frankness

Into the mystic... #SheDoesThemes

That self-satisfied smile, September 2025

Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux, renamed himself after Sinatra/Danny Ocean) : this enigmatic singer/songwriter, photographer & photo essayist, videographer, composter, fashion & jewelry designer, director is in constant motion¹ from creating genre-blending music for his albums + movie soundtracks to attending the Met Gala to designing visual albums & autobiographical ‘zines and getting into a beef with Chipotle. I enjoy a lot of his work, and especially appreciate his paradoxical candor + mystery.

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Observations without [much] Commentary

• In the past couple of months, I’ve read excellent books prominently featuring pocket watches (The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane & Elsewhere) or birds (Turning to Birds² and Sparrow)

• When required to choose a number for something (guessing game, a numeric volume range)³, my favorite is 28 though will also go with any even [without a zero], or a multiple of 5, or 11. Sometimes 17 appeals.

• The women’s bathroom at Home Depot has no hook on the stall door/wall nor any kind of purse/bag shelf.

• The AMC theater in Kent is located within one of those newish ‘mall community’ things where music follows you from parking lot to crosswalks and outdoor benches; it is truly Dawn of the Dead eerie after dark when all of the stores are closed.

• Our 2026 Flavor Horoscope Hello Fresh box insert:

  

Encounters

• Trader Joe’s clerk who thought I said “busy” when he asked how my day was, but after hearing me correct him with “easy” nodded and said he was glad for me, and shared that he personally made sure to take time before every shift to be quiet & calm. #Smart

• When I visited my old school a few weeks ago, I stood in the foyer chatting with my principal and greeting students with her. One kid - who was never specifically my student but was in some classes I substitute taught & came into the library sometimes - strolled through the door and said “Good morning, Holmes; morning, Ms. Spencer” without missing a beat. I love that place.

• On my last day at FanExpo Vancouver last week, one of the volunteers came over where I was working at customer service and asked how everything went,⁴ then as the show closed we continued chatting about education, the role of governments, and finding satisfaction in life. Thanks for that, Chuck.

Internet Searches

• Different versions of Billy Idol’s “Catch My Fall”

• Musk oxen

• Iceland Writers Retreat⁵

• “Dan Quayle today”

• Hellebore, Anemone, Ranunculus⁶

• This t-shirt that Christa Miller’s character wore on Shrinking that I desperately wanted until I saw the price… #SadTrombone #WillBeScouringThriftStores

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1. Except for not having dropped a new album since 2016, though he leaves lots of trolling non-hints on posters and social media

2. Lovingly purchased for me on a whim by bestie/First Gay Husband❤️

3. Not, to be clear, an amount of something. I’m not completely irrational.

4. Those Canadians, man…seriously kind folks. Except for the lady who told me she wasn’t leaving without a refund [which I was literally not equipped to do], though she didn’t yell and did move to the side while we found someone to talk her down.

5. Did not cry about missing it…adding to my Life List

6. All buttercups, FYI. I was excited to realize they’re in the same family because I wanted to plant them in the same area.