I've seen this before... I can't quite place it, but I know it's here... oh yes, I HAVE seen this before. Last Groundhog Day... and the Groundhog Day before that... and the, well you get the idea.

As I gird up for getting back into this blogging business, I thought I would take this chance to, once again, re-up my post about Groundhog Day, now with over 2% new material...so enjoy.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, so that means six more weeks of winter. My question is this: considering the winter most of us have had this year (25 more inches of snow here in Chicagoland than last year), if the groundhog was to meet an "unfortunate" accident, would that cancel-out his prediction? It's something to think about...

To help you get through the horrible news of more winter, and thus the horrible news of our new house being pushed further back, I’ve put together some random Groundhog Day trivia/Q&A/useless knowledge tidbits. Enjoy...

TRIVIA!
-The groundhog is also known as a woodchuck (Marmota monax) and is a member of the squirrel family eating such things as dandelions, clovers and various grasses.
- Did you know? That the first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, PA in 1887.

TOP 10 GROUNDHOG DAY MOVIES

10 - Groundhog Day
09 - Groundhog Day
08 - Groundhog Day
07 - Groundhog Day
06 - Groundhog Day
05 - Groundhog Day
04 - Groundhog Day
03 - Groundhog Day
02 - Groundhog Day
01 - Groundhog Day

Nice list huh? What do you expect with what I have to work with?

TOP 10 REASONS TO CELEBRATE GROUNDHOG DAY

10 - It's on nearly every calendar

09 - It helps relieve Cabin Fever

08 - Spring or not, it's still six weeks till St. Urho's Day

07 - It takes something to get over your possible post-Super Bowl letdown

06 - At least one of them critters is bound to see things your way

05 - Valentine's Day is just too damn depressing for nerds

04 - Unlike the Easter Bunny, he keeps his dirty paws outside

03 - Facebook's Groundhog Day application (I don't know if actually exists, but wouldn't it be fun if it did?)

02 - It's fun to say “Punxsutawney”

01 - If a rodent can bring us an early spring, more power to him

RANDOM GROUNHOG DAY MUSINGS

Allow me to get political with this next one: Q: What's the difference between Groundhog Day and President Bush's State of the Union Address? A: One is a meaningless ritual wherein we look to a creature of little intelligence to prognosticate for us... the other involves a woodchuck. [rimshot] (Thank you, I'm here all week, try the veal... or the Groundhog)

HEY KEMP, WHAT ELSE HAS HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 2ND IN WORLD HISTORY?

1653 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated.

1709 - Alexander Selkirk is rescued from a shipwreck on a deserted island. This would inspire the writing of the book "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel 'No Relation to Willem' Defoe.

1880 - The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash, Indiana.

1940 - Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.

1945 - World War II: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt & British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leave to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference.

1979 - Sid Vicious dies of a heroin overdose.

HERE'S A GROUNDHOG DAY DRINKING GAME

This is a very simple game. Watch the movie “Groundhog's Day” and take a shot for every new ‘day’ that Bill Murray lives again. Especially fun is the multiple slapping scenes. Each slap is obviously another day, so you may have to count the number of slaps, stop the tape and catch up. This all happens when he tries killing himself over and over, and over and over and over and, well, you get the idea. (Hint: By the end of the game, each participant should have done 42 shots. Remember, as with any drinking game... know your limitations)

THE STORY OF GROUNDHOG DAY

That pig farmers have never done well in the United States as most Americans prefer beef to pork. Granted, hamburger is an American favorite but, in a little known secret, actually contains no ham whatsoever. The porcine raisers were hopeful to see a significant increase in their business after the health scares about beef and Upton Sinclairs novel “The Jungle”, but most of those benefits had gone to the poultry and fish industries and sales of ham and bacon remained virtually unchanged.Because of this, The National Porcine Association hired a major Madison Avenue advertising firm to boost sales of pork products and they decided on an intensive campaign to saturate magazines, television and radio with ads urging people to eat pork patties. The campaign was given an extra boost when Congress was convinced to designate the second of February as the day when every family would be urged to eat pork sausage. That day would be celebrated nationally, of course, as Ground, Hog, Day.

To get a real history of the day, click HERE.

Ask yourself this; how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Now, go out there with his new-found treasure trove of trivial goodness and impress your friends, coworkers, significant others, and small furry animals...

Valentine's Day

No, you’re not having a bad flashback… I wrote this post for Valentine’s Day 2006… but I’ve updated some areas, so enjoy this post with 40% added material…

Tomorrow I will post the poem I wrote for my wife the year we started dating, which was published in my univeristy's poetry magazine...

I love my wife more and more each day. And each day I am grateful she is with me for eternity and has given us our beautiful daughters, The Peanut Butter and The Jelly. She laughs at my jokes, she compliments my cooking and, last but not least; she makes me a better man, husband, and father, and for that I can never thank you enough. I love you, always… and forever.Ok… how about some handy dandy Valentine’s Day statistics… cause nothing says love like statistical data…

+ 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day
+ 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, 27% are women
+ about 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets (your dog wants Ghiradelli)
+ California produces about 60% of American roses, but the majority sold on Valentine's Day in the United States are imported, my guess for that would be because it’s winter here
+ 64% of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day with their sweethearts (I would have thought that number would have been much larger)
+ Consumers will spend an average of $77.43 on Valentine's Day gifts this year

Did you enjoy those? I knew you would. Ok… how about some Inane Valentine’s Day trivia…

On this date in 1929, the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" took place in Chicago, Illinois. Seven gangsters, all rivals of Al Capone, were killed. People think that it was Capone’s men that did the killing but they’re wrong. It was the seven gangster’s wives who didn’t even get a card, much less flowers or chocolates, for Valentine’s Day… Remember the saying: hell hath no fury like a woman forgotten on Valentine’s Day.

Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone on Valentine's Day, 1876… guys, could you imagine how V-Day would be if Bell hadn’t invented the phone? I would say, but I’ve grown accustomed to my genetalia.

That some famous people have gotten married on February 14th? The Captain to Tennille, Elton John to Renate Blauel, Jerry Garcia to Deborah Koons,

What’s that you say? Now you want some... Historical background on Valentine’s Day?

As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this practice, the early church fathers sought to end it. They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D.(At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage. This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers)When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.

Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully.

On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed, but not before, while in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius.It seems Asterius had a blind daughter and requested Valentine heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter.Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.Valentine thus became a Patron Saint, and the spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards contained St. Valentine's name.
And now you know… the rest. Of. The story.Still hungry for more? How about... Kemp’s Top Ten Valentine’s Day/Romantic Movies:
- Casablanca
- Pride & Prejudice
- The Philadelphia Story
- Reality Bites
- Before Sunrise
- Amelie
- Chasing Amy
- It Happened One Night
- Say Anything
- The Princess Bride

Still hungry for more Valentine's Day-related madness? Ok. Here’s... How to say “I love you” in other languages.

In Danish – “Jeg elsker dig”
In Dutch -- "Ik hou van jou"
In Esperanto -- "Mi amas vin"
In French -- "Je t'aime"
In German -- "Ich liebe Dich"
In Indonesian -- "Saya cinta kamu"
In Italian -- "Ti amo"
In Japanese -- "Aishite imasu"
In Latin -- "Te amo"
In Mandarin Chinese -- "Wo ai ni"
In Polish -- "Kocham cie"
In Romanian -- "Te iu besc"
In Russian -- "Ya vas liubliu" (which you would know if you’ve ever watched “The Great Escape”)
In Spanish -- "Te amo" (Wait, or is that how you say it in Italian?)
In Swedish -- "Jag alskar dig"
In Turkish -- "Seni seviyorum"

Now you want some Quotes about Love, don’t ya?
“Love is the delightful interval between meeting a girl and discovering that she looks like a haddock.” - John Barrymore
“I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.” - Henry Ward Beecher
“Love is a power too strong to be overcome by anything but flight.” - Miguel de Cervantes

“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” - Robert Frost

“In love there are two things: bodies and words.” - Joyce Carol Oates

“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.” - Peter Ustinov

Happy Thanksgiving...

I've done this before, but I stand by my statement that this is THE FUNNIEST Thanksgiving themed sitcom episode EVAH!!

Relax... and enjoy...

Happy 4th of July!! Have some Hendrix

What better way is there to wish everyone a happy and safe July 4th then by showing this...

Have car, will travel

At first I was supposed to go out to L.A. on business…

Then that changed to Boston on business…

Then that got cancelled altogether and now I’m going to Norman, Oklahoma…

From LA to Boston to Norman… that’s a rather strange progression isn’t it?

One of my cousins got married recently and they are having a reception on Saturday. And seeing as how this is one of only two cousins on my Mom’s side, Honey Mustard, The Peanut Butter, The Jelly and I – along with my parents, my brother and his fiancée – are making the trek down.

Twelve hours in a car with two 5-year olds…

Oh. My. God.

Sure, we’ll have the dual DVD player… and The PB & The J will have their Gameboys (which, quite frankly, they don’t really like)… and they’ll have enough books that they would be able to take over for the Library of Congress… and coloring books. But even with all those diversions, it’s still going to be a bumpy ride so to speak.

Why? Well, save for a short portion through the Ozarks, the states of Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma are pretty damn flat…

For those of you in New York or Virginia or California or Florida who have never driven through those states, it looks something like this:




Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea.

So… I’ll be back Tuesday with tales to regale about a trip that, while shorter than last year’s jaunt to Washington DC, will surely be…

Be…

...

... well... how about we just say ‘interesting’ at this point at leave it at that?

Oh... and a prize to whomever can accurately guess what the total expenditure of gas on this trip will be while driving a Ford Explorer.

Happy Father's Day!!

To all my fellow dads out there Happy Father's Day.

And to my own dad, Happy Fathers Day, I love you and truly appreciate everything you've ever done for me in my life. Thank you.

I am part of a special collaborative post over at The Blogfather's today about our thoughts on being a father, go check it out with this handy, dandy link.

Went to a picnic and an Amish barn-raising broke out

Honey Mustard, The Peanut Butter, The Jelly and I were going to a Memorial Day picnic at the home of one of my sisters-in-law yesterday.

The fete was scheduled to start at 4:00… and unbeknownst to me, my father-in-law, brother-in-law and his Dad were erecting (heh heh heh… I said erect…) a wooden swingset… a task they started at Noon.

So, needless to say, from 4:00 until (no lie) 9:15 in the evening, the four of us, joined later by my sister-in-law’s fiancé, put the set together.

I could go into detail of how the process went, but A: I don't have that kind of time, and B: I honestly don't think I have enough swear-words in my vocabulary to do the story justice.

What I can say is this; when it comes time to upgrade The Peanut Butter and The Jelly’s playset, I’m gonna splurge on a little extra money and have professionals install it… lest my children be playing on something that looks like it was put together by Homer Simpson.

Because the kids did not having a swingset to play with, I was the adult of the day when I quickly ran home and got The PB & The J’s birthday present from my parents. How do you think THIS THING went over with nine kids ages 23 month to 15 years?
Yeah... I was the hero of the day...

Fat Tuesday Redux

I wrote a post last year explaining Fat Tuesday, you can read it HERE. Or you can read the new and improved version with over 30% new material below… it’s guaranteed* to impress…

*not a real guarantee

DID YOU KNOW?

• That the name Fat Tuesday comes from the French Words ‘Gras’ (pronounced ‘graw’) and ‘Mardi’… Mardi Gras… aha! The light bulbs come on
• That Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in New Orleans
• That the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States is in Mobile, Alabama. Their celebrations date back to 1703.
• That the official colors of Mardi Gras (purple which is a symbol of justice; green which represents faith; and gold which signifies power) have their roots in Catholicism.
• The name Fat Tuesday comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf (The veal wasn’t butchered though, it died of loneliness--- my kingdom for a rimshot) on the last day of Carnivale.

Background

In England, today is known as Shrove Tuesday, derived from the word “Shrive”, which is an old English word for having your sins forgiven. People would get ready for Lent by going to Confession and by asking forgiveness of one another. Then they would keep the disciplines of Lent (prayer, fasting and almsgiving) as their penance.

That’s the serious side of Shrovetide, but another task during Carnival was the “eating-up” of Lent’s forbidden foods, and for over a thousand years, most Christians kept Lent by not eating animal products, a practice that probably began out of necessity.

At Carnival all meat, butter, cheese and eggs got used up in one final feast before the Lenten fast. Making pancakes and doughnuts uses up a lot of these ingredients. Russians call the days before Lent “Butter Week.” In some countries, the last day before Lent is called Doughnut Day or Pancake Day. The Irish call it “Ash Eve.” The French call it “Mardi Gras” which means “Fat Tuesday.”

In Venice, at midnight on Ash Wednesday Eve, a straw figure named “Carnivale,” whose body has been stuffed with fireworks, is burned in a fire in St. Mark’s Square. In some places last year’s Palm Sunday branches are burned with an effigy of old man winter, and so Lent’s ashes get made at the same time that winter “burns up.”

Mardi Gras came to New Orleans through its French heritage in 1699. Early explorers celebrated this French holiday on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the years, Orleanians have added to the celebration by establishing krewes (organizations) which host parades and balls. Carnival quickly became an exciting holiday for both children and adults.

Parades are put on by carnival krewes (or organizations). Every year, each krewe picks a king and a queen who reign for that parade. The floats are decorated to depict different themes. The floats are pulled by tractors. Most parades have at least 15 floats. People who belong to the krewe ride on the floats. They throw beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets to the crowd. Following the parade, the krewe usually has a ball presenting their king and queen, and their royal court. The royal court includes maids, dukes, pages, captains, and jesters.

Since the Mardi Gras season begins with the celebration of Epiphany, the visit of the “Three Kings” to the Baby Jesus, it is a tradition of the celebrations to bake an oval cake in honor of the three kings - the King Cake. The shape of a King Cake symbolizes the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors: purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. A small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is baked into each cake. In New Orleans, King Cake parties are held throughout the Mardi Gras season. In offices, classrooms, and homes throughout the city, King Cakes are sliced and enjoyed by all. Like the biblical story, the "search for the baby" adds excitement, as each person waits to see in whose slice of cake the baby will be discovered. While custom holds that the person who finds the baby in their slice will be rewarded with good luck, that person is also traditionally responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next party or gathering.

Paczki (punch-key) Day is the feast of plenty before the Lenten fast begins. It is the last day of gaiety in Karnawal time, the period between Christmas and Lent. This is the time for sleigh parties called Kulig. To mark the last moments of excess before the austerity of Lenten sacrifice, Polish Roman Catholics celebrate Paczki Day.

On this day the traditional deep fried pastries (something like jelly doughnuts) are enjoyed throughout the world's Polonias (Polish immigrant communities). This joyous activity precedes the Gorzkie Zale (lamentation services) of Lent in Polonian churches. In Poland, Paczki Day takes place the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, called Tlusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday). Long lines form in front of the bakeries in Polonia, and millions of Paczki are sold.

MARDI GRAS IN NOLA

Secret societies, known as krewes, arrange and finance all the Mardi Gras activities in New Orleans, with the oldest krewe being Comus, which made its first appearance in 1857. A different krewe holds a parade on each night during the two weeks leading up to Lent. The krewes also hold masked balls at which the king and queen of the krewe are presented to the society.Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties… at least until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700s and banned the celebrations (sorry, our bad).This ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but started-up again in 1827.While Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) has grown in popularity in recent years as a hedonistic and alcohol-swilling event, its roots lie in the Christian calendar.The whole season kicks off with the Epiphany (also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings' Day and in some Eastern churches Theophany), which falls on January 6 – 12 days after Christmas. That day celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus.What’s the purpose of King's Cake? Well, legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party. (How would you like to miss that and explain to the ER doctor: ‘Well, doc, I was eating a piece of cake when a baby got lodged in my throat.’)

Kemp’s Top Ten Movies Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras Movies

...that have Mardi Gras as a central theme… or even a passing theme… or a naked women theme… or really, have nothing to do with Mardi Gras other than being set in New Orleans because there are not, quite frankly, enough movies about Mardi Gras to do an actual Top Ten Mardi Gras movies list.

10. Zombie vs Mardi Gras 9. Mardi Gras Massacre 8. Piano Players Rarely Play Together 7. Mardi Gras 6. Night Trap (aka Mardi Gras for the Devil) 5. Playboy: Girls of Mardi Gras 4. Mardi Gras: Made in China 3. Girls Gone Wild: Mardi Gras 2. Easy Rider 1. Hard Target

Valentine's Day

I wrote a trivia-laden Valentine’s Day post last year which you can view HERE. This year I am going a different direction.

I agree with Croutonboy (a phrase I guarantee you won’t see me repeat often).

I don’t like Valentine’s Day… never have… probably never will. With that in mind, I give my message in the preferred short and sweet method:

I love my wife more and more each day.
Each day I am grateful that she is with me always and forever.
Each day I am grateful that she has given us our beautiful daughters.
Each day I am grateful that she laughs at my jokes and compliments my cooking.
Each day I am grateful that she makes me a better man, husband, and father, and for that I can never thank her enough.

Now, rather than fill the remainder of this post with more saccharine, which we are probably all full of by now anyway, I present to you… mine and Honey Mustard’s song, the one we remember from college and the one we had our first dance to as husband and wife, Love Will Keep Us Alive, by The Eagles.

I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching
For a place to hide

Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

Don’t you worry
Sometimes you’ve just gotta let it ride
The world is changing
Right before your eyes
Now I’ve found you
There’s no more emptiness inside
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

I would die for you
Climb the highest mountain
Baby, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do

I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching
For a place to hide
Lost and lonely

Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

Groundhog Day

Wow... it's like I'm in my own version of the Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day'... I could have sworn I've seen this holiday before... and I know I've seen this post before... but I can't quite place where...

Oh, that's right. Last Groundhog Day. Rather than try to find new trivia and useless information about the holiday, I present to you a flashback (hence the flashback tag I've created) of my Groundhogs Day post from last year... in it's entirety... with .02% new footage... Enjoy.

Originally published February 2, 2006:

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today (Actually today; February 2, 2007 he didn't see his shadow, so that means Spring is on the way. Hmmm I wonder what Al Gore has to say about this??) so that means six more weeks of winter. My question is: When did winter start?

To help you get through that horrible news, I’ve put together some random Groundhog Day trivia/Q&A/useless knowledge tidbits. Enjoy...

- The groundhog is also known as a woodchuck (Marmota monax) and is a member of the squirrel family eating such things as dandelions, clovers and various grasses.
- Did you know? That the first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, PA in 1887.

Top 10 Groundhog Day Movies
10 - Groundhog Day
09 - Groundhog Day
08 - Groundhog Day
07 - Groundhog Day
06 - Groundhog Day
05 - Groundhog Day
04 - Groundhog Day
03 - Groundhog Day
02 - Groundhog Day
01 - Groundhog Day

Nice list huh? What do you expect with what I have to work with?

Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate Groundhog Day

10 - It's on nearly every calendar
09 - It helps relieve Cabin Fever
08 - Spring or not, it's still six weeks till St. Urho's Day
07 - Forecast is no less reliable that any other Weather Service.
06 - At least one of them critters is bound to see things your way
05 - Valentine's Day is just too damn depressing for nerds
04 - Unlike the Easter Bunny, he keeps his dirty paws outside
03 - As was said on the 'oldtime' radio show back in the 'olden days': “The Shadow Knows”
02 - It's fun to say “Punxsutawney”
01 - If a rodent can bring us an early spring, more power to him

Random Groundhog Day Musings:

Allow me to get political with this next one:
Q: What's the difference between Groundhog Day and President Bush's State of the Union Address?
A: One is a meaningless ritual wherein we look to a creature of little intelligence to prognosticate for us... the other involves a woodchuck. [rimshot] (Thank you, I'm here all week, try the veal... or the Groundhog)

And this one:
“On Groundhog Day, old timers think they can predict whether it's going to be an early spring or six more weeks of winter by whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow, or, as President Bush calls it, ‘reliable intelligence’.”
- Jay Leno

“The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears.”
- Bill Vaughn

What else has happened on February 2 throughout the years?

1653 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated.
1709 - Alexander Selkirk is rescued from a shipwreck on a deserted island. This would inspire the writing of the book "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel 'No Relation to Willem' Defoe.
1880 - The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash, Indiana.
1940 - Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.
1945 - World War II: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt & British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leave to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference.
1979 - Sid Vicious dies of a heroin overdose.

How about a Groundhog Day drinking game?

This is a very simple game. Watch the movie “Groundhog's Day” and take a shot for every new ‘day’ that Bill Murray lives again. Especially fun is the multiple slapping scenes. Each slap is obviously another day, so you may have to count the number of slaps, stop the tape and catch up. This all happens when he tries killing himself over and over, and over and over and over and, well, you get the idea. (Hint: By the end of the game, each participant should have done 42 shots. Remember, as with any drinking game... know your limitations)

Did you know?

… that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow the last 7 years.

… that the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois.
… that like the shadow disappearing after the groundhog sees it; Andie MacDowell’s career suffered the same fate after appearing in this movie?

The story of Groundhog Day.

That pig farmers have never done well in the United States as most Americans prefer beef to pork. Granted, hamburger is an American favorite but, in a little known secret, actually contains no ham whatsoever.

The porcine raisers were hopeful to see a significant increase in their business after the health scares about beef and Upton Sinclairs novel “The Jungle”, but most of those benefits had gone to the poultry and fish industries and sales of ham and bacon remained virtually unchanged.

Because of this, The National Porcine Association hired a major Madison Avenue advertising firm to boost sales of pork products and they decided on an intensive campaign to saturate magazines, television and radio with ads urging people to eat pork patties. The campaign was given an extra boost when Congress was convinced to designate the second of February as the day when every family would be urged to eat pork sausage. That day would be celebrated nationally, of course, as Ground, Hog, Day.

To get a real history of the day, click HERE.

And consider this...

...and one day, sick and tired of having to showcase themselves on every February 2nd, the Groundhogs rose up and attacked their human masters...