Crystal

On Thursday, September 4, 2003, ALAN CHARLES CRYSTAL, loving husband of Joanne Crystal (nee Marlowe); loving father of Chad Bryan Crystal, Ryan Andrew Crystal both of Baltimore and Lisa Beth Israel of Chicago, IL; beloved son of Ruth (nee Statter) and the late Harold Crystal; devoted brother of Jan Crystal of Owings Mills and Jodi Feinstein, of Owings Mills, MD. Services at SOL LEVINSON AND BROS. INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mt. Wilson Lane, on Sunday, September 7, at 11 A.M. Interment Beth Jacob Congregation Cemetery, Finksburg, MD. Please omit flowers.

In 1776, there were an estimated 2.5 million folks living in the New Colonies. Today, there are 311 million individuals who must be included when we consider their needs and make laws. How is it that the Baltimore Sun editorial staff, the media, our politicians, experts and even the president rarely, if ever, addresses this profound condition? Population growth and its problems should be the first factor in any national logistics planning. Furthermore, do we have confidence that the framers of the Constitution could see into the future?

On April 9, 2005 CRYSTAL NORRIS; beloved mother of Abigail Norris; devoted and loving daughter of Jeanette Whipp and Alan Kane; cherished sister of Shaun, James, Jerry, Brenda and Ashley; dear granddaughter of Larry and Beulah Houck. Also survived by boyfriend Brandon Silver, many loving family members and friends. Relatives and friends may call at the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME OF LANSDOWNE, 2719 Hammonds Ferry Road, on Tuesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 1 P.M. Interment private.

There is a reason more people watched the Grammys this year than did the Oscars last year: The Oscar telecast has truly come to suck. Sunday night's 84th Annual Academy Awards was actually painful to watch. I cannot think of any major TV franchise that has become so disconnected from cultural relevancy as the Oscar telecast has in recent years. And this one with Billy Crystal was truly pathetic. As I listened to Crystal doing schtick from Las Vegas circa 1960, I wondered if in 1917 Russia the czar had a comedian like Crystal working the palace in St. Petersburg, telling tired jokes from the 19th Century to keep those inside the crumbling walls of privilege distracted from the Bolsheviks in the streets who were about the change the world.

On October 17, 2005 HARRY J. CRYSTAL dear brother of the late Rose Marie (nee Crystal) and her husband Jerome C. Trueschler; loving uncle of Jo Marie and Thomas J. Trueschler; cherished grand-uncle of Hannah and Jo Ellen Trueschler. Relatives and friends may call on Thursday from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens Mausoleum Chapel, at which time a funeral service will be held. Interment Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 43025, Balto.

On Wednesday, May 4, 2005, CRYSTAL K. (nee Micken) WILLIAMS, age 68, of Cockeysville; beloved wife of Charles F. Williams for 40 years; devoted mother of Beth Gibbs, Mark Williams and Jennifer Williams; sister of Marcia Ryan and Robert Micken; grandmother of Tim, Jordan, Robbie, and Gary. Friends may call at the family owned Peaceful Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Center, P.A., 2325 York Road, Timonium, on Saturday, May 7, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M., with a Funeral Service beginning at 8 P.M. Interment private.

A fist-sized chunk of clear quartz that was just a curiosity when archaeologists found it eight years ago in Baltimore's Carroll Park is now being described as a relic of West African spiritual practices among Maryland slaves.Calling it "a window to the soul," Carroll Park Foundation officials and archaeologists unveiled the rock crystal yesterday at the park's Mount Clare Mansion, where it is now on display.The discovery "shows that people did hold values that were traditionally from their native [West African]

Richard Gere talking Tibetan politics, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon analyzing U.S. immigration policy, Geena Davis wearing a dress only she could wear plus wooden tributes and lots of kitsch.The telecast of the 65th annual Academy Awards last night was very, well, Hollywood in its stranger and flakier moments. But, more than anything else, it was a surprisingly flat TV show.Maybe it was just that expectations were so high after Jack Palance's one-armed pushups and Billy Crystal's brilliant running commentary on Palance and the pushups last year.

This is hard to believe -- an Oscar telecast with nothing to really complain about.If Billy Crystal had the flu last night, maybe he should get sick more often. Crystal was funny, smart and smooth as host of the show. Following a pointless opening montage of Hollywood Past that bode ill for the evening, Crystal came on stage and turned it around in minutes with a clever parody of the traditional opening musical number.The telecast itself was flexible enough to allow for some of the genuine flakiness of Hollywood -- such as Jack Palance's getting down on the stage and doing one-arm push-ups in the middle of his acceptance speech for the Best Supporting Actor award he received for his role in "City Slickers."

CHICAGO - "America's Most Dangerous Drug," blares the cover story in Newsweek. If you haven't been paying attention, you might wonder what drug the magazine has in mind. Tobacco, which kills more than 400,000 people each year? Alcohol, which contributes to thousands of traffic fatalities? Crack, which spawned a wave of violent crime in the 1990s? Heroin, which was supposedly an epidemic a few years ago? Answer: none of the above. America's most dangerous drug of the week is methamphetamine, better known as crystal meth.

Chandeliers were the first thing Joe Niermann designed. And it was five years before he sold one. Now the bejeweled iron and crystal silhouettes are his signature. "I don't really care for the crystals, one way or the other," said Niermann, though millions of them are stored in large paint buckets in the Millersville strip mall he converted into the Niermann Weeks company factory. "I want the design to be strong enough so that it doesn't need crystals. " But it is the crystals — from tiny, man-made beads imported from the Czech Republic to the fist-sized rock crystals found in nature — that identify Niermann's light fixtures, some as small as a wall sconce and others 6 feet tall and 6 feet across and weighing 300 pounds.

The realization didn't hit Bill Haas until after he clambered onto the balcony next to East Lake's 18th green late Sunday. Two trophies flanked PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem for the closing presentation. One was for the Tour Championship, which Haas had just won in a three-hole playoff with Hunter Mahan. The other was the FedEx Cup. No one else seemed to be joining them on stage. "I didn't know I had won this," Haas told the commish, nodding toward the FedEx Cup. "Congratulations, you won both," Finchem said.

They are auctioning Elizabeth Taylor's jewels at Christie's in New York in December, and they expect the finest of them — about 260 pieces — to bring in some $30 million. But that's just a tiny part of what she left behind. In October, the estate of John Wayne — responding to fan requests that remain strong since his death more than 30 years ago — is auctioning off some of the large collection of movie memorabilia it holds. Everything from his Golden Globe for "True Grit" to the eye patch he wore in the movie.

One of the foolish things in which local governments often involve themselves is enforcing arbitrary rules about the aesthetic value of aspects of people's homes or businesses. Across the country, there are various requirements that houses can only be painted certain colors, doors must be wooden, windows must appear historic, siding must be horizontal (or vertical, depending on the street), etc., etc. Recently Delaware officials tore down some poor guy's basketball hoop, which had been there for more than a decade.  Well, the latest example of the arbitrary aesthetic police comes from our neighbors in Florida.  Linda Downey, the owner of a restaurant called "Taste of Philly," says she was recently cited by her town for flying -- wait for it -- too many patriotic flags on the side of her store.  Apparently, in Crystal River, you're allowed to fly three patriotic flags, but no more.

In a remorseful letter to her mother, a 23-year-old pregnant woman accused of burglarizing her parents' home described how her heroin habit had overshadowed her sense of right and wrong. "I'm sorry for everything that I have done to you," Crystal Ann Evans wrote in the letter, reproduced in court documents after her Feb. 14 arrest. "It really wasn't me, the drug took over my life!" Evans is one of two women picked up by police in connection with a string of crimes in recent months in the Baltimore County countryside that prompted some residents to arm themselves.

Crystal palace baltimore Team will not play next season, eyes return in 2012 Crystal Palace Baltimore announced Friday that it will not be fielding a team in the North American Soccer League during the 2011 season in order to restructure with an intended relaunch for the 2012 NASL season. The relaunch will include a complete rebranding of the club to coincide with opening a soccer facility in downtown Baltimore. In addition, the club announced that it is ending its four-year relationship with Crystal Palace FC of England's Championship Division.

I probably won't make the four-hour drive to see comedian Billy Crystal make his exhibition debut for the New York Yankees tomorrow in Tampa, but I'll definitely check the box score to see whether he goes deep against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crystal isn't the first celebrity to suit up with a major league team in the spring, but he might be the oldest. Thursday is the day before his 60th birthday. I'd be in favor of something similar taking place at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, but I'm afraid if a big star showed up at Orioles camp, Andy MacPhail would try to trade him for five prospects.

LANDOVER -- You've seen him dancing on promotional spots for ESPN's "SportsCenter." And you've seen him pushing a fictitious "Gheorghe Muresan Cologne" in a hilarious Snickers ad.But are you ready for Gheorghe Muresan, movie star?Get ready, because the Bullets' 7-foot-7 center will join athletes such as Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal when he stars in a movie "My Giant" that will begin filming in Italy in June. The project has been talked about for nearly two years. Actor Billy Crystal broke the news to Muresan on Saturday that they are ready to move forward with the project.

Et Cetera Yoshitake's late goal gives Palace Baltimore 1-0 win at Minnesota Tsuyoshi Yoshitake scored in the 86th minute, and Crystal Palace Baltimore (4-7-3) beat the NSC Minnesota Stars (6-9-2), 1-0, in a grueling USSF D-2 Pro League matchup littered with fouls and yellow cards Sunday night in Blaine, Minn. MLS: Rookie Andy Najar scored in the 54th minute to help D.C. United (3-9-2) tie, 1-1, with the San Jose Earthquakes (5-4-4) on Saturday.

Soccer Palace Baltimore to hold viewing party for U.S.-Ghana Crystal Palace Baltimore, in conjunction with ASG Sports, will hold a viewing party for the U.S.-Ghana game Saturday in the World Cup round of 16 before its own home game against the Minnesota Stars at Calvert Hall's Paul Angelo Russo Stadium. The viewing party will begin at 2 p.m., and Palace Baltimore's game is set for a 5 p.m. kickoff. Et Cetera Baltimore's Fain to play for world title in women's football Tarsha Fain , a Baltimore native and a member of the USA Football women's national team, will be embarking for Stockholm with her team to compete in the women's world championship.