The Nightwatchman

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The longhand edition.

glennpeters.substack.com

The longhand edition.

Everything you see this week was made without screens.

Glenn Peters
Oct 17, 2024
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The longhand edition.

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Grafiti on wall. Says The Nightwatchman. You don't need screens to think.
We spend too much time typing into our screens. I'm a bit over it. Typing is too easy on the brain, and we think differently when we write stuff down. So here's a little break from the keyboard. Everything in this week's edition is written in longhand. You'll see mistakes like these. That's cool.
We can deal with them because we're friends and we trust each other. I'll talk about the different ways we write stuff down, the different places we write on, and all the pens, pencils and paints we use along the way. I hope it works if you struggle, to read stuff. Hover on the photos, and you'll see the old text pop up. Okay, let's get on with the show.
Pran Central Food Court, mostly to be in exercise book. 2b in exercise book, the classic y, 2b HB is too light and a bit boring. 4b, looks great, but they're hard to find. 6b, is a cracker, but the lead is too soft, which means you've got to sharpen a lot, and a B is taking the piss. Why exercise book? Because the line length is just right at six to eight words, and the page length is the perfect size for about eight minutes of writing. If you want something fun to do, try writing in 2b on an exercise book page until you get to the end of the page. Just write anything. Don't stop until you get to the end of the page. If you're struck stuck, write that you're stuck. Next challenge right and right until the pencil is blunt will take you about 30 minutes. New page. So, what am I doing in the food court suburban shopping center, food courts, good places to write, especially if you're a copywriter, no I'm not going to do that.
A photo of the Pran Central food court. There are people sitting at tables.
So what am I doing in the food court? Suburban shopping center? Food courts are good places to write, especially if you're a copywriter like me who has to write to sell stuff. The lighting is okay. You don't have to buy anything. And best of all, you get to watch the exact people you're writing for. You get to watch and listen to them. And once you're tuned in, you pretend in your writing that you are talking to them. It's like method acting. I'm in pray and central to watch the old people who sit here and chat every day. My mum and dad do the same thing at different shopping centers. It's a thing, and because the boomers are getting older into their 80s, it's something worth thinking about. I will use index cards to describe each table here. I
THis lady in a lovely blue flowered blouse has read the entire herald sun just now
Seven Greek men, the bald ones are wearing caps. All types of mobility devices are covered. They sound disillusioned about something. Don't know what cos they are speaking in Greek
I guess this mustache and neat man in a beanie flannine dress jacket is about 87. He looks. Piss off, pissed off at the bill, he is examining.
offshoot of the big Greek table, four men in mid to late 80s. They're less disillusioned than the other table.
mid 90s, Lady with pink pram, a feisty Chihuahua is in the pram.
mum with one year old in pram. Both are very busy.
builders on a break. Jimmy didn't turn up. He had a gig or something. I think he's a singer. What's his beef? Think it's ADHD.
Man in blue jumper with symmetrical patterns weaved into it. Late 60s. Women in her 90s in a lighter blue jumper with bedazzled pics of birds on it. He’s bought passion pop and is drinking a can of real coke.
Tattoost on a break
There's about nine teeth between them. They don't talk too much, sharing a Chinese meal in a tray. They could be mother and son.
Butcher's hat, green sweater, red puffy vest, folk music, beard man, early 70s, red chopping basket trolley. These potato cakes look nice.
I am typing on a beautiful orange Gabrielle 2000 typewriter. It's much less forgiving to type on a typewriter than it is to type on a computer screen, but the magic of the word slowly appearing on the page has given me a fuzzy feeling of warmth by taking photos with the film camera. It's not like I do this a lot. No, this is the first time I've used a typewriter in over 30 years. And the reason the typewriter is set up because my 10 year old loves making zines. The slower thinking you need to type and not make mistakes. Almost feels like freedom. I meant freedom. The only screen in front of me is this piece of paper. You don't need screens to think, you don't need screens to think. You don't need screens to think, isn't it strange how this night watchman sub stack thing has slowly turned into a newsletter about crafts, you know, making stuff. There's been cakes, protest signs, football restoration, music and even a duet between two animatronic dolls at the cobblers near me. I have many reasons why I want to steer it this way, some of them like my constant anger and frustrating striation with AI hope hype, my own screen addiction, which is probably similar to yours, and a fear of what I see screens and tech Zeitgeist is doing to my kids, but mostly I think, no, I'm in love with still the creative process. I hate what screens are doing to it. They are mucking about without ability to think. Fuck, efficiency, fuck, productivity. Fuck it all because you don't need screens to think. You don't need screens to think you don't need screens to think.
Office works docket and I’ve written on it: I lost my AirPods buying all this. The last song I heard on the AirPods was SEXUAL HEALING.
Docket writing. Yes that was me humming SEXUAL HEALING in the Texta aisle
A Texta drawing on a grafitti wall of a head that looks like me. He's saying I AM NW.
On a table a typewriter, textas, notebooks a post it note that says PUSH UPS and an open notebook that says This week's NW was brought to you by...

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The longhand edition.

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Discussion about this post

Beth
Sunliner
Oct 26Liked by Glenn Peters

Sweet pan between, "and then..." ----- "he asks a question"...

Weirdly I just took paper and pen with me on a hike. It's been a while...

Also. I thought i had typewriter envy...but nah - i want an old school electric typewriter with the low hum and those clicky click keys. Also, had Prahran Market in my head instead of Pran Central until I saw the pic

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Lisa ikin
Lisa ikin
Oct 18Liked by Glenn Peters

Loved the post-it note story! Had me on the edge of my seat :) My fave notebooks are Moleskins and I carry one with me always. I also have an old typewriter - a Hermes Baby and you have just prompted me to get it out and put in the new ribbon I ordered online 18 months ago.

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