tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29797326836467695702024-03-08T03:33:54.942-08:00When I WalkMy name is Jason DaSilva - I live in the East Village in New York. I am 30-years old and have MS. Here is my daily life, research, and thoughts…Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-54374817845749190812009-06-24T10:48:00.000-07:002009-06-24T11:01:20.046-07:00Susan and SohoMost of Video Blog #13 was shot almost year ago when Susan first returned to NY from 5 years in LA. She remembers when we used to go out dancing, and when she says that seeing me now is "a little shocking", well ... what DO you say? Its like I'm living a version of that film "Benjamin Button" , only physically mine is on "fast forward", while mentally, to myself and Susan and my Mom and brothers and friends, I'm just regular Jason-at-30. Its hard for all of us to put those two realities together. They seem so incongruous. Those shots of me moving around the kitchen, for example, that's now over in the "way it was" category.<br /> <br />To give you an example of what its like to try to process all this, I was on the phone with a friend,yesterday. While we were talking, I saw someone needing help to get into my apartment building, so I said to my friend, "I'm going to get the door. I'll be right back." And, of course, by the time I got "right back" my friend was laughing and having visions of Buggs Bunny cartoons from the 50's with a happy turtle who would "run-off" to get something and return to find everyone sleeping with cobwebs around them. "I'll be right back", indeed! Sometimes there is nothing to do but laugh.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n6QSX2JYoVE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n6QSX2JYoVE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Video Blog #14<br />We didn't give this video enough time. We did get a nice cross-section of Soho, where I work, but too small a sample to show the ignorance around MS. Or maybe it shows how important education and cultural context are, when one couple associates the question of MS to that deadly Central American gang "MS-13". One of my friends keeps bugging me to see the South Park episode "Krazy Kripples" from Season 7 (702) when Jimmy and Timmy decide to start a gang called the "Crips". Yeah, as I said in Blog #13, "I'll get right to it."<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VSWJdwxy7N8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VSWJdwxy7N8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-39992839268084729322009-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:002009-06-18T12:31:39.994-07:00Tribeca Film FestivalVideo Blog #17 is kind of like a super condensed version of my life since being diagnosed with Ms in 2005. Normal inconveniences, like the elevator being out of order, have become transformed into time-consuming and exhausting obstacles. If you can imagine living the fast-paced NYC life with your shoe-laces tied together and your legs encased in heavy molasses, then you have a small idea of the physical strength and intense concentration it takes to navigate the city and keep schedules. That scene with the disabled elevator was not a set-up for this blog. That was just what was happening that day in my life as I set out for the Tribeca Film Festival. It was just a “normal” day. I’m now preparing to move to a first floor apartment, because that “normal” and my “normal” don’t fit together, anymore.<br /><br />And then there’s this third “reality” of the film world, where everyone is intense and beautiful and smiling. So, in this blog, my body isn’t working right and the elevator isn’t working right, and suddenly here I am in the film world where everything works out right by the end of the story, and there’s almost always a “happy ending”. I’m standing on the “red carpet” with all the photographers calling out: “Jason, Jason! Look here!” and I’m smiling and nobody has any idea what it takes for me to get there.<br /><br />Tribeca Film Festival was started by Robert DeNiro to rejuvenate the spirit, culture and economy of lower Manhattan after the attack on the Twin Towers. The speed of its schedule is crazy. Living in NYC is difficult enough for its speed , but Tribeca is so much worse.<br /><br /> So I’m standing there with my walker. A Tribeca publicity person announces: “This is Jason Dasilva. He’s one of our film-makers.” and the flashbulbs start popping. That’s what the press does. They just shoot anybody on the red carpet. I stood there with my biggest “in your face” smile. I didn’t care about the “red carpet”, personally. I just didn’t want to be discriminated against in any form. I was insisting on being seen like anybody else. I went in front of those cameras to get a picture for my camera. How often do you see someone with a walker in front of a whole bunch of press? Smiling like a fool.<br /><br />So, the “red carpet” scene is meant to be ironic, because in reality, I don’t want When I Walk to just be me showing myself for the camera. I want people to have a deeper insight into what I’m dealing with and what I’m feeling. That’s the exact opposite of standing on the “red carpet”.<br /><br />I don’t mind being criticized as an artist, but I don’t want anyone to put a “frame” around me. Being framed as either “brave” or as “disabled/not normal” … both of those frames deny who I am as an individual human being. At some point for almost everyone, life takes away one of the important ways we define ourselves. For an athlete, it could be that day when he or she can no longer compete. For someone else today, it could be unemployment, not being able to provide security, becoming dependent. For another person it may be divorce or an addiction that takes control of you, or another disease like cancer or Parkinson's. Its not just an MS problem. Its the problem of who we are and how we live when our personal frames are broken.<br /><br />My brother Leigh shot this footage. I think this is really good. The blog is running a little slow because Leigh is involved in getting Canadian funding. And Miguel Valldes is involved in logging all the tapes and putting together an assemblage that we can begin to transform into a rough cut.<br /><br />And I’ve just become involved with MCCANN Worldgroup (http://www.mccann.com/) to create a database of worldwide (NYCto start) handicap accessible sites that disabled business travelers and tourists can access on their smart phones and I-Pods as they move out into the world. Because making us visible and opening routes for us to participate in “normal” life is more than just this one film. It is what WhenIWalk, Inc is all about.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sWmyUlPEVXM&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sWmyUlPEVXM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-40147261186375772922009-06-08T08:18:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:25:42.814-07:00India and How It HappenedVideo Blog # 15 is a compilation of stuff I shot India over the years.<br />This is not a production video. It is just a way of us getting to know<br />the footage we have shot in the past. The music is by an old band mate<br />of mine, Frank Henville, so it’s a little nostalgic and more personal<br />for me. I think about the old days (Malchiks days: see video journal #<br />3) and the journey I'm on. In both the video (in India) and sound (my<br />music playing days) I’m visiting places that I’ve been to before when<br />I was fine. Using that phrase, “when I was fine”. Those words are<br />always tricky. Part of this film is about struggling with that<br />self-definition: is something wrong with me or am I still me? I have<br />to question this all the time. OF COURSE, I’m still me, but the<br />changes happen so fast, it sometimes messes with my self-identity.<br /> <br />ve been to India 4 times: once as teen, twice in my 20’s, and again<br />in 2008. A lot of people, when they get MS, don’t have that luxury to<br />keep traveling. I didn’t want to be cut off from the world when I got<br />MS. My family has been traveling for generations and it is big part of my <br />personal identity. I hope I can inspire others to keep moving<br />and keep being seen out in the world, doing the normal things they’ve<br />always done, too.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bAKdzJrXeeg&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bAKdzJrXeeg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Video Blog 16<br /><br />In this blog, I wanted to give a small lesson on the epidemiology of<br />Multiple Sclerosis, and how I compare to a typical person with MS.<br /><br />The average risk for developing MS in the United States is<br />approximately 1:1000. That’s 0.001%. Primary Progressive MS, the type<br />I have, is in ten to fifteen percent of individuals that have MS<br />symptoms.<br /><br />So, this means that the probability of me getting Primary Progressive<br />MS in the United States were one 1:10,000 or .0001%. Pretty small<br />odds.<br /><br />Most people experience their first symptoms between ages 15 and 50.<br />But the "Primary" subtype is more common in people in their 50s. I was<br />25 when I got diagnosed.<br /><br />On average, women are three times more likely than men to develop MS. Hmmm…<br /><br />Let’s not forget that MS is more prevalent among those of northern<br />European or Scandinavian ancestry. People living beyond the 40-degree<br />mark north or south of the equator are far more likely to develop MS<br />than those living in warmer climates near the equator. Caucasians are<br />far more likely to develop the disease than Africans or Asians. And my<br />family roots are in Goa, southern India, which is why I visited my<br />grandfather’s brother Tio Jose in Video Journal #2, to find out more<br />about my family’s medical history. He “never saw anything like this<br />before.”<br /><br />Ok, that’s fine, but here’s the kicker. Though I grew up in South<br />Florida, well under the 40-degree mark, my family moved to Vancouver,<br />Canada when I was 14 years old.<br /><br />Studies show that if someone migrates before the age of 15, the<br />migrant acquires the new region’s susceptibility to MS. Researchers<br />attribute it to intake of vitamin D and sunlight. Vancouver is above<br />the 40-degree mark.<br /><br />Also, at the age of 16 I discovered photography. Handling and<br />breathing those chemicals all day with teenage intensity in a poorly<br />ventilated darkroom didn’t help my immune system.<br /><br />And I‘ve inherited my family’s tradition of being on the move. From<br />Goa to Uganda to Kenya to Ohio to Florida to Vancouver: my family has<br />been on the move for generations. I, myself, have been to so many<br />countries where immunizations were required against diseases like<br />malaria and typhus. Even after my diagnosis I revisited India for the<br />third time and traveled to France. Traveling is part of my<br />self-identity: my love affair with the world.<br /><br />And lastly, the coup de grace, perhaps, was that the Twin Towers were<br />attacked soon after I arrived in New York City, and since I lived<br />nearby, I naturally joined in the effort to provide assistance to the<br />rescue workers. I was covered in the dust for days.<br /><br />If you look at the causes of MS like target practice, I hit the<br />bulls-eye every time.<br /><br />I just wanted to give you a little insight into some of the factors<br />that are related to this presently incurable disease. I do not<br />consider contracting MS a tragedy. In its original dramatic form, a<br />tragedy presents a “main character [who] is brought to ruin or suffers<br />extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral<br />weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.”<br />http://www.answers.com/topic/tragedy<br /><br />This does not my story and I do not choose to define myself this way.<br />Through our innocent and life-affirming choices, my family and I<br />certainly bear great responsibility for, perhaps, the main causes of<br />my contracting this terrifying form of MS. But to label it a "tragedy"<br />sensationalizes my present life, a if I was nothing more than a heroic<br />character in a play by Shakespeare or Sophocles. And I am not a<br />“character”. I am a human being. A really, really bad thing has<br />happened to me, and most often it is a really, really heavy burden.<br />But, as the saying goes: “Bad things happen to good people.”<br /><br />To sensationalize MS by calling it a "tragedy" removes me from my<br />place in the company of other “normal” human beings. One person gets<br />cancer. Another gets Parkinson’s. Another, early Alzheimer’s. Another,<br />becomes paralyzed by a spinal cord injury while skateboarding or<br />horseback riding. Another gets mangled by a drunk driver. We just walk<br />along, living our normal lives, and suddenly, of all the people on the<br />sidewalk, that piano falling out of the 40th floor window lands on her<br />or him or me.<br /><br />This is not “tragedy”. This is simply a big part of what it means to<br />be alive. One of the reasons I am making this film is to reclaim the<br />place of folks with MS within this greater definition of what it means<br />to be “normal”. Despite it all, I still carry on living my life, doing<br />the things I’ve always loved doing. I don’t live a “tragic” life. I<br />live my own.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C3Jz7UvVIbQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C3Jz7UvVIbQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-14029276606685419432009-05-24T10:47:00.000-07:002009-05-24T22:05:07.172-07:00Shilpi et ParisVideo #11 shows Shilpi Gupta, a filmmaker who won the Best Short Film Award at Sundance 2004 for her film <a href="http://www.kashmirfilm.com ">When the Storm Came</a>. <br /> <br />Back then, she was living in San Francisco, and I met her over email, giving advice on Academy Award qualification in the Short Documentary category, which I did the year before for <a href="http://www.oliviaspuzzle.com">Olivia’s Puzzle</a>. Soon after, she moved back to NYC. Now, we’re what I consider “old friends”. She considers me as a rigorous producer: working fast and hard, while trying to “push the envelope“. <br /> <br />Now, after getting multiple sclerosis, she doesn’t cut me any slack. In fact, she doesn’t relate to me any differently. She knows I haven’t stopped being who I am, just because it’s harder for me to get around. I’m still the same Jason Dasilva, her friend the filmmaker, doing what he’s always done, the way he’s always done it … maybe a little slower (no more run-and-gun filmmaking for me), maybe with a little more help, maybe with some mechanical supports.<br /> <br />I am lucky that I have good friends who haven’t stopped relating to me as Jason - who don’t treat me as frail or deformed. Get this - for a while in the 90’s, society was searching for language for kids with disabilities, and came up with “differently abled” instead of “disabled. <br /> <br />Society still doesn’t have the language. There’s “normal” or “baseline” and then there’s everything else. We fall back on generic terminology like “brave” and “admire”, but people who know me don’t treat me that way. They don’t treat me a ”special” or “empowering” or as a “poster boy”. When Shilpi says I’m “brave” and "really inspiring", she isn’t trying to ignore who I am by putting me on any pedestal. <br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zCM5aiDBlSE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zCM5aiDBlSE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />That’s why I love being around folks like Shilpi and <a href="http://www.filmbug.com/db/344127">Kumar Pallana</a> (Video #8) : because they don’t see me as “different”, period. To them, I’m not “disabled” or “differently abled“. I’m just Jason, same as always, and they don’t treat me any differently than before MS-crippled me.<br /><br />But language is a problem. People don’t know how to say what they want to express about me. Whenever anybody says I’m so “courageous” or “brave” I get this image of myself in shining armor, leaning on my walker as I go out to slay a dragon. I feel like I want to make it into a Monty Python sketch, or an episode of South Park like the one about "Crips and Bloods". I'd be one of the "Crips", of course. (ref: Season 7, Episode 2 "Krazy Kripples") Actually, you may see me doing this in a future video journal entry.<br /> <br />It all has to do with space: sharing my world. When I’m at a film event, in front of a crowd, or even just walking down the street, people say those things. I’m not saying its bad. People may have memories of their own grandmother or their old friend from elementary school who was physically challenged. I may remind them of someone else. But “brave” can also be a disability “buzz-word”: the polarization and opposite of what we call “sad-eyes”, which is the look you can get from well-meaning strangers who are trying to be sympathetic, and it just ends up making you feel pathetic in their eyes, like a lost puppy.<br /> <br />If expressive language is limited here in North America, the Paris of Video #12 reminded me of how almost impossibly difficult society can be on just a simple physical level. I didn’t even see any other “disabled” people around the streets, subways, restaurants, museums … anywhere! No wheelchairs or walkers. Granted, the Parisians were very kind to me. I didn’t get strange looks or feel like a space alien. They went out of their way to be helpful. They never looked down on me. But it’s a little stunning to realize how people like me were not even considered part of society not so long ago … how we were not even expected to participate in daily life.<br /><br />The trip to France was fully funded by my grandmother. As Leigh said in the blog, she wanted me to go to Lourdes to be cured. Since I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, I felt this was a really good opportunity for me. As for Lourdes: why not? A cure sounds good to me. I did my time as a good Roman Catholic, maybe this is my time. I was willing to take that chance. A video journal is soon to come on this.<br /><br />Video #12 was also an editing experiment. I wanted to see if I could put in verbal noise: superficial, irrelevant language, and have it not affect the visuals. My intention was to have the images speak for themselves: to see if they could stand out (even juxtapose) against that bland verbal background. I forgot the important lesson of Sergei Eisenstein’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battleship_Potemkin">The Battleship Potemkin</a> that whenever you put sound and visual together, you end up with a third image that is a combination of the two. Montage is A + B = C. They don’t stay separated. I’m still glad I tried it, though, and I’m glad you, the viewer participated in my process.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/15LDekyafuY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/15LDekyafuY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-7821879690667902512009-05-17T21:40:00.000-07:002009-05-17T21:45:21.076-07:00Every front has a back” (ancient Chinese saying)Videos 9 and 10 are like my emotional front and back. <br /><br />I've lived seeking new and, importantly unexpected experiences. I guess it runs in my family. For generations, my family has moved from Goa to Karachi to Uganda to Kenya to Florida to Vancouver (mom) and Hawaii (dad). I have visited China, Thailand, France, India, England, Cuba, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Holland, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Barbados, St. Lucia, Kenya, and St. Maartens….so far!<br /> <br />What do I do with the medical knowledge that all the travel vaccinations I took in order to travel so much has probably contributed to my getting MS? I lived my life. Discovering things I do not know about myself and the world is how I’ve always lived my life. <br />When I’m feeling normal good about myself, I experience MS as just another part of my life of being surprised and making new discoveries. <br /> <br />But it would be a lie to say that there are days I just don’t want to get out of bed. There are days when my life feels much closer to “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” than to a young film-maker living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. All those meetings at Tribeca Film Festival, etc.: everyone telling me how “brave” I am, applauding me - they don’t have to feel the existential loneliness that sometimes creeps in from the other side. <br />All those beautiful statues, those perfect bodies, that “great” art in video #9. What does any of that have to do with me? At times like these, I feel I’m on the outside of life, looking in.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F3eHvsJMfH8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F3eHvsJMfH8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /> <br />Then I return. I get together with someone like Kumar Pallana (who has played in Wes Andersen’s films) and we improv in the cab:<br />I tell him I have MS and he replies: “I don’t care what you had for breakfast…” <br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jVCiZyFIo18&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jVCiZyFIo18&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /> <br />Old guys, like Kumar and my great uncle Tio Jose in Video #2 , they know life changes you, messes up who you think you are, takes controls away from you. I love being with them because they know I am still me inside here. They know “normal” is just a social convention. They have lived enough to no longer be distracted by labels like “disability”. They just see me.<br />My body is dragging my mind into this “elder” wisdom, while my mind drags its feet and keeps yelling “What about our sex, drugs and rock-and-roll phase? ” <br /> <br />Then life interrupts the fun and announces my next stop. The cab door opens and its time to get on with my life.Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-67268855526088103012009-05-05T19:48:00.000-07:002009-05-05T19:51:57.623-07:00Video Blog 8You know - who knwq that my greatest challenge would be the crosswalk?<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FLQPYyoXjVw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FLQPYyoXjVw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-16215404891433749022009-04-30T10:03:00.000-07:002009-04-30T10:06:57.759-07:00Video Blog 6 and 7I'll let them speak for themselves:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VX2Vg0d3tPE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VX2Vg0d3tPE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />And the response:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0eqc2NjLjCE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0eqc2NjLjCE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-50602408557323964902009-04-22T08:54:00.000-07:002009-04-22T08:55:56.191-07:00When I Walk Video Journal Entry # 5This entry is about the progression of different assistive devices I've had:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Lc3tSL7e5U&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Lc3tSL7e5U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-56871244290501845732009-04-18T15:14:00.000-07:002009-04-18T15:17:02.785-07:00When I Walk TrailerIf you haven't seen it, here's the When I Walk trailer:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ns3fYrmQDIE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ns3fYrmQDIE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-15988562638693353112009-04-16T22:15:00.000-07:002009-04-16T22:16:40.501-07:00To Cannes We Go!We went all out with our show idea. Cain and Abel.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zKCXO_UuCng&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zKCXO_UuCng&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-37381626939971634652009-04-12T10:11:00.000-07:002009-04-18T15:12:22.639-07:00When I Walk Video Journal Entry # 3We had fun making this one...<br /><br />The MS4L tattoo:<br /><br />-The analog tape is representative of how long our friendship has been - since the days of audio mixtapes.<br />-MS4L is Multiple Sclerosis 4 Life. I don't want MS for life, but it signifies standing up to uphill battles.<br />-The unfurling tape represents the demylenation happening in the brain.<br />-The writing is scrawled, like an old mixtape.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qaQmyGSPVFc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qaQmyGSPVFc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-69401456226632030902009-04-10T13:08:00.000-07:002009-04-10T13:13:38.535-07:00Vitamin D and MSA great article of Vitamin D deficiency and MS. This is one of the factors that may have caused MS in me. I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and moved to Vancouver. From a ttropical cllimate to a temperate, grey climate - the highest statistic for getting MS because of vitamin D deficiency is in teens that do this. I moved whe I was 14.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20090206/vitamin-d-may-cut-multiple-sclerosis-risk?ecd=wnl_mls_041009">Read the WebMD article here</a>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-82120009102220886262009-04-02T23:30:00.000-07:002009-04-07T21:59:41.007-07:00Come see First Steps in Tribeca!Come see the short that precedes When I Walk i the Tribeca Film Festival.<br /><br />http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/First_Steps.html<br /><br />End of April to early May.<br /><br />Here is the screening times for the shorts program “Time Will Tell”, in which your film is playing.<br /><br />Monday, April 27, 6:45 pm, AV7-04<br /><br />Thursday, April 30, 1:15 pm, AV7-07<br /><br />Friday, May 1, 8:45 pm, AV7-05<br /><br />Sunday, May 3, 3:30 pm, TC2<br /><br />AV7 -AMC Village VII (AV7)<br /><br />66 Third Avenue (at 11th Street)<br /><br />New York, NY 10003<br /><br />Tribeca Cinemas (TC)<br /><br />54 Varick Street (At Laight Street, below Canal Street)<br /><br />New York, NY 10013<br /><br />Hope to see you there!Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-50693561943917498682009-04-01T05:29:00.001-07:002009-04-18T15:10:57.301-07:00When I Walk Video Entry # 2Finally, I get to visit my family home in Goa, India! I got to visit my grandfather's brother, Tio Jose. What a great experience it was. It was like spending time with my grandfather - they look the same. He's the best ever - look at me smiling so much.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2A1vlG1rgOU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2A1vlG1rgOU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-32561777783353228812009-04-01T04:58:00.000-07:002009-04-18T15:13:44.807-07:00When I Walk Video Entry # 1Here is the first entry from my travels through India:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/clqpVKPYwrQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/clqpVKPYwrQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-40679306421499028482008-12-15T17:50:00.000-08:002009-04-01T05:29:15.994-07:00Video bloggingHi all,<br /><br />Happy holidays!<br /><br />I'm posting short videos related to the making of the film.<br /><br />Here's the most recent video:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p5MHsNdPYao&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p5MHsNdPYao&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />JasonJason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-79551886268567687072008-11-09T22:19:00.000-08:002008-11-09T22:20:29.413-08:00A Time To Reflect on MSIt’s a cool, grey fall day – the perfect day to write a blog entry. I’m in Denver, Colorado – tomorrow morning, I’m in a photo shoot for the National Multiple Sclerosis Societyfor the new “Move It” campaign. Speaking of “move it”, I’m only here for one day and then returning to New York, where I’m living, to continue production of my documenetary, When I Walk – http://www.wheniwalk.com , which is about my experiences having MS and exploring research being done about MS. I started the film in November of 2007 and it will continue until 2010.<br /> New York is a crazy and fast-paced city. People moving quickly, car horns blasting, constant stimulation. I live in the East Village and spent my days working on my film. I am very lucky to have had a career of ten years to date as a filmmaker, starting when I was just 20-years old. When I was twenty-five, I was diagnosed ith primary-progressive multiple sclerosis. My reaction was, “ I’ve heard of it I think it’s bad, but I’ll figure it out and be back to normal!” I thought I was invincible.<br /> Over the next three years, I did two more documentaries, and finished graduate school. As primary-progressive MS often can do, my symptoms were worsening. Every day was a new adventure – will I be able to see properly to film with my camera? Will my walking be adequate to do what I need to do today? I learned (by trial and error!) that I didn’t want to overtire myself and pace my energy for the day.<br /> One day late last year, I said, “ Enough is enough – I’m making a film about multiple sclerosis.” I wanted to share my unseen experiences with the world about the often-misunderstood world of MS, and share with others with MS my findings. Importantly, I wanted to show what it’s like to have MS as a young person. We face some challenges to our experience with MS that aren’t necessarily shared by the MS population: dating, early career path, young friendships, and balancing the future…the list goes on.<br /> So here I am, in the middle of the production of “When I Walk” and I have to say I am so happy I’ve made the decision to do this film. Every day, I learn something new about MS, and about myself – things that I will beb able to share with others through the showing of the film. What can I say as advice to those young people with MS? “Stay strong and do the things you love to do! Life does not stop with MS, it actually just begins – the path may need to be accommodated, and enjoy it, it’s a great and adventure-filled path!”Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-11834082920461889332008-11-08T15:57:00.000-08:002009-04-01T05:33:55.151-07:00Afterthoughts on the electionI have a free moment as I sit in a bus going uptown. I know it's been some time since I've blogged- it's just that the film development and production work has been eating at my time.<br /><br />What's been going on? It's hard to do a recap! Every day with MS is an adventure. I guess I had the first really good sleeep recently. The morning after Obama was elected.<br /><br />A recap of that night- went to see the election results happening in Tribeca with some of my friends.. Absolutely magical. Returning home In a cab, everyone was out yellng, '"Yes, we can!" crossing by St. Marks up first avenue, there was no room for traffic beecause young people filled the streets. As I drove by, slowly, hands slammed the top of the cab and high-fived me, yelling, "Obama!"<br /><br />I've been doing some things pre-election. Here's an email I sent out a few weeks ago:<br /><br />Dear all,<br /><br />In connection with Barak <span class="nfakPe">Obama</span>'s campaign website, I had a video made on me by their media team. As you may already know, I have had multiple sclerosis for four years now. After my return to New York after graduate school, I found difficult times wading through the poor state of the American health care system, which prevents coverage to over 50 million Americans. With the number of uninsured Americans at an all-time high, Barak <span class="nfakPe">Obama</span>'s health care policies are a breath of fresh air to our current climate – and are very necessary.<br /><br />You can view the video here:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0H5hHqeV0CE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0H5hHqeV0CE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And a write-up on healthcare and my video on <span class="nfakPe">Obama</span>'s site at:<br /><br /><a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/amandascott/gGxGFb" target="_blank">http://my.barackobama.com/<wbr>page/community/post/<wbr>amandascott/gGxGFb</a><br /><br />Thanks!<br /><br />JasonJason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-12742076478209062392008-08-20T15:03:00.000-07:002008-08-20T15:10:03.789-07:00Guest Blog: The Facts and Fictions of Multiple SclerosisWhen I used to think about Multiple Sclerosis I invariably thought about a person in a wheelchair – usually that person would be Caucasian and a woman. I had little knowledge about what MS is, what parts of the body it affects, who gets it or why they get it. Being with Jason as his disease progresses and helping out with the film have been real eye-openers for me and I have learned so much. So I thought I’d share some insights into MS – and separate myth from reality.<br /><br /><strong><em>FACT: MS is the most common disabling neurological disease that affects young people.</em><br /></strong><br />Multiple Sclerosis is a common disease – the United States has more than 400 000 cases of Multiple Sclerosis alone. In MS, your immune system attacks your nervous system which leads to a destruction of myelin. Myelin forms a sheath which protects your neurons – so when the myelin sheath is destroyed, your nerves are affected and cannot function properly. Common symptoms of all forms of MS include: gait and walking problems, spasticity, loss of vision, tremors, balance problems, a decrease in cognitive functioning, bladder and/or bowel problems, fatigue, weakness and depression.<br /><br />However, it is important to note that no two people are alike and symptoms experienced vary widely from person to person and depend upon a variety of factors – what type of MS you have (whether it is relapsing-remitting or progressive) as well as the location of lesions.<br /><br /><strong><em>FICTION: Having MS means you won’t be able to walk and will end up in a wheelchair.</em></strong><br /><br />It’s not necessary that if you have MS you will end up in a wheelchair. Depending on the trajectory of the MS, you may be able to get along just fine without a wheelchair. A person with MS may need to rely on canes, walkers or wheelchairs depending on how their disease progresses. The point is, there are many devices (good ones!) that are available to help you out so you can carry on with your day-to-day living with minimal disruptions.<br /><br /><strong><em>FACT: There are 4 types of MS.</em></strong><br /><br />There are four types of MS. Relapsing-remitting MS, which affects 85-90% of those with MS, is characterized with periods of acute attacks in which symptoms flare followed by periods of remission. Those with Secondary-progressive MS start off by having Relapsing-Remitting MS but then face a neurologic decline without definite remission periods. Primary-progressive MS (the type that Jason has) affects about 10% of individuals who undergo a steady decline of without any relapses. Finally, Progressive-relapsing MS describes those who have relapsing episodes along with a progressive neurological decline – this is the most rarest type.<br /><br /><em><strong>FICTION: MS is a life-threatening disease.</strong><br /></em><br />This is totally false! Research shows that people living with MS have a near-normal lifespan when compared to the general population. The medical community has made a lot of advancements into MS over the years. There are now many drugs that are proven to manage MS symptoms and help slow disease progression. Complimentary and alternative therapies, such as massage therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, acupuncture – as well as regular exercise and strength training- can help individuals with MS live a healthy and full life.<br /><br />To view Jason’s trailer for his upcoming film about MS, visit: <a href="http://www.wheniwalk.com/">http://www.wheniwalk.com/</a><br /><br />For more info about MS you can visit the following websites:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nationalmssociety.org/">http://www.nationalmssociety.org/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mssociety.ca/">http://www.mssociety.ca/</a><br /><br /><em>Posted by Kamal Arora</em>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-21120345763911279202008-07-07T21:26:00.000-07:002008-11-12T20:55:51.310-08:00Nazi Germany and F.D.R.During the process of investigating the history of the treatment of disabled people, I came across some facts which bring to light the unequal treatment of people with disabilities. For most of the twentieth century, erasure of people with disabilities has historically been achieved through cultural practices, such as institutionalization, isolation, genocide, concealment, segregation, exile, eugenics, quarantine, and prosthetic masking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1OaEuYKnocLmSkqheQP_PbeQCi0xSG7U_KfA77TDx60q3lL1diwl70rVDynIdYMhyK8HWoEwbduqseTcm1ECBqDpqgvomJQqaLKprrrphwN63H_ccIStFXuwYxONLJT_C43liJaC72AD/s1600-h/adolf_hitler_portrait.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1OaEuYKnocLmSkqheQP_PbeQCi0xSG7U_KfA77TDx60q3lL1diwl70rVDynIdYMhyK8HWoEwbduqseTcm1ECBqDpqgvomJQqaLKprrrphwN63H_ccIStFXuwYxONLJT_C43liJaC72AD/s320/adolf_hitler_portrait.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220497108897028002" border="0" /></a>Under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, a mass eradication of disabled people was enacted. The regime’s first victims were more than a quarter of million children and adults in Germany and its occupied territories. Public health agencies, private physicians, schools and treatment centers were obliged to report every person with a disability. Once turned over, they either were killed or used as test subjects for various unorthodox and cruel experiments by the science factions of the Nazi regime. These experiments involved bizarre and inhumane acts as forcibly removing a person’s teeth, removing the blood from someone and replacing it with gasoline, and various cruel genetic experiments. Along with Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and homosexuals, disabled people did not meet the race requirements of Nazi Germany. They were either cleansed from society by genocide or given to science for such experiments.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrAAvH5KowtIDAhy4j-iZRahhfPmoW5svgIX9giKqwcaYmIVIuu4XZHQ5oaGNV4-Pjxkot2BG-zde9phlMyDGZAgToiZC_Ef7290D036zTT78WwA-TeTdYFKRLoXmfsxGtVi0gaoVCWbL/s1600-h/INF3_0075_Roosevelt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrAAvH5KowtIDAhy4j-iZRahhfPmoW5svgIX9giKqwcaYmIVIuu4XZHQ5oaGNV4-Pjxkot2BG-zde9phlMyDGZAgToiZC_Ef7290D036zTT78WwA-TeTdYFKRLoXmfsxGtVi0gaoVCWbL/s320/INF3_0075_Roosevelt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220496864109399154" border="0" /></a>At the same time, in North America, popular culture response to disability was gaining headway. A fascinating character in his approach to his own disability, Franklin D. Roosevelt was quoted by his physical therapist as saying this: "I'll walk without crutches. I'll walk into a room without scaring everybody half to death. I'll stand easily enough in front of people so that they'll forget I'm a cripple." He made a point to present himself as non-disabled to the general public. There was a two-pronged philosophy he enacted to hide his disability, applying these to all the appearances he made in media journalism and public events. His first was to carry the self-confidence associated with leading figures in politics; and second was to avoid disrupting visual expectations of bodily normalcy. His determinations are speculated to be informed the negative visual rhetoric of people with disabilities in Nazi Germany. Pro-Nazi American papers used F.D. Roosevelt’s disability as leverage for their own lobbying during the war.<br />More than half a century after the longest-serving president devised his strategy for success, the development of the mass media and above all of television makes it impossible for public figures to hide a visible disability in the same way.<br /><br />Interestingly, Roosevelt’s political life was not only portrayed via the news media. The film Sunrise at Campobello (1960) follows Roosevelt from the time he contracts polio, to his faltered walking, to the speech that began his career in politics. Although Roosevelt hid his disability from the American public, Roosevelt performed his duties from his wheelchair.Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-21026502325189489732008-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:002008-06-21T22:23:47.357-07:00What is Disability?Before I started this film project, I had to ask myself: What is disability? The medical field usually focuses on disability in terms of impairment due to a sickness - disability that leads to suffering and disadvantage. The medical model focuses on 'curing' the disability or the illness rather than looking at the social factors that people with disabilities face. Lately however, a new area called 'disability studies' has emerged. Disability studies starts where the medical model leaves off and looks into the oppression and discrimination that people with disabilities face.<br /><br /> <div> </div> <div>My research for this film began with me thinking about my place as a filmmaker with a disability. Looking to the disability community and the artists producing within it has inspired me to produce this film about my experience during this time. I started my research by looking at other artists with disabilities, in order to understand their work within the art world. </div> <div> </div> <div>I feel that within the disability community, art practice is a method of reflection, and is self-empowering. Like other minority groups such as cultural and racial minorities, women, and queer communities, people with disabilities have finally begun fight for equality within society. I hope that my film is one way to bring to light the struggles that people with disabilities have to face on a day-to-day basis. </div>Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-32679004725328288502008-06-14T18:12:00.000-07:002008-11-12T20:55:51.497-08:00Personal Career to When I Walk<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijY-g72BWvc3ebQlW40-jwOy_FVWKzUl5xHPedvzAfTunMLbUBJ_ip1qLOLN9dbViq71vqghJUlmvOrzc1YljM4_sFp4mZffAFjMTvtAX4R0o5Jb-3Y3gFcxxJ_KuCu7xXjFIKit8Q8Erg/s1600-h/Poster.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijY-g72BWvc3ebQlW40-jwOy_FVWKzUl5xHPedvzAfTunMLbUBJ_ip1qLOLN9dbViq71vqghJUlmvOrzc1YljM4_sFp4mZffAFjMTvtAX4R0o5Jb-3Y3gFcxxJ_KuCu7xXjFIKit8Q8Erg/s320/Poster.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211910909402384754" border="0" /></a><br />My first short film, <a href="http://www.oliviaspuzzle.com/">Olivia’s Puzzle,</a> was completed in 2001 and exhibited it in its first major festival just after the World Trade Center towers were attacked. Subsequently, I moved to New York to start my first full-length film, <a href="http://www.lestweforgetmovie.com/">Lest We Forg</a><a href="http://www.lestweforgetmovie.com/">et,</a> which focuses on the racial profiling of South Asians, Arabs, and Muslims after 9/11. During this production, my walking became slower and off-balance at times. In 2005, after a series of tests, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, though I expect I had it for years before that. A rarer form of the disease, classified as Primary-Progressive, it is not treatable by medication normally prescribed for the disease. This slow progressing disease is having a massive impact on my life, causing my walking to become more difficult and distorting my vision. The latter has been difficult to cope with as a filmmaker. While my symptoms were slowly worsening, I managed to complete two more films.<br /><br />Finally I am in production on my third film since my diagnosis, <a href="http://www.wheniwalk.com">When I Walk</a>, and I put my experience with having Multiple Sclerosis to the screen. The short film spans the course of four months as I try to find ways to continue to walk. The film uses my personal narrative as an anchor to weave in and out of interviews, explanations, and findings on Multiple Sclerosis within a jigsaw puzzle of incidents. The story follows my journey as I come to better understand the disease and develop a strategy for the future. When I Walk, through a cinematic journey, provides information and inspiration to those affected by Multiple Sclerosis and their supporters.Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-24924069711539353472008-06-07T16:07:00.000-07:002008-06-14T20:13:05.773-07:00SUMMER APPROACHINGIt's getting hotter and hotter. Today was very hot...but two days ago wasn't. I walked from University and 13th to 2ns and 11th in the cool night. Heat in NYC for summer is not such a good thing for MS.<br /><br />Today, I went to an amazing dance production called <a href="http://momix.com/">Momix.</a> Taking photos with Jonny afterwards, I felt pretty tired. I actually fell over in front of the dancers. Embarrassing yes, but dancers are the best people to fall around because in a production like theirs, it happens regularly.<br /><br />What else have I been up to? A lot. Hanging with old friends. Setting up the film website. Yesterday[, I helped into interview Neomatrix for a Sear commercial at Jay-Z's studio off 6th avenue.<br /><br />Everyday is exciting. Disease or no disease. Life is good. It passes by fast.Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-4203446804018377722008-05-22T23:24:00.001-07:002008-05-22T23:30:11.040-07:00Prom night saunteringI left the house at 1:30 to see limo after limo after limo traffic jammed in front of the apartment. "What's going on?" I asked a group standing outside. "Prom night." Ah, prom night. I walked from 2nd to 1st avenue along 10th street, then back on 11th street, with limos occasionally passing by. East village is a destinstion spot for the kids these days? Who knew?Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2979732683646769570.post-78298192139501729192008-05-21T22:16:00.000-07:002008-11-12T20:55:51.630-08:00A Blog? A Step Back To Reflect<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bY1T8FOwqFnjIkE6TdX_Tgr8h16LiiaNI7-cpe7Tz8peyAgfs82_nlt_4_X_bDosUc0t9RrTqI5NR11lLRCT1GqljAVHK8e8e4PbERhI7GUivDaIckAnfVks8qtFP5vFBxP6aU27uzp4/s1600-h/IMG_0135.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bY1T8FOwqFnjIkE6TdX_Tgr8h16LiiaNI7-cpe7Tz8peyAgfs82_nlt_4_X_bDosUc0t9RrTqI5NR11lLRCT1GqljAVHK8e8e4PbERhI7GUivDaIckAnfVks8qtFP5vFBxP6aU27uzp4/s320/IMG_0135.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203067763171409026" border="0" /></a><br />I'll be using this blog to conjure up memories that float deep in my head. I've been meaning to do this for some time. And now I have a moment in time.Jason DaSilvahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17146926657653118180noreply@blogger.com1