Box Canyon Chipmunks

The feud between two brothers is a story that has continually echoed throughout history: Cain vs Abel, Romulus vs Remus, King Richard vs Prince John, Thor vs Loki, Prince Harry vs Prince William, and, of course, Peyton vs Eli Manning. There is one rivalry, however, that has formed something great—greater even than the hatred between the brothers. Having seen Russell, Otis, and their canyon in person, I simply had to tell their story, "The Fable of the Box Canyon Chipmunks." 

Many thousands of years before Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo set foot on the California Coast, huge and majestic mountains filled the land around the Salton Sea. The weather was tempestuous here, so the land was largely uninhabited. The mountain foliage, however, provided a home for several scurries of chipmunks. At the base of one of the mountains was a large tree and dwelling there inside was a rather malnourished scurry of chipmunks. The winds from the Salton Sea had changed in the recent years and food was becoming scarce.

There were two brothers in the scurry, named Russell and Otis. Russell was wiser than his younger brother Otis. He foraged to feed the plenty, not only himself as Otis did. Russell was contented with little while Otis was dissatisfied even with much. It was not long until the food scarcity caused animosity between the brothers. Otis was becoming more and more frustrated with how the food was being divided among the scurry, leaving him with only a mere morsel.

One day, he approached his brother, loudly complaining about his hunger, claiming that he deserved all that he had foraged for himself. Russell, knowing his brother well, knew that he could not dissuade his brother's selfishness and decided to teach Otis a lesson. He told Otis that he could keep all that he foraged for himself, but that he would not receive his share from what the rest of the scurry foraged. Otis agreed to this deal, not believing his good luck.

The next morning, when the chipmunks gathered, Russell sent Otis to the eastern trees where he knew that he would not find food. When the chipmunks returned in the evening to divide the food and eat, Otis returned empty handed. This continued for several days and Otis's strength and resolution started to fade. On the fifth day, Russell approached his brother to tell him the truth and invite him to forage with the scurry again. When Otis heard the truth, he was far from apologetic. He flew into a rage and moved to attack his brother. Russell ran. And ran. And kept running.

As the foliage diminished on the great mountains, many of the scurries left the area around the Salton Sea. Russell, however, stayed, because he knew the land very well and could better evade his faster brother. Over several centuries the chipmunk brothers began wearing down the great mountains. Although the members of their scurry had long passed, each brother was fueled to live and to run—

Otis by his hate and Russell by his fear. Eventually, the paths that the brothers had run eroded the great mountains into a beautiful canyon. Now, we can drive through the home of the feuding chipmunks, just off the I-10 on Box Canyon Drive. And if you're lucky, you might see Russell dash across the road in front of you and you just might see his brother, Otis run across as well, forever holding the old grudge.

Check out my YouTube Channel! This Tuesday, I posted a new One Minute Cover of Layla and Why Georgia.

The Muppet Movie is a True Classic

I do not think it is a stretch of the imagination to say that most everyone knows who Kermit the Frog is. I also do not think it is a stretch of the imagination to say that most every drummer drew some inspiration from Animal. Of course, we are talking about the Muppets, a group with a funny bear, a karate chopping pig, the most famous frog in existence, and whatever Gonzo is. Now, Kermit and his band of friends are well known for their show, simply called The Muppet Show, where celebrities like Alice Cooper, Elton John, and Julie Andrews all made guest appearances. Since the shows start in 1976 and even after the show went off-air in 1981, the Muppet franchise has released several movies staring this green icon and all of his goofy groupies. However, the first of these movies, The Muppet Movie still stands out among the crowd as a wonderful work of cinema for all ages. Here are some of my reasons why The Muppet Movie is and will always be a true classic.

• A smart opening scene

The movie starts with the whole Muppet gang, even those who don't ever appear in the movie again until the very end, waiting to watch The Muppet Movie which tells of how they all got together and made it to Hollywood (the same movie we watch as the audience). This actually makes more sense than just seeing the movie unfold, especially seeing that the gang had been together on the show for three years already when the movie was released. This also gave anyone's favorite Muppet some screen time and the infamous "guys in the balcony" something to make fun of.

• Terrific music

It would not be a full list of accomplishments if I did not mention the thought provoking, fun, and heartwarming music of Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher. "Rainbow Connection," Kermit's opening song was an instant classic for its catchy tune and simple lyrical depth. However, other songs like the upbeat "Moving Right Along" and the heartwarming "I'm Going Back There Someday" also have audiences across the world humming along with the puppets.

• Puns

No matter what age you are, you can't help but chuckle at the quips, irony, and puns hidden (or sometimes not so hidden) in every scene. Whether it's the heckling of Statler and Waldorf, Kermit admitting to himself that he has no idea what Gonzo is, Fozzie getting his license through a correspondence course, or any of the many one line puns throughout the movie, The Muppet Movie gets high points for comedy in my book.

• Cameo actors and Jim Henson

Through Jim Henson's amazing voice acting and puppetry, many of the Muppets were truly brought to life, including the only amphibian to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate, Kermit the Frog. The Muppet Movie also features short scenes from notable actors like Richard Pryor, Orson Welles, Carol Kayne, James Coburn, and Steve Martin. 

• Unexpected defeat of the protagonist

Of course, beloved Kermit cannot be defeated by the evil Doc Hopper, but even though the scene where they confront sets up Doc Hopper's repentance from his evil ways, his defeat is far from this possibly Hallmark-y ending. (I don't want to spoil it beyond that if by some chance, you have not watched The Muppet Movie for yourself.)

• A driving plot and an ending that makes sure no one is left behind

Even with all of the puns and appearances of celebrities in small breakaway scenes, the driving plot of the movie is consistently present with antagonist Hopper always pursuing the Muppets and Kermit and his new friends always looking forward to their careers in Hollywood. Also, when the movie screening finishes, Sweetums tears through the movie screen finally catching up to the Muppet gang so he can join them in their career in Hollywood.

These are just some of the things that make The Muppet Movie great. If you have not watched it, I would highly recommend it and if you have not watched it in a while, maybe you want to re-watch it and laugh all over again at Kermit and his band of friends. Also, who's your favorite Muppet and why? Comment below! My favorite is Rowlph the Dog. He is devoted to piano and is calm when confronted with problems. He also has a dry humor that cracks me up. 

Check out my YouTube Channel! This Tuesday I posted a mashup of "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty. Click here to watch or find it under the playlist tab on my channel.

Breaking News

I broke my finger in seventh grade. How? Well, it was pretty uneventful, so I decided to come up with some more interesting scenarios. With headlines and short summaries for each instance, this is "Breaking News."

Arizona Native Wrestles with Bobcat

Caleb Gottry, a 17-year-old from Gilbert spends three hours fighting with a bobcat. Gottry breaks a finger. The bobcat meets its end.

HS Baseball Prospect Ruins Chances to Play in Big Leagues

Senior Caleb Gottry breaks his finger in warm-ups moments before his big game and likely recruitment. 

Lawsuit Over a Broken Finger

Budget Transportation Airport Taxi Service facing a suit from the Gottry family over a slammed car door and a broken finger.

The Ban on Fighting in Schools Should Be Reinforced

Two high school students fight in a public school and leave with broken bones and a lifelong grudge.

Teen "Superman" Stops a Bullet

17-year-old Caleb Gottry breaks a finger as he thrusts his hand in front of a speeding bullet. The bullet's target, 42-year-old Albert Peterson, pays Gottry's hospital bills in full.

Consequences of Illegal Fireworks

An aerial firework malfunction leads to broken fingers and second degree burns for Arizona teen.

Tourist Falls Off Edge of Grand Canyon and Survives

High school senior Caleb Gottry falls off the edge, breaks his finger on the way down, and miraculously lands on a sun shade at the canyon bottom that cushions his fall. 

Dangerous New Chemical Dissolves Bones

An incidental discovery at a chemistry summer camp, Oxipolychlorinated Asbestos dissolves finger bones. Hear an unfortunate victim's story.

Never Hammer Your Finger Again

After creator Caleb Gottry hammered his own finger, he created the iHammer with built-in safety features. 

Choir Kid Fractures Finger 

Opening the metal backstage door at Chandler Center, the door handle and wall smash together with Caleb Gottry's finger in between.... but that's not as fun of a story to tell.

Check out my YouTube Channel! I posted a fun video this Tuesday called "Monday Night Foosball."

Journey

The goal of geocaching is to find the container (the cache) at the coordinates the app leads you to. Last week, I went geocaching in Baltimore... and never found the cache itself. "Wait!" I hear you say. "You went walking across Baltimore in the icky summer humidity and you didn't even find what you were looking for?!" Yup. I did. So why am remembering this with a smile? 

After a delicious lunch at Nando's PERi PERi (I highly recommend the kebabs), we started the half-mile trek to the location of the cache. We could see the bay just past the next road over. Tall masts seemed to scrape the sky as the sun steadily scorched our skin. 

The bay was out of sight as soon as we entered the alley of tall apartments. All the doors were brightly colored and friendly against the dull brick buildings. The quintessential cellar access doors on the ground prompted my mom start singing the children's song: "Slide down my rain barrel / Into my cellar door / And we'll be jolly friends / Forever more, more, more." 

I looked up, shading my eyes from the suns light and the name of the street caught my eye. Then, we met the hound of Shakespeare Street. It threw itself at its front window, clearly upset by the strength of the glass between him and us. The mailman we passed by next had no doubt seen the frightening hound plenty of times and seemed unfazed by its animated aggression. A narrow plot of land kept the headstone of a figure past. Old moss from decades past clung to the large stone. Exiting the alley neighborhood, I could see the bay again and the pop up shops on the boardwalk. 

We were nearly there. We passed a shop named Duck Duck Goose and after another block or so, we arrived at the location the geocache had led us to: a secret garden. Tucked between two large buildings, we never would've found it unless we had been led there. An apple tree grew against the brick and thrived among purple flowers. The sun beamed a spotlight on the center of the garden and the rest was shaded by the buildings surrounding it.

So, why was I remembering this with a smile? Honestly, I don't know if finding the cache would've added much to the journey. The colors of natural flowers and painted doors, the sound of an animate hound and the silence of one long dead, the bright sun over the bay and the shade in a secret garden: this perfect balance of things newly found and discovered couldn't have fit in any geocaching container. 

Check out my YouTube channel! This Tuesday, I posted new One Minute Covers of This Old Guitar and Home. If you are interested in viewing videos you may have missed, you can find all my videos here.

Encomium of Polyphemus

This is kind of a throwback blog for me. Below is a one-day writing assignment that I did for my Great Books class. An encomium is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone who maybe doesn't get praised often. We read "The Odyssey" last fall and I think the cyclops deserves some praise after getting a bad review from Odysseus. This is my encomium:

   

    The cover is not the book, even when the cover is a man-eating monster. To take a single glimpse of a single being in a single society favored greatly by all the gods and define the being as just an obstacle is callous. Monsters are Odysseus’s obstacles, yes, but the one-eyed giant Polyphemus, the Cyclops, is not a monster in being, even if he is in form. Thus, he cannot be defined as just Odysseus’s second obstacle and first failure. Looking to the gods who hold all power and to cunning Odysseus, brash and deceiving, I vindicate blind Polyphemus from his own reputation as the monstrous obstacle he is not. His father is Poseidon, a god forever yearning for justice in battles and life. Polyphemus too has this virtue.

    The gods who never die bless the land of the Cyclops, fulfilling always the never fading trust of her inhabitants. Though they do not fear the gods as the mortals do, perhaps the trust and faith in their power is greater principled. The land flourishes for these lonesome creatures caring for their livestock, Polyphemus, lacking a wife and children, perhaps the loneliest of all. Yet, he governs himself peacefully among the creatures on the island, caring carefully for each of his rams, even as they are already blessed by the gods, able to know them by touch alone in his blindness. In a community known by Odysseus and his crew as not caring for any neighbor, the one who does care for their neighbor as their friend is praiseworthy. As Polyphemus cried out in pain, his neighbors called to him asking of his ailment and the one-eyed giant could call back ‘friends’ in his time of greatest need, though duped by Odysseus he was. The cheese-eating, wine-loving Polyphemus cannot be blamed for his fearful acts of violence or his hideous appearance. Instead, he must be praised for his gentleness to his creatures in all his power and his neighborliness in all his desire to be in solitude. 

    Finding fault in the hero Odysseus may not be easy to do, remembering his crew mates snatched up by the man-eating Cyclops, but we must justly do so in order to properly celebrate Polyphemus. Odysseus sees a monster that looks by his eyes to be cruel and disabling and he turns into that cruel beast in heart, deceiving and disabling them in vaunting laughter. His curious spirit drives him and his crew into Polyphemus’s dwelling: intruders and thieves. They do not deserve the mortal hospitality they beg for and do not receive. Polyphemus knows not of their customs, but Polyphemus knows what is his and what is not theirs. Thus he yearns for justice. Yet, he does not enact immediate justice. Indeed, he does eat one of Odysseus’s men, but they are food to him, making this action almost normal in an odd sense. The most praiseworthy action of the man-eating creature is his dedication to listen to Odysseus. This action, meeting the warrior halfway in his demands for gifts, leads him down a road to be deceived. The deceiver who deceives the one who does not know deceit is wicked; Odysseus is the deceiving one. Praise the one who seeks to enact fair judgement and not the one who seeks to avoid it! This is a way to liberate Polyphemus from the reputation Odysseus spread. 

    How can one call Polyphemus a lawless brute? He is governed by his own laws; he is gentle, trusting, and just. How can one say Polyphemus’s actions were monstrous and evil? He extended grace to a trespasser, listening to only be deceived. Ultimately, how can one call Polyphemus an obstacle? He is a being with his own life, ruined in part by Odysseus. He is lonesome but happy and far from an obstacle; he is praiseworthy. 

Check out another throwback to school on my YouTube channel! Posted just this Tuesday, it's a fun (and funny) video of my Rube Goldberg Physics Project.