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THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE (and repeats): 
First D.J.: "Rise and shine, campers and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today." Second D.J.: "It's cold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?" First D.J.: "Not hardly. So the big question on everybody's lips..." Second D.J.: "On their chapped lips..." First D.J.: "...their chapped lips is, 'Does Phil feel lucky?' Punxsatawney Phil! That's right, woodchuck chuckers, it's... (IN UNISON): GROUNDHOG DAY!!!" Today, Punxsutawney Phil --- the Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary will predict whether we will have six more weeks of winter. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Phil has seen his shadow 103 times, and hasn't seen it (predicting an early spring) only 18 times. Phil's track record is hotly disputed, though he's has had a pretty good run recently. Nevertheless, thousands will await the sunrise and the groundhog at Gobbler's Knob in the tiny Pennsylvania hamlet that has become known as the "Weather Capital of the World," due in no small part to the movie that makes every day Groundhog Day. This is one time where the Internet really fails to capture the true excitement of a movie about a large squirrel predicting the weather. However, you can see the trailer as a refresher (while BuzzFeed compiles trivia). 
In 2005, Roger Ebert revisited Groundhog Day, declaring that the film "finds its note and purpose so precisely that its genius may not be immediately noticeable. It unfolds so inevitably, is so entertaining, so apparently effortless, that you have to stand back and slap yourself before you see how good it really is." At the other end of the political spectrum, Jonah Goldberg's equally effusive movie meditation grabbed the cover of National Review: "When I set out to write this article, I thought it'd be fun to do a quirky homage to an offbeat flick, one I think is brilliant as both comedy and moral philosophy. But while doing what I intended to be cursory research -- how much reporting do you need for a review of a twelve-year-old movie that plays constantly on cable? -- I discovered that I wasn't alone in my interest. In the years since its release the film has been taken up by Jews, Catholics, Evangelicals, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, and followers of the oppressed Chinese Falun Gong movement." Indeed, a 2004 article mentioned by Ebert (but not linked) from London's Independent observes that the Harold Ramis comedy has been hailed by some religious leaders as the most spiritual film of all time. More examples can be found at the NYT and the Christian Science Monitor. As Phil Connors ultimately observed: "When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter." ACCORDINGLY, we conclude: 
...with Sonny & Cher on Hullabaloo and famously on Letterman years later, plus UB40 with Chrissie Hynde, not to mention The Cynics (from the Bonograph tribute CD), and David Bowie & Marianne Faithfull. UPDATE: Phil saw his shadow, efectively forecasting another six weeks of winter. In NJ, Milltowm Mel predicted an early spring. SON LUX advance streams Brighter Wounds. PALM advance streams Rock Island. TWINK, a veteran of the '60s and '70s British psych scene (Tomorrow, The Pretty Things), is back with Think Pink III. CASSANDRA JENKINS streams her new live EP. NICKLAS PASCHBERG advance streams Oceanic. THURSTON MOORE shares "Mx Liberty." GIRLPOOL & DEV HYNES team up on "Picturesong." 
JON PRATT: Pate's frontman covers Freddy Fender's "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." BRYAN FERRY on on how Roxy Music invented a new kind of pop. JANE BIRKIN talks to Magnet about France, Charlotte Serge, etc. NEIL YOUNG is starring in Daryl Hannah's Western, Paradox. THE NUMBER ONES hops on Dave "Baby" Cortez's "The Happy Organ." 
WINCHESTER, which was not screened for critics, is the only wide released dumped on SuperBowl weekend. ROBERT WAGNER is officially named as a "person of interest" in Natalie Woods’ death, 37 years later. JIM CARREY is cleared over the wrongful death of former girlfriend. RYAN SEACREST: An E! investigation into allegations of misconduct has found “insufficient evidence to support the claims” against the popular on-air personality. STAN LEE has been hospitalized but is doing fine. BLACK PANTHER co-writer Joe Robert Colegives Uproxx a behind-the-scenes look at how he helped bring a cinematic version of Wakanda to reality. CHRIS PRATT's Cowboy Ninja Viking has a director: Michelle MacLaren, who is best known for her award-winning work on the acclaimed television shows Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. KATHY GRIFFIN: Can a Comic in Exile Come Back? Can she come back as Annie Lennox? 
A DONKEY leads an escaped herd of goats and sheep through a California neighborhood. A DOG tracks down a cat at Sea-Tac. A CAT steals the neighborhood underwear. STU THE TURKEY terrorizes Mount Lebanon. FIONA THE HIPPO makes a SuperBowl pick.
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