Observations is a daily list blog
by Spencer Tweedy.

In July 2018, I was working at Union Park in Chicago when a person with unbelievable steez walked by. He had an all-brown outfit (broutfit); a handlebar mustache; a submarine sandwich in one hand; and, crucially, a ziplock bag of whole dill pickles in the other. Like he had to stock up on pickles for his stroll through the park.

I was so amazed by his schtick I felt like I had to document it. So I did. Then I wrote about the rest of my day, and the day after that, and after that, and I haven’t stopped since.

Since then, I’ve published a chapbook compiling my favorite entries from the first year of the blog and created a paper receipt series.

Publishing Observations scratches an old itch for me. From ages twelve to sixteen I blogged about my life and ended up making friends as far away as New Zealand. Having a small audience (made up mostly of Wilco fans!) at a young age influenced the way I saw myself and what I thought was possible in the world, in mostly positive ways. But at some point, social media and growing up made blogging feel weird. It took Observations’ bullet-pointy format — and the Pickle Man — to make it feel fun again.

Colophon

Generator Jekyll
Host Netlify
Git host GitHub
Registrar iWantMyName
Anonymous analytics Umami
Notes Bear and Field Notes
Syntax Markdown
Vector software Sketch
Code editor Nova

OBSERVATIONS is set in ISO by Scribble Tone. The logo is “Connections” and the list markers are a modified “Star” licensed from the Noun Project.

You can find all Observations posts in the archive.

Thank you!
Spencer