Good Morning and welcome to the most hectic day of the year!

Here's hoping the U.S. Senate gives us all a Christmas gift by voting for some measure of health care reform today. When the system is so broken, even a watered-down vote would be better than none.

So, to get you in the mood, here we go:


and...



Finally ...

Good Morning and welcome to Friday!

OK, it's not snappy, but it's been a long week. So there you have it.
So, being tired, frustrated, angry at a situation, trying not to turn on the heat and wondering what's going on with the world, it's better to just listen:

Good Morning and welcome back to your favorite early-morning blog!

Can a leopard change its spots? Can a dog learn new tricks? Can an elephant learn to be friends with mice?
I believe it is all possible. The sun will come out today, drying up the rain left over the last day and the flowers will soon start to bloom.
Spring is the perfect time to look around and see it's time to feel better. Forget the doldrums of winter, this is the time when everything gets better. Sure, there will be bumps in the road. We wouldn't be in this opera called life it there wasn't, it's how we deal with those bumps that define us.
As we continue to read (hear?) about murders, money and drugs, we have to concentrate on our circle. Make the lives around you better and the world becomes that much brighter.
It's time to do just that. Hug your family. Talk on the phone. Help somebody across the street. Let a car out of a parking lot even though you've been sitting in traffic for, like, five minutes.
We have the chance to make everything brighter. Let the world work for you instead of you working for it.


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning and welcome to another in a long line of early mornings!

Apparently, while attending the G20 summit this week, President Barack Obama had time to visit with the Queen. No, not Queen Latifah, the real Queen, the Queen of England.
So, in a tradition among leaders, the president came to Buckingham Palace bearing gifts. This being 2009, Obama presented the Queen with a fully-loaded video iPod.
Apparently, the iPod was loaded with songs from a Broadway greatest hits album. Weather the Queen is really a big fan of Barbra Streisand or not doesn't really matter. What matters is somebody thought the Queen would want a Broadway greatest hits album and not a, well, Queen greatest hits album.
So, to help out those meeting dignitaries here's a quick list of albums to load on the iPod before giving it as a guest.
If you meet:
Fidel Castro load the iPod with Enrique Iglesias songs
Arnold Schwarzenegger can get Led Zeppelin
AIG CEO Edward Liddy (or any CEO of any big business) could sit on their pile of money and jam with Pink Floyd.
Gil Spencer would probably like nothing better than to pound out his columns while listening to the soulful sound of George Bush. (By the way, do yourself a favor and check out the clip. It's one of the best done YouTube bits.)
Pennsyvlania Gov. Ed Rendell could cut the budget while tuned in to (what else?) the Eagles.
Osama Bin Laden, while sitting in that Pakistani hotel, could be chillin' with Smokey Robinson
Or, here's a good catch-all for all of them:


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning and welcome back to the mist!

We've had 100 places to see before you die, 100 songs to hear before you die and 100 books to read before you die.
Now, since we never have enough lists, there is 100 moves to see before you die.
Now, I'm sure they are all good movies and such, but, really, I've never understood how you can rank movies. Much like art, movies are in the eye of the beholder.
You can tell good writing when you read it (like you get here every day), you can tell good music when you hear it and it's always cool to travel.
Movies, though, are different. Somebody might like 'The Red Balloon' (not on the list), while somebody else might like 'Point Break' (also not on the list).
What's the point? Well, sometimes it's better to have no point.
Just enjoy (this is from the list):


If you have any cool links or photos, onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning and welcome to the week before the day before Christmas!

Seeing the crowds at the mall this weekend, it appears all that shopping is getting done. Now, it's time for the real shoppers to gear up.
By the way, speaking of malls, that holiday music they play is getting a little out of hand.
I know there is a need to cater the type of music depending on the store or area of the store. For instance, you wouldn't play the Jackson 5 in the lingerie department. Just like you wouldn't play Jay-Z in the jewelry department.
Still, over the weekend, I actually heard a hip-hop version of Gene Autry's 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.' Basically, somebody took the perfectly fine version of the song, added some beats in the background and remixed it to make the song sound like Gene Autry crossed with Chuck-D.
The result was an assault on the ears. Several people were seen running and screaming from the area when the song reached mid-point. Not saying the song sent them running, but, you know, you never know.
Another thing, cut down on the Jackson 5. Yeah, we know they have a Christmas album, but it's the same song over and over again. Besides, it's still kind of creepy to hear Michael Jackson as a child after we know what's happened since.
So, just stick with the classics. They don't bother anybody.


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com

Good Morning and hope everybody has recovered from their debate parties!

By the way, while Tina Fey has popularized the 'Maverick' drinking game for Sarah Palin, how about a couple more. For John McCain, every time we here 'My Friends,' crack one open. Pour a drink for Barack Obama's 'Fundamental.' Although it's probably 'Change' out there, that's too easy.
Now that that's out of the way, we are getting ready for the Phillies vs. Dodgers in the NLCS. A 'Back to the Future' series between two storied franchise, one a loser one a winner.
So, there will be many of comparisons between L.A. and Philadelphia. Check out our Phillies preview section Thursday for one by Phillies writer Ryan Lawrence.
One that Ryan brings up is the song about the city. He uses Elton John's 'Philadelphia Freedom' against Randy Newman's 'I love L.A.' He probably could have gone with Springsteen's 'Streets of Philadelphia,' but that's a bit too depressing.
So, here you have the candidates. Get out and vote:


and...



If you have a preference or any other comparisons, send them along to onlinedelco@gmail.com