Happy Groundhog's Day (I guess)

[No Elephants]

Had your winter Phil? Check Groundhog Day forecast
--
Feb 2, 3:11 AM EST

Had your winter Phil? Furry little Punxsutawney (puhnk-suh-TAW'-nee) Phil is ready to make his annual appearance out of Gobbler's Knob in west-central Pennsylvania.

<snip>

Legend has it that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last six more weeks. No shadow means an early spring.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GROUNDHOG_DAY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-02-03-11-44



The first rule of reporting is that the lede (also called lead), or first, paragraph of a news story contains the following information; who, what, where, when and how.

Now, a story about a groundhog is not usually considered hard news. I googled a little bit when I posted February celebrations. I looked at maybe three stories, none of which told me what time the groundhog get released to look for his shadow. This story doesn't tell me either. So, what is the point of telling me in advance that the groundhog will look for his shadow today? Why not wait until after he looks ad then tell me what the result was?

From the very few Groundhog Day stories that I saw, I learned that the Punxsutawney groundhogs are given different names. They are not all Punxsutawney Phil. So, this story may or may not be correct about that point.

This story also says that failure to see the shadow equals an early spring. That is false. Come hell, high water or groundhogs in Pennsy, spring arrives every year with the vernal equinox, somewhere between March 19 and March 21.

March Equinox: March 20, 2013, 11:02 UTC

There are two equinoxes every year – in March and September – when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. Seasons are opposite on either side of the equator, so the equinox in March is also known as the "spring equinox" in the northern hemisphere. However, in the southern hemisphere, it's known as the "autumnal (fall) equinox".

<snip>


The March equinox occurs the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north. This happens either on March 19, 20 or 21 every year. On any other day of the year, the Earth's axis tilts a little away from or towards the Sun. But on the two equinoxes, the Earth's axis tilts neither away from nor towards the Sun, like the illustration shows.

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/march-equinox.html



The Groundhog tells us only whether it's going to be cold for another six weeks or not. In other words, the critter is supposed to be only a meterologist, not a creature who can alter the time that it take planet Earth to journey around our sun. Even Cher can't do that! (If I Could Turn Back Time.)

Everyone knows only God and Superman can do that. (See Joshua 10: 12-14 and the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie)

A mentioned in my post on February celebrations, Groundhog's Day may have come to us from Candlemas. {div class=excerpt]Candlemas is a Christian holiday celebrated annually on February 2. It celebrates three occasions according to Christian belief: the presentation of the child Jesus; Jesus’ first entry into the temple; and it celebrates the Virgin Mary’s purification (mainly in Catholic churches).

[Enthusiast]

1. Happy Groundhog's Day!

Thanks, No Elephants. :hi:

[No Elephants]

2. Is there a gluten free version of crepe?

[Enthusiast]

4. Well, there are gluten-free pancakes.

And they aren't too bad either. Pizza and cookies too.

[No Elephants]

3. They took the groundhog out at 7:23 Eastern Standard Time.

Then they immediately broke for a commercial before the guys in the top hats put him down on the ground.

Meanwhile, there are so many flashbulbs and so much TV lighting that, if his shadow is not visible it will be a miracle.

Okay, so while they were showing commercials, the guys in top hats apparently declared that Phil did not see his shadow.

So, warm weather is supposedly on the way.

[Enthusiast]

5. Funny that in this day and age we celebrate

what must be the single most archaic example of weather forecasting. But I love the movie.

[No Elephants]

6. Who doesn't love a Bill Murray movie?

And who would have thought to make a movie about Groundhog Day? Especially one in which a day keeps repeating itself, giving Murray a chance to grow as a human being?

Gotta love it. No choice.

[No Elephants]

7. P.S. The groundhog is said to have a 40% accuracy. When I was a kid,

the record of meterologists was not all that much better--and they were forecasting that very same day's weather.

But, it's the tradition and the ritual that we seem to love.

How can anyone resist a bunch of men in striped pants, cutaways and top hats knocking on a door to a groundhog's burrow at sunrise once a year?

That outfit used to be considered formal daytime wear and was worn to argue cases before the Supreme Court long after it passed out of common use.

They no longer use it at the Supreme Court, either. Or even a daytime wedding, another place it appeared long after it stopped appearing anywhere else.

But, by gum, they still use it to rouse the groundhog.

I can't resist that, either, especially now that I finally know what time it happens.

[Enthusiast]

8. Yeah, about the funny "outfits".

Those top hats! The original stove pipe top hats were made entirely from shaved beaver pelt felt. Every man of substance had to wear one - like Abraham Lincoln. Poor damn beaver. Pun unintended.

http://ageofsteam.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/a-brief-history-of-the-top-hat/

[No Elephants]

9. PETA has raised a lot of consciousness.

I need warm outerwear in winter. Even with global warming, we recently had wind chills of 20 below for several days running.

Wool made less porous with nylon works.

I've seen sheep shorn in Sturbridge Village.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sturbridge_Village

I don't know if the sheep enjoy it, but they literally stand still for it. So, they at least seem calm about it.

I hope that modern methods of shearing are not cruel.

Not sure I really want to know, though.