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Bill Murray

Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray (pictured), Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman who is sent, much to his disgruntlement, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Connors becomes trapped in a time loop forcing him to relive February 2 over and over, with not even death an escape, a repetition that will not change until he does. Much of the filming took place in bitterly cold weather in Woodstock, Illinois. The film led to expanded acting horizons for Murray, known to that point primarily as a comedy actor, as it showed he could handle more serious material. Groundhog Day had moderate to good box office receipts and reviews, but has since become a cult classic, acclaimed as one of the best movies of the 1990s and one of the great comedy films of all time. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Monk and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (middle) showing Canada's gift to President Gerald Ford

... that Canadian photographer and producer Lorraine Monk's book Between Friends / Entre Amis was Canada's gift to the United States on their bicentennial in 1976 (pictured)?
... that Area 51 was originally called Paradise Ranch to encourage workers to move there?
... that the St Peter's Medal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons was first awarded for the detection of bladder cancers in the dye industry?
... that the music style of singer-songwriter Kui Lee featured a blend of traditional Hawaiian music, jazz, blues, and rock and roll?
... that in a rare leapfrog appeal the UK Supreme Court decided that insurance companies can be liable for business losses arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
... that after the lynching of her son, Beulah Mae Donald successfully sued the Ku Klux Klan, winning a $7 million judgment?
... that Naimur Rahman took six wickets for 132 runs in the very first test Bangladesh played in 2000?
... that Twitter and Discord use snowflakes as unique identifiers for their messages and users?

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On this day

February 2: Groundhog Day in Canada and the United States

Statue of Alexander Selkirk

1709 – Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk (statue pictured) was rescued by English captain Woodes Rogers and his crew after spending four years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Pacific, providing the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.
1850 – Ute Wars: Brigham Young announced his decision to go to war against the Timpanogos, who were hostile to the Mormon settlement at Fort Utah.
1920 – The signing of the Treaty of Tartu ended the Estonian War of Independence, with Soviet Russia agreeing to recognize the country's independence and renounce in perpetuity all rights to its territory.
1942 – The first act of the Norwegian resistance movement took place when the Osvald Group bombed Oslo East Station to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
2012 – The passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen capsized and sank in rough conditions in the Solomon Sea, resulting in at least 88 deaths.

Julia Nava de Ruisánchez (b. 1883)
Abraham Iyambo (b. 1961; d. 2013)

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Today's featured picture

The basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city's main market district. The principal members of the Medici family are buried in one of the chapels. The interior of the dome, shown here, features the fresco Glory of Florentine Saints, commissioned by Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and painted by Vincenzo Meucci in 1742.

Painting credit: Vincenzo Meucci; photographed by Livioandronico2013

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