Arts & Culture

Groundhog Day or ‘Métro, boulot, dodo’

February 2, 2017 | Bill V. | Comments (0)

As I waited for the bus today, Groundhog Day, I was reminded of the French phrase "Métro, boulot, dodo". It literally translates as "subway, work, sleep" but more figuratively means "same old, same old" i.e. the daily grind.

1990 photo Toronto Star Archive Groundhog

1990 Toronto Star Archive photo of a groundhog

Both the holiday and the experience of endless, repetitive days then reminded me of Bill Murray's cult classic movie Groundhog Day. It's the story of a TV reporter caught in a time loop and the steps he takes to get out of it and also the way this opens him up to re-examine his life. There's even a Reddit post on How long did Bill Murray stay in Ground Hog Day limbo?

 

Groundhog Day movie DVD with Bill Murray

 

Who among us hasn't felt like a gerbil (or groundhog) running around a wheel endlessly and for what?

 

 

If you feel you want to explore Groundhog Day a bit more, TPL has you covered with over 20 children's books including ebooks. I want to make a pitch for A Greyhound A Groundhog, which is a great silly rhyming playful book. I've got it on hold and plan to read it out loud on the bus and subway ride to and from work over the next few weeks. I encourage all of you to do the same and also read it at home to your loved ones. 

Say no to angst.

A Greyhoud A Groundhog picture books written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Chris Appelhans: Library Journal review "In a picture book that demands to be read aloud, a greyhound and a groundhog spin in visual and verbal circles. A limited gray and brown watercolor palette—and an equally limited selection of consonant and vowel sounds—characterize this phonologically clever, fundamentally joyful, and subtly unified picture book. Words, text, and creatures begin in simple lines (the words "A hound. A round hound" are printed in a straight line above a sleeping greyhound on the first page), but all three increasingly start to rotate (the sentence, "The ground and a hog and some grey and a dog" later curves around the page, accompanied by a whirling, tongue-lolling canine). Just as readers grow accustomed to the muted colors and tongue twisters ("Around, round hound/Around, groundhog!"), both begin to change: "around and around" becomes "and astound" as the greyhound—fully facing readers for the first time—notices one butterfly, and then more, come into the visual field, bringing with them the latent pinks, blues, and purples that an observant viewer will have seen hiding in the grays all along. The butterflies soon fly off the edge of the page, but the amazement lingers as the eponymous animals, finally worn out, settle in for a nap…accompanied by newly restraightened, resimplified text. VERDICT A lovely, lyrical paean to the natural order, with an element of wonder and grace. Perfect for one-on-one and group sharing"

 

 

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