And within a week or so, he wasn’t, when the stock went down.

That sounds almost like satire, if it wasn’t the way the world works.

And all this makes me wonder what I would do if I had a trillion dollars.

First, I’d build a new studio and pay off my debt.

And I’d get a new car and a house somewhere warm with no income taxes.

And I’d buy the Buffalo Bills and the rest of the NFL, the NBA, baseball, and hockey too.

And I could because all those teams together are worth about $550 billion, which means I’d have about $450 billion left.

So yes, if I had a trillion dollars, I’d be rich.

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Odds are you didn’t. Or the last time you did, it was because you moved. Because in most of this country, one company in every community owns the wires to your house, and that is that. There’s no shopping around, because back in the early 20th century, it made sense, the grid costs a fortune to build and to maintain, and you can’t have five companies stringing competing wires down every street. So they gave one company a territory and regulated what they could charge.

Except they didn’t. And with no competition, our grid gets worse, and we pay more, and they make more.

And yes, we built this on purpose, a system without exits, and customers without power.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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Twenty bucks for the front lawn and more for the back after they take a look. I thought, ‘Smart kids.’ A quote!

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We passed; we had plans to tackle those chores ourselves.

The boys said thank you, and they politely moved on to their next house and the house after that.

But I must admit, I admire their hustle and their work ethic, because those boys, they’re making the most of what they have: a little gas, some equipment, strong backs, boundless energy, and some ambition.

All that should bode well for their futures.

So, what did your first little job teach you?

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And on one hand, I get it. If AI can do it faster and cheaper, why wouldn't you use it? But on the other side, I see the 20-something who needed that job because they have loans and bills and need to learn some useful skills.

To them, this probably feels like the apocalypse. It might be. But let's hope not, because then we have bigger problems.

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Sources

https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/the-jobs-ai-is-likely-to-boost-and-those-it-may-disrupt

Everybody knows this. The cops know this. The lawmakers know this. You know this. I know it. The same thing on city streets. If it's 30, most people are going 35. If it's 20, most people are going 25.

And we're all fine with it, for the most part, because we've quietly agreed that the rule is more of a suggestion. And we wonder why kids stop taking the rules seriously. They learned it from us.

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Because we all have easy, instant access to every song ever recorded, and that also means every new song released now walks into a room already packed with all the best and worst music ever, and has to earn its place right next to it.

All this is new. Every new song used to enter a world with a short memory. Now it enters a world with a perfect one.

That’s why new music doesn’t hit the way it used to. The competition has never been harsher.

What do you think about new music? Do you connect to it as well as you do to older songs?

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And you adjust. Quietly, without telling anyone. Because you’re not the kind of person who complains about gas prices. You just don’t do one or two or three things this month that you did last month. That’s thirty or forty extra dollars a month or week. Manageable, maybe.

And that’s if you’re fortunate. But if your margins were already thin, you can’t just tweak a thing or two.

Each cut hurts, especially now. Yes, gas is up, and a lot. But so is food and car insurance, blow after blow after blow.

Because the thing about living on the margins, and I know a thing or two about living on the margins, is that it’s always a multi-front war, one that you can’t budget for. So America, welcome to life on the margins. Here’s hoping we won’t be there long.

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“Follow your passion” is beautiful advice if you can afford it. But most graduates can’t, and they’re walking into a market that wants experience they don’t have and knows AI doesn’t want vacations or health insurance.

So these kids take the first job they can get, and that passion talk becomes a nice memory from a day when they wore a funny hat.

Now, I’m not against passion. The Daily Note is a passion project. I just prefer honesty. Something like, “Find something you’re good at that someone will pay you for,” would suffice.

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“I intend to live forever. So far, so good.”

And recently, I realized why this one sticks with me. I think it’s because it describes how most people approach their lives.

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We’re just out here, planning to keep going, with good intentions. So far, so good.

Or at least I do, most of the time.

What about you, and what do you think about this? And do you wanna live forever, too?

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But this time, I had a moment of clarity about it all, or about us. I realized that we don't just shop, we compete.

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We scan the aisles for slow walkers, estimating the number of items in the carts ahead of us, watching the cashier's hands while we decide which lane to pick, or at least I do.Shopping isn't just an activity. It's a weird, common, stressful sport. I wish there were trophies. What do you think? Am I wrong here? And what's your shopping strategy?

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First of all, my apologies, I haven’t sent as many emails as normal. I’ve been very busy working on the next iterations of this program and on a brand-new project that will premiere on this site on Monday. It’s called a short, daily history program called American Rewind. I could write it all down, but I think this one you oughta listen to if you can. In just a little over a week, we’ve been cleared on 17 stations with about five or six others who say they’re considering adding us in the coming weeks. That’s a strong sign. That audio trailer is above and below.

The Daily Note in the morning, American Rewind in the afternoon. I’ve also been working on a video version of the Daily Note:

I’m rolling out video soon!

I’m hoping to be back on a regular schedule on Monday. Thanks for your patience!

James

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It's census data saying that red states grew their child population by 7% since the year 2000.

The obvious read here is tribal, and yes, we're extremely polarized.But that's only part of the picture.

Even the conservative think tank that made the chart agrees with that.The Institute for Family Studies says this is more about affordability and housing than politics.

And of course, they're right.

When a starter home costs half as much in Nashville as it does in San Francisco, a young family starts googling and eventually loads a U-Haul, no matter what their politics are.And if blue states don't fix housing and affordability, they won't fix their population drain anytime soon.

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The company traced it back to a personality option called "nerdy" that rewarded the bot for being playful.

They eventually retired the nerdy setting, but the goblins kept coming.

So they had to write code telling the bot to never bring up creatures unless somebody asked for them—which I find pretty funny.

Here's the smartest people on the planet—or so they think—telling a machine to stop talking about made-up creatures unless we ask for them. Which we won't.

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Source: Where the goblins came from

Then walk down a street where none of that happens.You feel the difference immediately because a maintained street says someone cares about this place, and a rough street says no one's looking here.Order signals competence, and disorder signals abandonment.The message you send with neglect is louder than any single policy.It says we gave up on this place, and anyone who comes through there feels it, whether they want to or not.

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A young comedian approached him and asked him his secret to his success.Seinfeld said, " Get a big wall calendar and a red marker.Write material each day,” he said, “And then put a big X on that day.And after a few days, you’ve got a chain.And then your only job is to not break that chain.

That’s it. No inspiration required. No waiting on the right mood.Just put another X on the wall next to the other X’s.It’s the most boring advice in the world. It’s also the most useful.

What’s the most boring piece of advice you’ve received?

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You’re tired, so you eat on your couch. And after enough days like that, eating with other people starts to feel like something that takes planning.

A quarter of all Americans between 18 and 24 ate every single meal alone yesterday. And that number has doubled in the last 20 years.

We didn’t choose this.

It just sorta happened to us. One skipped dinner at a time until alone became our default.

And the part that gets me is how many of us stopped noticing this situation. We just accept it these days.

What about you?

How often do you eat alone?

Source:25% of young Americans aged 18 to 24 eat every meal alone—‘a virtual doubling of what it was two decades ago,’ expert says

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/14/25percent-of-young-americans-aged-18-to-24-eat-every-meal-alone.html

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And that makes sense, I guess. We signed up for each subscription once. And we said yes once. And then we were charged forever. And then the price kept going up and up and up. While our bank accounts went down, down, down. It’s a quiet autopilot. Ingenious and insidious. The average person has 12 of these subscriptions, and we only use like half of them. It’s a great business if you can get into it.

What do you think? How many of these subscriptions do you have? And if you had to start over, how many would you keep?

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They found that the company knew it and they hid it. A day later, a different jury found that Meta and YouTube were liable for social media addiction.

So what’s the rub here? These platforms knew what they were doing. Get us hooked as kids and they’ll have us forever and drain our pocketbooks. Sounds awful. Because it is awful.

What do you think? And what can and should we do about all this?

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Those structures collapsed because we redesigned daily life in ways that made them unnecessary. We moved to suburbs, worked from home, ordered in, and scrolled on our screens instead of calling people.

Every tradeoff makes sense in the moment. And now some estimates say we’re paying $500 billion a year just to connect with people. I guess loneliness has a price.

So what do you think?

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“Hello, this is Sofia Lopez with the lending qualifications regarding your loan request...”

They’ve offered me anywhere from $10,000 to $90,000.

So one day I got frustrated, and I actually tried to talk to one. And the funny thing was — they had no idea how to respond.

Think about it. It can leave a message, but it can’t take a meeting. It’s like someone gave a man a million voices and a mouth, but no ears.

What do you think? Are you receiving these kinds of spam calls?

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I chuckled.

I drive a Nissan, and I couldn’t care less about what Nissan’s CEO thinks about society or politics. But it’s a sign of our times that a growing number of Americans feel they need to agree with the people who sell them things.

But if they ever truly stopped and thought about it, they’d realize that thinking like that would leave them with a lot less to buy. Start with your phone. Work through your house. Do the research and see how far you get.

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He’s not saying they’re evil. He’s saying they become toxic if they’re the point of your life. After a certain income, more money doesn’t move the needle for you. Power isolates you. Pleasure is temporary because your brain adapts and demands more. And fame — well, it makes you dependent on people who don’t know you.

He says the four that work are faith, family, friends and work. He says we chase the wrong four things — and so many of us wonder why we feel so empty all the time.

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Greek or Icelandic. Oat or almond. Low-fat or full-fat.

And every container has a claim on it. One promises better digestion.

Another, stronger immunity. From what? I don’t know.

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I half expected one to promise to fix my credit score.

Remember when it was strawberry or blueberry? That was it.

Now I’m leaving the back of containers like they’re contracts.

So I grabbed the one with Oreos in it and left. Took me about three seconds. Best decision I made all week.

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We tell ourselves to put it down, and except we don’t mean it — I think we do. We set screen time limits, and then it’s an hour later, and we’re watching a stranger organize their pantry.

We treat phone time like it’s a diet these days. We’re always about to start. Tomorrow. Monday. January. And just like dieting, waiting to change never turns into change itself.

Maybe not because we’re fighting the wrong battle. We’re trying to use the phone less, rather than asking what we’d do instead. Until we answer that, I suspect the phone will win — because the phone always has an answer, even when we don’t.

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If 54% of American adults read below a 6th-grade level, who’s helping their children with homework?

Kids whose parents struggle with reading are almost certain to fall behind, too. Yet we continue to treat literacy as a school problem. Better teachers, a better curriculum, and better funding will fix it all. But if a kid goes home and the adults can’t read their permission slips, report cards, or bedtime stories, teachers and schools can only do so much.

A staggering 130 million adults need help with reading. And it’s not their failure. It’s our nation’s. We should be ashamed of that.

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I turned down my street, and I found kids playing basketball near our speed bump.

I stopped, and I waited, and they glared at me as if I had done something wrong.

They took their sweet time, but the kids slowly parted, and I passed through.

As I watched one of them score in my rearview mirror, I couldn’t help but stare at my salt and pepper hair. In that moment, all I could think of was that kid was me 20-some years ago.

And if they’re lucky, and I hope they are, they’ll do the same for someone else down the road.

What about you?

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The number of Americans who read for fun has dropped every single year for the last 20 years. And it’s not because books got worse. I think it’s because they’re not as easy as social media.

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Meanwhile, 44% of American adults didn’t open a single book last year. Not one.

Now, I’m not romanticizing the past. Reading books and newspapers didn’t make everything perfect. But it did help.

I wonder what happens to a country that stops reading — not because it can’t afford books, but because it forgot why they matter.

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According to the late Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created Dilbert, if you can get there in two or three different skill sets, you could become something uncommon. He called it the talent stack.

He wasn’t the best artist. He wasn’t the funniest person in the room. And he wasn’t the best at business. But he was pretty good at drawing, humor, and sales. That combination built a comic strip that ran in 65 countries at one point.

And I think he’s right. We spend so much time chasing greatness in one thing that we forget how powerful it is to be good at a few. The value is in how you put it all together.

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And he’s not the only one. There are lots of Mr. and Mrs. Perpetuals out there. Democrats, Republicans, and yes, third-party candidates. Not just in my town — they’re everywhere.

Most of us quit after one rejection letter. But not them. They print new yard signs.

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There’s something almost beautiful about refusing to take no for an answer in a republic like ours. Something heartbreaking about it, too. When I see Mr. Perpetual’s 10th lawn sign on the curb, I feel both at once.

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.

We’re not a country full of people who can’t connect with each other. No, it’s sadder than that. We’re a country full of people who lost touch — one canceled dinner at a time.

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And you know exactly what I’m talking about. We’ve all had plans and didn’t go. Meant to call and didn’t. Something came up, or nothing came up, but we were tired. And the next week came, the next month, the next year. And now it’s been so long that we don’t bring it up anymore.

What’s worse — to me, at least — is that it’s rarely a falling out or a decision. It’s just another friendship capsized by the waves of life.

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Returning your cart isn’t required by law. Nobody gets fined. There’s no shopping cart police. It’s just the right thing to do — for the next person, for the workers, for the idea that we share a public space.

There’s no reward. You just didn’t make someone else’s day harder.

I return my cart almost every time. Not because I’m a great person, but because I can spare 30 seconds for a stranger.

And if we can’t handle returning a grocery cart, how do we handle the bigger tests of living together?

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Never close your heart, even when you’re hurt. See more of this country and this world. Dream big — and once you do, dream bigger. Aim above the horizon.

Yes, you can change the world. But you can’t change people.

Whatever you do, nothing will be given to you. You’ll have to stand up straight, with your shoulders back, and take what you want. Remember that even the fortunate have to work hard — even if you don’t see it.

And sing songs. Because wherever you live, those walls are better when they’re filled with music.

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It’s called coffin meditation, and the woman who designed it said something that stays with me. She says she wants people to experience a death that can be reversed before they choose one that can’t.

It reminds me of a statistic I came across a while ago: Japan is the only wealthy nation where suicide is the leading cause of death for young people. And somebody’s response was to build a room where you could practice being gone — and then come back.

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Sources:‘How I ended up in a coffin at a bar in Tokyo’

The pattern reached three degrees out. Your kindness touches people you know, people they know, and people you will never meet. That’s according to a study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And you’ll never see it happen. You’ll never get a thank-you. You’ll never know the chain you started. You just have to trust that it moved forward.

What do you think? Have you ever been kind to a stranger and wondered if it mattered at all?

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Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, had a name for it. He called it the bit player problem.

Yes, we’re the stars of our own movies, but we shouldn’t assume that everyone else is watching ours.

They’re not. They’re busy running their own films.

Think about the people outside your family and your closest friends. How much time do you spend on their mistakes? Probably not much.

The same goes for them, too. The people who love you will forgive you. And odds are, everyone else isn’t thinking about you at all.

The trial in your head has been dismissed. Or it doesn’t exist at all.

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That’s according to the Census Bureau. That’s 3 million companies, all run by people who are at or near retirement age. And most of us have never thought about what happens next.

We worry about recessions, layoffs, and interest rates. But there’s a different kind of shift coming. One that doesn’t really have a name yet.

It’s not exactly a crash. It’s a mass retirement. Three million owners are going to go poof. They’re deciding whether to sell or to close, or who to hand it off to.

That’s our hardware stores, the accounting firms, and the landscaping companies. That’s your entire town.

What happens when half the people who build our businesses decide they’re done? We’ll find out soon.

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But for me, the most fascinating part was what was around him. The whole place was full of people gawking at him, and a sea of phones streaming or filming him. It's no surprise that the videos went viral.

Now, if I didn't want some sort of fame, you wouldn't be hearing from me now. But that kind of fame, that's more than I think anyone bargained for. Even when you want it badly.

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This is the latest of many recent confirmations of a long-held belief of mine, that moviegoing has become, and will continue to be, an elite activity. There are lots of reasons for this.

The industry seems scared of new ideas, and access to the entire history of media, from Charlie Chaplin to this show, is easier than ever. But the most startling reason why is that most normal people, like you and me, can't afford it. When the cost of living goes up, and wages don't, something's gotta give.

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Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/03/06/as-the-academy-awards-approach-a-look-at-moviegoing-habits-in-the-united-states/

And I don’t think most people who are carrying a balance are being irresponsible. I think most of them were never taught what those numbers actually mean because somewhere along the way, we decided that understanding money was something we’d figure out on our own.

We know the credit card company won’t teach us. School doesn’t teach us, and most of our parents either. And the person who pays for that is us.

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.

While researchers recently found a new piece of that puzzle, they tell a Smithsonian that they found graffiti in lots of it, 11,000 pieces so far: everything from gladiator drawings, to jokes, to poems, and at least one love note on a wall: one woman asked Venus to bless her boyfriend, but my favorite was a complaint.

Someone said there was too much graffiti, it’s just another reminder that people were and are people even 2000 years ago, wherever you go, there you are.

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Pompeii’s Graffiti Captures Every Joke, Boast and Argument of an Ancient Roman City Frozen in Time

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pompeiis-graffiti-captures-every-joke-boast-and-argument-of-an-ancient-roman-city-frozen-in-time-180987831/

Look, everything I’ve learned about that regime tells me they are religious despots who’ve killed their own people.

That’s all awful. But after a lifetime of my country at war, I’m sick and tired of American presidents cherry picking when to play policemen, siding with certain dictators, and deciding to topple others.

And it’s never the politician that pays. We do with our blood, our treasure, and yes, our gas prices. What do you think? And do you think this will ever stop? I’m not so sure.

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They sat there forever, waiting, waiting for someone to have an idea. I stopped at that light a thousand times, looking left and right, wondering what would finally fill them.

A bakery, a bike shop, you know, something that someone sketched out on a napkin.

Now I know. Cannabis shops, one on each corner. Now I’m a capitalist.

I want those buildings to fill up with someone’s dreams. But after all that waiting, all that possibility, the best idea we have is two pot stores? I fear we’re out of ideas. As a community, as a state, and as a nation.

What do you think?

What finally filled the empty spaces in your hometown?

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Because our system only works when the young can support the old. And if they can’t, it appears they won’t soon enough. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men won’t be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

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Well, that’s over, at least for now. For the first time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking it, trade workers now have the advantage.

Yes, plumbers and electricians now have a lower unemployment rate than people with bachelor’s degrees.

And get this, the Federal Reserve says the era of easy job finding for college grads has ended. All this made me realize something sad.

Like so much else in our world, our families in our schools prepared us for lifestyles that barely exist anymore.

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Not California, not New York, but the Midwest. I don’t know if it’s the cost or the pace or something harder to name. Maybe we traded the affordable for the aspirational.

And now we’re trading back. The coasts still get the attention, but the middle, it’s quietly filling up. It’s funny how the overlooked places have a way of becoming the chosen ones.

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New Hampshire is waiting on Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Delaware needs Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. And so on and so forth, and across the country we go.

You see the problem?

So many state leaders hate daylight saving time, but everyone’s waiting on everybody else to make a decision. I can’t think of a better allegory for modern government, often slow and sloppy, and usually still till they have to do something.

That’s why I bet we’re not going to stop changing our clocks.

Anytime soon.

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Sources:

https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/5706786-daylight-saving-time-these-states-are-already-considering-bills-to-lock-the-clocks/

Colossal Biosciences and the University of Melbourne created the world’s first artificial womb for marsupials. You know, small, hairy mammals such as the koala and raccoons.

Why? Well, they’re trying to bring back the Tasmanian tiger. You heard me right. It’s an animal that’s been extinct since 1936.

Now, let’s pause to consider the strangeness of living in a time when we’re simultaneously driving species toward extinction and trying to bring one back from the dead.

It’s kind of inspiring. And unsettling.

And it makes me think of what Jeff Goldblum said in “Jurassic Park”: “They got so caught up in if they could that they forgot to ask if they should.”

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Scientists Grow Extinct Species In Artificial Womb To Halfway Through Pregnancy

https://www.msn.com/en-us/science/biology/scientists-grow-extinct-species-in-artificial-womb-to-halfway-through-pregnancy/ar-AA1COzR0

A new poll asked two thousand Americans that question. The average was 5.3 out of 10.

Not terrible. Not great. Just meh.

That’s according to Talker Research.

A quarter of us said it was a bad year. About a fifth of us said it was good. But most people landed in the middle. They shrugged.

This is one of the few things that we’re not a nation of extremes about. We’re a nation of “it was fine, I guess.”

I wonder if that’s where we live now. Not broken, not thriving, just getting through it all.

What do you think? Tell me your two cents. How would you rate 2025?

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And I find myself asking a question that never quite gets answered: What are we doing with the extra time?

We’ve gotten better at not dying. I’m just not sure we’ve gotten better at living. The CDC says we’ve beaten back heart disease, cancer, even drug overdoses. The numbers are moving in the right direction.

But longevity isn’t the same thing as a life well lived. You can add years without adding meaning. You can extend the clock without filling the hours.

So we’re living longer. Are we living better? What do those extra years look like for most people?

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“Please don’t flush paper towels.” That means somebody flushed paper towels. “Employees must wash hands.” That means somebody didn’t. I saw a sign in the grocery store the other day that caught me off guard. “No vaping, no smoking in the bathroom.

”

I’ve never considered either. But the image of someone at the urinal or washing their hands while vaping made me chuckle.

Signs like that don’t just appear. Somebody did it and probably more than one person. And somebody on staff walked in, or smelled it, and they had enough. Every posted rule is a tiny history lesson. It means something happened here, and it’s probably still happening.

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My first cast-iron pan, which I didn’t know how to clean. My college ID that I threw out of the window somewhere on Niagara Falls Boulevard on my last day on campus. And then there’s my oh-so-bad short films that confounded my film professor.

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Many years later, I’d like to touch, and see, and feel these things. But I can’t. They’re gone because I didn’t realize how valuable they were and a truth as inevitable as my greying hair: forgetting always wins. What about you?

Have you thrown something away that you wish you could hold again?

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Then I fell in love with a woman with an aging, expressive, small dog named Eddie, who always got in the way.

Eddie died not long ago. I called him Eddie Vedder.

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It’s been a long decline for him. He was going blind, and was often confused, and was sundowning. I’m pretty sure I took him for his last walk. We used to go blocks. Not anymore. He recognized the tree in front of the house, but not the house itself.

I didn’t realize the punch that pets pack. But I’m glad I felt it.

Rest in peace, Eddie Vedder.

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In Denmark, they don’t do this. They send you a letter that tells you what you owe. And if it’s wrong, you challenge it. In Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, and about 30 other countries worldwide, they do it that way.

We don’t.

We pay someone to tell the government what the government already knows.

Doesn’t it strike you as strange?

Why do we put our people through this?

And what’s a better option?

What do you think? Am I wrong here?

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Sources

* The Conversation: “The IRS already has all your income tax data – so why do Americans still have to file their taxes?” - https://theconversation.com/the-irs-already-has-all-your-income-tax-data-so-why-do-americans-still-have-to-file-their-taxes-175777

* ProPublica: “Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free” - https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free

* OpenSecrets: “TurboTax owner Intuit ramps up lobbying as debate over government-run free tax filing heats up” - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/05/turbotax-owner-intuit-ramps-up-lobbying-as-debate-over-government-run-free-tax-filing-heats-up/

* HowStuffWorks: “The IRS Already Has Our Data So Why Do We Still File Taxes?” - https://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/personal-income-taxes/us-return-free-tax-news.htm

Reports say about $500,000. I thought he was out of his mind and underpaid. Until I heard what he said next. He said he would have climbed that building without cameras or contracts. If the owners just gave him permission, because he could, because it would be amazing. And then I saw myself in him.

Most of us don’t do anything unless someone’s watching or demanding it, unless you’re like him or me. And you just want to know, If you could, if your dreams are possible.

So what about you?

What leap of faith have you made or are you considering?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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And he’s right, and so is she. And we’re not doing so well at all this. Happiness in America is falling as our birth rates and they’ve been moving together since the late 2000s.

God or Mother Nature or evolution or whoever gave us the drive for connection for status, for intimacy, assuming that would all lead to children. And it did for 200,000 years or so. Then we built the world we have today. We built an expensive society with fewer kids. And we’ve created every possible excuse to avoid human contact.

I bet Mother Nature didn’t see that one coming.

What do you think? Am I wrong here?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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Then I got up.

It was hard, but I kept moving, as if nothing happened. That’s the brutal truth about life: A person cares. Maybe a few who know you and love you. But people expect you to keep going. It doesn’t matter whether you’re hurt, angry, or tired. You gotta dust yourself off. Put your hat and scarf on and keep muscling through till you fall again. Because we all will.

It’s not a bug. It’s a feature.

What do you think? Am I wrong here?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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At twenty, he was a proud Democrat.

By thirty, he thought they’d lost the plot.

And now at forty, he sees no room in the party for himself, or those somewhat like him

.That’s why he’s politically homeless.

Well, I am too, Sam.

But for different reasons.

I’m a Black, independent, civil libertarian.

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I feel abandoned by a shrinking political tent.

I think too much power in too few hands is crazy.

And I think it’s foolish not to have borders.

But putting a wall on those borders is unacceptable, too.

Because it can keep us from leaving.

Our republic has survived because change is slow and debate is hard.

It’s a feature, not a bug.

So what do you think?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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“Welcome to the gas station. Enjoy your day.”

Sounds nice, right?

Except when I looked around, no one else was there.

That’s when I noticed a black box, all lit up. I tripped a sensor or something.

Then I realized it was a machine pretending to be a person pretending to be friendly.

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Three layers of fakeness that nobody asked for, in more security theater.

We all see the cameras, the cops, and all the locked shelves. It may stop some of us with shame, but how many shoplifters have that?

For most of my life, these asset-protection attempts weren’t visible or heard. And things were fine.

This isn’t helping. It’s just making us all paranoid.

What do you think? Am I wrong here?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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That’s the start of a quote from Daniel Burnham, the architect who shaped Chicago.

“Make no little plans,” he said. “They have no magic to stir man’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.”

Because little plans do not move people.

They do not wake you up in the morning.

They do not give you something to fight for.

Big plans, though, pull you forward.

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Big plans give you something worth the hard days.

Big plans can outlive you.

They are not always practical.

They are not always fast.

But big plans keep your pulse up.

So make no little plans.

So what do you think?

What is the size of your plans, and was he right?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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The longtime advice columnist once said that wisdom does not automatically come with age. Nothing does, except for wrinkles.

It is true that some wines improve with age, but only if the grapes were good in the first place. And boy, she was right.

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We want to believe that time makes us wiser, that lived years equal lessons learned. But as I watch the world around me, I see people in their sixties making the same mistakes that they made at thirty.

We do not grow up. We just get old.

Good grapes at twenty become better wine at fifty. And bad grapes? The only question that matters here is what made them bad in the first place.

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Today, it is under 210,000.

That is a third of our city gone, and they are not coming back.

That pattern is playing out everywhere in America.

We are reshuffling ourselves.

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West Virginia is down fifteen percent.

Meanwhile, Texas gains eight million people.

Utah is up thirty-five percent, while Maine shrinks.

Some of us follow jobs, weather, and affordability.

Those are rational choices that hollow out some places and make others boom.

But I’m taken with the question behind it all.

What makes someone stay where they are?

And what gets lost when they go?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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Who ya kidding?

That’s not higher than normal anymore. That IS normal. They just won’t hire enough people.

Researchers call it the “competence crisis.” Systems are breaking down because nobody knows how to fix them. The people who built these things are gone. Retired. Laid off. Replaced by contractors who Google solutions.

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In short we've hollowed out expertise to save money. Now everything’s held together with digital duct tape and prayersWhat do you think? When did we decide competence was too expensive?

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At a gas station on the edge of town, I watched a man spend three hundred dollars on lottery tickets, one hundred dollars on scratch-offs, and the rest on Win Four and daily numbers. He calmly read the numbers from a small spiral notebook while the line grew behind him.

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I almost left, but I was taken by his decision-making. Three hundred dollars is not nothing. It is groceries or maybe a car payment, real money disappearing into a system designed for him to lose.

I think he knows the odds, because we all do on some level. But I bet he is there every week with his notebook, playing his numbers. And I should have asked him why.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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Mr. President, do you write your own tweets or do you just dictate your ramblings?

I always envision you summoning some bored scribe at 3:00 AM ALL CAPS on this insult, but not the other one.

By the way, can you order Elon Musk to call it Twitter again? No one likes calling X.

And was it weird to have a world leader call you daddy? I can’t imagine that.

Thanks for some of the Epstein files, but where are the rest, and why so many redactions? And while you're at it, what about aliens?

And why do you keep choosing radio and TV stars and podcasters for your cabinet, but on second thought, keep at it.

At least I know I have a second career path or sixth.

What would you ask President Trump?

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That’s according to Gallup, and it’s higher than any Western country except Turkey.

The most connected generation in history is growing up with phones in their hands and no one else across the table.

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And as sad as that is to think about, here’s what keeps me up at night: Loneliness predicts openness to political violence. Not your political party, or your ideology, or your religion, or the news you watch. Feeling alone in society can open you up to extreme behavior.

If that worries you at all, what are you thinking? What, if anything, can we do about it?

Let me know on JamesABrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Source:

Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West: One in four U.S. men under age 35 report feeling lonely

According to researchers at Cambridge, the brain stays in its adolescent phase until around age thirty-two. That’s an average, of course. They say that’s when something called neural efficiency peaks, and our brain’s wiring sets.

Think about it. That means every decision before age 32 comes from an underdeveloped brain. Kinda scary, right?

Look, I’m not saying we can’t make good choices early in life. I certainly had good ones and bad ones, but if this is true, shouldn’t we at least consider the consequences? That maybe adulthood isn’t what we thought it was. What do you think?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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Sources:

* University of Cambridge: “Scientists identify five ages of the human brain over a lifetime” - https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/five-ages-human-brain

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The car’s support team flagged “unusual activity” during the ride. That’s one way to put it. They called 911, but the taxi still arrived first. Mom and baby are OK. And Waymo took the car out of service for cleaning, which feels like the least surprising part of this whole story.

Strangely enough, the company tells ABC News this wasn’t even the first baby born in one of their cars. Apparently, robots have been delivering babies and just not mentioning it.

“We’re proud to be a trusted ride for moments big and small,” a Waymo statement said. “Serving riders from just seconds old to many years young.”

I’m not sure that’s what happened, but that’s PR for ya.

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It’s interesting that most people who want to go back there weren’t alive for it.

That’s the trick with nostalgia. The further back we look, the softer the focus and the more Vaseline on the lens. We keep what we want and filter out the rest. I don’t think the past was better. It was different, and we weren’t there to be disappointed by it like many of us are today. So what do you think?

Would you wanna live in the past? Let me know at jamesabrown.net.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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Sources:

Pew Research Center: "If They Could, More Americans Would Live in the Past Than in the Future" (December 12, 2025) https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/12/12/if-they-could-more-americans-would-live-in-the-past-than-in-the-future/

President Trump’s decision to remove Nicholas Maduro is a reminder that he and Joe Biden, and Barack Obama, and George W. Bush. and Bill Clinton, and so many presidents before them can’t help themselves. They all can’t fight the urge to pick winners and losers internationally. They bomb one set of countries and befriend others.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Does this pattern bother you too?

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When I last got stuck, my neighbors were quick to remind me. An old lady told me to shovel more. A young man said, " Put sand behind my tires. An older man said, " No, use rock salt instead.

But it takes a special sort to go beyond advice and actually help.

In this case, it was my mailman. We performed the old standby. I hit the gas in reverse while he pushed. Thankfully, it was only a minute or two before I was free.

I offered him thanks and money, and he refused both. Then he said, “I’ve been doing this all day.”

We shook hands, and off into the blizzard he went.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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For nine years on “All in the Family,” Reiner’s Meathead locked horns with his father-in-law, Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker. Archie saw Meathead as a fool. And he was. Meathead saw Archie as a bigot. And he was. But despite their differences, they kept showing up for each other. Because they’re family, that was the whole point of the show. That you could fight like hell, you can disagree on everything, and you could still belong to each other. That’s a lesson I wish we could all learn.

Rob Reiner was murdered by his son. He was seventy-eight.

Sources

* CNN: Rob and Michele Reiner found dead in LA home (December 15, 2025) https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/homicide-detectives-investigating-at-address-connected-with-hollywood-director-rob-reiner

* Variety: Rob Reiner Dead (December 14, 2025) https://variety.com/2025/film/news/rob-reiner-dead-princess-bride-spinal-tap-1236608541/

* NBC News: Filmmaker Rob Reiner and wife found dead (December 15, 2025) https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-found-dead-rob-reiner-home-brentwood-los-angeles-rcna249223

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And the logic is pretty strong here. They say a quarter of restaurant transactions are still cash. All this means that making change just got harder.

What’s funny to me, and kinda sad, is our government apparently didn’t care, ask, or consider the consequences of their choices. Par for the course, I suppose.

What do you think? Let me know on JamesABrown.net.

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Heartwarming ehh?

I always find this argument kinda funny. Coaches and politicians make it, and it’s almost always a lie.

It’s like their families were hatched from some egg, like they’re props that didn’t exist before yesterday’s game or campaign stop, let alone decades of high-profile work.

Give it a year, and we always see them again. And don’t worry, no one will ask about their family again.But I could be wrong. She could be telling the truth. But then agai,n how many politicians do that?

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stefanik-suspends-campaign-new-york-governor-run-reelection/story?id=128568075

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/stefanik-exits-ny-governor-race-not-run-reelection-us-house

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My stance on this remains unchanged: We are never, ever, ever, ever paying back all that student loan debt. Like, ever.It’s $1.6 trillion of well-meaning but poorly conceived universally guaranteed pseudo-government debt from 42 million people, many of whom are behind or in default. That math doesn’t work.

You can garnish wages or seize tax refunds or Social Security checks, and at the end of all that, the number barely moves because it’s a bad idea that colleges have abused for decades.That’s why I believe a student loan debt jubilee is coming sooner than later. Not just because people will demand it, and they will, but because the system will leave us no other choice.

https://www.newsbreak.com/the-daily-note-347942859/4415117252089-we-are-never-ever-ever-ever-paying-all-this-student-loan-debt-back-like-ever-your-reaction

https://www.newsbreak.com/the-daily-note-347942859/4410648001620-opinion-we-are-never-ever-ever-ever-paying-the-student-loan-debt-back-like-ever

The Guinness Book of World Records lists them as the oldest married couple ever recorded, with a combined age of 216 years. They married in 1942, right before Lyle shipped to Italy to fight in the Second Great War.

When asked their secret, Eleanor said, “We love each other,” and Lyle said, “I love my wife. It’s simple.”

They also mentioned staying curious and sharing a beer at lunch. Small rituals and daily attention, who can ask for much more than that?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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By February, we were talking about something else.

I’m not sure what I expected. We’ve gotten efficient at processing tragedy, and the news cycle demands it. But this one stayed with me. Maybe it was how visible the crash was, or how preventable it felt, or maybe I watched the video more times than I should have.

67 people woke up that morning with plans for the evening, and then they were gone.

Sources:

* Wikipedia: “2025 Potomac River mid-air collision” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Potomac_River_mid-air_collision

* The Root: “Craziest Events We Never Could Have Predicted in 2025” - https://www.theroot.com/craziest-events-we-never-could-have-predicted-in-2025-2000075644

What stays with you from this year?

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All the images of people driving through flames to escape and orange skies at noon seem to have been memory-holed from the national conversation.

Recently, I started watching podcaster and comedian Adam Carrola’s vlogs: surveying the damage. He showed entire neighborhoods that were erased. And he’s not sure if it’ll ever be back to the way it was.

The fires are out now. But I keep thinking about the people who lost everything, and the people who will next time.

What stays with you from this year?

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There are clips of weary dads doing the best they can. Movie sons and fathers having the conversations real sons and dads struggle to have.

Now, I’m not a dad. At least not yet. But I found myself watching these clips and feeling something I didn’t expect. It was like looking into an odd mirror, seeing a version of myself that doesn’t yet exist. But somehow, it feels like it.

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Aging announces itself in big ways, like gray hair and achy knees. But sometimes it sneaks up on you through a meme that hits different than it used to.

What do you think? Has this happened to you?

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Now, I am not immune to this. I see the budget, I wince, and I spend it anyway. Because what is the alternative? Sitting everyone down and explaining that we are opting out? Good luck with that conversation.

But recently, it became clear to me that we have turned showing love into a line item. And every year, the price of admission seems to be going up.

So what do you think? What will you spend on Christmas this year?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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The man has a point. Psychologists call it “enclothed cognition.” What we wear shapes how we think and act.

I’m all for dressing comfortably, but some folks have taken it way too far. I see pajamas at the grocery store, the gas station, and yes, on planes and trains.

I don’t know if this has had a direct impact on our behavior, but more of us have started treating public spaces like living rooms, and other people like furniture. That’s no good.

Sources:

* Fox News: “Stop wearing pajamas on airplanes, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says” - https://www.foxnews.com/travel/stop-wearings-pajamas-airplanes-transportation-secretary-sean-duffy-says-about-bringing-civility-back

* WION: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launches civility campaign -

* Adam & Galinsky: “Enclothed Cognition” - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2012 - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103112000200

* FAA: Unruly Passengers - https://www.faa.gov/unruly

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Part of it is the weather in Brazil, but we can’t forget the 50% tariff from the Trump administration. And its no surprise that Roasters passed on the cost to us. And the math adds up fast.

The Yale Budget Lab estimates that the average household lost $3,800 in purchasing power in 2025. For families at the bottom, it’s almost $4000 they didn’t have.And it sneaks up on you. You don’t notice an extra thirty cents on a bag of beans until you don’t buy them, and the thing after that. And the thing after that.So, what small thing have you quietly stopped buying this year?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

Harvard researchers analyzed millions of people and found poor kids with friendships across economic backgrounds have a better shot at climbing out of poverty. It’s more important than your school or neighborhood.

Now we can’t force kids to sit together or be friends. But you can teach them to be open and curious. That’s why I tell kids who grew up poor like I did to go away to school, to see more of this country and world, to meet people who live even a little differently than you do and learn to love the difference.

Your zip code matters less than your lunch table.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

Third in line, second in line, then I paid cash.A weary cashier gave me change, and from behind the glass, he asked me how I wasI said I’m making it. I asked him the same. And he agreed.“Keep going,” I said.

“I’m trying.” He told me. “I’ve been up for 44 hours.” 12 hours at the gas station, another eight overnight, and back again. I didn’t know what to say. So I awkwardly told him to get some sleep.As I pumped the gas. I felt guilty. I felt privileged. And grateful for what I’ve earned.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

This isn’t charity. It’s the law. If you want to demolish a house on the island, you have to offer it up for free first, wait thirty days, and see if anyone wants it.

Mary Bergman of the Nantucket Preservation Trust tells Realtor.com that

“People have been moving houses on Nantucket since they began building them here,” says

They even call it moving season. Why?

Well, Nantucket, as Bergman put it, is just a pile of sand, and there’s never been enough wood on the island for new building materials, which saves landfill space on an island.

I can’t get this picture out of my head: Houses rolling down streets. Cut in half, insulation hanging out. It’s Nantucket Normal.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

* Call or Text: (585) 371-8865

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

Formula One cars and brick flowers helped, but a big reason sales are up is that adults love them like a few of my friends and family.

When I ask them why, their reasons sound the same. They’re collectors who get to have an escape. A few hours away from the job, the bills, the news. Just a pile of bricks and the quiet joy of making something.

And that’s something even I can’t complain about.

So what about you? What takes you back to your inner kid?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net. Or call me use ‪(585) 371-8865 On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

* CNBC: “Lego hits record revenue in first half of 2025, boosted by brick flowers and cars” - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/27/lego-first-half-2025-earnings-post-record-revenue.html

* Lego.com: “The LEGO Group H1 2025” - https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2025/august/the-lego-group-achieves-double-digit-top--and-bottom-line-growth-in-h1-2025

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

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I get where they’re coming from. These kids grew up when it was nearly impossible to pretend that news anchors were different than pundits. They see journalists’ perspectives on social media constantly, and they watch the internet reward them for their slants. Objectivity barely existed for these kids.

They’re seeing our media clearer and more skewed than my generation did, and I don’t know which worries me more.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

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One of the most troubling responses I had to this came on YouTube. They said that, historically, purple people like me are the first wiped out when it hits the fan. I cannot help but be horrified by that notion.

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

In this country today, we speak so flippantly about war and violence that the true meaning of those words fades. But what worries me most is not whether I will be wiped out. It is whether you, and this nation, will be too. Because frankly, no one wants that, even those who think they do.

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

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I keep asking why someone with everything would risk it all?

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I’m not sure, but my best guess is a lack of depth perception. When you come from nothing and do something impossible like becoming a pro athlete, you can’t see the distance between where you are and where you could fall.

We see it time and again, they think they can pull off anything.

Add a few bad bounces and poor decisions, and you get a man trading a fortune for a courtroom, maybe a jail cell.

But that’s me. What do you think?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

For a few hours, our towns forget themselves, and the noise fades and the streets slow. Even the impatient pause at red lights a little longer, as the piles build on the streets.

We’ll complain soon enough—about the shoveling, and the salt, about the slush—but not yet. It’s new again for now.

What about you? How does the first snow feel?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

And I get it, my grandma lived to 91. She saw a century of the world and three generations grow up behind her.

But in the end, life wasn’t so great. She had glaucoma, lost lots of her memory, and was in a nursing home. Just about all she had saved was exhausted.

I struggle with whether the trade-offs are worth it. I’m not saying I wanna die early. I don’t. I hope you hear or read my work for ages to come, but that last leg is intimidating. I fear losing what makes me, me.

So what about you? Do you fear aging? And how long do you want to live?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

* Call or Text: (585) 371-8865

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

Will prices only end in fives and zeros now? Some fast-food restaurants are already rounding up. And what about wishing wells? Will they go empty, or maybe we will throw nickels into them now?

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What about phrases like “a bad penny” or “an honest penny”? Will they go away too? And what should I do about the giant bucket of pennies behind my desk, besides holding on to hope that a penny is no longer worth just a penny anymore?

What do you think?

The best conversations are two-way streets. I want to hear from you.

* Email: james@thedailynote.net

* Call or Text: (585) 371-8865

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P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and wherever podcasts are available.

When rent costs 60 percent of our incomes and starter homes require giant down payments, moving out is nearly impossible. We have created a system where independence has become a luxury good.

Three generations under one roof used to be normal. Then we had this brief historical moment, maybe 50 years, when many people could afford their own place. We assumed it was permanent. And like so many of our assumptions, we were wrong about that too.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net or leave me a voicemail or text at 585-371-8865. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That detail hits differently than abstract percentages. Using coupons means planning around what you cannot afford, making choices before you even get to the store, doing math on every aisle, and, myself included, doing math on every aisle.

We are all performing some version of this calculation. The grocery store never lies about the economy. You cannot avoid it, cannot wait it out, cannot shop around it. Every week, it is the same choices and the same small budget.

So what do you think? What is your grocery store telling you? Let me know on jamesabrown.net. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

We walk a tightrope of just-in-time everything. Turn one lever off, and so much could and will go wrong. Trash pickup is one of those things you do not think about until it stops happening. Then you notice real fast.

So what do you think? What other invisible systems are we one disruption away from noticing? Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Everywhere you look, someone is selling motivation. Posters online say, “Grind.” Coaches say, “Believe.” Ads tell us to live our best lives.

But real life is not a highlight reel. It is traffic, bills, bad sleep, and small victories.

The optimism industry turns hope into homework. You are not allowed to be tired. You are supposed to manifest.

Sometimes we do not need a pep talk. We need time to rest so we can get up and make it through another day.

So what do you think? Are we being inspired online or managed?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

A 65-year-old London woman had Parkinson’s disease for 10 years. To help her, her doctor suggested a surgery called deep brain stimulation.

But the surgeons needed her awake to know if they were hitting the right spots. And they did.

She told NBC News, “I remember my right hand being able to move with much more ease once the stimulation was applied.”

And this, in turn, improved her ability to play the clarinet—which she did for four hours during her own brain surgery.

I can’t imagine what that moment felt like other than heaps of joy.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

More from the Daily Note

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If Chuck Todd leaves Meet The Press and no one makes a sound, what does that say about political tv?

The last human at the counter

Why the System Wants You to Stay Home

It’s the nurse driving home at dawn. The teacher grading papers on her couch. The farmer fixing his tractor before the rain hits.

Ideas don’t shovel driveways or serve pancakes at 6 a.m. People do.

The story of this country was never written in marble or in slogans. It’s written in routines—the ordinary ones that keep the lights on for the rest of us.

We forget that sometimes. We talk about the economy like it’s a machine, but it’s really millions of hands doing the work that matters.

I think America has forgotten that we’re not just an abstraction. We’re an us.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

When you picture a happier version of yourself, you’re not imagining more money—you’re imagining being satisfied with it.

His grandmother lived on the edge of poverty. She tended a small garden, read library books, and was one of the happiest people he knew. While many people who make six figures feel behind.

The difference is the gap between what you have and what you want. You can shrink it two ways—earn more or want less.

It’s harder than it sounds, and a lesson I’m still trying to learn myself.

So what do you think? Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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Is There Such a Thing as a ‘Starter Marriage’?

More Than Company

Gabor Mate on Winnie the Pooh and doing it all over again

Now it’s disappearing. Digital signatures are taking over, and we’re not resisting. Click here to agree. Type your name in this box. Use your finger on the screen or some code.

It’s faster, easier, and more convenient. But your signature used to be your character made visible—at least that’s what I was once told.

We’ve turned something personal into something functional, like so much else in our society.

So what do you think? Is your signature still yours?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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The dog’s owner, Priscilla Timmons, spent three weeks in the ICU, surviving three cardiac arrests and organ failure. She was unresponsive until Scrunchy visited her and nuzzled her hand.

She woke from her coma to pet the dog.

She told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “I remember everyone telling me she was there. Then I felt her paw. And that’s when I was able to move my fingers and lift my hand off the bed.”

I’m not sure what happened here, but I’m pretty sure that’s what joy sounds like.

What do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

More from The Daily Note:

Many Workers Are Taking Pay Cuts to Stay Remote—And They Don’t Regret It

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Americans Trust Small Businesses More Than Congress, Gallup Finds

Hug ‘em if you got ‘em

Researchers at Harvard, Brown, and UCLA found that tech workers are choosing less pay for remote work—in some cases, chopping off a quarter of their salaries.

And I get it. We were taught to pay for our work, and COVID made that clear. We finally began to calculate it, and we’re not forgetting all that time we spent at home.

Now all who can are deciding explicitly what we decided implicitly: How much time is this job worth?

So what do you think? What’s the real cost of going to work? I bet it never shows up on your pay stub.

Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That line stuck with me—not just because it’s beautiful, but because I think it’s true.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about mentorship. Not the formal kind, but the real kind where someone cares enough to risk making you feel uncomfortable.

Real mentors don’t flatter you. They challenge you. They see patterns you’re too close to notice. They care more about your growth than your comfort.

But you’ve got to earn that truth. Be the kind of person who can hear it.

So who tells you the truth, even when it stings?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me. Use 585-371-8865.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

During the pandemic, we all learned to be alone—and apparently that behavior stuck.

Maybe we liked it. Or maybe we just got used to it. Honestly, it’s hard to tell the difference anymore.

I notice it in myself. Declining invitations feels easier. Staying home sounds better. The couch knows my name, after all.

But here’s what bothers me. We’re not becoming hermits because we want to. We’re becoming hermits because everything is designed for it.

The apps, the delivery, the entertainment—the system wants us separated. Because it’s easier to sell to individuals than communities. It’s simpler to control the isolated than the connected.

At least that’s what I think. So what do you think?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

P.S. I tell stories on radio stations and online five days a week. You can find them on Substack, Apple, Spotify, Reddit, YouTube, and wherever podcasts are available.

It’s the color that happens when the shouting stops long enough for people to realize they’re not ideologically pure.

It doesn’t mean I’m neutral. It means I’m tired of pretending that every issue has only two answers.

I believe in personal freedom and community responsibility. Law and order—and mercy.

I can see when government overreaches and when it abandons us. And I don’t need a party to tell me which is which.

The middle isn’t mushy. It’s mature. It’s where grown folks talk after the children finish arguing.

And I hope I’m not alone—but I worry that I am.

So what do you think?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Gallup asked Americans which institutions they trust “a great deal” or “quite a lot.” Small businesses came out on top—about 70 percent of us do. That’s more than the military, more than science, and way more than Congress.

We say we don’t trust institutions anymore, but that’s not quite true. Instead, we’re putting our faith in the people who show up, who fix things, who keep the place running even when no one is watching.

No, we don’t need a hero. We just want someone who gets the order right and doesn’t lie about it.

What do you think? And who do you trust—and why?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Because Halloween might be the only night of the year that we all agree to be friendly and weird together. Kids dressed as astronauts or vampires. Grown-ups in wigs they’ll regret tomorrow. Even the dogs get costumes.

The candy is fine, but the real treat is the theater. Fake cobwebs on porches. Pumpkins glowing on every block. That mix of fun and fear where you’re never sure if the shadow is a decoration—or a person waiting to jump out.

Last Halloween I asked a dozen kids about their costumes and makeup. And for a few minutes, the fear we carry about strangers in this country melted. We were just neighbors, laughing and sharing a night.

That’s the magic of Halloween. For a few hours, the sidewalks belong to kids again—and the rest of us get to remember what that feels like.

So tell me—what’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net. On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865 Leave me a voice memo www.thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out www.thedailynote.net/partner

His research shows that happy couples do five things each weekend.

Number one, they put the phones down.Number two, they stay close — even when they’re doing their own thing.Three, they find a ritual to share.Four, they schedule sex.And five… they make time to laugh.

Here’s what struck me. Travers told CNBC that we often take the small, mostly free things for granted — and that couples who make it work, do it bit by bit over time.

So what do you think? Is he right? And how do you keep your relationship fresh? Let me know at jamesabrown dot net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always — be well.

Yeah — me neither.

But one is for sale in Florida. Two and a half million dollars gets you fifty-nine acres of sun, freedom, and no pants.

They’re calling it a resort, but it looks more like an RV park with optional clothing. Here’s our pickleball court — no shoes, no shirts, no problems. And over there, our all-natural communal hot tub, in every possible sense of the term.

It’s not my scene, but I’ll be honest — I kind of admire it. No pretense. Just people being people, tan lines and all. At least the laundry bill would be low.

So what do you think? What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen for sale? Let me know at jamesabrown dot net or call 585-371-8865.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always — be well.

But here’s what struck me: Nobody’s shocked. No protests. No outrage. Just quiet acceptance.

We used to believe hard work guaranteed upward mobility. That each generation would do better. That a ladder to a better life is there for us all, if we’re willing to climb it.

I climbed it myself from poverty through education to the voice you hear now. But I fear the rungs disappearing behind me and wonder about the generations to come.

So what do you think? Is the American dream still alive for you?

Let me know on jamesabrown dot net. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

They claim Southern people tend to be more agreeable, that the West is more open, that New Englanders are more reserved.

It’s not just about weather. It’s about temperament.

The science says it’s both nature and nurture. We grow up with certain rhythms, and how people speak, argue and forgive all embeds on us without us realizing it.

I certainly agree with that. My part of the world shapes me. Western New York has its own feel. When I travel, I notice it.

But I like to think I’m more than where I was born — and that you are too.

So what do you think? Let me know at jamesabrown dot net or call me at 585-371-8865.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always — be well.

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Five million American households have no bank account. When the store goes tap only, where do they shop? When parking needs an app, where do they park? We are building an economy that requires a credit score to participate. The question isn’t whether cash disappears. It’s who gets left behind — and whether we notice before the door closes.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

Want to be a guest on The Daily Note with James A. Brown? Send James Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/17564226932807968fd3a0459

I see it everywhere. People trapped by their own freedom. Paralyzed by options. Drowning in choice while doing nothing.

Maybe that’s why we document everything—we’re looking for evidence that someone, somewhere, gave us permission to change. To quit. To start. To be different.

The permission structure collapsed, but we’re still waiting for approval from authorities that no longer exist.

You don’t need permission. Neither do I. So why are we both still waiting?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

You’d walk in: “I need that little thing with the prongs that plugs into the other thing.” Somehow they knew exactly what you meant. Five minutes later, problem solved.

Now it’s a convenience store. Another casualty of our convenience culture.

Look, I love online shopping. Find anything, anytime, anywhere. But here’s the bargain: We got speed and selection. We lost the guy who could translate your nonsense into exactly what you needed.

So what do you think? What knowledge disappeared when your neighborhood expert closed shop?

Let me know on jamesabrown dot net. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

His reply? I still think about it sometimes. He said, “Do you get a promotion every year at your job? So does that mean every year is a failure? It’s a step.”

That flips how we usually talk about sports. We measure greatness in trophies, like seasons without them don’t matter.

But Giannis is right. Michael Jordan played 15 years and won six titles. Were those other nine years failures—or the ground that made the six possible?

Most of life looks like that, too. More steps than mountaintops. None of it is wasted.

So what do you think? Do you think Giannis is right, too?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

I remember when everything was micro USB. Then came the Lightning port. Then USB-C. Now some phones are going back to USB-C—but not the same USB-C. You need this adapter for that charger to connect to this and that and again.

And the reason? They say the devices need to be thinner, sleeker.

But for who? Nobody said, “My phone is fine, but I wish it was two credit cards thinner.”

We used to ask about the weather. Now we troubleshoot cables. At this rate, my next phone will need a charging manual.

So what drives you up the wall? You’re welcome to complain at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Rogue waves. Towering walls of water a hundred feet high, strong enough to snap ships in half. And maybe even pull planes out of the sky

Now, I’ll admit—that’s fascinating. But it’s also kind of a letdown. For decades, I imagined aliens, sea monsters, and magnetic portals. Instead? Just big waves. Weird, sure. Dangerous, absolutely. But not exactly X-Files material.

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It makes me wonder: Sometimes the story is more fun than the science.

So what do you think? Were you hoping for something stranger too?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net. Or call me use: ‪(585) 371-8865‬. On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

Turns out, a man in Vermont doesn’t just remember. Patrick Schlott, an engineer, is refurbishing old pay phones and letting people use them for free. He told Popular Science, “People are remembering what we used to have. If you’re old enough, you recognize a pay phone as something that is for you.”

Just because a piece of tech is old doesn’t mean it’s useless. For a long time, it was one of the few ways we connected, and it certainly got me out of a few jams.

Now most are rust. But thanks to Schlott, a few ring again, reminders that connection doesn’t always need to be upgraded.

So what about you—what piece of “obsolete” tech would you bring back?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

Available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and wherever podcasts are heard.

So cue Hamburger Helper, and so many other staples to help families save a buck.

That gloved mascot from your childhood isn't just back. It's back for the same reason it existed in the first place. Born during the seventies inflation crisis, Hamburger Helper helped families turn one pound of ground beef into dinner for six. The math was simple then. It's identical now.

The New York Times reports that an exact fourteen and a half percent jump as grocery bills climbed higher than most of us expected. Meanwhile, ground beef hit $6.34 per pound in July, an 11 percent jump from last year, making every trip to the meat counter feel like a financial decision.

Rice, beans, canned tuna. They're always the first line of defense when the economy makes you think twice about dinner. Shelf-stable foods that fill you up without emptying your wallet.

Here's what gets me: Most food companies are watching demand drop as shoppers revolt against high prices. But brands built for hard times? They often thrive when luxury becomes unaffordable.

Pop culture gave the brand an unexpected boost, too. The Bear featured Hamburger Helper, turning that humble box mix into something almost gourmet. The show didn't pay for placement; it happened organically. But that small cameo translated into real sales.

There's something honest about this moment. When protein becomes premium-priced, families adapt. When times get tight, the pantry becomes more powerful than the fridge.

Like I said, our shopping carts always tell the tale of our times.

So what do you think? What do your grocery choices say about the moment we're living in?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865.Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

Available on Newsbreak, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and wherever podcasts are heard.

One day, she asked if I could help her print them. For a moment, I was befuddled. I, like most of us, have been trained not to ask that question. We pay to store our photos, families, and memories, with our data or dollars on social media, phones, or in the cloud.

She doesn’t know that world. She still cherishes the photo albums she crafted, and her mother before her.

And now I think, maybe she’s better off for it. And I worry for the rest of us.

It’s a peculiar form of progress. We’ve convinced ourselves that paying monthly fees to store our memories in distant servers owned by Silicon Valley billionaires is somehow more advanced than arranging photos in albums on our shelves. The cloud has replaced the local photo shop – that somewhere-and-nowhere place where our most intimate moments now reside.

My mother’s photo albums, with their imperfect corners and handwritten captions, represent something we’ve sacrificed on the altar of convenience: the ability to own and curate our memories truly. Each album is a personal museum, free from algorithms deciding what memories should surface on any given Tuesday.

Consider the ritual of it all. In my mother’s day, and even back in my college days in the 2000s, taking a photo meant something. You had twenty-four shots or so on a roll of film, and each one had to count. The anticipation of picking up developed photos from the drugstore. The careful selection of which moments deserved to be immortalized in the family album. The thoughtful arrangement, the handwritten dates and notes, the stories preserved not just in images but in the very way they were presented.

Now we snap hundreds of photos at a time, most destined to sit forgotten in our digital archives. We’ve gained quantity but lost something in quality – not of the images themselves, which are technically superior, but in our relationship with them.

The world is flat, they say, but our photos have become flatter still – reduced to pixels we scroll past between advertisements and cat videos. When everything is instantly accessible, paradoxically, nothing feels quite within reach.

This isn’t just nostalgia talking. There’s something fundamentally different about sitting on a couch with a physical album versus swiping through photos on a phone. The physical album demands presence. It creates a shared experience. You can’t mindlessly scroll through it while watching TV or waiting in line at the grocery store. It commands attention, invites storytelling, creates moments of connection.

And what happens to all these digital memories we’re accumulating? They’re scattered across various platforms and devices, each with their own subscription models and terms of service. We’re renting space for our memories, subject to the whims of tech companies and the stability of their servers. My mother’s photo albums will still be there if the power goes out, if the internet crashes, if Facebook decides to change its algorithm again.

The irony isn’t lost on me that we’re living in what we call the most connected era in human history, yet our memories have never been more fragmented and less tangible. We’ve created a world where our most precious moments are locked behind passwords and paywalls, where the simple act of printing a photo has become almost countercultural.

My mother’s question about printing Facebook photos wasn’t just about technology – it was about preservation, about creating something lasting, something that could be passed down through generations without needing to remember login credentials or maintain cloud subscriptions.

Perhaps there’s a middle ground. Maybe we can embrace the convenience of digital photography while maintaining some of the intentionality and physicality of the photo album era. Maybe it’s time to print some of those thousands of photos stored on our phones, to create tangible artifacts of our lives that don’t require a charging cable to access.

Because in the end, these aren’t just photos – they’re our stories, our histories, our legacies. And maybe, just maybe, those stories deserve better than being reduced to data points in someone else’s cloud.

What do you think? Let me know on JamesABrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

In my case, I felt it for a lifetime. Four straight Super Bowls. Wide right, 13 seconds. The Music City Miracle in a 17-year playoff drought for my beloved Buffalo Bills. That's the beautiful torture of sports fandom. It's magical thinking.

And Cornel West describes my take on it best. I'm never optimistic. The future always seems underdetermined. But I am full of hope.

So what do you think? Who do you root for and why? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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That’s when I heard a voice. An older Asian woman had pulled her car to the side and was waving. Her English was limited. And that’s giving her too much credit. I don’t know where she came from. She had no cellphone, only a folded paper map drawn by hand.

She was lost. Really lost.

I tried to help. For twenty minutes, maybe more, we went back and forth. Her pointing. Me guessing. I traced paths on the paper. Head into her passenger side. Tried every tool I had. In the end, I gave up. I couldn’t get her there.

I still think about her. Did she make it? Did someone else help? Did she get where she needed to go and find her way home?

Some people brush against our lives for just a moment. But their story stays with us. Like a question that never fully goes quiet.

So, who do you still wonder about?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

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That's become my standard answer. Not because I'm trying to be clever, but because it's honest without being truly honest. Because people don't really want to know how it's going. They want the social transaction.

If I told them the truth—that my back's been killing me and I'm worried about my mom—they'd freeze. That's not what they signed up for.

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But here's what gets me: this works because we've created a world where the truth is inconvenient, where "how are you?" has become "please say you're fine so we can move on." I wonder what we lose when even our casual connections become scripted.

So what do you think? Are we just protecting ourselves with polite distance? Let me know at jamesabrown.net. On that note. I'm James Brown and as always, be well.

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The researchers who coined the term say we should limit ourselves to 20 minutes a day of scrolling, twice a day. And honestly, good luck with all that. The average person checks their phone 96 times daily. That's once every 10 minutes we're awake.

So what do you think? Is your mind popping, too? And how should we address this? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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The actor/comedian described it in People Magazine as “a life learning experience, because I don’t think I’d be the same husband or man if I hadn’t gone through the experience of the first marriage.”

But I’m stuck on the idea of a ‘starter marriage.’ What a phrase. Practice makes perfect, I guess. But when it comes to marriage, that's a lot of life to call practice, don't you think?

I get starter jobs, starter homes, even starter mistakes. But a starter marriage, that's not just your story. That's someone else's time, someone else's heart. There is no reset button.

Leguizamo says he wouldn't be the man he is now without that first try. And no doubt that's true. Maybe you don't know how to stay until you learn how to leave.

So what do you think? What would you call your first marriage? Let me know at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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But it all started with one moment. Years ago, when he led the 49ers, he lost the NFC Championship game

.A reporter asked him on live TV if he was devastated. Harbaugh smiled and laughed a bit. Then he quoted Ernest Hemingway, "...a man can be destroyed, but not defeated."

We don't talk enough about how people lose.

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It's losing that strips away polish and shows you what someone stands for, especially when all eyes are on them.

I've never forgotten that moment because it proved Harbaugh's point. He lost the game, but not himself.

So here's my question. How do you handle defeat?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me.

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Use 585-371-8865. On that note, I'm James A. Brown and as always, be well.

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Translation. The line between job life and life, life is smudged.

It's not every company or every meeting, but more of these is too many.

Each one chips away at the contract that we thought we signed. You pay me for this time, I get the rest of my life. And if you drag me into work after dark, you owe me that same slice of daylight back. Flexibility should flex both ways, or it isn't flexibility at all.

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

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No one said anything, but something's off. Turns out your nose may know more than you think. Scientists say we release different kinds of sweat. Cooling sweat is odorless, but emotional sweat, that's different. They say it's triggered by fear. It has an acid that signals dangers to others without a sound.

We're not speaking, but our sweat is. One person's anxiety can ripple through a room, that job interview, that first date, that tough meeting.

And it makes me think, maybe our emotions aren't just ours.

So what's your body saying? Please let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865.

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To me, the technology isn't the problem. The secrecy is. When everyone is using AI but no one admits it, we can't develop honest standards about what's fair game and what crosses the line. We're operating in this weird gray area where everyone knows what's happening but no one talks about it.

So if we're using all these tools, we might as well fess up and figure out the rules of the road.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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But here's the most striking part for me: no one seems surprised or even cares to discuss it. Our nation is too immersed in our increasingly violent culture war to care.

Here's the state of play: From 2019 to 2024, the percentage of eighth graders considered "proficient" in science dropped from 35% to 31%. Among high school seniors, math proficiency fell from 24% to 22%, and reading from 37% to 35%. Those numbers were low. Now they're worse.

For years, if not decades, parents have voiced concerns about confusing homework and declining academic standards, watching their kids struggle with concepts that they barely understood. Add a pandemic, and a year or so of hybrid, masked, and remote learning, and everything got worse. Here we are.

The data also reveals a growing divide between the highest and lowest-performing students. As outlined by Demography Unplugged, eighth graders at the 90th percentile have seen little change in their scores, while students at the 25th and 10th percentiles have hit record lows. Privileged students are holding steady, but the most vulnerable are falling further behind. This isn’t accidental: it’s the predictable result of a system that fails to support those who need it most.

What is causing this crisis? The reasons are complex, connected, and kind of a guess. They say that chronic absenteeism has increased since the pandemic and remains a significant issue. Students are dealing with digital distractions like the rest of us, and reading for pleasure has dropped significantly; many students feel their curriculum does not relate to their future goals. And frankly, from what I've seen, I can't blame them.

This is not just about poor test results. It shows a deeper failure of the education system to deliver on its promise to students. I personally benefited from an educational program designed for economically disadvantaged students like me. Education was my lifeline, providing a solid foundation that allowed me to lead an imperfect yet uncommon life, helping me achieve many of my dreams, some of which I've shared with you. Seeing today's scores, I worry that this foundation is falling apart for current students. Data shows that the average student today may be less prepared in reading and math than students were 50 years ago.

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The system has lost its purpose. Instead of teaching essential skills, it focuses too much on internal processes, changing educational theories, and attempting to cure societal ills. We are raising a generation that is unprepared for future challenges. As a reporter and a citizen, I see the effects of these institutional failures constantly. These are problems that should have been fixed in the classroom. Schools now rely more and more on interventions like tutoring to fill in the gaps left by a broken foundation.

These test scores point to a deeper institutional breakdown. They’re another example of the growing disconnect between official narratives and the lived experiences of ordinary people. We’ve seen this in economic policy, public health, and now, starkly, in education. The question is no longer whether we are in crisis; it’s what we’re willing to do about it.

What has been your experience? When did you first notice that the education system was failing the children in your community?

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They take about a quarter of the money before you ever see a dime. And by tax time, that bill could be upwards of 37%. Then your state steps in. If you live in New York, like me, they'll take another 11% or so. No surprises there.

New Jersey, Oregon, Maryland, and Minnesota all take a big bite, too. Suddenly, you're down to maybe half. But you lucky ducks in Florida, Texas, South Dakota, and the other no-tax states, you get to keep more of it. Maybe I should play the lottery there.

So what do you think? Let me know at jamesabrown.net.

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On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

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Hey kids, that's just plain weird. I can't imagine this. My mother, for better or worse, taught me to stand on my own two feet. Did we stop doing that?

We often hear that Gen Z needs handholding, and perhaps they do. But this isn't on them. It's on their parents. They should know when to let go.

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So what do you make of all this? Or am I missing something here? Let me know at jamesabrown.net or call me. Use 585-371-8865.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865.Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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Don’t take my word for it. Pew just handed us the receipts: countries call us their most important ally and their biggest threat, often in the same breath. Canada? The upstairs neighbor who borrows your mower and then “accidentally” backs over your fence. Over half the country sees us as their ride-or-die. The other half eyes us with a fire extinguisher at the ready. Europe’s got the same whiplash, smiling at the barbecue, but watching to see if we brought lighter fluid.

Israel and Japan? We flattened the house, then showed up with lumber, drywall, and a blank check. The rebuild’s nice. But nobody’s forgotten who bought the matches.

That’s just our M.O. We knock things over. We prop them back up. One decade, we’re shaking hands with a dictator, arming his buddies; the next, we’re passing out leaflets about democracy and airlifting his enemies some fresh gear. Sometimes we arrive with a tray of brownies. Sometimes it’s gasoline and a spark.

And let’s talk about the bill, this friendship ain’t cheap. Our alliances turn over faster than leftovers in a shared fridge. Every few years, new faces at the table. Some folks get a warm hug, others get the cold shoulder. One president says, “Mi casa es su casa,” the next boards up the windows and changes the locks. Democracy, if there’s a discount. Strongman if it’s on sale.

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The world’s caught on. Countries nod, smile, and say thank you for the check, then quietly set up savings accounts elsewhere. No one’s betting the farm on us sticking around. They’ll take the roof repair, but they’re keeping a list of what we broke on the way in. Who could blame them?

And the politics? That’s gasoline on the grill. Conservatives, wherever you go, are posing for photos by the house we just rebuilt. Liberals? They’re never letting go of that fire extinguisher. And the reverse will happen when the democrats are back in charge.

We’re not the villain, not the savior. We’re the friend you need when the flames get high, but you never forget to check your smoke alarm when we’re in the neighborhood. Complicated? Sure. Necessary? Most days. Predictable? Good luck.

So, what’s worse—being the friend everyone counts on, even with the chaos, or the one no one calls when everything’s burning?

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In a parking lot, I’m not expected to do anything or be anywhere else. I don’t have to answer the phone, check email, or be productive. I just sit and let a podcast take the wheel. I watch the world move around me, cars pulling in and out, people rushing with bags, small kids chasing runaway carts. I feel anonymous for a little while. For that small window, I belong to nothing and no one. That’s when the important stuff surfaces. The thoughts I was ignoring. The decisions I've been putting off, or the feelings I didn't want to confront.

I know parking lots aren’t always comfortable or beautiful. That’s part of why they work for me. There are no distractions, no expectations, nowhere else I’m supposed to be in that moment. I’m simply waiting, sometimes by choice, sometimes because I don’t want to rush on to the next thing. There’s a strange kind of peace in that, even if it’s only for the length of a song or the time it takes to send a quick text when I’m ready.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be a parking lot. I think everyone has their own version of this. Maybe for you, it’s taking a shower in the morning, walking the dog around the block, or washing dishes after dinner. Maybe your pause comes when you’re alone on a long drive or you’re standing in line at the post office. All you need is a moment where nobody is asking anything from you, and your brain is free to wander. In those spaces, real reflection happens. You remember things. You sort out your feelings. Sometimes, you come up with a solution you couldn’t find before.

When we finally allow ourselves to stop, even for just a bit, that’s when our best thinking happens. There’s a difference between sitting quietly and just being idle. When I take those minutes for myself, I don’t always know what I’ll end up thinking about. Some days it’s something deep, other days it’s nothing at all. And that’s okay. The space itself is what matters.

So if you see someone sitting quietly in a parked car, don’t worry, they’re probably not lost or wasting time. Maybe, just like me, they’re letting their thoughts finally catch up. They are giving their mind a break from all the noise, letting the important stuff bubble up through the quiet.

Where do you do your best thinking? Is it in a parking lot like me, or is it somewhere else? I’d be interested to know.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Please email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865.Please leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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Those first few days feel golden: jokes flying, memes dropping, everyone checks in with real warmth. For a brief moment, you believe you’ve beaten distance, that this is the secret to keeping the band together. But the magic always fades. Work picks up, someone’s world shrinks to diapers and nap times, somebody gets quiet, and you tell yourself you’ll reach out tomorrow. Response times stretch, questions hang, and a photo or link goes unanswered. Sometimes I open an old chat and feel the echo; they don’t end with a fight but with everyone quietly letting go.

It’s never about just one person. One stops replying, then another, and soon nobody wants to be the awkward replier. What if your message dies on the vine? So nothing happens at all. I want to say I’m better at breaking the ice, but honestly, I get tangled up in doubts just like anyone else. Maybe more than I used to.

Every little tombstone on my phone reminds me of what it takes to keep a connection alive. It’s work, and lately, I haven’t been as willing or as present as I wish I were. Tech is easy to blame, but it only makes staying in touch an option, never a habit. You have to call, text, show up; things that require... well, more of you than just a quick emoji. It’s a truth I didn’t want to admit: sometimes it’s not the world that’s changed, but me. Maybe I’m tired, or maybe I just thought it would get easier.

Where once I saw an archive of failures, now I see something softer, a record of all the stretching we do, trying to be close. We’re all carrying more connections than we can handle. Maybe it isn’t possible to give everyone of them the attention they deserve. Maybe group chats are just proof that we still want to try, even if we fall short.

So I don’t beat myself up for the ghosts anymore. I just try to hold onto the few I can. Maybe that’s all any of us can do: send a message, pick up when it matters, and hope somebody else is dreaming too.

I’m not as good at it as I used to be. But a man can dream and try, can’t he?

So, what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865.Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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And that's what struck me. We all have things that we think are sealed off from the rest of the world. Old dreams or regrets. Second chances we swear are buried for good. But pressure has a way of pushing hidden stuff back up.

Sometimes the treasure isn't metal. Maybe it's memories or forgiveness or a part of yourself you thought was long gone.

So what about you? If the earth can leak gold, what's waiting below the surface in your own life?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

A reservoir of gold lies hidden in Earth’s core. Scientists say it’s leaking

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Every September, hope returns, even for fans whose teams haven’t mattered in years. Because football doesn’t just sell tickets, it sells belief. The idea that maybe, just maybe, this year is different.

And that belief spills out into friendships, into family rituals, into the same snacks, the same couch, the same running jokes.

But the real magic is not just the touchdowns. It’s the hours we share when life takes a seat on the sideline.

So what do you think? What’s your first football memory? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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A psychologist filmed strangers talking, then played it back to them. Most didn’t even realize they were doing it.

These lies weren’t big ones. More like, “I’ve been there,” when they hadn’t. Or, “I love that band,” when they didn’t. Little throwaways to impress, to avoid conflict, or just to keep things smooth.

But here’s the trouble. Every time we lie, it makes it easier to assume everyone else is too.

So here’s my question: If small lies are social grease, what happens when the grease eats through the engine?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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I might be the only person left on earth who still goes to the store to try out office chairs. I walked past the ring lights and the printer ink and found a sad row of mesh-back maybes.

One after another, I sat, I leaned, I wobbled, and spun a little. And in the end, I didn’t buy one. The store was empty. Just a hushed hub of pickups and drop-offs.

I know the future is digital. Click, ship, return, repeat. But sometimes I want to feel what I’m getting into before I spend the money and the hours sinking into it.

So what’s something you still want to try in person before you click “add to cart”?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

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I quickly answered the questions on that screen and sat down, only for her to call me back seconds later for one more thing—my phone number.

In that moment, it was clear we live in a different society. One that’s reached a point of awkward redundancy. This woman and this tablet were doing the exact same job.

So I’m stuck bouncing between a human and a machine for no reason. And all I could think was: How long before someone else realizes this? And does this woman know her days are numbered?

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

Available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and wherever podcasts are heard.

But as Shania Twain once sang: “That don’t impress me much” because we haven't quit our vices. We've diversified them. And it's not just you. It's me too. We're not healthier. We're fatter and more medicated than ever.

Now our dependencies come with doctor's notes. At least drinking was honest. The cost was visible. Now we get high alone with our own custom pharmaceutical cocktails, pretending it's wellness.

We traded one vice for a portfolio of them.

So what do you think? Is that progress? Leave me a text or voicemail at 585-371-8865.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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Look at that blue line—America's poorest workers. During Trump's first term, their raises barely beat inflation. Three, maybe four percent while prices climbed. The working poor are treading water, like always.

Then came 2021. That blue line shoots up to seven percent. Higher than any other group. For the first time in my life, dishwashers got bigger raises than software developers. Cashiers beat consultants. It's supply and demand. We didn't have enough workers.

Now? That same line crashed below everyone else's. Poor workers' wages collapsed while everyone else stayed steady. The reversal was fast, brutal, and expected.

Remember those eighteen months? Every business had "Help Wanted" signs. Nobody wanted to work for ten bucks anymore. Fast food paid twenty and begged for help. Amazon warehouses offered twenty-five an hour. Workers ghosted interviews because they had choices.

"Nobody wants to work anymore," bosses complained. What they meant was: "Nobody wants to work for what we used to pay."

The pandemic created an accident, an experiment in worker power. With unemployment help, stimulus checks, and real worker shortages, people could say no. And when workers can say no, wages go up. Simple.

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But watch how fast everything reversed. The moment the safety net vanished, the moment the Fed raised rates to "cool the labor market," that's code for "make workers desperate again," wages for the poorest workers crashed.

The system is back to normal, which means poor workers are falling behind again. Which in America means the rich get richer faster than the poor get less poor. The lines are spreading apart again, like they always do.

It reminds me of something an old teacher once said in high school: "There's no such thing as fair economics." Twenty-five years later, that line still rings in my ears. He was trying to explain supply and demand, but what he really taught me was about power.

This chart doesn't just show wage trends. It shows who has leverage and who doesn't. When workers have power, they get raises. When they don't, they don't. All that talk about skills and education? Window dressing.

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What kills me is that we proved it works. For eighteen months, we showed that the poorest workers could get real raises. The gap could shrink instead of grow. "Essential workers" could get paid like they're essential.

The pandemic didn't break the system. It exposed it. Showed us low wages aren't about economics—they're about control. Showed us poverty wages are a choice, not nature.

It reminds me of something an old teacher once said in high school: "There's no such thing as fair economics."

So what do you think? Was that wage jump just a blip, or did it show what's possible?

Let me know in the comments at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Source: Financial Times analysis of U.S. wage growth data by income quartile

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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Chick-fil-A wanted downtown Chicago, so they adapted to downtown Chicago. And this should not be an exception because every day I see another abandoned fast-food place custom-built for whatever corporate style was trendy at the time.

And those drive-thru lanes? They're empty. And those parking lots? Full of weeds. We're left to pick up the pieces.

So maybe it's time that these big chains adapted to us and our communities.

So what do you think? Let me know at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

Available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and wherever podcasts are heard.

Now, in that same place and maybe those same chairs, I saw a sea of new people. But no one reading, at least not on paper. And definitely no one talking. Just laptops and phone screens glowing, reflections bouncing off eyeglasses.

It makes me feel old to say this, but part of me wishes it was still 2006. No, society wasn't perfect, but it was a lot less lonely in public.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

How to reach me:Email me: james@thedailynote.netCall or text me at  (585) 371-8865. Leave me a voice memo thedailynote.net/contactPartner with us or join The Daily Note radio network by checking out thedailynote.net/partner

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Labor Day began as a march. Ten thousand workers in New York in 1882. They carried signs, gave speeches, and had a picnic. They weren't just asking for dignity. They were showing it too.

Today, the holiday feels different—more about sales and cookouts than labor itself. But the truth hasn't changed. Nothing moves in this country without the people who build, clean, stock, and repair.

It's easy to forget about them. Out of sight, out of mind. But out of sight doesn't mean unimportant. Your city, your office, your home. None of it runs without these folks.

So today, enjoy the break. But take a moment for the ones who are still on the clock.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

Welcome New Listeners:KAPK-FM/Salt Lake City,WXIS-FM/Tri-Cities, TN-VAWCMY-AM/ChicagoW228DZ-FM/Chicago

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Available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and wherever podcasts are heard.

I still laugh about it because, well, she was right. And she doesn't know the half of it.

I've gone from fast food to cafeterias to flower shops to call centers to pizza delivery to nonprofits. And I shouldn't leave out the pyramid scheme or the murder trial. And I'm not joking about either.

I've been in and out of radio. In TV and newspapers and PR. And I've gone to speechwriting and, of course, podcasts.

My career alone, let alone my upbringing, will make a banging book someday. I can't wait to write it.

It's not been easy, and as frustrating as things are at times, I'm not sure I'd want it any other way.

The strange and honestly wonderful thing about my career so far is that I've been hard-headed enough to scrap and claw until a few of my dreams come true.

Like this one.

Starting on Labor Day, that's Monday, this podcast will become a syndicated radio show. A handful of stations around America will air my musings daily.

Not much will change for you, but I'm tickled pink because I used to listen to syndicated radio all the time as a kid. And now at 41, I'm managing to do another thing that James at 11 and at 21 thought he would.

In fact, those idealistic kids would say, It's about damn time, old man.

Where does this go? I don't know. I hope a lot more stations will pick me up.

I have learned one thing in this process. Never bet against James Brown, even when the odds are long.

So thank you for your support. It helps me keep going. And I hope you'll be with me on the next leg of this journey.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

Business website: https://thedailynote.net/

A record that keeps breaking itself.

Why does everything cost twice as much as it did a few years ago?

We've got 37 trillion reasons for that.

When you print money to pay bills you can't afford, it has to go somewhere.

Everything gets weird and out of whack.

And the real story?

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Our government is never paying it back. Not really.

The plan, whether they'll admit it or not, is to inflate our way out of it.

Make our dollars worth less so the debt looks smaller.

There are consequences for all this.

Every time we kick the can down the road, someone pays.

And it's usually the little guy. You and me.

So what do you think?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net or call me at 585-371-8865.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

And when I first heard this idea, I laughed. But more recently, I thought, why the hell not?

My bank alerts me every time I spend $5, but our government isn't held to the same standards.

And it's an open secret that they don't know exactly where our money goes. There's been no comprehensive audit since the 1950s—just estimates in a photo op whenever there are questions.

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It's unfair. We deserve to know where our money goes and how much gold our country actually has.

So what do you think? What other government secrets deserve daylight?

Let me know on JamesABrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

It's Ringtone sales.

As reported by Daniel Parris of Stat Significant: ringtone sales went from $1.2 billion in 2007 to practically nothing today. We used to pay real money to make our phones sound like us. "Crazy in Love" for your best friend. Classical for work calls. The Imperial March when your ex called.

I even bought apps to make my own ringtones.

My favorite: The chorus of “Don’t Go Away” by Oasis.

Now every phone sounds the same. Generic buzzes and chimes. We all went to silent mode and never came back.

Ringtones weren’t killed by better technology. We just stopped caring. Stopped wanting our phones to sound like us.

It makes me wonder what’s something we all buy now that’ll be gone before we know it?

What do you think?

Let me know at jamesabrown.net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That's 160,000 people who heard that BEEP-SCREECH-BEEBONG every day for decades. Who waited three minutes for a photo to load. Who got kicked off when someone needed the phone.

And I keep wondering, maybe they knew something we didn't.

Think about it. Dial-up had natural limits. You couldn't doom-scroll at 2 AM—it was too slow. You couldn't work from bed: someone might need to call. The internet ended. It had edges.

My mom used to yell at me to get offline so she could use the phone. That friction? That was the point. It made us choose what mattered.

Now we're always on, always available, always consuming. The internet doesn't end—it just follows us everywhere. We traded those annoying boundaries for invisible chains.

Those 160,000 holdouts weren't behind. They were the last people who could still hang up.

So what do you think? What did we really lose when we lost the dial-up sound?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

In their latest quarterly report, the 130-year-old company warned about "substantial doubt about Kodak's ability to continue as a going concern"—accountant speak for "we might not make it." They rushed to clarify the next day, assuring everyone they could still meet their debt obligations. Missing the point entirely

.I'm from Rochester, New York. For generations, the film giant wasn't just where you worked. It was who you were. Yellow boxes in every drawer. Stock certificates in safety deposit boxes. Pensions that meant something. Company picnics that drew thousands. Today, Eastman's name is on every corner of our city—the theatre, the museum, the school of music. Monuments to what was.

Here's what kills me: They invented digital photography in 1975. Steven Sasson, their own engineer, in their own lab, created the future. Eight pounds, the size of a toaster, capturing black and white images on a cassette tape. Kodak's executives looked at it and saw a threat instead of an opportunity. They buried it to protect film sales.

Imagine that. Inventing the future and choosing the past.

They spent the next three decades defending territory instead of exploring new frontiers. While they clung to film, Sony and Canon ran with the technology Kodak created. By the time Kodak finally embraced digital, they were playing catch-up in a game they'd invented.

The real bankruptcy happened years ago, when they stopped believing in what they could see.

I think about the engineers who knew. The employees who watched leadership make decision after decision to protect the old model. The city that built itself around a company that forgot what made it great: the ability to capture the world in new ways.

Rochester knows this story by heart. We've been watching this slow-motion collapse for decades. Empty buildings that once housed 60,000 workers. Scattered families including my own, whose parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors all spent time at "the company" we didn't even need to say which one. I’m part of the last generations to say that. I was a contractor in mid-2000s. We’re a city trying to reinvent itself while the name Eastman still adorns our grandest buildings.

This isn't just a business story. It's about what happens when institutions choose preservation over transformation. When protecting what you have becomes more important than creating what could be. When you become so afraid of disrupting yourself that you let others do it for you.

Kodak taught the world how to capture memories but couldn't hold onto its own future. They had every advantage: the technology, the talent, the resources and they chose to look backward.

So what do you think? What happens to a city when its signature company forgets what it's for? And what other institutions are choosing the past over the future they could create?

Let me know in the comments at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Sources:

* Eastman Kodak Q2 2025 Earnings Report and subsequent clarification statement (August 2025)

* "The Last Kodak Moment?" by The Economist (January 2012)

* "Tech Disruption: How Kodak Missed the Digital Photography Revolution" - Harvard Business Review (2016)

* Steven Sasson's account of inventing the digital camera at Kodak - IEEE Spectrum interview (2008)

* Rochester employment data

* "From Film to Digital: The Story of Kodak's Decline" - Financial Times (2012)

We pulled out our phones like we had been trained for this moment.

And in a way, we had been.

Four humans in a small box, avoiding eye contact with the dedication of a meditation practice.

It has become a ritual.

The phone comes out not because we need it to, but because it gives us something to hold.

I guess.

Something to stare at.

And no doubt, something to hide behind.

It is easier than sitting in silence with strangers.

Easier than the awkward half-smile.

Easier than the head nod.

Easier than just being there.

But I cannot help but wonder, what are we skipping in those quiet seconds?

The humor, the tension, the accidental connections?

The small chance to notice someone else's shoes or compliment their hat?

Or share a half-second when the doors do not close right?

Phones make the pause go away.

And sadly, the pause at times is the point.

So, when was the last time you chose to look up instead of down?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown and as always, be well.

Look, I understand there's power in seeing people somewhat like you represented in the world. That matters. But isn't it strange to throw that responsibility at the feet of a doll?

We're asking a piece of molded plastic to do the heavy lifting that families, schools, and communities used to handle. Instead of creating spaces where kids with diabetes feel welcomed and understood, we're outsourcing that work to the toy aisle.

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There's something almost sad about it. A kid opens a box, and instead of finding pure imagination, they find their daily medical routine staring back at them in miniature. The glucose monitor they wear becomes the glucose monitor their doll wears. The condition that already shapes their day now shapes their play.

When did we decide that toys need to teach life lessons instead of letting kids teach themselves through play? When did we start believing that a doll with the right accessories could fix what broken systems and thoughtless adults created?

Maybe the real problem isn't that kids can't see themselves in their toys. Maybe it's that they can't see themselves accepted in their world.

Let kids be kids. Let dolls be dolls. And let the rest of us do the actual work of making children feel like they belong.

Is a toy really the right place to solve representation? Or are we just making ourselves feel better about problems we should be fixing elsewhere? Let me know in the comments and check out more on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

Sources:

* Associated Press: "Mattel introduces its first Barbie with Type 1 diabetes" (July 9, 2025)

* NBC News: "Mattel launches Barbie with Type 1 diabetes and a glucose monitor" (July 9, 2025)

* People Magazine: "Barbie with Type 1 Diabetes Makes Her Debut" (July 8, 2025)

Most of us were trained to believe our job is whatever the boss says it is.

You clock in, check off the list, collect your paycheck, and repeat. But what if that’s not the real job?

Scott Adams—creator of Dilbert and author of Reframe Your Brain—doesn’t. He says: “Your job is to get a better job.”

He says, you don’t work for your employer, you work for your future. You build skills, raise your profile, and widen your network. You choose the project that helps YOU, not just the one that helps the company.

.

Now, this isn’t about slacking off. Doing great work helps you along the way. But he says the goal shouldn’t be loyalty for loyalty’s sake.

A company will call itself a family, right up until the moment it lays you off Or cuts you off at the knees, and expects you to smile, nod, and say, “May I have another?”

Always remember: They can fire you at will. And you can fire them too.

So stay generous. Stay coachable. But never forget who you work for. You. You and your family and your future.

So—do you see your job like Scott Adams does? Or is he totally wrong or maybe in the middle somewhere.

Let me know in the comments and check out more on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

We were looking at this menu as if it were some ancient artifact. And I think I know why. I think we’ve just accepted that our money’s value disappears. And instead of asking why, we’re nostalgic for what was, including cheaper hamburgers.

I think this says a lot about where we are as a society today: weary and broke.

So what do you think? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That made me laugh because I’m of the age of those who used to wait until after 9 p.m. to use their slow clamshell phone to make calls. Remember that? When minutes actually mattered. When you’d watch the clock, calculating whether this conversation was worth burning through your monthly allowance.

Now we’ve gone from rationing our words to having unlimited everything — and somehow, we talk less than ever. We text, we post, we react with emojis. But actual voice-to-voice conversation? That’s become almost expensive. Not in money, but in time and attention.

Maybe when something becomes unlimited, we value it less. Or maybe we just found more efficient ways to avoid the messy, unpredictable experience of actually hearing another human’s voice.

So what do you think? Did unlimited minutes make us talk more? Let me know on jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always — be well.

It’s not a dinner party. It’s not a Pinterest board. It’s dinner. Less pressure and more people.

In a country where over half of adults say they’re lonely and a quarter of us live alone, maybe it’s time we give up trying for perfection and

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Maybe the fix isn’t therapy or group chat. Maybe it’s chili and cornbread for twelve.

You don’t need a matching set of plates. You need a reason to gather. A reason for intentional community.

So, what do you think? When’s the last time you invited someone to just sit and eat?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net. On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

8 Ways to Embrace “Deep Casual Hosting” (So You’ll Actually Do It)

More Advice for the “Deep Casual” Hosting Movement!

And the manufacturers know he’s right. Dodge is making systems to make electric muscle cars vibrate like they have V8 engines while BMW pumps fake engine sounds through speakers.

And this is all very strange. These companies are spending millions to simulate what they and are engineering away.

The steering wheel used to be a telegraph line between you and the machine. The car talked to you with every vibration. Every pothole, every gear change, every surge of power traveled up through your hands.

Now, with electric cars we get silence and smoothness: perfect efficiency delivered through screens and software. And gotta tell ya, that lack of sound and feeling, signifying connection, strips away something that i’m not ready to give up yet.

It's like we perfected a recipe but lost the taste and just maybe the soul.

So what do you think? What am I missing here? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

Gallup asked Americans which institutions they trust a great deal or quite a lot. And small businesses came out on top. About 70% of us do. That's more than the military, more than science, way more than Congress, which barely cracks 10%.

We say we don't trust institutions anymore, but that's not quite true. We still trust some, just not the ones with marble columns and press secretaries. Instead, we're putting our faith in the people who show up, who fix things, who keep the place running, even when no one is watching.

You've got science and the military in the top five, the police, higher education. It's a strange mix, but it tells you something. We still value competence. We still admire people who take the job seriously.

No, we don't need a hero. We just want someone who gets the order right and doesn't lie about it.

So what do you think? And who do you trust and why? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net. That's jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

It's like we've sorted ourselves like coins in a machine. But here's what really gets me here. We didn't choose it. Nobody wakes up and says, "I'll only be friends with people who make what I make."It happens through all these tiny things we live with every day, but barely notice.

.

Where you live picks your kid's school. The school picks their friends. Those friendships last into adulthood if they're lucky. Your job puts you around people who can afford to live where you live. And your hobbies cost what you can afford. Golf versus basketball. Sailing versus fishing.

Scientists call it homophily — or liking similar people — which sounds harmless, right?

But when similar means money, we're not just making friends.

We're building two different Americas that don't talk to each other.

So what do you think?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown and as always, be well.

Nobody likes taxes.

Not the ones we file in April.

Not the ones that life makes us pay either.

Seneca, the old stoic, called them exactly that. The taxes of life. He meant the aches, the grief, the little heartbreaks, the long goodbyes, the years that slip away whether you want them to or not.

But Seneca… He said pay them. Gladly.

The price of life is pain. The fee of love is lost. And the cost of moving forward is often leaving something behind.

The sooner we stop resenting the bill, the lighter life feels.

You can spend all your energy raging against those taxes. Or you could pay them with gratitude that you got to play the game at all.

That’s signing up fully for all of it. The joy, the heartbreak, the late nights, the slow mornings, the hard lessons, and yes, the farewells that we don’t get to schedule.

Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

So what do you think and what taxes are you paying personally?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at James A. Brown dot net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

We get so good at playing defense that we forget how to imagine the open field. Practical thinking is good, but if it's the only gear that you've got, it's a cage. Some ideas need to breathe before we choke them away with reality. That's one question that revealed to me how much my brain is dedicated to prevention.

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What could go wrong? What could fall apart, what I'd need to fix, but what if we just opened up our minds and hearts a little? What if we asked what could go right?

So, I'll ask you, if you couldn't fail, what would you try? What would you build? What would you dare to say?

Or do? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net. That's Jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

There are fewer teens than in previous generations. School buses are emptier and neighborhoods quieter. And those kids who are with us are lonely as hell. They're saturated with technology like the rest of us.

Meanwhile, adults, in this case, their parents, are working harder, longer, and not getting far.

Grim, right?

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So when a teen finds an AI, that's always available, always agreeable, always interested, well, of course, they're drawn to it. But that's the problem. It's everything human relationships aren't predictable, convenient, and risk-free. And that worries me more, because real relationships teach us to handle conflict, to navigate disappointment, and read social cues. They're messy and imperfect because people are messy and imperfect.

So, what do you think and what should we do about all this? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always be well.

That thing was my iPhone.

And as she put her hands back to work, I realized a few things. She was right. She deserved a few moments of mine. And we have thieves in our pockets.

These phones, these machines, these pickpockets — they steal seconds of our lives everywhere they can: at red lights, in commercial breaks, even in line at the grocery store. They have no conscience and no self-awareness, and we do it to ourselves.

But the real theft happens in moments like these with my mother. I don't know how much longer I'll have her, but for those years and hopefully decades to come, I'll do my best to keep that thief at bay as much as I can.

So what do you think? When was the last time you put your phone down and left it?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net. That's jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

Someone's Ring doorbell camera caught what looked like a big cat. It was dark, and we think it was maybe a panther or a mountain lion or a jaguar—but who knows, really?

Cops and the DEC are still looking for it.

It was scary at first. The idea of a big cat on our city streets. Something powerful where it doesn't belong. That’ll catch your attention.

But then came the memes.

The zoo says all their animals are accounted for. The car dealerships leaned in. And bad Photoshops of big cats were everywhere.

All for laughs.

But what struck me was the speed of it all. We went from fear to funny in no time flat.

Half a day is all it took.

But it is how we cope in America, after all. Some things feel so awful, so weird, so uncomfortable, that you can’t help but laugh at it—not because it’s real, but because it might be.

And we don’t know.

So what do you think? What was the last uncomfortable thing you laughed at?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

That’s jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown.

And as always, be well.

Yes, that Bat.

Des Moines, Iowa, 1982, A bat gets thrown on stage, and Ozzy thinks it's rubber, only it's real. He bit into it.

In his autobiography, he wrote, "something felt wrong, very wrong."

No doubt.

It was an accident, so strange, it fit Ozzy perfectly.

Everything about him, his voice, his concerts, weren't perfect, nor was the man. But he was a constant for decades through addiction, through ridicule, through reality TV, turning pain into power, building a stage for weirdos, all while never apologizing for being his crazy self.

So, yeah, when I think of Ozzy Osborne, I don't think about the songs. I think about the bat and what it represented to those thousands, [00:01:00] if not millions of weirdos, loving every moment of it. Ozzy Osborne was 76.

So what do you think? And how will you remember him? And if you were alive in 1982, how'd you learn about the bat?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown.net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

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Theo was the teenager we were, or in my case, wanted to be, messed up sometimes, but always tried smart in his own way. A son and brother and a loving family loved, even when he didn't quite know how to show it or what to do with it.

I often think about actors like Warner. After the show, his career kept going, but every time I saw his face, I saw Theo down to his last Instagram post. That's what great sitcoms do, what great media does, it gives us characters that we feel like we know in shadows, that those actors rarely escape.

So, rest in peace, Theo.

And rest in peace. Malcolm.

Malcolm, Jamal Warner was 54.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always be well.

Don’t cheat on your spouse in public.

Don’t cheat on your spouse in public on camera.

Don’t cheat on your spouse in public on camera with a coworker.

And definitely don’t cheat on your spouse in public on camera with a coworker in front of thousands of people at a Coldplay concert.

I never thought I’d have to say all that, but here we are.

You probably know this tale by now. A CEO and an HR boss were caught on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, and the CEO tried to hide.

Millions of views and memes later, he resigned. And as of this recording, the HR boss has somehow not.

My first reaction was, of course—fire them.

But I found myself wondering why I feel that way.

They’re clearly not good people. But who hasn’t worked for bosses who weren’t good people?

In the night, it came to me.

It’s rare that we—and I mean the royal we—collectively agree on anything. And when we do, we want our pound of flesh.

It’s primal.

Or maybe I’m wrong.

What do you think? Why do I, and so many other people, want these folks punished?

Let me know in the comments at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown.

And as always, be well.

You know the kind. It was so hot outside you could fry an egg.

I was doing my usual loop—head down, moving fast, listening to podcasts with my earbuds in—trying to get where I was going without melting.

That's when I saw it. A sticker on a bench. It said, "You are here."

Now, maybe someone slapped it on there yesterday, or maybe it's been there for years waiting for me to finally look up. I’ll never know.

I’ve passed that bench at least 50 times and never noticed it. Not once.

And that’s what got me.

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How much of life do we miss because we’re in a hurry? We think we know the same story, the same streets, same buildings, same sidewalks, same old everything.

But maybe the story changed, and we weren’t paying attention.

That sticker wasn’t loud. It wasn’t new. It was there, waiting.

In the practice, the real work is to stay awake to the ordinary. To slow down long enough to see what’s been quietly waiting for us all along.

So what do you think? What’s something you’ve walked by a hundred times and finally saw?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown.

And as always, be well.

I think it's meant to be a warning. Mind your own business.

So yes, curiosity killed the cat.

But if you look at the proverb, it continues: satisfaction brought it back.

And I think that changes the whole meaning of it all.

I think it means that curiosity can get you in trouble. It can also bring you back too. It can save you.

It certainly saved me. It showed me there was a whole big, wide world out there when my world seemed so small.

But sometimes, curiosity can be a place to hide.

We say, "I'm trying to understand," but what we really

mean is, "I'm not ready to decide. I don't want to carry what this decision might cost me."

Sometimes it's easier to sit inside the safety of questions than face up to what the answers might demand of us.

It's easier to stay curious forever than to finally say, "This is where I stand."

So when does curiosity move you forward? And when is it a way of hiding? Standing still?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

Yes, that's jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown.

And as always, be well.

We're talking about households making around a quarter million dollars a year.

Yeah, that number sounds huge to me and I bet to you too.

And on paper, it definitely is.

But here's the thing.

Soaring costs for housing, college, insurance, and borrowing can chew through even a fat paycheck in a thick bank account.

And even with that paycheck, something else happens: a bigger lifestyle.

Don't you think that's part of it? You don't just earn more, you spend more. Like Biggie Small said, more money, more problems.

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So you end up with families who look rich, but house poor, feeling squeezed.

The Wall Street Journal put it plainly: these people know they're lucky compared to you and me, but they still feel the pressure.

Strange place to be, don't you think? Affluent, but anxious. Well, hey guys, welcome to the club.

So what do you think? How much money would it take to make you feel comfortable?

Let me know in the comments and learn more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown. As always, be well.

Six months since we promised to save more money, exercise more and be happier. Those were the top three resolutions for 2025.

At the gym I drove past this morning, same story as always. Packed in January, half full by March and back to the regulars by summer.

We treat giving up on resolutions as personal failure, when maybe it's just information.

Maybe that goal to wake up at 5:30 a.m. every morning and go to the gym was less about health and more about trying to become someone you're not.

The Mental Health Foundation makes a smart point. It suggests making resolutions flexible—flexible enough to bend with life instead of breaking.

What if “I will exercise every day” became “I’ll move my body when I can”?

The goal isn’t to become perfect. It’s to be honest about what you can actually achieve.

So how are your resolutions holding up six months in, and what have they taught you about the difference between who you are and who you want to be?

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That's when Artemis, the black-ish, gray-ish cat, strolled to my feet to do the three things she does best: play, stalk, and kill. In this case, all at once, as she, eyes wide and paws ready, aimed to end the life of a fly buzzing around these parts.

She got close time and time again, and all I could wonder was what she saw. What does the world look like for a cat?

Turns out scientists have been asking that same question. Recent research shows Artemis sees the world in ways I never imagined. She can spot movement three hundred times faster than me, literally seeing life in slow motion like some feline version of The Matrix. That fly might as well be crawling through honey from her perspective.

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

They say her eyes gather six times more light than mine, and colors look washed out to her. They’re more like an old Instagram filter than the vibrant world I see. Artemis sees two hundred degrees around her without moving her head. We humans see one hundred eighty. She’s got peripheral vision that would make a security guard jealous.

What really gets me is this: her world is designed for exactly what she was doing at 1 a.m., hunting something small and quick in low light. Every part of her vision traded something away to get something else. Less color for better night sight. Less distance clarity for better movement detection.

Makes me wonder what we humans traded away to see our world the way we do. What did we give up to get our sharp daytime vision and color-rich experience?

Maybe more importantly, in our age of screens and artificial light, are we still seeing what we evolved to see? Or are we cats trying to watch television, missing half the picture because our eyes weren't built for this world we've created?

What do you think we've lost in the way we see the world today? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

Sources:

* PetMD: "How Do Cats See the World? What To Know about Cat Vision" (February 2024)

* National Geographic: "Here's how your cat experiences the world" (January 2024)

* Live Science: "Feline Vision: How Cats See the World"

* British Ecological Society: "Which animals perceive time the fastest?" (December 2022)

But July ninth, twenty twenty-five, maybe—and I mean maybe—the shortest day in history.

What scientists mean is: it’s the shortest day since the nineteen sixties, when we got an atomic clock.

Because this record doesn’t account for the thousands—if not millions—of years the planet has gone round and round.

Back when people told time by the sun, the wind, and how long their body could keep going.

With this I can’t help but wonder about the shortest days of our lives.

For me they’re filled with joy, pressure, accomplishment and exhilaration. Those days vanish before I even realized they mattered, too fast to hold.

And then there are the others. The longest days of our lives. For me they stretch.

It shows up in goodbyes. In disappointment. In waiting rooms. In voicemails. In silence. In tears.

For everything there is a season, they say.

So sure, the Earth is spinning faster.

But time? Time is something else entirely.

So what’s the shortest day you ever lived? And what’s the longest?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown dot net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

Sources:

• TimeandDate.com: “Earth Will Spin Unusually Quickly in July and August” (2025)

• BBC Science Focus: “Today, Earth is spinning faster than usual, and scientists are baffled” (July 9, 2025)

• Nature Study by Duncan Agnew, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

• Live Science: “Earth is going to spin much faster over the next few months” (July 2025)

• NPR: “Negative leap second: Climate change delays unusual step for time standard” (March 2024)

Portable CD players, disposable cameras, pink flip phones are all climbing the charts too. People are searching for wired earphones, phones with buttons, 2000s video games. In last month's top five vintage portable searches: DVD players, record players, digital cameras, cassette players, and radios.

You know what all those things have in common? You get to turn them off. You get to walk away. You get to fix them. Isn't that a novel idea?

Now, will these things make a full comeback? I don't think so. But some of them might stick around like record players, you know, with a second life and a small, loyal following.

I miss my iPod Nano. Do you miss yours? Or is there something else you'd bring back?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That time may be near for Paul Simon. The Simon of Simon and Garfunkel. The Simon behind so many solo hits.

The thrill of large crowds singing along to Kodachrome and our old friend darkness—that kind of joy does not fade easy. When you have lived at such great heights, I imagine it is tough to come back to earth with the rest of us. Retirement for someone like Simon is not just a career decision. It is an identity shift.

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

He already stepped away once. Came back. And now? The road is pushing back. Chronic back pain forced him to cancel two shows in Philadelphia.

I admire those who keep showing up. I admire those who know when to sit it out. But the real art might be in knowing which one you are, and when.

So, how do you know? When do you push through, and when do you put it down?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown dot net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

I am too, Sam. But for different reasons.

I'm a black, independent civil libertarian. I feel abandoned by our shrinking political tents. I think too much power in too few hands is scary. And I think it's foolish not to have borders and that any wall on them can and will be used to keep you in.

When norms, rules, and basic institutions get remixed because of feelings without compromise or consideration for the rest of us, that's a road to trouble.

Our republic has survived because change is slow and debated hard. It's a feature, not a bug. Remember that we're all Americans, and we have to keep living here together, I hope.

The Daily Note with James A. Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The system works when we remember that the person who disagrees with your vote is still your neighbor.

So what do you think? Are you politically homeless too? What should people like me and Sam Altman do?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

The shoe rule started after one guy tried to blow up a plane with explosives in his sneakers back in two thousand one. So naturally, we made three hundred million Americans take off their shoes every time they flew. Because nothing says national security like making grandmothers walk through metal detectors in their socks.

Here's what nobody talks about—this was always security theater. We banned shoes while cargo holds went barely checked. We confiscated water bottles while duty-free liquids sailed through. We created the illusion of safety without actually making anyone safer.

The real kicker? TSA failed most of their own security tests during these shoe-removal years. Investigators snuck fake weapons past screeners seventy percent of the time. But hey, at least they caught our Nikes.

Twenty-three years. That's how long it took to admit that making everyone play shoeless hopscotch didn't stop terrorists—it just made flying more miserable.

This makes me wonder what other "temporary" security measures we've accepted that serve no purpose except making us feel like something's being done.

What security theater have you noticed that's more about appearance than actual safety?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always—be well.

According to Google, searches for “The Bible” and “Christianity” surged across the West during Covid—and never quite came back down. Germany, Canada, Australia, France. Same pattern. A twenty-year rise capped by a spiritual spike.

And “The Bible” outpaced “Christianity” every single year.

That says something. People weren’t just looking for religion. They were looking for words. For something written, passed down, held together.

Maybe that’s because trust in institutions is low. Or maybe it’s just easier to seek out a book than a belief system.

Either way, when the world went still, curiosity returned. About something bigger than lockdowns and layoffs. Bigger than medicine or markets. Something old. Something lasting.

And here we are, in 2025, with both terms hitting their highest levels on record.

We talk a lot about what the pandemic took. But maybe it gave us something too: A chance to wonder. To reach. To remember.

So I’ll ask: When life paused, did you search for something sacred?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.On that note, I’m James a Brown, and as always—be well.

The show has a new name: The Daily Note with James A. Brown.

A new look, a new logo, new features, more video, and long-form content is coming back too.

I am also planning more dispatches from America. Stories from the road, from the people I meet, and to the places you tell me to go.

But the heart of it all stays the same.

A daily conversation starter. Five days a week. Ninety seconds a day.

Something real. Something you can carry with you

The Daily Note with James A. Brown.

Get it by podcast, by email, by YouTube, and soon enough, on air from sea to shining sea.

So, what have you heard on the show that made you think, "I want more of that"?

What stories? What questions? What styles? What moments stuck with you?

Let her rip. You never know what is going to inspire me.

Tell one. Tell all. Share the show with a friend.

We are also looking for supporters, sponsors, and subscribers. Anything you can offer helps.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We cannot do this without you.

Now, let me know what you think in the comments at jamesabrown.net. That is jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I am James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

Email James@thedailynote.net

Voicemail messages

Every time I try, I think of my older brother Gene. He’s been gone about a decade now, and hopefully he’s off somewhere hanging out with Jimi Hendrix and our older sister Annette, on some other plane. That’s bold as love.

I don’t remember if he bought that old grill or if my mother did, but it became his. He worked it like it meant something, because it did.

He would stand there, calm and patient, flipping chicken with a steady hand. But now I realize it was never about the food. It was one of the few things in his short life that he could own. Another way to take care of the rest of us.

Now, I’ve burned more burgers than I’ve gotten right. I’m not a gourmet chef, but I keep showing up every once in a while, hoping that maybe, maybe I’ll make him proud someday.

So what do you think? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown. And as always, be well.

But that is not how I remember him.

I remember the man who left the halls of power to chase big ideas. Who sat across from Joseph Campbell and helped bring The Power of Myth to millions. Who gave us A World of Ideas, long thoughtful conversations with poets, scientists, philosophers, and presidents. The kind of show that did not rush, did not shout, did not shrink from complexity. And made it look easy.

He will never know this, but he was a hero of mine. One of the reasons you are hearing my voice now. Because those conversations helped young James decide to tell stories. I am still chasing him. I will never catch up. And that is fine.

Some people run to be first. Others run to keep the story alive. Bill Moyers did both.

Bill Moyers died on June 26 in New York City. He was 91.

Rest in peace Bill.

On that note I am James A. Brown and as always be well.

Most say it is just for fun. And why not?

But what caught my eye is that one in ten of us say we use it to make major life decisions.

That is a lot of trust in a stranger with a crystal, or worse, a content calendar.

I am not here to mock it. Life is noisy. Certainty is rare. And we all reach for patterns when things feel chaotic. That takes many forms.

But it is worth asking, what exactly are we reaching for here? Clarity? Permission? Control?

I do not know. But my guess is this is just another way to find order in chaos and hope that something out there is looking out for us.

So tell me, do you believe in fortune telling or tarot? And why do you think these practices still hold power?

Let me know in the comments, check out more at jamesabrown.net, or leave me a voicemail at 585-653-8021.

On that note, I am James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

These dense, heavily scrutinized documents used to take a six-person team, mostly Ivy League grads, two weeks to write less than a year ago.

Now it takes hours, maybe minutes, to finish the corrections.

And as startling as that is, what Solomon said next really punched me.

The last 5 percent now matters because the rest is now a commodity.

My first thought — holy crap.

But mostly, I was left thinking about you and me.

We are the commodity Solomon was talking about so coldly.

It is clear the wolf will be at many of our white-collar doors soon enough.

So what should we do about all this?

For me, I think Stephen King said it best, oddly enough. “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

What do you think? What should we do?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

All I could see was the man who used to live there. He moved away last year.

He was gregarious, the kind who would sweep his walk like it was sacred. He would wave at every car, ask you how your mother was doing, even if he had never met her.

Now it is someone else’s porch. Same address, new name on the mailbox.

And it seems that we are lucky. The new folks seem kind. They seem to care.

But it hit me. We are just occupants.

In our houses, we will leave our imprint, sure. But the house, the porch, the sidewalk — those remain.

We think of our homes as shelter, but they are more than that. They are witnesses. They watch us come and go, grow up and grow old.

The porch remembers. The sidewalk remembers.

And memories, well, if they could talk, they would be everywhere.

So, what do you think? What story would your porch tell if it could talk?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesabrown.net.

On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

And the pain doesn’t stop there. Loneliness among the poor is tied to real physical symptoms. Fatigue. Pain. Low mood. It’s not just sadness. It’s wear and tear. On the body. On the spirit.

But here’s what caught me. Social connection still helps. It doesn’t erase poverty, but it softens the blow. Especially for those who need it most.

That feels important. In a time when so many fixes sound expensive or abstract, this one’s surprisingly simple: make sure nobody has to carry it all alone.

You know what I wonder? Maybe loneliness isn’t about how often we’re around people. Maybe it’s about how deeply we feel seen when we are.

So I’ll ask you. When did someone last really see you? And who have you made feel less alone?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

That’s according to Pew. And when you break it down, the trust gap gets wider. Young adults trust less than older ones. People with higher incomes trust more than those scraping by. And when you get to race, the lines are even starker—Black and Hispanic Americans report far lower trust levels than White or Asian Americans.

Why? Personal experience. Scars. Life treating you rough enough times that you learn to double-check the fine print—especially when it comes to people.

But here’s the catch: trust isn’t just about individuals. It’s about systems. It’s about whether you believe life will catch you—or drop you. Whether your community lifts up or wears down.

Still, trust is what lets us cooperate. It oils the machine. You need some to build a business, borrow a dollar, or believe in the vote.

So here’s the question:Do you think trust is earned, learned, or lost?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

I keep coming back to that last one. Your circle matters more than your skills. The people around you shape your future, whether you notice or not.

And fear? It shows up dressed as logic. It says not yet. It says play it safe. But most of the time, it is just doubt with better clothes.

Then there is money. Not just earning it, but understanding it. Learn how it works before it works you. That lesson comes late for too many of us.

So yes, start earlier. But if you didn’t, don’t panic. You can start now. You are not too old. You are not too late. You are right on time for whatever comes next.

What is one thing you would tell your younger self? Not to change the past, but to shape what comes next?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com. On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

That same bread, charred and misshapen but still intact, was uncovered last year by archaeologists. It is now on display in a museum.

Across town, a bakery that recreated the recipe cannot keep it on the shelves. It sells out daily because classics are classics for a reason.

Think about that: a simple loaf, made long before most tools of modern life, is now drawing crowds. We do not know the name of the baker, but we should tell them thank you—or at least the shopkeeper should.

We often treat history as if it is sealed off. But, as William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Our history is a lot like that piece of bread. It survives fire, earth, time and neglect, and still finds a way to teach us. It proves we are not so different from those who came before us long, long ago.

So what do you think? What are you making now that might outlast you? Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown. As always, be well.

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/archaeologists-unearth-ancient-bread-survived-underground-5000-years

I don’t know what to think about Bill Gates anymore. Some folks call him a genius. Others call him a puppet master. Most of us land somewhere in the middle. We just think about Microsoft and Windows, and groan.

But this move? It’s something. Not just because of the money, but because of the mindset. Gates wrote: People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I’m determined that “he died rich” will not be one of them.

That line stopped me. We live in a country where most people won’t have enough to retire, let alone give anything away. But here’s a man who once topped the wealth charts saying it out loud. He doesn’t want to keep it. He wants to spend his time and his billions on things he believes in.

Now, some folks will say it’s a tax play. And no doubt, it is. But even if it’s part strategy and part legacy, I think it still matters. You don’t pledge 200 billion dollars by accident. That takes intention. It takes letting go when most people hold on tighter.

It also makes me wonder: If Gates plans to spend the next two decades giving it all away, what are the rest of us doing with whatever time or money we have left?

What do you think? Should more billionaires do this? And what would you do if you were in his shoes?

Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Here is the twist: Researchers found a sweet spot for shared meals. Just one a week with someone else and your happiness rises. Share more and the boost keeps building until it does not. Around 13 meals in, the benefits fade. Everyone needs a little me time, the researcher said.

Still, solitude is not our main problem. The foundations of shared meals—friendship, coupling and family—are shaky in America. We date less, marry later and drift from friends. We call it independence, but that kind of independence can feel like slow isolation.

Those meals are not about food. They are about pausing, sharing a moment, hearing someone else’s story and realizing you are not carrying the whole day alone.

So I will ask: How many meals did you share this week? If the answer is zero, who could you invite to lunch?

Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I am James Brown. As always, be well.

https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2025/sharing-meals-with-others-how-sharing-meals-supports-happiness-and-social-connections/

“Culture war.”“War on truth.”“We’re fighting for the soul of the nation.”

Every disagreement becomes a battlefield. Every opponent, an enemy. Every policy, a test of loyalty.

But here’s the danger: If we keep telling ourselves we’re at war, eventually we’ll start acting like we are.

You can’t compromise with an enemy. You can’t listen, learn or admit you might be wrong. You bunker down. You pick your side. You scroll your feed until it confirms everything you already believe. And anyone who doesn’t fit? Must be a traitor.

The irony is, most Americans agree on more than we think. But war talk makes nuance sound like weakness.

And peace? Peace doesn’t trend.

So here’s the question:What would it take to shift from fighting to listening?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Most headlines are symptoms. So are most arguments. If you want real understanding, don’t stop at what’s happening. Ask why it’s happening.

Social media didn’t cause division. It monetized it. Politics didn’t get loud for fun. The incentives changed. Even in our own lives, we chase jobs, money, approval—but often it’s not about any of that. It’s about needing safety, control, and dignity.

Dalio’s line reminds me to stop reacting to the noise and start listening for the signal. The deeper pattern pull beneath the surface splash.

Once you understand this, you stop being shocked. You stop playing defense. You start making clearer, braver choices.

So here’s today’s question: What’s something in your life, or in the news, that’s not really about what it looks like? What’s the force behind the thing?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com. On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

It wasn’t a threat. It wasn’t even a suggestion. It was a command. And only she could deliver it that way.

Be still.

She said it when I couldn’t stop pacing.When I kept getting out of bed.When my mind wouldn’t quiet down.When I was worried about money, girls, grades, and the future.

Some things never change.

As a kid, I thought it meant stop fidgeting.As a man, I hear it differently.

It means calm your breath.Step back.Stop trying to force something to happen at 2:45 in the morning that is not meant to happen until the sun comes up.

It means surrender.Not to failure, but to the idea that rest is not wasted time.Stillness is not the opposite of action. It is often the prerequisite.

I am still learning that.

These days, when I am wide-eyed and wired for no good reason at 2 a.m., I remember her voice.I try to listen.I try to put the phone down.I stop refreshing the news.I stare at the ceiling like it holds answers.

And sometimes, I find peace there. Just enough to drift back into sleep.

So here is my question: What helps you fall asleep when your mind will not quit?

Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Now, I've seen some creative lawsuits in my time, but this one made me pause. Not just because it's ridiculous, and it is, but because it's almost logical in a backwards kind of way.

As a Buffalo Bills fan, I've sat through some miserable seasons, and I know how losing teams can make your mind wander. But I never blame the team when I spill cheese on my shirt, let alone sue them.

Thanks for reading All of the Above with James Brown! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here's the truth. Bad baseball didn't hit that man. A foul ball did. That risk has been part of the game since the first pitch was thrown in 1800-something.

This feels like peak blame culture. Everything is someone else's fault, except your own, even physics.

Yes, the Rockies are bad. That's on them. But staying alert in the stands? That's on you, dude.

So what do you think? What's the most creative excuse you've heard for dodging responsibility?

Call me at 585-653-8021. On that note, I'm James Brown. And as always, be well.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/rockies-fan-sues-organization-citing-longstanding-poor-performance-after-being-struck-by-foul-ball-in-2023/

I can’t just buy music, I have to rent it monthly. I can’t own a movie, I can license it until the platform decides I’ve had enough. I can’t even buy a car without getting emails about adding “connected services.”

We are in the age of buy me, and it is not about the product. It is about the relationship, the ongoing one. If you are the product creator, that is great—recurring revenue, steady feedback, loyal customers. If you are the buyer, you better read the fine print.

Because ownership is vanishing.

You do not really own your Kindle books or your smart fridge or, if Elon Musk gets his way, even your Tesla features. You license them temporarily, at the company’s mercy.

And yet there is a strange trade-off. People are fine giving up ownership as long as they feel part of something: a brand, a community, a mission.

“Buy me,” these brands whisper, “but really, belong to me.”

What do you think? Are you okay renting your digital life, or do you still believe in owning things—music, movies, your time?

Let me know in the comments, and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Whew. That hit harder than most things I scroll past, because it’s true.

This little slip of paper runs everything: where we live, what we eat, who gets care, who gets left behind.

We tell ourselves we’re in charge, making moves and chasing dreams, but for a lot of us we’re just chasing rent.

I’ve seen good people with empty pockets and people with no shame swimming in cash.

Money doesn’t reward character. It rewards positioning.

And maybe that is the part we hate most: how much of life boils down to the paper chase. Not dreams. Not values. Just who gets the dollar and how long they can hold onto it.

So let me ask you: Is money your tool or your tether?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

A soft, almost invisible light comes off our bodies. It’s called an ultra-weak photon emission. Say that three times fast.

This light radiates from living tissue. Scientists have seen it in mice. In leaves. And when life ends, the light goes out.

It’s not like a flashlight beam. Think shimmer. Something that fades as we do.

I know how it sounds. Fringe. Maybe even silly.

But it’s real research. And even if it’s just chemistry—a byproduct of cells doing their work—it’s still kind of breathtaking.

A reminder that we’re radiant in ways we don’t fully grasp.

So what do you think? Do we really glow?

And if we do, what kind of light are we putting out?

What color would you want yours to be?

Let me know in the comments. Support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown. And as always, be well.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/light-emitted-by-living-things-fades-quickly-after-death-images-captured-by-canadian-scientists-show/

It always made me smile. A little Southern charm wrapped in realism. A way of saying, “Here’s the plan, but let’s see what life’s got to say about it.”

The thing is, lately the creek did rise.

Not just for me. Maybe for you too.

And I’m not talking about a puddle in the driveway. I mean a full-on flood. Upending everything. Routines. Relationships. Even how you see the world.

Mine came in the form of family health scares. Long nights in waiting rooms. And so much more I won’t share here. It’s been a quiet horror. Realizing that no amount of hustle can outrun grief, or change, or time.

One day you’re steering the ship. The next, you’re just trying to stay afloat.

And when that happens, the old roads vanish. The maps stop working. You have to feel your way forward, one slippery step at a time. And maybe that’s the lesson.

Because when the creek rises, it reminds you: you’re not in charge.

It humbles you. Strips things down. Forces you to see what really matters.

For me, it meant leaning on people. Letting go of perfection. Accepting help. And above all, slowing down enough to feel it. Really feel it.

Because no matter how strong you think you are, you can’t outrun water.

But you can outlast it. Or try to.

If the flood hasn’t come for you yet, just wait. It’s part of the deal. But if it has—if you’re soaked to the bone, standing in the wreckage, if your loves, wants, and best-laid plans have been swept away in sewage—know this. You’re not alone. Even if it feels that way.

We don’t get to choose whether the creek rises. We only get to choose how we respond.

So what about you? When did your creek rise? And what did it wash away or reveal?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

The White House says not to worry. They claim this bill will save money, not add to the deficit. Both sides have their math. But the debt just keeps rising.

We’re in a fiscal crisis, and our politicians still don’t care. The new bosses are the same as the old bosses. Borrow, spend, make promises, repeat. Nobody wants to pay the bill: until we’re out of choices.

So what’s it going to take to wake us up? Do you think politicians will ever change, or are we just along for the ride? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Franklin D. Roosevelt hid his paralysis. John F. Kennedy ran on pain meds and adrenaline. Grover Cleveland had secret jaw surgery. Woodrow Wilson’s wife ran the country after his stroke.

And toward the end, Ronald Reagan looked a lot like Biden. He had good days and bad, struggling with cognitive decline inside the White House.

That’s the tradition. Politicians tell the truth when it suits them.

So when news broke that Biden has advanced cancer, I wasn’t shocked. And I wasn’t surprised we’re only learning about it now.

The Biden administration was many things. Honest wasn’t one of them.

For years, handlers and allies hid Biden’s cognitive decline. They lied until they couldn’t. Even hours before the debate with President Trump, when the world saw it live.

And with a track record like that, is it really a leap to think they’d hide something else?

So here’s my question.

If politicians won’t trust us with the truth, why should we trust them?

Let me know in the comments. Support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown. And as always, be well.

It’s not “please.”

It’s not “sorry.”

It’s “no.”

Some people learn it young. I had to learn it the hard way, by saying “yes” too many times and wondering why my life felt like a Jenga tower ready to fall over.

You say yes to the extra shift.Yes to the last-minute favor.Yes to the thing you don’t even want to do.

And every yes pulls one more block from your foundation.

Until one day—boom. Nothing left to stand on.

Saying no doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t mean you’re lazy. It means you’re paying attention. It means you know that yes should mean something, not just be your automatic setting.

Think about it. Every time you say yes to something you don’t believe in, you’re quietly saying no to something you do.

So what about you?

When’s the last time you said no and meant it?Or the last time you wished you had?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

And yet, somewhere, this passed through six meetings, three brand consultants, a deck with 80 slides and a final sign-off from someone with "chief" in their title.

Why? That’s the part that stumps me.

It’s not a rebrand. Not a message. Not even a moment. Just a shimmer. A shrug in vector form.

We live in a world where companies make tiny changes and call it evolution. Where "new look, same taste" gets more play than a product’s purpose.

Sometimes a logo says something. Sometimes it sells something. And sometimes it just sits there. Quiet. Polished. Empty.

So here’s my question:Do you think Google did this for us, or just to feel like they did something?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

It’s easier to build an audience when the lines are sharp. When “they” are always wrong and “we” are always right. That’s how you grow a flock. Not by telling the full truth, but by spotlighting the half that flatters your side.

But the real truth? Most of us aren’t that cleanly divided. Even the reddest red or bluest blue has shades of purple. We just don’t say it out loud because the tribe might turn on us.

And that silence adds up. It erodes trust. Not just in institutions, but in each other. You start to wonder if the person across the table is being honest or just playing a role.

The worst part is, we’ve gotten used to it. As if mistrust is the price of being informed.

But what happens when nobody believes anyone, even the ones telling the story?

So here’s my question:Is the media reflecting the trust gap, or making it wider?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Their absence creates a false version of history.

Rose bet on games. Jackson was part of the Black Sox scandal. Bonds, McGwire and Sosa used performance-enhancing drugs. No doubt. But they also hit milestones that shaped the sport. They filled stadiums. They made headlines. And in the case of Sosa and McGwire, they helped save baseball after the 1994 strike.

None of these men are perfect. But they were giants. And their stories are inseparable from the game itself.

Leaving them out is like vacating titles in college sports. It lets institutions pretend something we all witnessed didn’t happen.

Jordan Peterson says, "Tell the truth, or at least don't lie." That is the standard we should hold the Hall to.

Put their flaws on the plaque. Add context. But don't erase the story.

What do you think? Should the Hall of Fame reflect what really happened?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

In college, I watched Road to Perdition like it was homework I actually wanted to do.

It’s not the kind of film people typically binge. It’s moody. Quiet. Sad, even. But I found something sacred in it. The rain. The silences. The way Paul Newman eats his last meal. Tom Hanks, the hitman father, trying to shield his son from the very world he inhabits.

That movie had weight. And it was honest about something most films lie about: sometimes there’s no redemption arc. Sometimes the best you can do is buy a little peace for someone else, even if you can’t find it for yourself.

I think that’s what grabbed me. In college, you’re told to dream big. Become something. Be somebody. But Road to Perdition whispered something else. What if your story isn’t about becoming someone new? What if it’s about surviving the story you’re already in?

There’s a line in the movie I’ll never forget. The boy says, “When people ask me if Michael Sullivan was a good man or if there was just no good in him at all, I always give the same answer. I just tell them he was my father.”

That line hits harder the older I get.

What movie left that kind of mark on you?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

TV used to give us characters. Now it gives us kickoffs.

NBC, once the home of Must See TV, has benched most of that. This fall, Tuesday nights go to the NBA and WNBA under an eleven-year deal. Saturdays and Sundays stay with football. Add in The Voice, Dateline, and Jimmy Fallon’s new show On Brand, and just seven hours of the network’s twenty-two-hour primetime lineup will be scripted.

Now, NBC — along with CBS, ABC, and FOX — feels dwarfed by the streaming world. These networks once set the national calendar. Now they are fighting just to stay in the conversation.

We all saw this coming. Streaming made everything personalized. Sports made everything live and instantly debated on social media. But when I look at the fall lineup, I don’t just see change. I see daylight fading.

I still love those old shows: Seinfeld, ER, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order — especially Criminal Intent. They were more than just programming. They were bright spots. Built around writing. Built to last. And yes, they are still thriving on streaming, but it’s not the same.

Now the crowds cheer instead of the laugh track. Sports pack arenas and living rooms alike. They bring ad dollars and watercooler buzz. But what about the writers, actors, and crews who gave us the stories we carried?

Will scripted storytelling survive the algorithm era, or become a rare breed?

So here’s my question:Are we evolving, or erasing?Is this a win for real-time entertainment, or a quiet loss for shared memory?Or maybe something else.

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Not because I’m caught up in doctrine, but because I’m drawn to rhythm.

There’s something timeless about that moment. Ancient rituals unfolding live on HD. The crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the balcony curtains parting, the name announced in Latin.

We live in a world that updates every hour. Most traditions can’t keep up. But this one doesn’t try to. That’s the point.

In a time of Instagram swipes and TikTok cuts, here comes a centuries-old process moving at its own pace. It reminds me that not everything has to be modernized to matter.

Maybe we’re all craving a little ceremony. A little grandeur. A little sense that some things are bigger than us and older than us too.

I may not pray like they do, but I can still feel something when I see robes, rituals, and reverence done right.

So here’s my question: What tradition, big or small, still gives you that sense of awe?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Seventeen.

I had to read that twice.

When I was a kid, the book was the whole show. The lesson, the compass, the quiet companion in the corner of the classroom. And for me, that companion showed up when I needed it most. I was handed a copy of The Catcher in the Rye during one of the darkest moments of my life.

I didn’t ask for it. I wasn’t looking for it. But there it was.

Holden Caulfield, confused and angry, lost in the noise of the world and trying to make sense of anything at all. I didn’t love him. But I understood him. That book didn’t fix anything, but it reminded me I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. It kept me company. Sometimes, that’s more than enough.

So what then?

What happens to a kid who never has that moment? Who never opens a book and finds a version of themselves staring back? Who never realizes that even when the world doesn’t make sense, someone else has walked that road before?

In today’s classrooms, there are more screens than pages. More pacing guides than pauses. Books are becoming optional. And I worry what that means for kids who are barely holding it together, looking for anything that makes them feel seen.

A book doesn’t just teach you literacy. It teaches you humanity.

So I’ll ask: Do you think the kids in your life will ever read like that again? And what book helped you hang on?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/testing-theories-of-why-four-keys-to-interpreting-us-student-achievement-trends/

Not people.Bots.

And instead of feeling flattered, he said he felt worse.

I get it.

It's one thing to be ignored.It's another thing to be fake-noticed.

Or at least feel that way.

An AI recruiter bot isn't reaching out because you're the perfect fit.They're reaching out because an algorithm thinks you have the right keywords.

That's not a compliment.That's keyword phishing.

It reminds me a lot of those pre-approved credit card offers that say "congratulations" when they know it just means your name is on a list somewhere.

It's hollow. It's lazy. And it makes the world feel a little less human.

Job hunting is already brutal.

You send resumes into the void.You get ghosted by companies that promise transparency.And now we're adding bots to the rejection pipeline.

Great.

Look, I'm not anti-AI.I use it.I love it.

But there's something uniquely disheartening about the illusion of interest.

At least when no one calls, you know where you stand.

Thanks for reading All of the Above with James Brown! This post is public so feel free to share it.

When a bot calls, you're left wondering if anything was real at all.

So I'll ask you:Would you rather have no interest at all for your job application—or a message from something that's not even real?

Let me know your thoughts and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I'm James Brown.And as always, be well.

You walk in thinking you'll be five minutes, but it's never five minutes.

Maybe 10 if you're lucky.

By the time you're called, you've aged—spiritually, at least.

It's not just the boredom that gets me. It's the stillness.

Usually no music. Usually no updates. Just a low hum of someone's iPhone in the background and a laminated sign that says, "Be patient."

No kidding.

I sat at one last week. A woman two chairs over offered me a peppermint. Didn't say a word. Just held it out there like it was communion.

I was supposed to take it.

Because for a second, it kind of was.

A little reminder that while we're all waiting alone, we're not alone.

That's the thing about waiting rooms. They're not just about time. They're about trust.

You trust the process. You trust the people behind a door. You trust that eventually your name will be called.

Life's like that too. A whole lot of sitting, a whole lot of hoping, a whole lot of wondering what's next.

And sometimes a peppermint helps.

What do you think? What's your most memorable waiting room story?

Let me know in the comments to support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I'm James Brown, and as always, be well.

Wall Street Journal says half of us think those digital tip nudges are too high. Only one-third of us are actually tipping more than before. And yet the same survey shows something bigger: seventy-one percent of folks tip more when service is great, and half will even stomach higher menu prices—if the experience sings.

So the problem isn’t our pockets. It’s our patience. We’re tired of being guilt-tripped by a tablet that swivels like the Wheel of Fortune. We want a human moment, not a shakedown.

Thanks for reading All of the Above with James Brown! This post is public so feel free to share it.

I get it. Last week I grabbed a takeout burger, no table, no refills. The register asked for twenty-two percent. I tipped a token buck and felt like the bad guy in a spaghetti western. But am I? Or are we just drawing a line between gratitude and extortion?

Maybe the answer is simple: wow me, then watch me tip. Warm welcome, water refilled before I ask, maybe a joke that lands. Treat me like a guest, not an ATM, and I’ll happily add that extra dollar—or two—without the guilt tap-dance.

What about you? Do digital prompts push you to tip less—or tiptoe back home to cook? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

The NFL Draft is a funny thing.For three days, hope takes the main stage.Teams sell dreams. Fans buy 'em.Everybody's undefeated in April.

I love it, even when I know better.

You see the smiles, the suits, the tearful hugs. You hear the words—"culture changer," "franchise quarterback," "once-in-a-generation talent."And every fan base, even the ones who should know better, starts whispering, "Maybe this is the year."

But here's the truth: Half these picks won't pan out. Some will get hurt. Some will get humbled. Some will just disappear.Nobody thinks it’ll be their guy.But somebody’s guy always falls flat.

That’s part of the beauty of it, though.The NFL Draft isn’t about certainty.It’s about faith.Faith that maybe, just maybe, this pick, this player, this year... is different.

And for a little while, that's enough.

So, let me ask you:Which pick are you putting your faith in?And which team do you think just set themselves back five years without realizing it? And please, please don’t let it be the Buffalo Bills.

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I'm James Brown, and as always, be well.

Thanks for reading All of the Above with James Brown! This post is public so feel free to share it.

They’re a formality dressed up like a choice. The real decisions? They happen months earlier, behind closed doors, in primaries most people don’t vote in. And if you’re an independent like me, you’re boxed out entirely. You don’t get a say unless you pick a side.

It’s worse than that. If you’re a red dot in a cherry blue city—or a blue dot in a red velvet county—you’re not just ignored. You’re invisible. No candidate talks to you. No campaign bothers to reach you. You’re either taken for granted or written off. It’s like Michael Jackson said—“All I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us.” And in moments like these, it feels true. Not just neglected—dismissed. Like your voice only matters if it fits neatly into a pollster’s spreadsheet or a donor’s agenda.

That’s why, for all his flaws—and there are plenty—I’m glad Eric Adams is running as an independent. Not because I back him. I don’t. Not yet. I honestly don’t know much about his politics or what he stands for. But because it means New York City might get something rare in our one-party state: a real election. A real debate. A brawl over the future of that great city. A general election that actually matters.

That shouldn’t be rare. But it is.

Thanks for reading All of the Above with James Brown! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Elections are supposed to be where we all meet. Where the wisdom of the crowd picks a direction—right or wrong. Not where half of us stay home because the script’s already written.

So I’ll ask you—are your elections real? Or do you live in a one-party state too? And if so, is that stability... or silence?

Would ranked-choice voting help? Open primaries? Or are we too far gone? What’s the best idea you’ve heard?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

That was him then.

That’s most of us now.

Thanks for reading All of the Above with James Brown! This post is public so feel free to share it.

And I’ll raise my hand too. I go to bed with podcasts or YouTube playing in the background. Sometimes both. I tell myself I’m learning. But really, I just don’t want to be alone with silence.

And yet, something about that silence still calls to me. The idea of reading a book, uninterrupted, feels like some lost art. Something ancient. Sacred. Like building a fire with your hands instead of flicking a switch. It takes more time, more patience—but maybe that’s the point.

Hugh still got into bed with a book. Every night. Trying. Fighting for sentence five. That part stays with me. Because in a world wired for dopamine, just trying might be the most radical thing we can do.

And let’s be honest—some of you are toggling between tabs as you hear my voice. I don’t blame you. But I do wonder…

What would happen if we turned it all off—even for a night? What might we rediscover?

So, here’s my question:What’s your version of sentence five? And are you still trying to get there?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

What struck me wasn’t the hassle. It was the silence. The store felt more like a library with fluorescent lights. And as I wandered around, I noticed more and more items locked away: baby formula, cosmetics, now basic electronics. It's not just Walmart. Try buying laundry pods or razors at a dollar store lately.

It’s a creeping lockdown, aisle by aisle.

Now, there’s a financial YouTuber, Eurodollar University, who argues that Americans are getting culturally poorer. That the standard of living is eroding slowly, not just in dollars, but in dignity. At first, I thought he was reaching. But standing there, waiting for a man to hand me my own headphones like I was checking out a library book? That made me pause.

We used to be a country of abundance. Now we act like everything is a luxury someone might steal.

Maybe it's loss prevention. Maybe it’s economic anxiety made visible. But it’s hard not to feel like the walls are closing in a little more with each visit.

So here’s my question: When did we start locking up the future? And what’s next, bread behind bulletproof glass?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

You’re not “accidentally” ringing up that ribeye as bananas. You didn’t just forget that there were three energy drinks in the cart when you only scanned two. We know. You know.

Look, I get it. Everything costs more. Eggs. Rent. Life. And yes, corporations rake in record profits while we sweat through the checkout line. But lying, especially to a machine, is still lying.

What really bothers me, though, is what it does to us. Every time we justify a little dishonesty, it chips away at something. Not just integrity, but trust. And no, this isn’t about moral high ground. It’s about the kind of world we’re building. Because if we all start deciding the rules only apply when it’s convenient, things fall apart fast.

Also, real talk? These companies aren’t dumb. They’re adding cameras, weight sensors, even AI to track your “mistakes.” You might think you’re beating the system. You’re just teaching it how to beat you back, harder.

So here’s my question: Where’s the line between resisting a broken system and just breaking trust?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

According to The Wall Street Journal, early withdrawals are on the rise. People aren’t breaking into their nest eggs for luxury vacations—they’re covering rent, medical bills, and car repairs. The basics. Because, let’s be real, when an emergency hits, most Americans don’t have $500 sitting around, let alone $1,000. The money’s gotta come from somewhere.

And the price for tapping in early? A 10% penalty, plus income tax. It’s a steep fee for simply needing to survive. But when the alternative is drowning in credit card debt or payday loans, a penalty might feel like the least-bad option.

So, what does this say about the system? It assumes people can afford to let money sit untouched for 30 or 40 years. But life doesn’t always wait. Maybe it’s time we rethink how people save—not just for the future, but for today.

What do you think? Should there be better emergency savings options? Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

I think about this when I see kids playing in the park. They don’t know yet what’s ahead. They don’t know if their path leads to a mansion or a shelter, an Ivy League classroom or a factory floor. But in that moment, they’re running, laughing, making the most of right now. And maybe that’s the lesson: you start where you start, but every step is your own.

Take me, for instance. My path began without a dad. That meant no guide to show me the ropes, no steady hand to help me steer. But my mom—God bless her—taught me to focus on what I had, not what I didn’t. She taught me to keep walking, even when the trail was uphill and my legs were tired.

Not every path is fair. Some are shorter, smoother, or more scenic. But here’s the thing: the road doesn’t define you—how you walk it does.

So, what about you? What kind of path did you get? And how are you making it your own?

Let me know in the comments, and for more stories, visit jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Not on life—on the show you’re watching.

You’re deep into a scene, fully invested. And then—BARK. BARK. BARK. BARK. BARK. BARK. The dog loses its mind. Over what? Who knows. A car door slamming two blocks away. A squirrel with an attitude. A breeze that had the audacity to exist. Or at my house, the unending war between the dog and the cat.

And just like that, your person gets up. To calm the dog, to check the door, to referee yet another round of the pet kingdom’s cold war. And without thinking, you hit pause.

Not for the dog—the dog doesn’t care. Not for the cat. Her “head is a box full of nothing. And that's the way she likes it. And that’s the way she likes it.”

No.

You do it for them. You do it for your person. Because you know they don’t want to miss anything. Because watching together is the point.

That’s love. Not the big, dramatic movie kind. The everyday, lived-in kind. The kind that shows up in the little moments—like waiting, listening, and hitting pause even when the dog won’t.

And on this Valentine’s Day, I hope you have someone to hit pause for. Because I gotta tell ya, it makes life a little easier. Even when other things are not.

What do you think? What’s the smallest thing someone’s done that made you feel loved?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

She’s right. But here’s where it gets interesting: most of us don’t choose one or the other. We live in both. And even on the same platform, we play different roles. We’re enthusiastic participants in one corner, silent lurkers in another. One moment, we’re liking memes and commenting on TikToks. The next, we’re scrolling through a heated debate, watching but saying nothing, like wallflowers at a digital party.

And if we’re honest—and we should be—we’d admit this isn’t that different from the rest of life. Think about it: aren’t we all a little different depending on the room we’re in? At work, we present one version of ourselves. At home with family, another. With friends, we’re open, but with strangers, maybe guarded. We adapt, we shift, we wear masks—not out of deceit, but because that’s what life asks of us.

The internet just amplifies this. It gives us more rooms to enter, more roles to play. The normie internet pulls us into public performances, polished and digestible for the algorithm. The subterranean internet lets us retreat, to be quieter, rougher around the edges. And just like in life, we need both spaces—one to connect broadly, the other to feel seen more deeply.

So, do you really have to choose one internet over the other? I don’t think so. What matters isn’t which space you belong to but how you navigate them. Whether you’re chasing clout or blending into the background, the roles we play tell us something about who we are.

What about you? Do you find yourself thriving in one space and lurking in another? And how different are the roles you play online from the ones you play in life?

Let me know and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Why? Because it makes me happy. Few other things do. I know I’ll likely work for the next 30 years or so, and I want to enjoy as much of that time as possible. And because someday, like all of us, I’m going to die. When that time comes, I want to look back knowing I spent my years on things that truly mattered to me, took care of mine, and scratched the surface of my potential.

But here’s my trouble: I have an endless stream of ideas. It’s both a gift and a curse. My mother often reminds me to focus on the gift half and execute. She’s right—I’m working on it. And soon enough, you’ll see it.

This reflects Habit 2 of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Begin with the End in Mind. Stephen Covey argues that all things are created twice: first in our minds, and then in reality. You start with a vision, refine it into a blueprint, measure twice, cut once, and shape the world into something closer to what you’ve imagined—or at least try to.

What’s your blueprint? What’s the end you’re working toward? Let me know in the comments and support my work at JamesBrownTV.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

Who's to blame? The coaches? The players? The league itself? I blame the referees who can't tell where a ball should be spotted. But honestly, all of the above share some of the blame—including myself.

I can't help it that I care so much about a child's game with rules, as my lady aptly puts it, "written by lawyers." And I've come to wonder: Why do I pour so much of my hope, energy, and time into this? Is it foolish to dream about one championship before I shuffle off this mortal coil? Maybe. But what else am I supposed to do?

This isn't just about football. It's about identity. It's about belonging to something bigger than myself through every high and low, to the bitter end. And yes, dreaming of that parade down Chippewa in February.

Being a Bills fan means licking your wounds, bundling up for the long winter, and hoping for next year—until we don’t. It's resilience bordering on madness. And let's face it, countless broken tables. It's finding comfort in the shared agony of a missed kick or a blown call.

So here we are again, battered but not broken. As Hemingway put it, "A man can be destroyed, but not defeated." Why? Because we're all Mr. Brightside.

What about you? What keeps you coming back to something that seems to bring you more pain than joy? Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I'm James Brown. And as always, be well. And of course, Go Bills!

I’ll admit, I’m part of the problem sometimes. I cancel plans for the comfort of my couch or send a quick text instead of making a call. It’s easier in the moment, but at what cost?

Socializing isn’t just fun—it’s essential. It’s how we share joy, handle life’s stress, and build connections that give us purpose. Without it, we risk losing something profoundly human.

I wonder if this is the fallout from smartphones, remote work, or maybe the pandemic accelerating trends that were already in motion. But it doesn’t have to stay this way.

Here’s a challenge: this week, pick up the phone and call someone you’ve been meaning to reach out to. Invite a friend over for coffee. Smile at a stranger. It’s small steps like these that fight isolation and rebuild the bonds we’re losing.

What do you think? Is this a new normal we should accept or a wake-up call to change? Let me know at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

He grinned even wider and replied, “Yep.” That’s one way to look at it, isn’t it?

It’s the magic of a thaw. It tricks us into thinking the worst is behind us. The snow turns into slush, and you see glimpses of pavement that had been buried for days, if not weeks, some cases months. It’s a temporary reprieve, a slice of hope. But let’s not kid ourselves—winter’s still out there, lurking and in my part of the world, Rochester, New York, we get slapped by again and again and again.

Life’s thaws are like that too. A small win after a stretch of losses feels like a full-on victory parade. Maybe it’s an unexpected smile, a piece of randomness that gets you guffawing, or a day when things go right for no reason. They bring a smile to your face, and some hope. Whatever gets you through January, right?

What about you? Are you a “grin at the thaw” kind of person, or do you keep your coat zipped, expecting another storm?

Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com. And on that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

One of his key points? Even our language matters. Covey says we need to move away from reactive phrases like, “There’s nothing I can do,” and instead embrace proactive alternatives like, “Let’s look at our options.” Words shape thoughts, and thoughts shape actions.

It reminds me of what Bono once told Jann Wenner in an interview: “The world is more malleable than you think.” In other words, circumstances are often more flexible than they seem. When we act intentionally, we have a hand in shaping our outcomes—even if only in small ways.

This idea resonates with me. Life’s challenges have taught me that waiting around usually isn’t a great strategy. You either take the wheel, or life drags you along. I’ve been on both sides of that equation, and let me tell you, driving—even when it’s hard—is always better.

What about you? Are you acting or being acted upon? And what’s one small way you can shift from reactive to proactive today? Share your thoughts and support my work at JamesBrownTV.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

I can’t stand the thought of someone slipping on ice or trudging through snow because I didn’t take a little extra time. It’s not just about avoiding a lawsuit—it’s about doing it right.

I’ll admit, there’s a strange satisfaction in it. The scrape of the shovel. The crunch of salt underfoot. The sight of clean, dry concrete when the job’s done. It feels... productive. Like a small corner of the world is better because of something I did.

Maybe it’s old-fashioned. Maybe I’m a perfectionist. Or maybe it’s a kind of unspoken agreement with the world: I’ll do my part, no matter how small.

What about you? Do you take the extra time to clear it down to the concrete? Or are you a "good enough" kind of person?

Tell me at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

I buy them for something else entirely—a break from reality.

For a moment, as I scratch off those numbers or check a ticket, I’m not worrying about the bills, the to-do list, or the endless cycle of news. I’m imagining a different life.

What would I do with $10 million? $1 million? Even $100,000? I dream of paying off debts, traveling to places I’ve only seen in pictures, or maybe just giving my loved

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

ones the life they deserve.

It’s not about the odds—they’re laughable, really. It’s about the escape. That fleeting, harmless “what if” that takes the edge off the daily grind.

And then, when I lose—which I always do—it’s back to the real world. The ticket gets tossed, and life goes on. No harm, no foul.

What about you? Do you play the lottery? If you hit it big tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d do?

Let me know at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Now, when I do pour a drink, it feels like a treat, not a habit. And honestly? I think I’m better off for it. I know my doctors think so.

That’s why this Dry January movement fascinates me. It’s not just about giving up alcohol—it’s about rethinking the role it plays in our lives. This year, 22% of adults are going dry for the month, and most are going all-in, not planning on pour a pint soon. It’s not punishment. It’s perspective.

Drinking used to be the default in social settings. A bar, a toast, a happy hour and I’ve had plenty — too much at times — and that was expected. Now, not as much. The culture is shifting. At least in my world.

Non-alcoholic options are everywhere now, and the stigma of saying “no thanks” is melting away. It’s not about abstinence for everyone; it’s about balance, about letting a drink feel special again.

Still, I wonder: Will February undo the progress of January? Is it like those gyms we rush to in around New Years and ghost by March?

For me, drinking less has meant feeling more—more present, more awake, more in control. All things I think I benefit from.

What about you? Do you feel better with less? Is Dry January just a trend, or a sign that we’re redefining our relationship with alcohol? And how would you describe your relationship with booze.

Let me know your thoughts and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com. On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

After pneumonia, my voice feels like a stranger’s. It cracks, it croaks, it occasionally gives up altogether. For someone whose craft depends on sound, that’s humbling. But I’m learning to embrace it—this imperfect, rough-edged version of myself.

Because isn’t that life? We stumble, we cough, we croak our way through the hard parts, and we find a way to keep going. The world doesn’t wait for us to heal, but maybe it doesn’t need to. Maybe we can meet it where we are, scars and all.

My lady says I can’t stop, and she’s probably right. My regular listeners have likely picked up on it, too—I’m a workaholic, but only when the work feels worthwhile. That’s the catch. When it matters, when there’s a story to tell or an idea to shape, I lean in. Hard. Even when my body says no.

Here’s my question: How do you keep going when your voice—literal or metaphorical—isn’t what it used to be? What do you rely on? And any remedies for a croaky voice?

Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

The kind of cold that bites your nose, chews your fingers, and makes you question every life choice that led you here—or keeps you here.

And then there’s the snow—the relentless, heavy, "wet cement" kind that buries your car like a fossil.

I had a showdown with my snow-covered car. It was maybe 8 degrees, just warm enough to mock me.

There’s a technique to this, a mix of art and science perfected over years of frosty mornings.

First, start the car. This is where winter loves to mess with you. Car batteries have a knack for dying just when you need them most.

Next, the windshield. Clear just enough to see through, and you’re golden—for now.

Then the roof—because nobody likes being pelted with snow missiles on the highway.

Finally, those stubborn mirrors and lights. Don’t forget the crevices. I know, easier said than done.

But here’s the thing: the real enemy isn’t the snow. You get used to that. It’s the ice. That invisible, soul-crushing layer welded to your windows.

You scrape, you swear, you question your life choices. And just when you think you’re done, your cheap plastic scraper snaps in half. Happens to me at least once every winter.

Western New Yorkers know winter isn’t just a season—it’s a reality check. You will slip, fall, claw your way back up, and soldier on. It’s what we do.

Winter teaches us resilience, no matter how warped our outlook gets.

For those in warmer places, what’s your equivalent? And my fellow winter warriors, what’s your snow-clearing strategy?

Let me know in the comments at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Covey’s first habit, Be Proactive, struck me then—and still does now. He draws from Viktor Frankl, a man, a Freudian psychologist, who endured unimaginable horrors in a Nazi death camp. Stripped of everything, Frankl discovered what he called “the last of human freedoms”: the ability to choose how we respond to our circumstances. Even in the face of unspeakable suffering, he decided, within himself, how it would affect him.

That idea? It’s a lifeline. One I stumbled upon long before I got this book. Growing up with very little, I could’ve let my circumstances define me. But even young James had a vision of something more—even if he barely knew how to get there. It’s an inner drive I can’t shut off to this day, even when it hurts.

What about you? No matter what the world throws your way, do you believe what’s inside you is stronger than what’s outside? I do. It’s far from perfect—I’m far from perfect—but it’s the truth that keeps me going.

What do you think? Am I off track? And what’s your oldest possession that still matters to you? Let me know in the comments and support my work at JamesBrownTV.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

The vet says the steroids should help, and they seem to be working.

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This is my first time living with a dog, and I’ll admit, I’m still not much of a pet person. It’s been a lot to get used to.

Eddie is a scrappy little mutt—a swirl of dirty white tufts, specks of brown, and plenty of demands. He’s not much to look at, but somehow, all the girls find him cute. He’s got a way of making himself known.

He hides between my feet when he’s nervous and curls up on my shoes when I’m gone. When I’m here, he wedges himself between my legs like a furry bookmark.

The girlfriend tells me it’s his way of staying close to us. “We’re his people,” she says—literally and figuratively. I think she’s right.

She would know, after all. Eddie’s her dog, an eight-year companion. And you can tell—there’s no one on earth Eddie gazes at more adoringly.

It’s strange how these little creatures find ways to burrow into your heart. Eddie might be small, but he’s got a presence. Even his cough reminds me how much I’ve come to care about this scrappy, clingy little mutt.

Get well soon, Eddie. The shoes aren’t the same without you.

What about you? Have you ever had a pet that taught you something about connection? Tell me your story at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Meanwhile, antitrust efforts will zero in on Google and Facebook. But I think both companies will survive the storms. They’ve faced scrutiny before and know how to play the long game. Expect a few high-profile concessions to avoid being broken apart.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

NPR will be called into a congressional hearing, with its funding slashed yet again. Public broadcasting will continue fighting for relevance, but its financial future looks increasingly rocky.

Weather-wise, brace for a cool summer overall, but expect an active hurricane season.

And here’s a quirky one: Someone in New York state will run—and win—on a platform of bringing back plastic bags. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking from me and, I’d guess, most New Yorkers. Still, the backlash against paper and reusable bag mandates is real. Stranger things have happened in politics.

Finally, here’s a cultural shift to watch: Weight loss drugs will become the new fad antidepressant. Drugs like Ozempic are already reshaping conversations around health, wellness, and weight. This year, their use will expand beyond weight loss, being touted as solutions for mood, energy, and even lifestyle enhancement. Expect debates about safety and ethics.

What’s your take? Let me know in the comments or support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

Stagflation is coming—but with a 2020s twist. We’ll see slow growth and rising prices, reminiscent of the 1970s. And just when we think we’ve adjusted, stagflation will give way to a new round of inflation.

Yay.

It’ll be the kind that hits hard and doesn’t let up. Worse, it won’t be by accident. Our government will do it on purpose to tackle mounting, unpayable debt. Brace yourself—this could be within the next 18 months.

The stock market? It’ll climb higher, but don’t confuse that with stability. Expect sharp gains followed by painful drops as Wall Street grows richer and Main Street struggles to keep up.

Driverless cars? They’re here, and they’re spectacular. Over the next 18 months, they’ll shift from novelty to commonplace, reshaping cities and industries. Think Uber or Grubhub a few years ago—then multiply that by 10.

But with this shift comes a looming crisis: What happens when tens of millions of men employed as drivers, truckers, cabbies, and couriers lose their jobs? We won’t have that answer anytime soon. The silence? It’ll be deafening.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Meanwhile, prepping will go mainstream. Economic instability, natural disasters, and a general sense of unease will push more people to embrace stockpiling and self-reliance.

And yes, we’ll face another pandemic scare. It won’t turn into a sequel, but expect headlines, debates, and heightened caution—not the upheaval we’ve already survived.

And finally, my favorite prediction: The Buffalo Bills will win the Super Bowl.

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I’m calling it—a thrilling 43-36 shootout against the Los Angeles Rams. And when it happens, I’ll be the happiest man on Earth.

Go Bills.

What do you think? Are these predictions hitting the mark, or do you see something else coming?

Share your thoughts at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will make a bold attempt to seize power, but it won’t work. She’ll rally the progressive base, but her success will be limited. Instead, her party will likely flirt with a celebrity as its new standard-bearer—a fresh face with a Bernie-like perspective.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It won’t be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but someone “rock-like”—charismatic, fresh, and just unconventional enough to capture attention. They’ll call it their Donald Trump. Jon Stewart, perhaps? My guess: it won’t stick.

The Democratic establishment is too entrenched. The old lions will keep marching down the same tired paths for a while longer. The results? Infighting—lots of it. Sparks of a movement for a fresh start will flicker, but there won’t be an ignition. The left will move further left, and the party will continue to wrestle with finding a coherent vision of itself.

Meanwhile, we’ll see the emergence of dozens of “Diet Joe Rogan” figures on the left. The New York Times will likely write about it, but these voices will fail to galvanize a movement. Joe Rogans don’t happen overnight.

And President Joe Biden? We’ll learn more about him, and my bet is he’s been sicker for longer than we’ve been told. In fact, I think he might be on death’s door.

Vice President Kamala Harris will try to reclaim relevance, but the moment has long passed her by—likely for good. Her peak is in the rearview mirror.

What do you think? Will Democrats find their way, or are they destined to spin their wheels for years to come? My bet? Not until 2030 or 2032 will we see a true resurgence.

Share your thoughts and predictions at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

But the Panama Canal? I could see a deal being made. His second administration will bring surprises, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. becoming one of its most successful members.

On trade, Trump’s tariff rhetoric will cool down. We’ll see targeted tariffs—not as many or as steep as promised, but they’ll happen. In hindsight, it’ll seem like a scare tactic and bargaining ploy.

Here’s a twist: Trump’s most significant trade victory might end up being tighter relationships with Canada and Mexico.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

As for transparency? Don’t hold your breath for the full story on JFK or the Epstein files. Trump might release some tidbits, just enough to stir intrigue.

And no, Elon Musk won’t be co-president—though his Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, will try its best. But here’s the thing: Grand visions often collapse under the weight of the very systems they’re trying to fix. Change will happen eventually, but not on a sunny day.

On the tech front, artificial general intelligence (AGI) will make its debut. But don’t expect immediate fanfare—most people won’t grasp its significance until much later.

Meanwhile, TikTok will survive another year of scrutiny. But keep an eye out for a new app that will capture Gen Z’s imagination—and make the rest of us feel even older.

What’s your take? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments or support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

When I was a teenager and in my early 20s, I’d stay up late during Christmas week to listen to the late, great Art Bell on the radio. For an entire week, there were no guests, no talk of UFOs or electromagnetic pulses. Just him and the callers.

Art would invite people to share their predictions for the coming year. Every year, someone would call in with something wild: a president or the pope would die, a massive earthquake would hit San Diego, or a specific merger would change everything.

The topics were all over the map—some eerie, some hilarious, some oddly specific. And I’d have a ball listening. Art would also dig into his vault to read predictions from the year before. It was brilliant, quirky radio that captured my attention.

In that spirit, I’ll spend the rest of this week sharing my predictions for 2025. If enough of you join in, I’ll do another episode with your predictions and save them in the Brown family vault for next year. All I need is your first name and your town.

So, what do you think? What’s coming in the new year? Big or small, funny or sad, sharp or square? Let me know in the comments or support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com. Or email me at jamesbrowntv@gmail.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always—be well.

These weren’t just places to grab a meal. They were our third places—not work, not home, but where life happened. The spot where you’d clink glasses after a promotion, linger over pie, or bump into an old friend.

Both mom-and-pop shops and chains like TGI Fridays, Denny’s, and Applebee’s have suffered in this post-COVID-19 crisis. Now the booths and barstools sit empty. The neon signs are dark. The middle is disappearing, and with it, a piece of our social fabric.

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Without these third places, what’s left? For most people, it’s a quick bite in our cars. That’s why most McDonald’s now designate parking spots for drive-thru customers, by the way.

Here’s the thing: We need those in-between spaces. They’re where you can just be. They’re where connections form—a laugh with a server, a nod to a regular, a first date that leads to forever. When we lose them, we lose more than just convenience. We lose community.

So why is the middle struggling? Rising costs? Changing habits? Or have we forgotten how good it feels to sit at a sticky table with a basket of fries and talk with a friend until they kick us out?

Boy, those were the days.

What’s your take? Are you still going out, or have these places priced themselves out of your routine? Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Take Tulsa, Oklahoma. They'll hand you $10,000 to move there. The catch? You must work remotely and can’t already live in Oklahoma. With the average home price sitting at $202,000—far below the national average—it’s tempting.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Then there’s Topeka, Kansas, my favorite. They offer up to $15,000 if you buy a house, or $10,000 just to rent. With a median rent of $950 per month, that deal is hard to beat.

According to NewsNation, over 20 percent of Americans say they’re more likely to move post-election. With remote work becoming a permanent fixture, incentives like these might reshape where we call home.

What about you? Would $10,000 make you pack up and start fresh? It’s a fun thought experiment about what really matters when choosing where to live.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

For me, this time of year always brings a wave of melancholy.

It's not just the cold or the long nights—though I hate them both.

It's the mirror it forces me to look into.

The kind that shows every flaw, every imperfection.

I know it doesn't have to be this way, but here we are.

Here I am.

A few years back, I started a ritual.

It's not fancy, but it's meaningful.

I cold call and text people I haven't spoken to in ages.

Not everyone—just those I love or at least like enough to share a few moments with.

Sometimes it's even a random DM.

It's not about catching up on everything.

It's about a simple, "Hey, I'm here. You came to mind. Thinking of you."

Sometimes the responses surprise me—a laugh, a heartfelt thanks.

Even silence feels less heavy when you're the one reaching out.

It's like a pebble tossed into a still lake—ripples spreading even when you don't see where they end.

It reminds me that connection doesn't have to be perfect to matter.

In fact, maybe the imperfections are the point.

I wonder, what would happen if more of us did this?

Not just during the holidays, but throughout the year.

Maybe it would make the world feel a little less lonely.

All of the Above with James Brown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Or would it be just another text in an inbox that's already too full?

What do you think?

Is it worth reaching out even when it's awkward?

Let me know in the comments.

And while you're at it, check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On this Christmas Day, from my family to yours—Merry Christmas.

On that note, I'm James Brown.

And as always, be well.

Especially today.

Sounds dreamy, right?

Well, that’s Cake’s reality. They’re an e-commerce company that sells nipple covers. No, I’m not kidding. They’re best known for pitching on Shark Tank.

From Dec. 15 to Jan. 15, their 30 employees are on holiday PTO. No meetings, no hustle, no bustle—just rest. Customer service is outsourced, and the team prepares months ahead to make it work.

Their co-founder, Taylor Capuano, says this isn’t just a generous gesture. It’s good business. And honestly, I think they’re on to something.

Burnout is the ghost haunting modern workplaces. A quiet month could help. Sure, there’s a cost—business forecasts would have to adjust—but imagine starting the new year recharged instead of drained. How many businesses can honestly say that about their teams?

Meanwhile, most of us limp through December, juggling deadlines, family obligations, weather, and the chaos of the season.

Why aren’t more companies doing this? Or something like it? I know we can’t do this for all jobs—I’m a journalist, after all. My first lesson in this industry was learning that nights, weekends, and holidays aren’t sacred.

But I think a lot of companies could. And, much like remote work, most employees would willingly trade some salary for a better work-life balance.

What do you think? Would you trade a bit of profit for a lot of peace—or at least a little?

Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

I’m assuming you’ve heard about the drones by now. It started in New Jersey, but if USA Today is right, it’s not just Jersey anymore. Ohio, Utah, California—they’re everywhere. Even around military bases like Wright-Patterson, Hill Air Force Base, and Camp Pembleton.

The official line? “There’s no threat to operations,” President Biden says. Nothing nefarious is going on. Hobbyists, legal drones, and even stars are being blamed for these random sightings.

But let’s be real: does that explanation pass the sniff test?

I can’t help but think back to the Chinese spy balloon. Remember that? It got shot down quickly. So why not these drones? Not one of them? Are they harmless, or does the government know more than they’re telling us? And if they don’t know, well—doesn’t that make it scarier?

Are we looking at a tech trend spiraling out of control, or is something more serious at play? Either way, it’s hard to believe our skies could get this crowded without someone, somewhere, knowing exactly what’s going on.

What do you think? Are these sightings just a modern quirk, or is there more to the story, as Paul Harvey might say? Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

Yes, that’s a literal, honest question that I think we’ve all asked or at least joked about at one time or another. Well, it looks like scientists from the University of Geneva may have cracked this mystery. Their research claims a tiny microbe has been creating multicellular structures resembling embryos for a billion years.

In simplest terms, they think the concept of an egg—or at least the most basic version of an egg—came first. And here’s the thing: They could be wrong. They’re scientists, not Jesus. A new theory tomorrow could scramble this all.

But let’s humor them. If they’re right, long before the first chicken strutted across Earth or before dinosaurs were a glimmer in evolution’s eye, these tiny organisms were running what looks like an ancient egg factory. According to the journal Nature, these aren’t eggs as we know them. They’re more like blueprints—nature’s first draft.

Think about it. While we debate over omelets, it looks like this mystery has been solved before there were even feathers.

What do you think? Does this reshape how you see the world? Or is it just another fascinating twist on nature’s timeline?

Share your thoughts and explore more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.

For months, the economy looked strong on paper—low unemployment, rising wages—but it didn't feel strong enough.

That emotional gap left many people stuck in a cycle of pessimism, myself included. You've heard it in my commentaries over the months.

But now, it appears the mood is shifting. According to the New York Federal Reserve, 37%—that's more than a third—of American households believe their finances will improve next year.

That's the highest level of optimism since February 2020.

Remember February 2020? That was right before the pandemic turned everything upside down.

It feels like we've been holding our breath ever since.

Why? What's happening here?

My guess is the 2024 election played a role. No massive upheavals, no worst-case scenarios—at least not yet.

And with that, the background tension eased a bit, and the emotional pressure that's been weighing on everyone began to lift.

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Even if our media doesn't fully reflect it yet, you can sense the optimism bubbling back in some corners of society, especially among small business owners.

But will this shift last? Or maybe it's a blip, a breather before the next storm.

That's what I believe. What about you? Let me know in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.

On that note, I'm James Brown, and as always, be well.

It said, “I miss the ’90s. Things were so simple, and everyone didn’t hate each other over politics.”

Thousands of people liked it, and I almost did too.

I get the appeal.

Nostalgia and Thousands of Likes

This is commentary from James Brown.

I came across a YouTube comment on a Goo Goo Dolls video the other day.

It said, I miss the ’90s. Things were so simple, and everyone didn’t hate each other over politics.

Thousands of people liked it, and I almost did too.

I get the appeal.

The ’90s had a kind of magic. The music hit differently. Saturday morning cartoons still mattered. For some of us, our biggest distraction was whether we had enough quarters for the arcade.

But let’s not rewrite history. The ’90s wasn’t full of political harmony.

Trust me, the culture war was already underway.

It gave us the L.A. riots, the O.J. Simpson trial, the unending Clinton-Lewinsky drama, Tim McVeigh, and so many other fault lines.

The divide was there, as sharp as ever. The difference was the feeling.

And as someone who lived through both eras, it’s clear feelings matter—as does the location of those shouting about how different our worlds are.

In the ’90s, they didn’t dominate the airwaves or every national conversation. They were on the edges, not in our pockets, buzzing with every headline.

Today, every political conversation is about playing for keeps.