Full Frame Documentary Festival…

I listened in on Loretta’s conference call about the requirements database Storage is using, which may be applicable Tivoli-wide. Cassandra and I both had the same thought after the call, “This is great, but like the ‘Comiskey database,’ who’s going to support it if it’s used Tivoli-wide?”

I met Raj for lunch at Chick-Fil-A on Harrison avenue. He asked me to write a letter for him about his mother-in-law’s visit from India. I need to do that some time this weekend. He told me the “mold story.” We did our usual stroll through Sam’s after lunch. I bought a bag of energy bars for Robert, a bag of Cape Cod chips, a six-pack of Altoids, and a multi-pack of Dentyne Ice for me.

I left work at 4:30, and met Robert at the Carolina theater for the Full Frame Festival. We saw Foxhole (which I had already seen at the NC Gay & Lesbian Film Festival last year), and The Opposite Sex: Rene’s Story, which was incredible. By far the best tranny documentary I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a few. I hope it wins an award there.

FOXHOLE Synopsis: (2003. USA. 12mins. Directed by Franko Galoso. Produced by Franko Galoso and the FSU Film School.) Using the metaphor of a foxhole as a place a soldier can feel safe, two Vietnam veterans reflect on how their meeting during the war profoundly changed their lives. To say more would lessen the impact of this remarkable story.

THE OPPOSITE SEX: RENE’S STORY Synopsis: (2003. USA. 75mins. Directed by Josh Aronson. Produced by Stuart Krasow, Bruce Hensel, and Josh Aronson.) Gender issues are complicated and blurry for friends and family of Rene, who was born a girl, but has always felt like boy. This challenging film asks and doesn’t always answer a series of complex questions as Rene makes plans for transgender surgery. Does a surgically constructed penis make a “real” man? Can a transgender person evade the psychological trap of sexual stereotyping? How does an unimaginative sibling or a Mama who loved her baby girl deal with a sister becoming a brother? And, can Rene’s naïve and trusting wife of 12 years ever get over the fact that, rather than being married to a man like she thought she was, she has been in a lesbian relationship all these years? Parental Advisory: graphic language and surgery footage.

We stopped by home, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed over to Joe and Jose’s games night. There were about 15 guys there, and they were well into a game called “7 Deadly Sins,” I think. It ended up going all night, so we didn’t play. Which was fine. I don’t like that kind of game. You have to act out these inane things, that I din’t at all enjoy doing.

We enjoyed watching them, though, and giving some attention to “Drake,” their beautiful dog.

We left there at about 11, and went to CCs, where we ran into Patrick and C.D., and had fun chit-chatting with them. We watched part of the drag show, and then left.

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