Groundhogese and Magical "Groundhog Punch"

America is a beautiful wonderful country.  People are allowed to practice their own religion.  Speak their chosen language.  And celebrate the most ridiculous holidays ever as if they were completely and ultimately the most logical celebration ever.

Enter February 2... aka Groundhog Day.

In a small town, population less than 6,000 in 2009, lives a groundhog.  His name is Phil.  According to the official website of Groundhog Day Phil has been alive for as long as Groundhog Day.  First one was in the 1800's.  He manages to surpass the life expectancy of 6-8 years for a groundhog by taking "a drink of a magical punch every summer during the annual Groundhog Picnic, which gives him 7 more years of life."  Every year on the morning of February 2nd, between 7 and 7:30 a.m. Phil comes out of hibernation to predict when spring will arrive.  It's either just around the corner, he doesn't see his shadow, or there will be six more weeks of winter.  (Fun fact: In the past 10 years he didn't see his shadow one time, 2007.)  One year it was recorded up to 18,000 people turned out to see ol' Phil's prediction live.  

I have been one of the, uhh... lucky? ones to experience Groundhog Day live from Gobbler's Knob.  And the experience is something I would recommend to any and everyone.  It's a once in a lifetime experience (because I can't believe anyone would want to experience it more than once!).  And it is also an experience that I have determined to be an experience I love to hate.  

To begin to describe my experience I'll start with a quote from the 1993, Columbia Pictures, Groundhog Day.  (Really, they did make a movie about the holiday.  I couldn't even begin to make this stuff up.)

Rita: You're missin' all the fun! These people are great! Some of them have been partyin' all night long! They sing songs 'till they get too cold and then they go sit by the fire and they get warm, and then they come back and sing some more! 

Phil: Yeah, they're hicks, Rita! 

I attended Groundhog Day 2006.  My senior year of high school. (Don't tell my h.s. though, my mom wrote on my note that I wasn't feeling well enough to go to school that day, bc I convinced her that really who ever feels well enough to go to school :) ! )...

Going to bed at a friends house around 12 a.m., only to wake up to leave by 3 a.m. to make the 50 minute drive to Gobbler's Knob, the journey begins!

We arrive before 4, and say to ourselves "Hey we're h.s. seniors, we have no money!  Let's save $5 and just walk the mile or so up the hill!  No big deal!"  (How young and naive we were.)  Around half-way up were tired and cold.  The sun hasn't even began to wake up yet.  

We arrive at the top, with a little bit more jump in our step as we see some classmates, and a giant (55-gallon) drum bursting with flames.  

(It was some time ago, but I'm fairly certain it looked something like this!)

We rejoice in the expereince for about... 5 minutes.  Then we realize if we really want to get a good view of Phil himself we better go claim our spot.

(I didn't take this picture... I credit it to Google Images)

That's a pretty accurate depiction of what it looks like without the people....

This is more accurate with people.  So we claimed our spot by 5:30 a.m.  About 40-or-so yards from the fire drum.  Also, away from the, I-wouldn't-dare-imply-this-would-occur-on-such-a-beautiful-holiday-but-hypothetically-speaking, intoxicated crowd.  

We are entertained and wooed by the magic of the morning.  (By a quarter 'till 6 I was ready to go home.)  There are girls on a stage.  Four or five, calling themselves Phil's squad ,or something of the sorts, who cheer and dance every hour.  What do they cheer and why do they dance you wonder?  I'm still wondering the same thing 5 years later.  There are fireworks and a band at some point.  (While seeing them was impossible I'm positive they were neat.)

Eventually the moment we had all been eagerly waiting for arrived.  The crowd was buzzing.  And a group of older fellows, calling themselves the "Inner Circle," appear on stage dressed to the nines, and do their thing... for an hour before Phil even appears!!

ESPN

Finally on February 2, 2006, "Phil saw his shadow while wearing his Steeler "Terrible Towel" at 7:25 a.m.  The temperature was a balmy 38 degrees."  And then.  At 7:26 a.m. thousands of people walked back down Gobbler's Knob.  Some in satisfaction, some in disbelief.  Others in handcuffs.

While for me the morning ended there, as my parents had implied I should return back to school.  But the fun doesn't stop there.  The town continues to celebrate the day with breakfasts, sales, and events galore.

But if like me, you drive straight out of town you can't help but notice the numerous groundhog statues all over town.  I've heard it being a challenge to go and count them all...

So if you can't make it out to this glorious holiday, celebrate at home, or sometime throughout the year visit Punxsy, PA.  Some suggestions can be found here of things to do.  Or check out the Groundhog Day website for live footage, or even to have Phil text you... personally I'm sure.

UPDATE: 7:54 a.m. (2/2) - Phil didn't see his shadow... spring is on its way.  And there is only about half an inch of ice on my car this morning.  So I'm betting he's right.... 

Explanation/terminology: Phil predicts the weather by telling the handler if he see's his shadow or not.  He does so because the handlers and Phil all speak Groundhogese.

*Also, if you paid close attention, you noticed none of those pictures were actually my own work... that's just the fun of being on a hill, in the cold of winter, with thousands of other people, in an area I'm going to throw a wild guess on as 50 square yards.

64 percent.

New Year's resolution's fail. We've already acknowledged and accepted that back in my Jan 1, 2011, 12 percent post.  HOWEVER, I already determined that I will be in the minority 12 percent of folks that achieve their goals.  So this post is definitely more for me than any readers.  It makes me accountable.  So here's where I stand after month one.

Fun Fact: I found that after one month 64 % of resolutions are still being kept.

My Resolutions:

1. Run a half-marathon.  By far this is the one I've put the most into.  I am actually working out regularly!  I have a friend turned into my trainer (shameless plug http://coachlevi.com/)  who has actually taken over my workouts. You would be surprised how much more I do than if I were still in charge of myself!  Only set-back has been "ouchy" knees (as I call it on my calendar), however they don't hurt when I run so I think they'll be overcome!  Oh, and all you looking for something to awesomely kick-your-butt I recommend Metabolic Condition and regular elbow touches!
2. Try new things. For my personal world aspect, as mentioned before, I want to try new foods.  While it was only two days ago, I bought some Smucker's Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it.... and it doesn't have any sugar added!  Crazy.  Professionally, I've tried things at work, which we will label pseudo-pro, as well as things to help me enter the professional world, they'll be real-pro.  As for pseudo-pro, I tried and helped with molding at work.  Some day I'll go into detail about my current job, but I'm on the administrative side of a small powdered metal factory... sometimes I cross sides to the production when help is needed.  Needless to say.  I molded.  Woof.  For real-pro, the other day I signed up and participated in a webinar on ways to better beat the competition in landing a job.  I was skeptical because realistically everything's on the internet, so what could this webinar offer I haven't already read!  But I got some good tips from real professionals.  All-in-all an hour well spent.
3. Be better at everything.  Patience.  That's the one I'm working on the most.  I think I'm doing a heck of a job.   I've also put a great focus on listening to people more.  I LOVE to talk and share stories.  Sometimes I get a little too excited and cut people off to tell them how I can relate to what they just said...  While my intentions aren't bad, it's not a good trait.  So I've actually worked on this a lot since prior to setting my NYR* and I think I've improved leaps and bounds.  I guess for this resolution I might need to have a guest blogger sometime really evaluate how much I've improved.
4. Find luck. ... umm.... this one is way harder than I hoped.  I look for pennies.  I find dimes.  The snow covering the ground won't let me look for clovers.  I don't much like rabbits, thus I don't like rabbit's feet.  And well, the couple of lottery tickets I've scratched to evaluate how far I've come... let's just say it would have been better not to scratch and get that stuff off the tickets on my clothes.

*NYR=New Year's Resolution but know I laugh because I read that sentence as "...prior to setting my New York Rangers..."

Public Speaking 101 - "I have a dream" that you will "ask what you can do for your country."

Lets be honest.  Not everyone has the talent, skill, or charisma of men like Martin Luther King, Jr. or John F. Kennedy.   The rhetorical skills they possessed make most public figures pale in comparison.  While I do not claim to be even comparable and worthy of mention in the same sentence as either of these men, I was taught an effective technique to prepare and present when speaking publicly.  In honor of these two men, who this week both have been honored (MLK's birthday 1/15 and the 50th Anniversary of  the JFK Inaugural Address 1/20), watch, listen or read some of their speeches, then come back here and finish reading my few tidbits of advice on how I have learned to speak effectively!

Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream (For those of you who want to read or take a closer look, here you go!   http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)

John F. Kennedy - Inaugural Address (Again for those who want to read or take a closer look, which I encourage, here it is.  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural2.htm )


The Green Sheet:
To preface why you should take any of my advice, some background.  At dear ol' Penn State students are required to take a speech class (CAS100).  The various professors, as expected, teach the class differently.  I was lucky enough to take this class with a professor who I considered outstanding and who made public speaking a simple concept.  After successfully passing the class, I later returned to serve as the teacher's assistant for the class.  So in honor of Dr. Mary Mino, I present to you, what I determine to be the main points to public speaking... What I learned from The Green Sheet.

1.  Structure speeches don't write them. - This, in it's entirety, is The Green Sheet.   The Green Sheet is just that, a green sheet of paper with the most important information you need to remember when speaking publicly.  It outlines how to structure a speech.  I know speech writers make a lot of money (Jan. 2011- starting around $41,000), however if you are going to speak on a topic, KNOW the topic.  If you know the topic you can actually discuss it with your audience and not be stiff, nervous, and imagining them all in their underwear.  By all means, have note cards with key points and facts to remember and sources, but don't write word for word what you want to say.  People can tell when you're reading.

2.  Have a residual message.  - A residual message is what you want your audience to know when you are done.  It's one phrase, one sentence.  Think back to MLK's I have a dream speech, what do people remember from that?  "I have a dream!"  Heck it's the title of the speech!  When you're done listening/reading you recall that MLK had a dream today that the world would become a better place.  Of course he had specifics to his dream, but at the end those are the words you remember.   Why?  Because he tell's you over and over again.  Dr. Mino always told us, when you're giving a speech you tell them what you're going to tell them, you tell them, and then you tell them what you told them.  That's how you get your RM through to your audience.


There is plenty more on the topic of speeches and public speaking.  This Green Sheet I speak of, I used it the rest of my way through college when writing papers.  It's a system that's easy to buy into and follow. And what makes it easier is, it's effective.




*Sidenote/disclaimer... I didn't come up with The Green Sheet.  Honestly I'm not sure who did, if it was Dr. Mino or someone else.  For that sheer fact I didn't upload and post the sheet.  BUT I'm not about keeping something good to myself.  So if anyone actually wants to see it, review it, tear it apart and tell me it is wrong, let me know, I'll pass it your way!

A Handle that's Credible?

After four years of college studying communication (Public Relations, Sports Journalism) I find myself asking a lot of questions when I read a newspaper article or watch the news.  I ask myself what makes this story true, credible, newsworthy.  None of these questions do I think are special to just me.  Realistically I think all consumers of the news (which should be everyone) should be asking these questions to keep a checks-and-balance system on our media, who in turn keep a checks-and-balance on the government, corporations, celebrities, and even simple small town affairs. One news source who I rarely question, as they leave no questions to ask, is The New York Times.

However, a new question arose in their January 14, 2010 article Did Your Horoscope Predict This? on Horoscopes and the changing of Zodiac signs...  which is a fun topic in itself.

My questions arose because of the sources for some of their quotes.  The article quotes some Twitter users.  

“My zodiac sign changed,” wrote one upset Twitter user on Friday morning. “Does that mean that I’m not anymore who I used to be?!?”

 “First we were told that Pluto is not a planet, now there’s a new zodiac sign, Ophiuchus,” read one tweet from someone with the handle HarryPotterish. “My childhood was a bloody lie.”

These quotes made the article more entertaining.  I laughed when I read them... but I also did a big rewind and re-read when I read the first reference to a Twitter account.  I use Twitter regularly.   But for those that actually know me outside of the World Wide Web know I like to joke around and can be sarcastic at times.  Judging by HarryPotterish's tweet, I'm guessing he does too.  But really, I would say the same for our upset Twitter user.  That tweet is something I might have said in a joking manner.  So can The New York Times accurately label and quote this unnamed Twitter user as "upset?"  Is Twitter a reliable source even if it's just for entertainment and extra content in a story?

I like Twitter, I like The New York Times, but do I like The New York Times quoting Twitter users that I don't know if they actually talked to? .... Right now, I don't think so.