MIND OVER MOOD ... IN PHILADELPHIA

It was a case of Mind Over Mood at 7th and Montana this morning as an attractive young woman seemed intent on multi-tasking her way to Nirvana: It sounded like she was chewing someone out on the phone ("I'm sick of it, just sick of it," she said, sternly), while at the same time she was reading a textbook called "Mind Over Mood." I decided to take a page from her book, figuratively speaking, as I left Los Angeles for a series of meetings in Philadelphia.

I've always liked Philadelphia. It's a great city -- known for its blend of old and new. I went to school here, so, with any luck, I'll get a chance to revisit some of my old haunts. This afternoon I took a walk around my hotel, which is across from the City Hall, right next to the Masonic Temple at the corner of Broad and Filbert (the older building in the photo above). The Temple dates to 1868 and is a major tourist attraction. The tall glass skyscraper to the left is Comcast headquarters, where my meetings are.

Not far from the Temple, I ran into a character worthy of 7th and Montana: a Local Loon with a song in his heart. He was zig-zagging his way up and down Juniper Street in a Motor Scooter, singing "Moon River" at the top of his lungs through a megaphone. It was so painful to listen to, that I gave him a dollar to stop ... but he didn't. He merely changed his tune to "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't raining.

From there, it was on to dinner with a colleague at Morimoto, a Japanese restaurant owned by Food Network Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Morimoto is famous for his creative fusion of Japanese and American styles. I had "Omakase," which means Chef's choice, a sampling of various dishes. Every one of them was great. So great, in fact, that I would have gladly eaten a tentacle if it appeared on my plate. Now that's what I call Mind Over Mood ...!