Groundhog Day

Today is, maybe, the second most underrated day of the year. This is the day when we all hold our breaths in anticipation of a burrowing mammal's search for the location of the sun in order to predict the weather. In other words, the little rodent predicts the weather. I'm really not sure how the animal does it, but I'm inclined to give it as much credit as I do to the weird lady that mostly guesses my daily local forecast. Punxsutawney spied his shadow for what seems like, I don't know, the thirty-fifth year in a row. Which means, of course, 6 more weeks of winter. Which, for most of the country must not seem that bad given the relatively mild conditions, sans the high country. Superstition aside, the reason to celebrate this day is the brilliant comedy, Groundhog Day. Bill Murray perfectly masters the insufferable, condenscending, smarmy, obnoxious charm in a way that leaves me exhausted and envious. I'm of the opinion that more should be done to mark this day as more than a tribute to a pampered and surly woodchuck. It should be a celebration of a preeminent performance of objectionable behavior.

MonstrousJoe suggests that we honor Groundhog Day by referring to ourselves in the third person, you know, for those of us who don't do it on a regular basis. It'll be the one time in a year where we can all feel absurdly self-important. MonstrousJoe feels that this is the only true way to raise this day from the valley of apathy to the peak of, er, passion, alliterally speaking. So, join MonstrousJoe in celebrating the rebirth of a holiday!!

Top Five Bill Murray performances in a motion picture

1) Raleigh St. Clair - The Royal Tenenbaums
2) Herman Blume - Rushmore
3) Steve Zissou - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
4) Phil Connors - Groundhog Day
5) Carl Spackler - Caddyshack