Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Chasing Shadows

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Well, it's Groundhog Day. Or, as Brenda here knows it:

"Groad Hogs Day"


Today is the day that we celebrate the..day...by having this cheeky little fella:

aka "the guy with the crappy back end":


...drive around town with Bill Murray looking for a weather forecaster who has no shadow. Which I think makes the weather forecaster a vampire.

Ah, American holidays*.


Today is also the day when we find out if winter will end soon or not.

Hm...

[clickety click click click]

via weather.com 12 hours ago

Yeah. Good luck with that, every-state-but-Florida.

So, unless shadowless weather forecasters are run over by rodent and celebrity driven automobiles, I'd say most of you are due to see a lot more of this:

"Squashed octopodes?"

Er, no. I mean this:

"Blue crabs?"


No, no, no!

THIS:

[crickets chirping]


Oh, never mind.

Happy Grounn Dhog Day, y'all.



Thanks to Brenda M., M.Z., Melissa B., Saundra, Karen C., Jamie, & Kevin H., who would like to remind you to never drive angry. Especially with a quadruped.

*Actually, I hear Canadians celebrate Groundhog Day, too. Except their vampire weather forecasters use beavers to raise the stakes. [insert beaver joke here] [insert 'BWAHAHAHA!' here] [insert apology for beaver joke here]
Jules AF said...

I can only hope many, many TV stations are playing this movie today.

Anonymous said...

We're supposed to have a high of 45 in in Phoenix today. That's just not right. I blame the Gruhndawdg.

Anonymous said...

So many puns so little time... but WTF is u[ with those cakes??? How dare they call themselves pros >:(

Kristyn said...

Never apologize for a beaver joke!

J Franklin Evans said...

"Groad Hogs" would be an excellent name for a band. Just sayin'.

jillb-ilslp said...

2nd to last cake:
Head tilt left, it's a frozen teddy bear.
Head tilt right, it's a frozen butterfly.

Anonymous said...

C'mon people! Use a clean cardboard circle. Jeesh.

Otherwise, it's actually a cute cake.

Anonymous said...

look at that, no snow in Canada, it's like the weather stops at the border
April

arensb said...

Thank you for using the correct (or at least snootiest) plural of "octopus".

Sandy C also in So Fla said...

I own that flic.... Yes, it will be on tonite. It would be fitting to have AMC playing 24hrs back to back, just like the Christmas Story on Christmas day!. That would be sooo awesome...

That map is awesome.. it's in the 70's here... :-) Others should not hate because tey're not smart enough to move out of the snow belt!

BTW, I especially liked those snowflake wrecks.

Kimmery said...

@J Franklin Evans: Or a motorcycle gang! Or should they hyphenate? G-road Hogs...?

wv. astend. Astend it will be given unto you!

Anonymous said...

Considering how much of the stuff the country's been seeing, you'd think they could do a better job on the snowflake cakes.

(On one e-mail list I'm on, suggestions for Groundhog Day are including sniper rifles trained on Punxsutawney Phil's burrow.)

Nancy McGill said...

Give Wreckerator #3 a giant cookie slathered in mounds of brightly colored icing! He/she/it almost spelled Punxsutawney correctly!


wv: derst (v); I derst not look at those wrecks- the horror is too much!

coeurdechoeur said...

Octopodes FTW! I love Greek plurals.

Also, two beavers are better than one; they're twice the fun. Ask anyone!

WV: subract - This Texan is not happy when he has to subract from zero to get the current wind chill.

Anonymous said...

that teddy bear snow monster looks like it's made out of styrofoam.

Jen said...

Well, in Ontario, "Wiarton Willie" is our (albino) groundhog forecaster extraordinaire. (Imagine the possibilities for wrecks there!!!) Considering that we just got majorly dumped on with snow, no shadows were to be seen.

Heidi said...

Today, I am grateful that we live in Florida.

Next month when it's already 95 degrees out and everyone and his brother is here at Disney for Spring Break, maybe not so much.

Aliza said...

@Sandy C -- and that's why retired Canadians are snowbirds and descend en masse to South Florida each winter :)

I never would have thought that "groundhogs" was so difficult to spell. Then again, I'm not a wreckerator!

Cake #2 is almost cute, if they had properly cleaned the cake circle or had protected it while decorating.

Cake #3 is-- groundhogs should hire a lawyer and launch a class action suit for defamation. But... I think they actually spelled that right?! (wait, they're missing an "s". Soooo close!)

Trust me, it's snowing north of the border too. Toronto's hit worse thus us, but we're getting 15-20cm today in Ottawa plus high wind (OK, that's just a usual storm for us, but "no snow" would imply no shovelling ;;sigh;; ). However, we are lucky to not be getting what Chicago got (two years ago, we got a record 54cm in one day, so we know how miserable they feel!)

Those CCC wanna-be snowflakes ought to join the groundhogs in that lawsuit...

A Groundhogs Day cake decorated with roses-- isn't that just a wee bit off season???

Yup, Canadians have "Groad Hog" day too...but since spring never comes mid-March this far north the miserable rodents are unlikely to be right with their prediction of an early spring this year :( Shall we call it "groad-kill hogs"?

PS those of us with a sense of humour always welcome a good beaver joke!

Jessica said...

wv: defise

Why someone might buy these cakes defise explanation.

swidt - the wv actually is like how a wreckerator would spell it. Hee hee.

Robin @ Bird On A Cake said...

One of those days when I'm so, so happy to live in Florida. :0)

Can't wait for our annual viewing of Groundhog Day! "Don't drive angry!"

schmaimz said...

ah the majestic beaver with it's strong tail and chompy teeth.. how we love him. oh hey - don't apologize for the beaver jokes - I'm Canadian and I think they're very funny :) actually I think the whole thing is very funny, the website I mean not the concept of a beaver. Although I suppose that's funny too.

The mighty beav. I need coffee, and a strong westerly moving front, I'm not sure what that means, but you get my drift.

ViolaNut said...

It's only Groundhog Day 'cause we don't have native hedgehogs in the Americas. Really.

I have a strange urge to find out what a hedgehog would look like in true Wreckorator style... You probably have a really bad Sonic in your archives somewhere, huh?

Sara said...

As always, your post never fails to entertain me and make the start of the work day begin with a smile.

Thanks Cake Wrecks!
Sara

Fluffy Cow said...

[Insert witty comment about laughter and spit takes]

SuBee said...

I don't want to see a
lot more of this!!
I don't want to see a
lot more of this!!!!

The snow's okay, but not this!!!!

BTW-No "Groundhog's Day" on Verizon in the northern suburbs of NYC. Very disappointed as we are trapped in the house.

Anonymous said...

Lot of, er, beaver humor this week, eh? But what else can you do with a blue teddy bear giving birth?

Sonu Ge said...

I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream.

FlyingHorse2 said...

You have a blog award waiting for you over on my blog! I enjoy reading your blog for the comedic relief!

http://openhorseshowjudge.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

How is it possible that the wreckerator came so close to spelling "punxsutawney phil" correctly, yet they can't spell "Grounn Dhog Day"?!?!?!

Promise said...

Today is also known as Candlemas, The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, The Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, La Fête de la Chandeleur, and The Meeting of the Lord. So, yeah, not sure how a groundhog got mixed up in all of THAT.

Lady Bright said...

"insert beaver joke"

*blink blink*

MWAHAAHAAAAA

I kinda like the chubby cheeky one, if he'd only cleaned up his platfrom a bit.

"jillb-ilslp" - I agree. My first thought was a recycled Wilton teddybear or gingerbread man pan.

I have never seen the movie clear through, for some reason, I just keep catching the beginning... over and over... (for real).

How is it that wreckers can spell Punxatawny but not groundhog... or BIRTHDAY???? Yeesh.

~~Di

wv -- pardow -- pardow me, but your poop is showing. Do you have any brown poopon?

Amanda Cullen said...

Thanks for posting a link to Groundhog Day! You guys are awesome (but you already knew that).

Leighanne said...

The groad hog made me think of the line in the Beatles song 'Dig A Pony' that says "do a road hog" What were those freaky snowflake cakes? It's snowing here in Arkansas and I know what a snowflake looks like. I think...

I thought that the one with the crickets chirping looked a bit like a faceless blue teddy bear(maybe I'm losing it...)

Trish said...

The second-to-last one looks like a tardigrade!

Pamela said...

I live in British Columbia Can.( California of Canada),in a small town nestled in the mountains. We get winter but compared to other places it is quite mild, though we do look forward to spring. To-day is cloudy so if we had our own groadhog he would stay out and play and let us know spring is on the way. Yeah!! Wreakenators live on so this site can be here forever.

Anonymous said...

@mimiheart, good luck with that 45! I'm in Peoria and its 41 that feels like 31 because of the wind. But at least we don't have any of that stuff that inspired those weird blue cakes.
I love a good beaver joke, you can really sink your teeth into them!

Jane said...

It's an American (& Canadian?) holiday, but according to the article I read this morning it comes from Germany:
"The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early."
Candlemas?...blink, blink.... hmmmmmm.... Just sounds like another holiday for cake wreckers out there to butcher. I say we need a collection of Candlemas cakes! Whatddya say Jen? ;-)

Monica said...

One of those snowflake cakes was clearly made in a teddy-bear shaped pan. Because teddy bears, like snowflakes, are six-sided and pointy.

We got over 18 inches of snow here in Chicago. The local high school has a snow day for the first time since 1979. And THE GROUNDHOG SAW HIS SHADOW. Yeah. I'm having a ball with the snow, though. Ooh, snowball fight! I should go have one.

WV: fraggess. Jim Henson's Fraggess Rock is not as well known as Sesame Street, but is just as clever.

Anonymous said...

Is it too early for flapjacks?

Anonymous said...

Awesome wrecks. Seriously people pay other people to do that? sad face. Anyway your post are hilarious thank for the great birthday laughs. - Victoria

Unknown said...

Now you know why I live in FLorida!

Jennifer MacNeill said...

Can't. Stop. Laughing.... :D

Bren-duh from Cana-duh said...

I have never been so happy about Groad Hogs Day as I am today! Mmmmm...groad hogs...i bet groad hog bacon is good...

furpurrson said...

There's an even better weather photo making the rounds on Facebook, featuring a ... colloquial-language version ... of the New England weather forecast. I can't repeat its contents because this is a family site!

Odie said...

This post is made all the more sad by the fact that I got the *cutest* groundhog cupcakes from my cupcake lady. A little sugar cookie groundhog peering out of a cupcake, complete with oreo cookie "dirt" and piped frosting grass! Not a hint of chocolate poo in sight. :D

Loo-E Loo-I said...

"You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life."

Groad Hog? Maybe while they were piping that, their mind wondered and thought of road kill?

lol Sandy C.! We all could be watching, and when the movie starts over again it'll be like deja-vu!


wv: chroat: Last year I wanted to strangle that little rodent's chroat for predicting 6 more weeks of winter. All is forgiven this year.

Amber Rice said...

I'm not really sure "In the line of fire" is the correct sentiment for that weather bulletin! I am sooo glad I live in Florida!

Tricia L said...

Is that a CCC (patoooie) trying to be a snowflake or is that a new use for a teddy bear cake pan?

Micalah said...

Those "blue crabs" look like a blue bra!

Craig said...

#1 Maybe the wreckerator had to battle through heavy traffic to get to work.

#2 Oh the irony of ordinal placement. What is 'groundhog plaza'? I think when the manager said to recycle cake boards, this is not what he or she had in mind. Didn't Sandra Lee teach this wreckerator anything about the importance of cleaning as you work?

#3 I see a brown hovercraft with a face. Let's hope it isn't full of eels.

#4 Ok, I'm pretty sure this is a weather map, not a cake. (Fighting to restrain urge to say something snarky about 'global warming'...)

#5 Aerial view of a snowbound airport terminal? An 8-way intersection before the plows come through? (Based on some of the things the state Department of Transportation comes up with, it could happen.)

#6 What is underneath all that blue -- giant marshmallows?. I hope it matches the decor, at least. Something is missing on top, though.

#7 "The manager is out today -- I can use the airbrush! Yess!"

#8 What's the deal on the borders? Was a Grounn Dhog operating the turntable?

Lianna Mills, Jr said...

That last cake looks like one of those two-headed Frankenstein Teddy Grams to me.

High of 32 here in Austin, Texas, not counting wind chill. And we had rolling blackouts to help save power on the state-wide grid. Not cool at all. *badum-ching*

Julie @ Another Chance Ranch said...

As usual, a funny funny post! I wanted to stop by and wish you luck at the Bloggies!

I am linking to your site tomorrow, hope you don't mind. :)

Michelle said...

I know in Florida, its warm and sunny, but I know those of us in the midwest were hoping for a "snowpocalypse" wreck blog today! In SW Missouri we had between 10 and 20 inches depending on the county. I personally spent 3 hours clearing the driveway and only got half it cleared off. And its sunny here today, so I guess the groundhog saw his shadow and we are in for more of this oh so lovely whiteness. blukky! Schools are called off for tomorrow so now we are looking at 3 Snow Days so far!

KatzenMama said...

@Aliza: I bet all the "snow birds" that are wintering here in Austin, Texas, are pretty peeved about the highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s and teens we are having this week.

As for the "cheeky little fella" with the "crappy back end", Come on wreckerator,even Sandra Lee knows how to keep her cake plate clean...and that's saying a lot for her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW8W48KZ3J0

JC3 said...

I love how that weather map assumes the storm stops at the Canadian border. We're supposed to get 45 cm (that's a foot and a half to you Americans) of snow in Nova Scotia by tomorrow morning.

Rachel said...

I'm Canadian.. we can always expect more winter. I don't think we take groundhog day as seriously as Americans. Today a bunch of universities got a snow day here in Ontario.. I think the groundhog stayed in his hole.

Robin Bayne said...

Actually there are such things as "blue crabs." LOL

damen said...

this cake looks good :P

jams said...

that one looking good

Sue KuKu said...

The 2nd to last cake looks like something Captain Kirk and his crew battled!

KuKu

Carol said...

ROFL, I *love* that movie, especially that scene!! Makes me smile on this cold day! (And in case you were wondering...yes, we were among those that were slammed with the tons of snow!)

Kristin said...

Remember, the snow isn't the only indication of a hard winter...We just had our first days since well before Christmas that were over 20 degrees and NOT crazy windy in Fargo last week. ACK! We'll take snow, but the crazy cold weather can be done anytime soon!

Anonymous said...

It's still spelled wrong, but I think the "Groad hogs" is actually "Groud Hogs" The chocolate chip makes it look like an a!
--Kendra

tat2kitten said...

i gotta tell you... i had a pretty crap-tastic day today and reading today's post made me laugh and i REALLY needed to laugh. i especially liked the footnote re: beaver jokes. after a hard day at work, i always look forward to visiting your site for a little pick-me-up.

thanks
alyson b.

Sarah said...

but where are the Chinese New Year cakes? :(

Mary G said...

I think that the squashed octopodes is actually a Cylon basestar! The invasion is nigh.

http://www.battlestargalactica.tv/cylon-ships/

BADKarma! said...

"Happy Grounn Dhog Day!" needs to be a t-shirt. I'm just sayin'...

Kelly said...

The blue crab "snowflake" made me think of Ariel's seashell top. Just sayin.

Valentine said...

I'm kind of amazed, actually..."Punxutawney" is spelled correctly. No, I'm blown away. That's unheard of.

Anonymous said...

the Blue crabs have jazz hands?? wtf is definitely appropriate here.

-Barbara Anne

Ellen said...

People from Punxsutawney PA may know about Phil the Groundhog.

But those from the Philadelphia area know that beaver jokes are now Arcadia jokes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/791147.stm

And, in the spirit of the movie Groundhog Day, I thank you for Cake Wrecks, since I never want you yelling after me "You little brat! You have NEVER thanked me!"

:)

Anonymous said...

The cheeks of that groundhog in the second picture look like poos.

Arlene said...

Ugh if I decorated these I would hide under ground with that poor groundhog and not show myself until all the angry mobs of customers ran off lol.

Ruthie said...

I thought the "blue crabs" was some sort of bikini cake :)

No Cake Fo You!!! said...

So happy I live in South Florida... you guys are getting hammered, and not in a good way!!!!

Yeah, once again those are some pathetic looking cakes, and I think people just make cakes to be making them,,, seriously Groundhog Day cakes... *sighing*

Wendy said...

Others noticed it, but since I live near the town, I have to mention the misspelling of Punxsutawney.

Poor Phil gets no respect whatsoever...

Anonymous said...

wv: panic

I got a real word for wv! And now, a state of panic sets in, as I try desperately to think of something hilarious to say, combining "panic" and "Ground Hog Day"... ummmm.... nope. Although I will say it's a panic that people actually believe a woodchuck can predict the weather. *G* *shrug* But then, why not? Weathermen are wrong 50% of the time, and they have to go to college to know how to misinterpret the weather maps, right?

Merry at Annie's Book Stop

L&M said...

speaking of beavers.... I can't help but post this

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/cb-z6ZC9Uj6X0haMbSzmMsfMAP4rxoMhy_N/how_i_met_your_mother_the_beaver_song_season_6_episode_9/

Adorably Dead said...

The second set of snowflakes looked like pieces of candy! :p

Mark Thuesen said...

how many pork chops can you get out of that "ground hog"? too funny!
mark thuesen

Danielle said...

For the love of God can someone tell me how the bakery managed to spell Punxsutawney right but can't manage, er, well, ANY OTHER WORD?!

Danielle said...

Upon further review, no they didn't spell punxsutawney correct but it was closer than most words...minus air quotes.

Lydia said...

I'm gonna give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you the rest of your life.

hyphen8 said...

"every-state-but-Florida"

Yeah, how 'bout that!

Usually, Hawaii is the only holdout but this time it's your turn.

I've never been there (or anywhere) when it was actually snowing, but I have been up near the observatory on the Big Island and seen/touched the snow for myself. :)

Everybody else having winter: stay warm.

Anonymous said...

The correct spelling is Punxsutawney. And it is Groundhog Day there is only one Punxsutawney Phil not many. :)

Born and Raised in Groundhog Town.

Hildie said...

Here in Austin, TX we have an armadillo named Bee Cave Bob who comes out to see his shadow (or not). It would be nice if he wore a little cowboy hat but I don't think he does.

Anonymous said...

Maybe winter will end by my birthday... in April. Best not to count on it. We got a load of snow and ice in Hardin County, KY. I'm out of school 'cause of it today.
(Yay, no algebra!)
-B

Anonymous said...

"Womb with a View" is the most interesting shower cake I've seen! I just discovered your site and Cake Wrecks book. They are both great. Lots of laughs and giggles. Keep up the great work.
-- Teddi

ali said...

the second cake looks like a beaver stuck in a dog door.

hard to believe the 1st cake was a professional cake. i have a hard time spelling but man...