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Proud! - May 26, 2005

 
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Maurice
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Joined: 08 Jul 2006
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:04 am    Post subject: Proud! - May 26, 2005 Reply with quote

Proud!


By Maurice Ali, Founder


We are just about to dawn on another evolutionary stage in our development. The music and TV involvement will put us in even rarer air when it comes to what we are about. When I look at the other organizations that wanted to do what we do.....almost all have fallen by the wayside. We still continue to forge ahead into unknown territory.

I just had to post this article because I had some flashbacks to past achievements and I just felt "proud". That is "it". Proud! I keep forgetting and taking for granted all of what we accomplished in the past 18 months.

For a few days, this site was just a bunch of static pages on the net; but I put the message board and it all started..... Click here for the first posts Yup.....that was my dad posting the second post and I did not even know he was doing that.....funny moment there.....

Second was the first press card with url support:



That is Emily holding our first card. That was a fairly uneventful moment but pivotal one. I had to ask Emily for a photograph and that started her involvement with FOF and IAIJ.....

The next big step was our first newspaper.



I still remember getting the surprise call that the paper was ready and being handed that first issue! I worked around the clock to layout that first paper but it was all worth it. We know how to do the paper and it may appear that we have abandoned it.....not so! That paper is a permanent fixture here and when the other projects die, the paper will carry one. The next issue is only a few weeks away! One of the major thrills in the newspaper business if to see remains of you paper opened on benches being read and people picking up the paper as you drop off the at an entrance, happened to me when two women took some going into their dorm.....great stuff to experience that!!!!! It is the only truly free speech tool we have and is protected by our constitution.

Next up was the radio ad. This one made me really suffer as I had to learn sound. I also had to script and find a model who would perform the ad. That model was Emily and here is that radio ad:

http://fortressoffreedom.com/RadioCom3

I actually parked my car and just listened for the ad.....and there it was. I almost grimaced when I heard the quality as they taped over my exquisite master.....the second play was much clearer though. It is funny to hear it follow "Free Speech Radio News", how appropriate.....also funny how commercial we are getting as we grow.....but this was expected and addressed in the upcoming show..... I have to say that there is no greater "rush" than hearing your ad on the radio as you drive to work in morning rush hour traffic.....I felt like a real "Big Shot". That was one very big moment for me. I am sure Emily still does not know that she broadcast to a population of eight million people on a regular basis for a month.....that really was the first broadcast of the Fortress Of Freedom signal!



Our first official photo shoot happened with Corra:




She will probably kill me for that pic but it is my favorite. Thin, built and beautiful; Corra was the perfect international "corporate" model for our organization. She will be missed. Here is a better shot of Corra:



The significance of a real photo shoot on location means much to me. I always fancied myself a photographer and was in the dark room at 14 to 15. Corra was my first real shoot and I made sure I took the real photographs in 35mm just for old-times sake!

The book was our next major accomplishment and a proud moment for all involved (and you know who you are.....).



I really did not even have a chance to enjoy the thing as the TV show was almost ready for shooting. But still proud of the picture book of all those protests I had to archive. Anyone who thinks that book was easy to make should have followed me around for the previous year capturing all that action..... Copies of that book now reside in our national archives - I kind of like that idea as it is archival material.....

Our office was a big moment:



Much more "cluttered" than this picture but it works and we have a real studio that we took real professional pictures and recorded an album!






The TV show is still in the works will all those experiences but I will note our entry into TV with our first ENG segment called "Word On The Street".



Those were notable moments in our past and the really big moments and possible disappointments await our future. I will try not to think about the disappointments as we are sure to get some; but the good times and the bad will make this the great place and icon that it is! Mark this day and forge ahead!
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