The Scribble with Jeremy Bradley

When you're a kid, you look forward to the holiday routine: waking up, opening gifts, eat Christmas breakfast or brunch, and a night of playing with all of your new toys. Or, something like that. As you get older, things change. But when it's an entire overhaul of what used to be Christmas, is it too much? Jeremy Bradley thinks so. There's something about the nostalgia of the holidays from your childhood. But when the traditions -- that were so comfortable and familiar -- change, does that make you lose interest? Do you get so attached to the routine that mixing it up feels too different? JB talks about why he's checked out of his family holidays.

Let's face it: you might not make it to the end of the day. You could get hit by a car, your home could explode, you could have a heart attack. That's just the reality. Jeremy Bradley talks about the oddities of death. He discusses the funeral weirdness of a body lying in a box dressed in a suit and tie with its head propped on a pillow. JB chimes in on funeral preparations and the different customs and rituals people have.

Jeremy Bradley takes a round out of the "influencer" attitude of entitlement and self-importance. He relives the experience of meeting an "influencer" -- two of them, actually -- for the first time while on a media trip. "They were sizing me up, while they were potentially going to write a blog about the trip while I was there producing travel radio shows for 20 stations and 300,000 listeners," he said. "And I'm a union writer and broadcaster." He talks about their snide comments of him being "old school" but, in the end, he got the last laugh. Oh, yes he did. Spoiler: karma is a bitch!

Jeremy Bradley recently did an interview about what makes a good businessperson. The rising popularity of the "influencer" lifestyle has everyone on social media thinking their life is a business and, in turn, a moneymaker. The reality: it's not, and it shouldn't be. JB, a trained journalist and broadcaster of over 20 years, takes issue with everyone believing they're a content creator just because they're on social media. "Think about it: if someone told you 10 years ago to make videos of yourself putting on your makeup or picking out your outfit, you'd say, "Um, no thanks, I'm an adult," but today, it's all too common." He stresses that people put too much focus on creating content and performing for a social media audience than simply living in the real world. 

It seems like such a power move: "un-friending" or blocking someone on social media. It's the modern-day equivalent of someone on a 90s sitcom or daytime drama saying, "I'm outta here" before leaving an argument and walking out. Jeremy Bradley doesn't understand the politics of social media blocking when adults are communicating -- or not communicating. He recently discovered that several relatives "un-friended" him and laughed because he had no idea it happened. "Was it last week? Three years ago? I don't even know," he said. "Clearly it wasn't impactful to send a message." He talks about how juvenile and petty people make social media communications.

It's a super-sized Scribble this week! Jeremy Bradley's on a rant this week and it's all because he spent a full day with kids. His observation is that kids, these days, are obnoxious and suck. The big question: are the parents to blame? JB shares a story about the day-long charity event that had him wondering what the hell is wrong with the younger generation. "I'm going to tell you why I hate kids," he says with a laugh. The moment that set him off -- OFF! -- is explained. JB also wonders why some people reproduce. "I don't hear parents raving about how wonderful raising kids is anymore."

Age is something we can't escape. Jeremy Bradley talks about how people react and talk about their age. From dodging the subject (ahem, executive producer, Bonnie Winters) to attempting to be playful ("how old do you think I am?"), JB wonders why people don't just say the number without making it an issue. He talks about being 43 but not "looking" or "feeling" it and questions why people lie about their age for vanity. ("You can say you're 39 all you want, it doesn't change anything about your body," he says.) Later, he laughs at people who post on social media that it's their birthday... solely for attention. 

Politics is a weird game. And, yes, Jeremy Bradley sees it as a game. And that's thanks to how American politicians are acting and operating (or not) every day. Never more have U.S. laws and regulations been disregarded, challenged, stomped on and overlooked -- depending on who you ask. One side says everything's on the up and up, while the other says Pres. Trump is defying rules and breaking laws. At the same time, he gets away with it, so how solid are those laws (and the subsequent enforcement of them), anyway? "When did the people lose the power?" JB asks. He also shares a story about reaching out to his local politicians and the responses he did(n't) get.

We always hear about how little service workers are paid because restaurants operate on such thin margins. Jeremy Bradley calls BS on that. Why? "Explain $14 less-than-full glasses of wine when I can buy an entire bottle for $4 at Trader Joe's," he says. "I'm paying $7 for a side of fries that equals one potato. Would you ever pay $7 for one potato?" Yes, factor in the prep time (if potatoes are cut in-house), materials (oil, fryer, etc.) but isn't $7 a little extreme for a fried potato? On top of that, JB takes issue that he's expected to "reward" staff for walking back and forth to do their jobs when it comes to tipping. Later, he explains that he doesn't appreciate apps that solicit customers to tip before anything is even done with an order -- and manipulate customers with messaging like "orders with higher tips are often taken first" or "it's raining, tip generously." NMP, he says -- not - my - problem -- about workers earning low wages or driving in rain if they agreed to take the job.

When your partner goes out of town and you have the house to yourself, is there a sense of loneliness or a sense of freedom? Or, is there a third option? Laziness. Jeremy Bradley talks about his laziest week ever with the husband out of town. He takes procrastinating to a new level. He implemented certain criteria to actually do things and get things done. "I barely even moved my body the whole day," he says. Later, JB goes on another rant about social media and how Instagram has gone from photo sharing to political and life rants. Is it time to bring back pics of your meal?