Deja Vu

Have you ever done somthing for the first time, but felt like you'd done it a million times before?

Yesterday I went to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. I went for one reason and one reason alone. To see my favorite band. I waited in the same cramped spot for 5 hours, and than it happened, Boyd, Carter, Leroi, Stefan, and Dave walked on stage to the loudest roar of cheering that I have ever heard. This was the first time that I was ever seeing the Dave Matthews Band live in concert. It was an awesome show, they are trully amazing. You will never hear someone live who sings better.

But, the concert was a little bitter-sweet. This was my first time seeing them live, but I have every live cd that they have, with the exception of their latest live cd, and I have listened to these cds for the last, I don't know, 10 years of so. It was as if I was just one of the bands old friends, that I had sat in on countless concerts and jam sessions. He sounded the same as ever, Carter played the drums as good as he always does, Stefan kicked it on the bass, Boyd played his heart out on all the violin solos, and Leroi was as layed back on the sax as he always is. I could predict every move, every dance move from Dave, and all his little weird voices in between songs. I'd seen this a million times.

So, it was a mix of emotions, but I wouldn't trade those moments or emotions for anything. (There will be another post on the jazz fest when I get the pic's and video that I put on my friends camera)

He Stole Me Painting!

You all might remember this amzing work of art by the not-so-famous "artist" Nathaniel P. Crum. But, I'll bet you didn't know that a certain person, named Sandro Botticelli, reproduced this exact image and now has his "original" piece hanging in The National Gallery of Art in our nation's capitol. This fact was first discovered by Mom and Pop when they visited D.C..

(And, the answer to your question is yes... I will be suing!)

Tsotsi (sôt'sê)

I haven't been out to see a new movie (in the theater) since Michal, Jim, Annie and I went to see Firewall a couple of months ago. There are a couple out right now that I was hoping to see, Lucky Number Slevin, Thank You for Smoking, Inside Man etc... but instead Michal and I went to see Tsotsi (which is supposedly pronounced sôt'sê, but I can't figure out what that means, so I just say sot-see). The film did hold some interest for me, I had heard an interview with the director about his decision to use "Tsotsitaal", a ghetto language of Gauteng province, South Africa, as the main language of the film, but it wasn't one of those films that I was saying, "man, I've got to see this!" about. I should have been.

The film was amazing. The visual style was perfectly suited for the subject. It was raw, but not intrusive. The soundtrack fit perfectly, and the acting was superb. The most astonishing aspect of the film, though, was the story and they way you could see the change in David (Tsotsi) over the course of the 6 day period in which the film takes place.

There have been many debates about the content of films (especially films, like Tsotsi, that get an 'R' rating). This movie does have a lot of swearing (even though it is subtitled you can actually very distinctly tell what they are saying) and has some pretty violent parts too. But there is no way that you would get a feel for who Tsotsi and his gang are without this raw realism. They can't speak like Dick and Jane while simultaneously convincing you that they are ruthless gangsters.

I'm still planning on seeing MI III and will watch #Slevin when it hits video stores, but Tsotsi is a film that I will remember long after others fade from memory.

My Rating: 9/10 - Great film! Good soundtrack (I bought it right after we left the theater). Amazing story.

This review was written by Benjamin Crum

Praising God Through Pure Talent

Jon for starters this is kind of for you. Mr. Estrada, a huge role model and influence to me over the past few years has taught me many good lessons through trial and error, and just through good Christian teaching. Being a very athletic man and a major leauge scout, and the father of a very beautiful athletic girl, who i know pretty well I guess, Kalie May Estrada, it could often seem hard to people how he could praise God with all his heart, when he has so many things going his way. He knows and teaches his children, and myself, that no talent is attained without it being God's awesome will. Kalie plays for Covenant soccer, and in this her first year broke the school goal record, but who gets all the praise for that? Should it be Kalie? I would have to say God deserves the praise, and although He may not get 100% of it He does deserve all of it and more. "Use the gifts God has given and blessed you with" are words that Mr. Estrada often reminds us of. Kalie is an awesome young women, a very athletic and strong Christian, she praises God. At such a common age for people to turn from what they have been previously taught we stand firm. No matter what the subject, you will almost always find someone who gives God the deserved glory. I trust in and have Jesus as my Lord and Savior, but their is always one more step you can take in your Christian walk. I love my family, my friends, the Estadas, my church, but atop all of that is the Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope all of you can say the same. Sometimes may seem harder to trust in Him, but those are the times that if you can push through, will mean so much to your walk down the road of life. Praise the Lord for what He has done.

Anyone for a Little Taboo? (Please Read This)

Am I allowed to say, "Did you read your Bible today?"

John Frattiani asks me the same question every week when I see him at church. That and, "You want to go to Jimmy John's?"

But it shows me that John's focus on Sunday mornings is in God's Word. But while I'm talking to him, any number of Junior High/High School boys will come up to me and ask, "Did you see the game last night?"

- - - - -

I love this blog because I love my family and this is pretty much the only chance I have to communicate with my brothers who are living spread across the country: Peter, Nate, Thomas. I don't really even take the opportunity to spend time with Matt like I should and rely on this blog to hear from him.

So what do we talk about? Movies? Music? Sports?

There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with talking about what we love. And it's the undeniable truth that we Crums love movies and music and (some of us) sports.

Do we love God?

The Bible says that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. That we are to declare to the nations the good things that God has done for us.

God gave me a mother and father who love me and love Him, brothers who forgive me when I give them black eyes, brothers with the self-control to stop themselves from giving ME black eyes. He's given me life and breath and health and everything that I have.

When I post about music and movies and sports and NOT God, I am worshipping the creature and not the Creator.

Maybe this isn't the place for this kind of a post, maybe I should have put it on my blog where you wouldn't have to read it. Maybe you aren't reading it. But it needs to be said, and it's not just a topic for intellectual discussion. We should not be able to keep silent from praising God for the good things He has done. If we do, the rocks will cry out.

This, as I said earlier, is pretty much the only communication I have with my brothers. And I really don't care about your opinion on sports and movies and music COMPARED to your testimony of God's work in your life.

There's something worth talking about.

Walnut Avenue

Well, I know that I've already gotten people to guess the location from satalite images, but I was just looking at Microsoft's new Google Map clone and found this. To the average observer it would mean nothing, but to those who know this mark on the ground was once the base of a top-secret club (the name of which I will not mention online without Snake's permission).

I was just talking to another man the other day who grew up on military bases and we were reminiscing the great times we had. I love Mare Island. I would love to live there or at least go back and visit someday, preferably before they tear our house down.

And here's one that I just thought was awesome, recognize the building on the right? That's right, the Mental/Dental Clinic.

Best Ten Minutes and Fifty-One Seconds of Your Life...

Ronaldinho is sick!

The title to this entry is the link. I don't know if you guys and gals have ever seen this guy play, but he is sooooo sick. I think he might even blow Jon's moves in Ben's video out of the water, maybe. Anyway I love watching his stuff, so enjoy.

Dream Dog

A Film by Benjamin W Crum




Cast: Jon Crum, Ben Crum, Congo (The Dog).
Music by: The Lovin' Spoonful

Ch. 6 The Last

"This is by far the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me," said Scott to Angelina, "I sure hope that no one ever hears or reads about this story" (wink*).

As Scott and Angelina were conversing he happened upon somthing cool in his pocket. He drew his hand out to reveal the most beautiful copper coin that his eyes had ever seen. This wasn't saying much becasue copper as a metal is pretty ugly and the only copper coins he'd ever seen were pennies, and Honest Abe doesn't have the "most beautiful" mug in the world or anything! Scott noticed that there was some script on the coins surface. As he gazed closer he saw the inscription "make a wish and see what happens".

"Hey, look at this," he said to Angelina. As she came closer to look he told her of how he had found it earlier, and completly forgotten about it. "I could have just used this when I first found it, and it would have saved me all this trouble." He was being sarcastic. "But," came his sarcastic jabbering, "if I had used it when I first found it than you'd still be lost out here!"

"I think it's a real magic coin," came Angelina's brightening voice. "You need to make a wish."

"What... real... are you insane? How could this posibly be a REAL magic coin? That wouldn't make any sense. You must be insane!"

At that very second they walked out of the wood.

"O, look, there's a road sign. It says Arizona St. I live just two blocks over from Arizona St. I can get home before dark. We'll, I'm glad that I met you, but, I wish that none of this had ever happened..."

Just like that he was back in his two story pent house, at the begining of the story, thinking...

"Who could have ever imagined that three days could last a century."

Do You "Walk The Line"?

What does it really mean to "walk the line"? To walk the line means to keep a straight focus to what is important in your life. Here are a few ideas of what it means that I came up with: It can refer to staying on the right track religiously, by maintaining a good relationship with Jesus; finding the personal relationships throughout life that are best for you, finding the soul mate God has planned for you, or just in everyday interaction with people you meet. Through personal, recent, experiences with Kalie Estrada I have realized that you can't take things for granted, because taking things for granted means you have strayed from that line that you should be walking on; as in the greatsest movie ever made, John, played by Joaquin Phoenix, makes mistakes that stray him far from the path he should be walking. Drugs, sex, and other temptations can lead you astray so quickly you don't even realize you have sinned. I think although it is definitely a secular movie it has a lot of good qualities to it, by showing what types of things are right and wrong, and how the wrong things can keep you from "walking the line". Although I think the movie was done to the highest possible standards, the more I hear the music the more I fall in love with the movie, and John ny Cash. My favorite is "Wildwood Flower" sung by Reese Witherspoon, acting as June Carter. The movie is awesome, and i thank Matt for showing it to us. I now own the movie, and the soundtrack, and love to watch and listen to them both. I think the movie can teach you good things, and i hope that when I die I can meet Johnny Cash, if he is in heaven. I really recommend to all those who haven't seen the movie to go rent or buy it, and watch it as many times as you want. It's worth it!!