The Rhythm Is Going To Get You!

I noticed that Ben posted a book review a little while ago and I thought to myself, "self, that is a good idea. Perhaps you should also post a book review. This would be a great way to share with everyone, informing and entertaining at the same time." So here it goes, my first book review blog...

Learning About Determination from the Life of Gloria Estefan is a heartwarming adventure about the life of a girl who became a woman who became a legend, a legend that can never die.

Gloria Estefan is one of those people that maybe you don't talk about her everyday, maybe you haven't heard her name in ten or fifteen years, perhaps you don't even know who she is, but she is always there, in the hearts of those who love music, real music.

If I have a pet-peeve when it comes to books, it's that more often than not they tend to use these humongous words that I don't understand and usually can't even pronounce. Not in Learning About Determination from the Life if Gloria Estefan...

I can only assume that Mrs. Estefan herself pushed to ensure that the reader would be able to correctly pronounce Cuba (KYOO-bah). I realize I am only speaking for myself when I get excited about this helpful addition, but I know I've been saying it wrong for years.

I don't want to give too much away about the meat of the stroy or the incredible twists in the plot, but this book is just chock full of amazing facts and mind-blowing information about Gloria Estefan. Seriously, I can't control myself, I must share at least one fact: Did you know that the Miami Sound Machine was originally The Miami Latin Boys! If you think that is interesting that's just the tip of the iceberg. If my excitement alone about this book isn't enough, just look at the front cover again. This is Gloria Estefan people! Get going to your local library or book retailer! The rhythm got me. It's going to get you too!

New Media Banner

Hey everyone, check out the new "Media Banner". Just click on "Media Player" in the picture and have fun!

Top Secret Christmas Gift Exchange

Every year a most secretive tradition goes on at the Crum house. The famous and mysterious Christmas Gift Exchange. Knowing that many of you, our faithful non-Crum readers, have no idea what I am talking about. Here's how it works.

After, and only after, Thanksgiving, the names of all the Crums participating in the exchange (usually limited to those who will be present at Christmas and under the age of Mom and Pop) are placed in a secret vault (or baseball cap).

The optimal system for "exchanging" names is still up for debate, but eventually, regardless of the system employed, each person has the name of another person. The questionable method often results in "pair-purchasing" or in person A buying for person B and person B buying for person A. This isn't a huge issue, but is worth the many hours of arguing that have gone into solving it.

Each person is notified of their "target" (AKA the person they are purchasing for), and the spy games begin. The truth of the matter is that the actual gift exchange and the subsequent gifts are not nearly as important as being the first person to find out who each person is buying for. This process takes on many forms, often involving bribes of political persons and assassinations of fringe family members.

So who will it be this year? Who is buying for me? Who is buying for Jill Elisabeth? Though the world may never know, Thomas is sure to find out within a weeks time.

CHURCH WARS

A short time ago in a church not so far away, I, Stephen P.B. Crum and assistant directors, David and Mark Lambert, created a masterpiece. We had all the right stuff to make Church Wars, from light sabers to a church. If none of the other Crums were in the movie-making business, then this would be the best movie yet made by a Crum. I will not take all the credit for my outstanding performance because David and Mark were pretty good actors. Yet, I was the main director and a reasonably good actor, too. David Lambert was the camera man but he missed a couple of cuts, and Mark was just plain funny.

My favorite memories of California

It has been about 16 years since we moved away from California, but I still often fondly recall our family trips to the Point Reyes Lighthouse (above). From here we would whale watch and enjoy the cool Northern California temperatures. We found many wonderful spots that we kept going back to. One such place was the Bear Valley Visitor Center (below) - and it's replica Miowak Indian village.
Of course these trips were most meaningful and enlightening to Jon, who was able to find a vision for his life at one of our familiar stops, The Cheese Factory. It was by this pond (below) that Jon realized that God's plan for his life was to become a Golden Retreiver, an expectation I suspect Jon still holds to.
This place has great, big, dill pickles, but very stinky cheese - Mom made us take the tour and we thought it would be like the Jelly Belly Factory tour, except by the end we all smelled like Brie and didn't want any free samples (except Mom of course). I really hope some day we can all go back here for a Crum family get together, visit the lighthouse and cheese factory, and relive these great memories.

Who This Is?

Well...It is about time. Yea folks all your dreams have finally come true. I am officially here( This is natedogg for those of you who didn't have this as your dream). Now that I've arrived I figure that my mind needs to now come up with some whitty crumb for yall to marinate your minds on for a while.

If that last sentance didn't make any sense do not worry because you are not alone. Three year olds who can't read didn't understand it either.

To start I'd like to give a shout out to my home boys in Wiscoonnnsin! (aka Brett LaFavre and company) I'd also like to give a big congrats to Joe and the #3 soon to be #1 Penn State Football Squad. Can I get a Yeeeaaa!.

The year was 2004 and a foolish young Crum with thoughts of adventure and heroism was sent off to a world so different from that which he had imagined. Basic passed in a short 7 weeks but it had changed him for an eternity. That is to say that if he hadn't gone to Basic he would never have learned how to shine boots, fold shirts into perfect squares or sing one of the four verses of the Air Force theme song (the other 3 weren't learned because they are in pig latin which he has no knowledge of). Tech School passed with little incident, except for the time he tried to shave a classmates hair while he was sleeping. In Dec. after a term of leave with his cool family he transfered to his current home of Barksdale Air Force Base in the northern part of the bayou state, Louisiana. Since his arrival he jumped right into working on the B-52 or stratofortress (don't ask what that means). Through his time he has increased his knowledge and picked up dirtbiking. And beside from the time he went to some guys wedding he hasn't really done much of anything else except write this blog and sleep. A lot of sleep. No really...I mean a looooottttttt.

Bye for now.

The Theory of Crum Relativity

In this world of absolutes it is good to know that there are still some things that are relative.

Everbody is so "this is right!" or "that is wrong!" There are even some who are like "no matter what, this is true!" This starts to get old real quick. How can one function in such a strict society?

There is an exception to this rule of absolutes, and if you are a Crum, you probably already know what I'm talking about... Spell the way it feels good. Some people might think that this is ridiculous. How could we all communicate with one and other if we didn't have a standard set for our written language. That's easy, eveyone should follow the standard set fo the written language, with the one exception of Crums. We are superior in our grasp of your language and therefore should not be bound by its lowly constraints. These standards and restrictions were obviously designed for the masses, and so let the masses stick to them. As for me, and dare I say I speak for all Crums, I will not stoop to the level of spell-checks and dictionaries. If you can't understand what I'm trying to say, it most likely wasn't meant for you anyways.

I am guessing that some will read this and find spelling and or grammatical "errors", in which case they didn't understand what my message is, and therefore have proven my point. On the flip side of that coin, if you have read, understand, agree and have not noticed any errors, then "how's it going bro!" Although traditionally there are only two sides to a coin, in this case there is a third... If you saw the picture and read the header and thought that "Relativity" had something to do with Macgyver and his grandfather Harry being "relatives", then "I'm very proud of you for being so funny, but this is my blog, so don't try to guess what I'm going to write about before you read it bro!"

Recognize this place (younger Crums may not)??

Anyone want a hotdog instead???

The Last Jihad - Joel C. Rosenberg

Maybe I shouldn't write a review of a book that I haven't finished yet, but this one is too good to wait on (I would be reading it right now, but I might get fired!) The Last Jihad is set in "a few years in the future" though it is kind of out-of-date (due to the fact that it was written before we went to war in Iraq). The story gives a great picture of what might have happened if we had not gone on the offensive with Iraq. I am not sure if I agree with the war we are currently fighting in the Middle East (I still have questions about why we are there) but one thing is clear: If we had not attacked Iraq, it would only be a matter of time before they attacked us (again?). I would tell you to check out the first chapter of this book, but be forewarned, you might not be able to stop there.

TcRuM is in the house

So now that I am finally on here I still have no clue what to write. I would write about sports, but the one team I love more than any other is garbage this year. I could write about Kalie, but then i would be boring most of you who know who she is, and those of you who don't, into a deep slumber. So I guess I will just talk about how life has been for me over these past months, cause I know that is a really exciting topic for everyone. I guess I will give you all the pleasure of reading this, because I know you are dying to know more info about me.
For starters I have finally got my new car that I had been waiting for what seems forever. It's new to me at least, but in reality it is a '98 ford escort, and I can't complain cause it gets me places. Along with my new car I have a four month old job, some may not know of, working at The Sports Authority here in Brandon. Awesome job, and I couldn't ask for anything better. What is better than making good money and being surrounded by all kinds of sports gear and fitness equipment? Some might argue their jobs with mine, but I am convinced mine is one of the best. Thank you D West! I am also attending the University of South Florida, and hopefully I will get to witness them in action for the first time soon against West Virginia, that game is going to be off the hook!! Yeah...wooooooooo whoooooo!! Go Bulls!! Sugar Bowl here we come!! So yeah that's what's goign on with me now, and things are great. Well from me to you peace.

How To Cope

It has been brought to my attention that there may be quite a few people slipping deep into depression ever since my last posting. When one comes to the realization that he/she will never be a Crum, or perhaps will not always be a Crum, this can be a very traumatic experience. Imagine going through life as Pete Thorton, knowing that you can never be Macgyver.

There is hope! Do not despair! I've already exceeded the allowable number of exclamation points in one blog!

The answer to all of you non (or ex) Crums is this: Hang around a Crum. It's amazing how beneficial just a few minutes a week with one Crum can be. Those of you who may be in the Tampa/Valrico area can't escape the positive energy created by this phenomena. Whereas anyone so unfortunate to be in Burma at this time would have to come up with creative ways to hang around a Crum (email, telephone, pen-pal, airplane ticket to Tampa). Pete Thorton didn't dwell on the fact that he was and always would be Pete Thorton, he just was happy to be Macgyver's friend.

On a seperate but related note, if certain Crums use certain words like "megalomaniacal", which other Crums have to look up in the dictionary, please just post a short defenition so as to save time. Thank you.

Can You Identify?

The Girl of His Dreams

"Jon has a what?" I couldn't believe it either...but here we have it, evidence that Jon has a girlfriend! I don't know how Jesse got a hold of this information, but somehow he did this rendering based on the inside scoop. If you look closely at the picture you can learn a few things about this girl (who's name we don't yet know): First, she is approximately the same height as Jon (7'4" or something like that). Next we see that her arms are only half as long as Jon's, and lastly she is either wearing a scarf or has some huge growth on the side of her neck. Well, great catch Jon!

Being A Crum

Being a Crum is all I've ever known.
Some people will never know what it is like to be a Crum, and that just boggles my mind. It's like never tasting chocolate, or never watching MacGyver. What would it be like to not be a Crum? I've asked several people what it feels like knowing that they are not Crums and probably never will be. I just get blank looks and muddled replies... Exactly!
I even know a few people who started out life not Crum and have since converted. When I ask them what life was like "pre-Crum" they tend to avoid eye contact and try to change the subject. I reassure them that not being a Crum didn't mean there was something wrong with them or anything like that, but I don't think I'm very convincing.
I am relatively new to blogging, so I realize I've already overstepped the depth of your average blog, so I will conclude with on last point: What would it be like to be a Crum and then one day to not be a Crum anymore?

Fire Down the Street

The other night some of my friends, my wife, and I were preparing to go caving (spelunking), one of our favorite past-times. We had assembled all our gear. Flashlights and headlamps, grubby clothing (the caves around here have soft clay floors and often have creeks running through them), and some bottled water. We were all ready, in fact we were putting our gear in to the cars when one friend, David, noticed an annoying noise. “What the heck is that?” Looking around we realized that it was the fire alarm going off in the apartment two doors down from mine. Through the open window we could see a haze of smoke and an occasional flicker of a flame. Quickly I ran up the stairs to see if anyone was home. Michal called the emergency line for the complex (it simply sent her to a voicemail-box), David called 911. We evacuated the neighbors, letting them know that there was a fire (which none of them seemed to think was a really big deal). Within 5 minutes the first fire truck arrived, soon followed by 3 or 4 other vehicles including 2 full sized fire engines. After breaking down the door and dragging in the hose, the firemen discovered the source of the smoke and flame… a burning trash can in the kitchen. I talked to the guy who lives in that apartment a couple days later and found out that his friend had flicked a cigarette butt in the trash can right before they left to return to the friend's house. The scorch mark up the side of the kitchen wall reminded me of videos I have seen of trash-can fires quickly torching an entire room.

Caving was fun. We weren't able to get out of our parking spaces to go until all the fire trucks were out of the way… but it's best to trespass on private property in the dark any way!

I pledge allegiance to the....

If you have sports related questions, what Crum do you ask?? Since I have been stereotyped as the sports trivia guy I feel I have an excuse to blog on sports related subjects, no questions asked. This shall be my first in a long line of such entries (Mom would say "Not of general interest!!").

I was recently pondering the nature of allegiance towards different teams, schools, players, etc. In this line of thought I came to several different hypotheses.

1. - We gather our allegiances from our parents.

In this thought I have a lot of personal examples. Growing up, and even now, I always find myself cheering for Penn State football. I, however, never attended Penn State, so why do I cheer for them?? Well my father, who ignited my love for sports as a young boy, always watched them and therefore I too became a Nittany Lion fan. I also cheered for his favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and pro football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now I do see the direct connection. He was born and lived his entire childhood in western Pennsylvania. I was born in Philadelphia, so I also had the PA connection. But why wouldn't I be drawn to the Eagles or Phillies?? Simple, we never watched them play. If it wasn't the Steelers or the Pirates, we didn't watch it!!

2. - Location affects allegiance.

Over the first 18 years of my life I moved around a lot, from Pennsylvania to California, then to Missouri, back to Pennsylvania, and finally to Indiana. Over this period of time I had geographical influences on my sports allegiances. I cheered for the Cardinals while in St. Louis and developed my love for hockey there as well, cheering for the Blues (I now cheer for the Philadelphia Flyers - an allegiance I do claim because it is my birth city). Before moving to Bloomington I knew about Bobby Knight and Indiana basketball, but never was a fan. Having lived here for over 10 years now, I call myself a diehard Hoosier fan when it comes to hoops. The same can be said for my pull for the Colts. Live here long enough and you will go hoarse (pun intended) for the Colts.

3. - There are atypical allegiances.

Do I still root for the Pirates? The answer is no. When I was 13 or 14 the Atlanta Braves came along and defeated the Pirates in the NLCS. From that moment on I was a Braves fan. I guess I figured that if a team could beat the Pirates they had to be good. I found myself becoming a huge Braves fan. I liked their style of play, their manager Bobby Cox, and the fact that they were good with players that came up through their own farm system, not by going out and buying the best talent and biggest names (like the Yankees).
Likewise I cheer for the Florida Gators (you can root for several teams in the same sport, but this is a topic for another entry). Since I was made aware of Steve Spurrier's high octane offense I have loved watching UF football. When my high school's quarterback, Rex Grossman, went to and performed well at UF this just added to my devotion to the Gators. Now that Rex is in the NFL I still find myself pulling for the team and checking each Saturday in the fall to see if they've won.

So what is there to make of all this? Well nothing really. I guess you can pretty much cheer for whoever you want (just ask brother David who always cheers for the opposite of everyone else). I'm just convinced that you don't always control the factors to why you cheer for a particular team. I suppose if I moved to New York City I might even cheer for the Yankees. Wait, who am I kidding, I will always hate the Yankees!!!

What Is Art

I'm here to tell you what art really is... Art is a word in the English dictionary that has been tossed around and used so freely by every single person on the planet that it's meaning has been changed and the old entierly lost. (please don't mind speeling errors) Art is now whatever you want it to be. It's a word used to make someone feel special or original. "O i'm an artist!", or "wow, look at that sweet peice of art", are just two examles of how the word is just carelessly used by any ordinary person about any less than original thing or "art".i am sick and tired of this word. I don't believe for a second that da vinci or michalangelo would feel very special being called artists when billy bob down the street spills some paint on a canvas and not only calls himself an artist but is embraced by others as such. If we as, whatever we are, wish to honor the true "artists", than i think we will need to find a new word because "artist" no longer gives anything to set them apart.

(originally posted to the bcBlog by Nate Crum)