of these sites but aidestiny.org is a bit much. The lottofilmfest websites are soon to be toast also. I added some for Fofstock domains and others need to go.







That sentient AI business I inherited - but it is what it is. I think it’s now pointless to stop it and now just worry about what base engrams we could give it - or offer it! I think the Positive Mandate is best here - but I may be biased - but maybe not. At least I have some ideas here in that space…..



In the end I would like the Positive Mandate, the Worldwide Vote and the new Global Social Contract to have some place in the fabric of human knowledge as my own humble bit of legacy for my life. You just don’t want to disappear from existence without leaving something behind. Kids are the easy answer, but that isn’t me, so my legacy has to be my world in the philosophic world. Oddly, I was never a part of academia but always thought academia tried to make a science out of philosophy which it certainly is not. But I can’t see in the end how a philosophy department fosters creative philosophy. The philosophy department can teach the history of philosophy and the individual philosophies and criticisms of philosophies - but would I have developed my stuff in there? Probably not.



My big beef with academia was me being thrown out onto the street when they could have done something about that. “That” is what really bothers me! But nobody cares about ancient history. It’s all about now and humanity teetering on the brink. It could go down so many ways in this new age and people just keep their heads in the sand like ostriches. I get it though, what can they do, but I can do some things.



Anyway, that was the weekend. Monday has another snowstorm and me taking the bus again - when is this crap going to end?




Goodnight…..





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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote





We have a new website:



https://sentientai.net



Just a rough set up but it is there. In the next few months a lot of domains and useless websites will be disappearing, so I add one and lose three - that type of thing…..




Shane at FOFSTOCK!



Shane’s new music will be released as singles and we have three now. This is a trend and mostly gone are albums created to be played as one theme. It’s still there, but constant new stuff trickled to streamer sites and social media keeps traffic up - so…..



The bad luck:



The bad luck is still there but subsided a bit. But it isn’t going away and you are now living a sort of “bad luck lifestyle” if that makes any sense.




Maurice Ali speech at the 61st Session of the Commission for Social Development!



Two weeks since my speech at the United Nations. Two weeks since the successful play to the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General! It just seems like that happened a billion years ago! How can that be - this time machine - it truly seems like months ago - but 14 days?







Time to start shoveling snow!




Goodnight…..





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Maurice Ali



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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok I’ll make this short and sweet…..


I’m looking for a guitar - not to play per-say - but to fool around with so I have some communication with the guys on stage. Just the basics and the gear, and that is enough for me to function off-stage. It won’t be classical but a bit wild so I can blame the choice on ignorance but still have it - then move on to a more classical axe. The only thing I am naturally good for is vocals because my mouth has a high roof and lyrics - but you know that.



But I’m seriously thinking about it. I has has to have everything including a whammy bar, I just want to have some fun. Design: probably what you see in heavy-death metal, but you already know that. I may just dabble with the drums and bass - again to at least be able to talk to acts about it on stage and stage plots and so on.




Shane at FOFSTOCK!



So after 18 years Shane is back in the saddle, though he did one or two singles with Twenty6Hundred I believe a few years ago. The first release is a song called “River of Souls” and we are making the artwork for that as I type
this.




Jessica/Buttonz!



What about Buttonz? I actually produced a three song EP and made a small run of CDs. Truth be told it was unfinished as she had some life challenges at the time. She has been with us though thick and thin and still here after 15 years! But things have mellowed out and maybe it is time to finish things up…..




The new CD on display in our offices!







Goodbye February…..




Goodnight…..





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Maurice Ali



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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Music is all I think about now…..



I may upload Shane’s new single “River of Souls” today or tomorrow. He already put out a teaser on Facebook so here is the art work:







And of course the artist is “Shane”. We continue with the trend to just releasing singles but stepped up to releasing artwork without the artist or song on it. I’ll just confirm a few things with Shane and away it goes. I give it a week to populate all the stores and we should make an official announcement next week. So three singles as of this moment with a few more in the works.



As for me?



I dusted off an old Zen On (a Japanese guitar manufacturer) we had kicking around and started cleaning it up. I’ll never play worth a darn, but a guy into the music industry like I am should have some skill with at least one instrument.



A Zen On guitar!


It will probably be an electric guitar, Bass is too hard on my little delicate fingers and even an acoustic guitar is bothersome, so electric guitar it is. I can’t play so I figure a nice solid one with any finish I want. I really want an Explorer as I always liked the look especially in heavy metal. No V (Flying V) for me, a guy my age rocking a V just looks laughable but plenty of guys my age are playing the old Explorers for decades. The Explorers are usually balanced as I don’t want to constantly fight a heavy neck while playing - but now some are saying there is neck dive in some models, so that may make it easier to look elsewhere - but not yet! Dan was playing one since the late 80s and still has it! I’ll really just use this thing to plug into a sound system at some dive to check out the sound system before I book the venue for my gang. We tend to be heavy, so a solid Explorer with at least two humbuckers to really crank it up and a whammy bar. A whammy bar on an Explorer is a rare thing and really bothersome to locate. I’m no player, so I don’t really care about the whammy bar messing up the tune of the guitar - I just need to test out the venue’s sound system, that’s all - the rest is just for optics. Anyway the search goes on and this may take a while.





Dan of AAVRY KNAPP - playing a concert at Mel
Lastman Square with his Explorer guitar!



To be fair, the local music chain has an Explorer with whammy, but sold out and no more until June. Gibson made a limited run of these but the used prices are insane at like two thousand plus!



What else - bad luck continues but I’m used to it now. The predictable and routine of the past is no more.




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/FZD-kPyZWaM
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Maurice Ali



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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The story of buying your first electric guitar…..



Yes I bought an electric guitar - but not the one I wanted. And there in lies the story. I wanted an Explorer with humbuckers and a whammy bar. Only problem is that you can’t get them right now. Maybe a model becomes available in June because of supply issues. But basically roaming around town netted me just one Explorer in a finish I hate and no whammy bar! I went on Kajiji and nothing used there either. No Explorers in the used departments either. So what do you do?







I know what I wanted and was going to shell out at least a grand on the thing, which when you add the carrying case and amp and strap and tuner and all that you are looking at almost 2 grand in! Fine if you get your dream guitar but my dream guitar is nowhere to be found. So what I did was to look for the cheapest electric guitar I could find (Kramer Focus) and get that and start having some fun with it and then keep it as some “emergency spare” in case someone needs a guitar after some catastrophe - and they happen regularity. Up till now it was mics and cables and maybe a DJ laptop with Ableton Live - but that was about it. I gave Gritz a brand new SM58 mic to record with and surprised him at the end of tracking by giving the mic to him. Surprise of surprises he got pissed off at some point and dented the grill - probably would not have done that if he knew it was his…..




Gritz back in the day!


Now when some guitarist messes up I have a spare - but an embarrassing spare that screams “beginner” to the world, and that embarrassment will prevent further transgressions in the future. I should also add that this is touted as an entry level guitar but I would send them to the entry level Yamahas as I know some people there and while a bit more pricey come out of the box better for a neophyte. These units - believe it or not - are used for modding by intermediate and advanced players, there is actually a community for modding this guitar because the base construction and materials (solid mahogany base) are so good. Even “know nothings” me wanted to replace the tuners, with high quality ones and replace the plastic nut with bone and bed the pickups properly - then you have a cheap guitar that is truly serviceable! Surprisingly though, I didn’t have any frets sticking out to cut your fingers or frets rubbing cords or even tuners that are pure garbage. Mine came out of the box problem free and in perfect condition.



Having said that, the neck and fret board look unfinished but they actually are finished. Some think this makes it look a bit cheap - but it is a cheap guitar! You can do it yourself or pay a smith to pretty it up with upgrades like stainless steel frets and an attractive finish, but for my use why bother. The first time I hand out “the spare” it will get scratched on the back by belt buckles and jean rivets by players who don’t care as it’s cheap and not theirs. You get the idea - but so far I am pleasantly surprised by the thing. It even holds a tune after being totally manhandled by one YouTuber that tried to break the whammy bar but was amazed it kept its tune!



Anyway, that’s the story of my first electric guitar. I may change the nut and tuning knobs and be done with it as it really does not seem to need even that anymore. I really want a Gibson (Kramer is a division of Gibson BTW) Explorer with the whammy bar. A white limited edition model was made and will set me back 2,200 bucks just for the guitar. That becomes a closet queen for show and special occasions. That’s what happens in the future…..



In other news…..



Shane’s song River of Souls has been sent to all
digital stores!








Also, more and more bad luck but today we also get the worst snow storm of the winter and another in a week. I’m so used to this I don’t care anymore.




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/xvpeIKI4ZiQ
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Friday had the snow storm and thus another crappy day!



If I had just left a little earlier things would have been much better. Basically there is this hill coming up to the major street near my home and of course my bus got stuck. Then we were let off to another bus that also got stuck. They have this new directive not to stop in the middle of hill during snow storms - but - I guess that fell on deaf ears. So I had to huff it up the hill and hoof it all the way back home. Then I did nothing but relax and sleep.



For Saturday it’s snow shovelling scattered with electric guitar stuff in between. I’m not taking the Enclave out until at least Sunday - so more trips on the bus.







But I made it to the end of the week. Thursday was maybe a turning point as it seems I had good luck with purchasing the guitar. But still, maybe it was bad luck as you did not get the guitar you wanted and in the end spent money on a starter kit guitar you will toss quickly. I do have one kid in mind if I do that so all hope is not lost - otherwise it’s a spare guitar. Also, when I watch music videos I now concentrate on looking at what kinds of guitars everyone is using - never really did that before. Call that a draw and some other issues are finally being resolved that aren’t good luck but hinting to the eventual resolution of the early bad luck. This week sucked for luck - but maybe, just maybe - things are finally turning around.




The price I paid for this…..



This was the worst string of bad luck and general misery I ever had to deal with after a United Nations trip. Much worse than 2019, and my first appearance in 2015 was not bad luck as much as mental torture and just getting used to the way things worked at the UN (that took like three months) - but not bad luck. So hopefully something really positive came out of that trip this February…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/M4Czx8EWXb0
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 3:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saturday was simple - shovelling snow!



I took till three in the afternoon to shovel my driveway and then to five shovelling at my dad’s place. Then back home to play with my new toy - that guitar, and that was it! Actually it was another miserable day but without the mental misery I have had since New York - just the physical workout from hours of shovelling wet snow.



Sunday has a chance to actually be a normal day for a change. I did watch a bunch of videos of guys reviewing and tweaking that guitar I bought. For the money I did good because this model has solid mahogany as the base and birch as the neck and head. Because they use material that’s a step up from most beginner guitars, you can add high quality equipment and creat a better guitar. Putting the best equipment on a cheap wood guitar is a fool’s mission - without that quality you will still have a crap guitar and that’s why this model is used from modding by advanced players. It’s very close to their next model selling for twice as much! The only difference seems to be better tuners and a better nut but the pickups seem to be the same. The guys also seem to want to change stuff after they get it so may as well get the cheap model like I did.



It’s seems like you have to get close to the 800 to 1000 price range to get a proper guitar that you can just pay and play. Even these “better” guitars from Kramer are almost exactly the same as mine but at double the price, and you still hear complaints about the frets giving problems. The only real difference is better tuners even though they look the same. Apparently my model needs to be lubed up and they are way better - so we shall see.



Anyway, that was Saturday and I promise to cut down on the guitar stuff even though I am making some headway in becoming a guitar player…..




Goodnight…..
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Maurice Ali



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

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 7:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, so Sunday was like the first normal day since the UN trip - that took the three weeks. Three weeks of misery, but we shall see how the rest of the week goes. The snow is melting and the roads are normal so it’s back to the usual morning routine for me.




Shane at FOFSTOCK!



Because of all the shovelling on Saturday, I didn’t have the time to cut my hair and all that preening, so everyone gets another week of the “Don King” hair - but there are worse things in the world. The Shane song (River of Souls) has been sent to virtually all online stores and all we do is simply wait now. Remember that it’s been almost 18 years since his last album, and he will undoubtably be a bit rusty - but glad to see him back recording again!




My headphones are on top of the computer’s on the left - now attached to a guitar amp!



As for me I start strumming now and lost my first pick! The kit came with three, took one out and it fell between my legs - before I even used it - and was lost forever. I kidd you not - the thing just vanished! So off to Long&Mcquade to get some picks and probably a three guitar stand as now I have the acoustic leaning on a book shelf and the electric laying in the floor so just waiting to be stepped on - so more money being spent. Also, getting the kit was worth it. You don’t know what you really want until you actually use something, and that is proving true here. From the type of guitar you want to upgrade to - to your first decent amp and even a guitar strap, you have to have a reference point and I now have those. A tuner came with the guitar so I will buy a battery and give it a shot today - they say it’s crap but I won’t know the difference - yet - and then I’ll get a better one. I now use my worn out mastering headphones plugged into the amp so I can’t possibly bother anyone. But that also means and a new set for the editor - see how things add up and get expensive!



And so it goes…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/H2_2HCWjSVI
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