Marmota monax again and again

Six more weeks of winter - thanks Punxsutawney Phil.

How this big fat squirrel grabs the headlines every Feb. 2nd is a marvel of the information age. Cable News breaks away for live coverage of Phil being yanked from his hidey-hole at 7:20AM every year so that "he can look at his shadow." He sees it = more winter or he doesn't = less winter and now we can take you back to our regular scheduled program. The smart set ridicules all kinds of belief but this one gets wall to wall coverage every year - why? Because it's harmless?

The woodchuck is a menace - digging holes, eating gardens and messing stuff up. Ground Hog Day is the inspiration for a fine movie of the same name, so I guess there is some good that's come out of the spectacle.

H'wood Reporter list 5 things you probably didn't know about the movie
USA Today lists the 7 best scenes from the movie
Jonah Goldberg wrote the definitive review (IMHO) a decade ago - still holds up.

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