31 years down, 50 to go... I can't wait to be a Grandma!!!

IMG_1819, originally uploaded by luminainfinite.

IMG_1816, originally uploaded by luminainfinite.

IMG_1815, originally uploaded by luminainfinite.

My Grandmother

IMG_1813, originally uploaded by luminainfinite.

71 days until I am 31

What can I do in 71 days time, as a birthday present for myself??

Okay, it

Okay, it

Tere Bine (I still wish I lived in a different country)

DIYDS!! 08 Trailer

DIYDS Film Festival 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 27, 2008
Contact: Lumina Gershfield (617)868-7100 x17

NATIONAL TEEN FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 12th ANNIVERSARY

(CAMBRIDGE, MA) - The award-winning Teen Media Program (TMP) of the Community Art Center, Inc. proudly presents the 12th Annual “Do It Your Damn Self!!” National Youth Video and Film Festival on November 14-15, 2008 at the Boston Public Library and M.I.T.’s Wong Auditorium. The DIYDS!! Festival was created in 1996 by four inner-city teenage girls who felt misrepresented in the media and wanted their videos seen by a wider audience. It now serves as a tool of empowerment for youth to gain important leadership and public speaking skills as well as express their vision of the role they play in society.
The festival has also become a nexus in the growing youth media field. A School Screening at the Boston Public Library attracts hundreds of students and teachers from media production classes all over Massachusetts. This year, Cambridge teens screened over 100 entries and selected the final 13 films based on 5 criteria including technical quality and strength of message. Film selections for DIYDS!! 08 include:

The Y Project (Teen Media Project, Cambridge, MA)
A creative narrative about questioning assumptions inspired by Ralph Brancaccio’s Y-Project sculptures erected at various locations installed in various Cambridge parks.

Racism in Espanola (Espanola High School, Espanola, NM)
A documentary about the racism experienced by people around our country in which teens ask why Mexican-Americans are discriminated against.

Hard Knot Life (Truce Harlem Children’s Project, Harlem, NY)
This documentary takes a realistic look at ghettos and substance abuse in Harlem.

Applying for Change (Community Television Network, Chicago, IL)
A narrative of two brothers, one hustles his way through the streets, one wants to go to college.

Filmmakers from around the country will arrive in Cambridge Friday Nov. 14th to participate in a panel discussion at the School Screening at Boston Public Library from 10am - 2:00 pm. Over 300 students and teachers from the Boston area will attend the screening and workshop. On Saturday families and children are invited to join the first ever CommUNITY Media Day at Central Square Theater from 1-3 pm, featuring workshops for families, a screening of the new DIYDS Jr!! features films by 6-12 year old filmmakers and The Chickens of Ventura Fabien, directed by Nina Hasin. Saturday evening brings the ticketed public Premiere Screening to M.I.T.’s Wong Auditorium. A moderated discussion and Q&A session with filmmakers allows the audience to interface with the films in a unique way. Celebration follows at the Premiere Party at MIT’s Morss Hall from 9-12 pm. Tickets for the Premiere Screening or Premiere Party can be purchased online at www.diyds.org.
To schedule interviews with teens or festival staff, call Lumina at (617)868-7100x17. For more information visit www.diyds.org. DIYDS!! 08 is hosted by MIT and the Boston Public Library with major funding from United Way, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Draper, Novartis and 484 Phi Alpha Foundation.

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DIYDS Film Festival film "Holla back Dubai"

http://vimeo.com/1424442

When I see you smile

On Saturday, I went to Monticello, New York and saw my Grandma Anne for the first time in about 7 years, I was surprised to find out that she is in a nursing home right now due to some health problems. At first she sat with closed eyes and locked arms for a long time. Then after we stopped hugging her and asking her to open her eyes, and just sat by her quietly, she opened her eyes and smiled at me. And there she was. Her shining spirit trapped in her old worn out body. Her smile is bright, bright, bright. She would look off in the distance, knit her brows, and press her fingers together the way she always used to. Then when she looked back at me, she would shine on her incredible smile and laugh and I would laugh and we would just laugh together. She can't speak anymore, but she was trying, and I swear she was talking in Yiddish, definitely not English. At one point, I leaned in to give her a kiss on the mouth, and I guess when she saw something coming towards her she thought it was food, cause she opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue! Don't worry, I figured it out in time, but remember that old joke from 5th grade?

"What's grosser than gross?
When you go to kiss your Grandmother and she slips you the tongue!"

What's sweeter than sweet?
To hug and kiss your Grandma Anne as many times as possible in 2 hours.
This is one reason I came home.
My Grandma is the cutest grandma in the whole nursing home.