IOPList.Org

Awesome sharing with us, Dancing Wolf. Fascinating and I appreciate that u trust us now.

Some people are just meant to raise children, and cats, and to excel.

Well done.

In 2014, Good ole Mayor de Blasio, even wearing heavy gloves, dropped the poor groundhog. He was named Chuck. He died within a week from internal injuries. The new Staten Island groundhog is Charlotte. And, he was not allowed near the groundhogs again. It was covered up by the zoo and the press.

Mayor Bill de Blasio Did Not Kill the Groundhog This Year
By LAWRENCE DOWNES FEBRUARY 2, 2015 1:28 PM February 2, 2015 1:28 pm 27

Mayor Bill de Blasio got nowhere near the groundhog on Feb. 2, 2015.
Mayor Bill de Blasio got nowhere near the groundhog on Feb. 2, 2015.Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times
The good news this morning: Mayor Bill de Blasio did not kill Chuck, the groundhog at the Staten Island Zoo whose otherwise cushy life requires a once-a-year photo op with the mayor on Groundhog Day. It’s an easy job but can be dangerous. Last year Mr. de Blasio, wearing bulky gloves, fumbled and dropped the groundhog; she hit the ground hard and died of internal injuries soon after. So this year the mayor kept his hands to himself.

The bad news: this ritual, an endlessly repeating, perennially useless expenditure of mayoral time and media resources, seems to have survived another year. See you next year, on this day, in this space.

Here is the rush transcript from the Mayor’s office:

UNKNOWN: Here he comes. Come on, Chuck. We’re waiting.

MAYOR: What’s up, Chuck.

[Cheers]

UNKNOWN: There he is, ladies and gentlemen. Staten Island Chuck!

[Cheers]

MAYOR: Very exciting. The verdict… Chuck says, Spring is coming!

[Cheers]

MAYOR: Good news all around. Chuck, I want to thank you for this new approach. I think we finally understand each other. Thank you for the good news.

Meanwhile, Punxsutawney Phil, a.k.a. the real groundhog, saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.



DE BLASIO, BILL, GROUNDHOGS (I did not dare look up today's potential tragedies.)

CBS New York
4 hours ago
DUELING GROUNDHOGS: Staten Island Chuck predicts early spring and Punxsutawney Phil is calling for six more weeks of winter. Who's right? Vote in our poll! More: http://cbsloc.al/2kXGCU8 (photo credit: Andrew Burton/Alex Wong/Getty

Punxsutawney Phil said otherwise. Phil’s handlers say that furry rodent has predicted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow.

Say it isn't so.......We are drowning in CA.....we need water....but death by water is "overkill"....hehehehehe

[attachment=2559]

                                        [attachment=2560]

(02-02-2017, 08:45 PM)Charon Wrote: [ -> ]In 2014, Good ole Mayor de Blasio, even wearing heavy gloves, dropped the poor groundhog. He was named Chuck.  He died within a week from internal injuries.  The new Staten Island groundhog is Charlotte.  And, he was not allowed near the groundhogs again.  It was covered up by the zoo and the press.

Mayor Bill de Blasio Did Not Kill the Groundhog This Year
By LAWRENCE DOWNES  FEBRUARY 2, 2015 1:28 PM February 2, 2015 1:28 pm 27

Mayor Bill de Blasio got nowhere near the groundhog on Feb. 2, 2015.
Mayor Bill de Blasio got nowhere near the groundhog on Feb. 2, 2015.Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times
The good news this morning: Mayor Bill de Blasio did not kill Chuck, the groundhog at the Staten Island Zoo whose otherwise cushy life requires a once-a-year photo op with the mayor on Groundhog Day. It’s an easy job but can be dangerous. Last year Mr. de Blasio, wearing bulky gloves, fumbled and dropped the groundhog; she hit the ground hard and died of internal injuries soon after. So this year the mayor kept his hands to himself.

The bad news: this ritual, an endlessly repeating, perennially useless expenditure of mayoral time and media resources, seems to have survived another year. See you next year, on this day, in this space.

Here is the rush transcript from the Mayor’s office:

UNKNOWN: Here he comes. Come on, Chuck. We’re waiting.

MAYOR: What’s up, Chuck.

[Cheers]

UNKNOWN: There he is, ladies and gentlemen. Staten Island Chuck!

[Cheers]

MAYOR: Very exciting. The verdict… Chuck says, Spring is coming!

[Cheers]

MAYOR: Good news all around. Chuck, I want to thank you for this new approach. I think we finally understand each other. Thank you for the good news.

Meanwhile, Punxsutawney Phil, a.k.a. the real groundhog, saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.



DE BLASIO, BILL, GROUNDHOGS  (I did not dare look up today's potential tragedies.)

Hey Charon, I live here and remember when De Blasio dropped poor Chuck.  I don't understand why people still feel the need to use animals for entertainment.

Well, we finally got elephants to not have to perform in circuses. I hated that also.

And, do u see how the mayor lied and acted as if it was the same groundhog, but that they had developed an understanding?

Grrr. I love animals far too much for this nonsense. Been a vegetarian my entire life.

(I do not force this view on others however. My son was encouraged to eat what he chose to eat.)

It is a stupid thing people in NY do. Disgusting. I remembered reading up on the org one day, and they seem to state that the groundhog takes a magic elixir which makes him immortal. Not the year Mayor DeBlasio held him.

http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/in...u_eve.html

It is a weird bunch of people whom do this groundhog day thing. Immortal elixirs my arse.


about Punxsutawney Phil


Groundhog Day is coming
On Feb. 2, Punxsutawney Phil is back. Will the groundhog see his shadow? Will there be six more weeks of winter? Only time will tell.


on January 30, 2016 at 12:06 PM, updated February 01, 2016 at 6:51 AM
In search of some Punxsutawney Phil trivia?

Here's everything you could possibly want to know about the groundhog, ahead of the 130th Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney on Feb. 2.

GROUNDHOG DAY IN PUNXSUTAWNEY
Punxsutawney Phil conducts an interview after predicting an early Spring on Groundhog Day at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. 02/02/2013 Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com


How old is Punxsutawney Phil?

Phil is 130 years old, supposedly. The average groundhog lives to be between 6-8 years, but Phil takes a magical elixir every summer to extend his lifespan. The elixir also changes his appearance (much like the Doctor in "Doctor Who"), which explains why Phil may be grey one year and a youthful brown the next.

Alas, the elixir does not work on humans.

"We've tried, it just makes them fat and bald," said Ron Ploucha, Stump Warden of the Inner Circle of the Groundhog Club and co-handler of Phil. "If you saw some of our Inner Circle members you can tell the ones that tried."

What's Punxustawney Phil's full name?

The groundhog's name is Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.

How do we know if the groundhog saw this shadow?

When Phil comes out of his stump on Gobbler's Knob on Groundhog Day, he has a conversation with the president of the Inner Circle of the Groundhog Club in Groundhogese. The president then announces Phil's prediction.


Groundhog Day: How do you know if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow?
If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, then that means there are six more weeks of winter. If not, then we'll have an early spring. But how do we know if Phil saw his shadow? The Inner Circle of the Groundhog Club shares how.
How accurate is Phil?

Extremely, he's never wrong. Sometimes, however, the president doesn't translate Phil's prediction accurately -- which is why sometimes it looks like Phil got it wrong.


5 biggest Groundhog Day myths and misconceptions
Think you know all there is to know about Groundhog Day? Think again. From its earliest origins to today's practices, there's plenty of things about the celebration that aren't common knowledge.

How did Groundhog Day get started?

Groundhog Day itself has its roots in Candlemas Day, a holiday for early Christians. That tradition was brought to Germany by the Romans and somehow morphed into a way to predict weather. If a hedgehog saw its shadow there would be bad weather.

German settlers of Pennsylvania brought the tradition with them, and opted to use a groundhog rather than a hedgehog for their prognostication needs.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was founded in 1887 by a group of groundhog hunters and included in its members the editor of the Punxsutawney newspaper. He claimed that Phil was the only legit weather predicting groundhog and eventually Phil became famous.


Groundhog Day 2016: If you're going to Punxsutawney, here's what you need to know
The town where Phil, the great weather-predicting groundhog, lives will be pretty busy on Feb. 2.

How much does Phil weigh?

Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds. He is 22 inches long, while the average groundhog weighs 12-15 pounds and is 20 inches long.

Is Phil married?

Phil has had many wives. While Phil has an extended lifespan, his wives do not partake in the elixir so they pass away like normal groundhogs do. Phil always finds love again, though.

"He's probably had more wives than Hugh Hefner." Ploucha said. Phil's current wife is called Phyllis - of course.

Does Phil have any kids?

While there is nothing wrong with Phil reproductively (we asked), Phil has no children - he and his wife decided they are really too busy to raise a family. But that doesn't mean he does not love kids.

"He considers everybody his kids, being 127 years old," Ploucha said.


Peeps go to war against Punxsutawney Phil in new ad campaign
In an ad campaign that will likely tear Pennsylvania apart, the Bethlehem-based candy company Just Born aims for their product's seasonal appearance to supplant Groundhog Day as the first sign of spring.

Is that Punxustawney Phil in "Groundhog Day?"

Nope. Phil had a full schedule and was not able to partake in the filming of the movie. In the Bill Murray movie he is played by a groundhog named Scooter - who bit the actor three times during filming.

Phil was Murray's first choice for the role, of course. "He's treated like royalty and is very well-behaved. A true professional," the actor told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1993.

"So when they couldn't get him - a creature who has been hand-raised since birth and is very tame - what did they do? They went out into the woods and caught this Scooter, a groundhog who hated my guts from day one."


What it's like to handle Punxsutawney Phil (it's a dangerous Groundhog Day task!)
Punxsutawney Phil co-handlers Ron Ploucha and John Griffiths talk about what goes into handling the most famous groundhog of all on Groundhog Day. Including the fact that the weather predictor has a fondness for biting.
What's the weirdest prediction Phil has made?

He once threatened when he threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter if he didn't get some booze during Prohibition. That probably counts as the weirdest.

What does Phil eat?

Oat and honey granola bars are Phil's favorite food, according to Ploucha - in particular Nature Valley ones.

How does Phil get around?

He has a special car called the Philmobile. It's a little bus that houses members of the Inner Circle. Phil has a special seat on the outside, so he can be seen on parades.

Does Phil do anything weird?

Oftentimes during summer parades, crowds will panic as the Philmobile draws through. That's because they will see Phil lying flat on his back, legs in the air looking dead. But he isn't, this is just how groundhogs cool off, according to Ploucha. One tap on the glass and Phil turns himself the right way round again.

Is Phil the reason we have a longer winter?

No, he just predicts it. "Some people get upset when he calls for six more weeks of winter," Ploucha said. "But it's not his fault that he sees that coming."

This story is adapted from 2015's Groundhog Day 2015: Punxsutawney Phil's history (and why he threatened 60 weeks of winter in the 20s!) and 2013's Groundhog Day: 10 bits of Punxsutawney Phil trivia.

I'm with ya Charon on it being wrong to use animals to perform tricks for stupid reasons.

I kinda look at it like this. What if aliens came here and used us to do tricks for their enjoyment. I'm pretty sure we would not like that very much at all. Animals have feelings too and should be treated with kindness and respect.

Cricket

A cactus flower opening...

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