You may have seen us advertising that we're giving away some tickets to see Journey & Heart in tomorrow's print edition of The Mercury.

So if you're a lonely girl living in a lonely world, or a city boy riding on the midnight train to anywhere, a singer in a smokey room, or just a stranger waiting on the boulevard... this post is for you.

Some of the songs in the following videos will be hidden in tomorrow's paper (a Journey through The Mercury, if you will), and you'll have to find them to win the tickets. More details and more Journey in tomorrow's copy of the paper.

Annnnnnnd now that I'm back, I need to prove my silver and post again before you all call my bluff.

Let's just cut to the chase. Go to the Schuylkill River Festival this Saturday, 11 AM - 4 PM. Plain, simple.

It's along the river at Riverfront Park. And I want some friends to come hang out with me since I have to work The Mercury table all day. And I don't want to look like that lonely wallflower stuck behind a table all day long.

It's the ideal community celebration with live music, food, kayaking, adventure, arts, crafts, nature, family, friends, educational insight, etc etc etc. Sure, there are tons of these sorts of things every year (even one in Spring City on the very same day at the same time), but I really believe this one has some remarkable magic to it. The event is kind of like it's own little arts community, and that's so cool. It's exciting to be a part of it, and I really believe it's something you should check out. And I'm not getting paid to say that, so obviously I mean it.

I'm stoked to catch sets from Beaucoup Blue (father son blues duo) and Burning Bridget Cleary (some fun amped up Celtic tunes) and just sit back and watch the community mingle in all this fantastic atmosphere. The weather has an amazing forecast too.

If I don't see you there, I'll hate you. Do you really want that hanging over your conscience?

Every once in a while, we like to share some of the edgier ideas from our marketing department's cutting room floor. So here's a new one for you; a little piece from our razor-sharp editorial department who threw this together after the Page One meeting today.

What could possibly be cuter than a kitten doing something silly with it's paws? How about, opposing presidential hopefuls eying each other up in a warm embrace. We haz it. And if you want it, check out today's edition of The Mercury.

Bear in mind this is my blog and not The Mercury's Promotional Headquarters Soapbox, but since I admire you readers dearly, I wanted to toss you a little bone before the regular public gets their hands on it, as there is a very limited supply (15, to be exact).

If you subscribe to Merc home delivery for 6 weeks ($28.50) by Friday, you'll get 2 complimentary tickets from us to see WWE Smackdown LIVE at the Sovereign Center next Tuesday.

Now, I don't know how you are with math, but that means it's cheaper to get these tickets through us than it is to get tickets directly. So even if you are steadfast against subscribing, but were planning on going to this event...well...I'll let you connect the dots.

Just call 610-970-4500, and ask for the Smackdown Special.
(current subscribers can advance re-new)

It's shaping up to be an artsy-fartsy weekend, folks. First, I encourage everyone to pop their head into the Schuylkill River Festival at some point tomorrow. I mean it! 9 am to 6 pm. You might think family-oriented festivals are too silly for you, but this festival has shaped up to be pretty stinkin' awesome. You are not better than it. So give it a shot. But I don't even need to bully you into going. I'll let the details speak for themselves.

There will be music all day on 2 different stages. Love Jones will headline from 4 to 6, but there's much more going on then them. Celtic pipe bands, singer songwriters like the area's folky Mike Holiday and Ms. Chris Matsko, not to mention the Paul Thiessen Band who I've been meaning to catch for a while now. There will also be some performances from local schools and a funk band called Parkside Avenue. Bow chikka wow wow.

Plus, if you're down for some good old fashioned perusing, there will be plenty of arts and crafts vendors on hand. And as long as the weather is tame, there will be tethered hot air balloon rides. See, you wanna go. I don't even need to use the Jedi Mind Trick do I?

And if you still are thirsting for more art after all that, head to Birdsboro at any point this weekend for the 15th annual Fine Arts Show. It's 10 am to 7 pm sat, sun, and mon. Free admission.

TONIGHT, Deb Callahan and Sharon Little with Scott Sax are gonna drop in at Chaplins to play some tunes. I might stop in to catch Little, because I liked the article I read about her.