Lindens, the New World Reserve Currency????

$L

A reserve currency, in its purest definition, is a currency held in large sums by major central banks in many countries. It must be a currency they can sell or trade without limitation, and, for it to be recognized as reliable, it must be issued by a very large and historically stable economy. It then tends to become the pricing medium for products traded internationally, and for commodities such as oil, gold, etc.

While World War II was still raging, the Allied powers prepared to rebuild the international economic system. Hence the Bretton Woods Agreement, which established the International Monetary Fund, now part of the World Bank. In the agreement, 44 countries agreed to make the dollar the anchor currency for the new economy, effectively ending the long-standing hegemony of the British Pound Sterling. The agreement was that U.S. dollars could be exchanged at a fixed rate for gold. This left out input from a lot of countries, but they were in no position to bargain. (LOL, I'm such a Jingoist :=P)

After WW II, European countries and Japan deliberately devalued their currencies against the dollar in order to boost exports to the only customer left standing and to encourage development.

Foreign aid money flowed out of the U.S. through the Marshall Plan. We ramped up defense-spending for the Cold War, and we bought lots and lots of foreign goods. By 1960, the number of U.S. dollars in circulation began to exceed the amount of gold backing them up. On August 15, 1971, the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the dollar to gold. As a result, Bretton Woods officially ended and the dollar became a "fiat currency," i.e., a currency backed by nothing but the promise of the issuing government.


That did not change the dominance of the dollar. The top reserve currency is selected by the banking community for the strength and stability of the economy that backs it. A currency might be abandoned for a currency issued by a larger or more stable economy, but this can take a relatively long time. And there must be a viable and widely recognized alternative.

The United States dollar is the most widely held reserve currency in the world. Throughout the last decade, an average of two thirds of the total allocated foreign exchange reserves of countries have been in U.S. dollars. The euro is the second most widely held, and the euro share has risen slightly, but the trend is not pronounced.

Foreign held dollars represent interest free debt for the U.S. Asian nations have assumed more and more U.S. debt, buying up bonds and holding dollars. This is specifically to prevent their currencies rising against the dollar and undercutting their booming exports to the U.S. This debt is huge. Trillions and trillions. And it's scary. Speculators could wage war on the dollar. Arab states are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil. And lots of investors in gold and silver want you to buy gold and silver :=)

But let's face it... Most ppl predicting the demise of the dollar are really just trying to sell you other things at inflated prices or sell you things in quantities that WILL inflate their prices. (And all of them are happy to accept dollars in payment.) Other currencies are still pegged to the dollar. Banks achieve security by investing in multiple currencies. One devalues, another increases. The probable scenario is a gradual process of diversification into other currencies such as the euro, not a precipitous sell-off of dollars in a switch to something else.

But what if there WERE TO BE a new world reserve currency?? What COULD replace the dollar as the world reserve currency? I, for one, advocate the Linden. I have several reasons:

1 - It has recently shown serious gains against the dollar. It is now worth $.00406 - WOW.

2 - The Linden is backed by the precious commodity, vaporware. You've heard of the rare earths used in everything from computers to car mufflers?? Well vaporware is like that. It is essential to Linden technology. Trust me, SL is full of big ideas that will revolutionize the way you play. Look at V2.

3 - Vaporware II? Where else can you sell land the doesn't REALLY exist? (Well, of course you can. But where else is it legal?)

4 - Vaporware III? You can even sell thin air - air not even having the added value of being pumped at a gas station. You can buy air to live in or do business in up in the sky.

5 - In 2009 the total size of the Second Life economy grew to US$567 million, about 25% of the entire U.S. virtual goods ("vaporware") market.

6 - Vaporware is rapidly becoming indispensable as well as precious. No one in the world can live without it. It's central to much entertainment.

7 - The Linden has a unique status in the world economy. After all, there are some words you never hear in SL - bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, hustle, scam, scheme, swindle, bamboozle. Hmmm.

8 - The Linden is a terrific tax shelter. (At least so long as no one is looking, and no one has.)

9 - You will never see a sign in SL that says "We do not accept Lindens." And I don't care WHAT country you THINK you're in.

10 - Lindens are far more widely recognized than Monopoly money. Or chocolate doubloons.

Hmmm... If you're smart, you'll help keep the dollar from falling!!!

BE A TIGHT ASS!!!
(No, that's not mine... sigh...)

Arán Sóide

Love It or Leaven It

Many Europeans (Poles, Germans, Serbs) and people of various other cultures have used soda to leaven their bread. Some of the earliest known users were American Indians who used pearl-ash (potash, a natural soda in wood ashes) in their breads to make them rise. Pearl Ash was used prior to 1800 to make cakes by combining it with an acidic ingredient in the dough. One such ingredient is buttermilk and another is sour milk, both of which provide lactic acid. Whether or not it was invented by Native Americans, soda bread was known to be popular in the U.S. a long, long time ago.

Actual bread soda was introduced in the early 1800s, and it made it easy for people who had no oven and could not store perishable (and therefore relatively expensive) yeasts to make bread. The bread could be cooked in a “bastible” — a big cast-iron pot with a lid that would be put directly on the fire, or on a “bakestone’ which hung above the fire.

It’s not known exactly when soda bread came to Ireland, but it’s pretty clear that the Potato Famine which began in 1845 spurred its popularity. How did this bread become identified with the Irish? A state of poverty made it the easiest bread to put on the table.

Traditional soda bread was made of flour, soda, salt, and buttermilk. It was often round, and a cross cut into the top functioned in several ways… It let the devil out (if he was in there), allowed air to circulate and promote rising, and made it easy to break into four pieces. The other typical form is, of course, the loaf. As we know, other ingredients are often added for special occasions, such as St. Paddy’s Day, or to suit personal taste.

This version of soda bread might be called by some, a spotted dog. But it isn’t. :=P

Sheila's Soda Bread (one loaf)

3 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups currants or dark raisins

2 eggs beaten

2 tbsp melted butter

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in currants or raisins. Combine eggs, buttermilk, and shortening. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, and mix just until flour is moistened. Turn batter into greased loaf pan,

5 1/4 by 9 1/2. Bake at 350F about 1 hour.

Remove from pan immediately. Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.

Da Bears...

Bear down, Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have captured nine NFL Championships – eight NFL Championships and one Super Bowl – second most all-time behind their arch-rivals, the Green Bay Packers. The Bears' rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921.

The Bears hold the NFL records for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (26) and the most retired jersey numbers
(13). The Bears have also recorded more regular season and overall victories (704) than any other NFL team.

One famous victory was their 73–0 victory over the favored Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium in the 1940 NFL Championship Game; the score is still an NFL record for lopsided results. The secret behind the one-sided outcome was the introduction of a new offensive tactic by George Halas: the T-formation.

The Chicago Bears fight song, "Bear Down, Chicago Bears," was introduced in 1941. Though Jerry Downs is listed as the composer, it actually is an alias for Al Hoffman who also wrote the words and music for the song "If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake."

Bear down, Chicago Bears!
Make every play clear the way to victory!
Bear down, Chicago Bears!
Put up a fight with a might so fearlessly!
We’ll never forget the way you thrilled the nation, with your T formation.
Bear down, Chicago Bears, and let them know why you’re wearing the crown
You’re the pride and joy of Illinois.
Chicago Bears, bear down!

FYI - Do Bears poop in the woods? Yes. Do bears poop as they hibernate? No. Bears the only mammals that do not pee or poop for the entire time they are in their winter sleep. Hopefully, tho, they will poop on Green Bay on Sunday!!!! :=P

Michele and I Wish You a Happy 2011!

_________________________________________________________

Another original poem by me:

Time does not know it passes.
It does not know how to measure itself.
But we know time...

We see it in the sun and the moon.
We see it in the stars.
We see it in the seasons.
We see it in layers of earth, rings of trees.
We see it in our faces.

We have devised measures of time.
We have seconds, minutes, hours, days...
When a year ends, we make a lot of noise!!!!


GOODBYE TO THE OLD YEAR, HELLO TO THE NEW!

Plum Pudding - an Underrated Treat

Where's the "pud" ????

Okay, you missed "Stir It Up" Sunday, but there's still time to make your Christmas pudding! Of course, maybe you made it last year, for consumption this year, but probably you didn't, and maybe, just maybe, that's too long to keep it.

Christmas pudding (a.k.a. plum pudding) is an ancient but much maligned delicacy. Its origins go back to the 15th century and perhaps even to Roman times. In times gone by, to preserve animal feed (which you might want to eat yourself), excess cattle were slaughtered in the fall. Meats not immediately consumed were cooked with fruits into pies for preservation (i.e., mincemeat), at least into the beginning of winter. This resulted in LOTS of pies, just in time for Christmas. Prunes were incorporated into the mixture, hence the notion of plum pudding. At some point there was a divergence of the savory and the sweet. Mince pies were still made, but new techniques were more frequently used to preserve meats. At the same time, the sweet pudding got sweeter, and the plum pudding we now know eventually took shape in Victorian England.

I have a theory or two about why it has a bad reputation. First, it should be taken in small doses, not the larger portions we are accustomed to for dessert. A little goes a VERY long way. Second, it traditionally relies upon suet as the shortening used. This doubtless, and very reasonably, resulted from its meat pie origin.

"What," some might ask, "is suet?" Most of us were told about suet, for some strange reason, in grammar school. (I think it had something to do with explaining "pemmican." We all know what pemmican is, LOL.) Anyway, suet is raw beef or mutton fat - hard fat found around the loin and kidneys. For many, this is not appetizing. Nevertheless, it can be obtained easily from butchers. Those who wish to eat it are advised to tell the butcher it will be used in cooking, not to feed birds :=P

My advice is: USE BUTTER!!! And I don't mean margarine. Some would say this makes it an Irish plum pudding. To them I say, yeah!!!

Ingredients

* Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
* Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
* 1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
* 1 cup sultanas
* 1 cup raisins
* 1 heaped tablespoon chopped almonds
* 1 heaped tablespoon chopped glacé cherries
* 1 tablespoon chopped mixed glacé peel
* ½ cup soft, dark brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons mixed spice (equal parts cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg,
and ginger - maybe some allspice)
* 3 tablespoons brandy

* 1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
* 1 cup flour
* 1¼ teaspoons baking powder (added to flour)
* pinch salt (added to flour)
* 2 eggs, beaten together
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 4 oz (1 stick) butter

Preparation

If you ever enjoyed a plum pudding from Marshall Field's (a now defunct Chicago institution), you doubtless have one or more lovely madder or blue ceramic pudding bowls. If not, any pudding bowl will do. A tight lid is desirable if available. You will grease the bowl with butter before adding the pudding.

Mix together the first 11 ingredients, including the brandy, in a large bowl. Cover and leave for several hours or overnight.

Combine the breadcrumbs with the fruit mix. Blend the flour, eggs, salt and butter together, add it to the fruit mix and stir well. If the mixture seems dry add a teaspoon or two of milk.

Put the mixture into the pudding bowl and cover tightly using the lid or several layers of wax paper held in place with string. Place the bowl in a saucepan large enough to accommodate it, and add water to about two thirds up the side of the pudding bowl. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Cover the saucepan. Simmer like this for about 6 hours. You will probably need to add water.

The cooked pudding will keep indefinitely. When it is needed, steam it for about 2 hours in the bowl. Flambé with brandy, and serve with hard sauce.

You can buy hard sauce in a jar, or you can make your own::

* ¼ teaspoon vanilla
* 1 tablespoon half-and-half
* 2 tablespoon brandy
* ¼ cup unsalted butter
* ⅔ cup confectioners' sugar

Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy and has turned pale in color, about 5 minutes.

Add the sugar a little at a time, stirring continuously, until incorporated.

Add the brandy, half-and-half and vanilla, stirring continuously until well blended (the sauce should be smooth).

Cover and refrigerate until needed. Serve at room temperature.

To flambé, warm a small amount of brandy slightly, then light it and pour it over the pudding when you bring it out. This is done to create an impressive visual presentation and introduce drama into the finale of the meal. But not too much. Unless you're a terrorist or otherwise want to blow your home to smithereens, DO NOT use that 150 proof rum. Never use overproof liquors of any kind in cooking or near an open flame. And don't drink them undiluted as they can be harmful to the human body.

Mad* Trite, and VERY Annoying

*Meaning similar to wicked or hella (neither of which have become trite yet, I don't think).


I could almost scream!!!!

These are the 12 most annoying expressions I hear almost every day, not in order of their frequency or anything else:

too much on my plate -Too busy (lazy) to take on more responsibility; only thinks about eating and is prolly full of whatever is on her plate.

on the same page - To look at an issue from the same perspective. (If it's the same book :=P )

no problem - What's no problem? Being nice? Doing your job? Are you too haughty to say "you're welcome"?

that's just wrong - Egregiously (or impossibly), but often just humorously, wrong... But sometimes it isn't wrong at all, just wrong. (I sorta like this one. It could have a permanent place in our idiomatic lexicon).

don't go there - When this is said, you are usually already on the subject to be avoided... Otherwise, self explanatory.

think outside the box - Hackneyed, but this one will stay with us. (Do the "Nine Dots Puzzle," a.k.a. the "Christopher Columbus Egg Puzzle." The solution lies outside the square.)

my bad - Baby talk... I did it, but don't hold me responsible. Use of an adjective instead of the noun "mistake" is intended to be cute, I guess.

go for it - Do I need your permission?

you go, girl - A portable Feminine Urination Device (FUD) http://www.go-girl.com/what-is-gogirl.asp. Allows a woman to pee anywhere, but provides no privacy. (Available in pink or camouflage.)

too much information - Usually not too much, just something you don't want to see, hear, etc., because it is distasteful, or like the You Go Girl FUD, just shouldn't be discussed in normal conversation.

I am not going to lie to you - Huh? I thought you were. (If you need to state that what you tell me next is not going to be a lie, you must have serious credibility problems.)

at the end of the day - Means when everything has been taken into consideration, this is the important thing... It took you a whole day? Or will it be an evening affair?

~~~

Though I have a very full plate, at the end of the day, it was no problem to think outside the box and devise a twelve-step program to limit your use of such expressions:


- Recognize that you have a problem habit (if you do).

- Pay Attention to when you use these phrases and how they sound.

- What is your reason for using the particular phrase?.

- Know that you want to stop to improve your presentation of self.

- Make a commitment.

- Learn to express yourself more effectively... not easy.

- Accept responsibility - only you can do this.

- Enlist support.

- Find suitable phrases for reflex situations.

- Punish yourself.

- Reward yourself.

- Persevere.

I’m not gonna lie to you. It’s difficult to change one’s habits. But that's all folks! I’m leaving the hard stuff up to you. Go for it! LOL.

Götterdämmerung

A lot of you have asked me about my name (pronounced Gutrune, gʊd'rūn'), and I usually point out that I named myself after a favorite actress, the lovely Gudrun Landgrebe (not well known in the U.S.). The original Gudrun, however, was a major figure in Norse mythology. She was really a very sweet person, but sometimes bad things happen to nice people. I hope this summary of the legend isn't too boring.

Gudrun (Guðrún Gjúkadóttir) had two brothers and a half brother: Gunnar, Hogni, and Gotthorm.

In the tale, Gudrun, who is without husband, falls in love with Sigurd. Sigurd himself is in love with the valkyrie Brynhilde, and pays no attention to Gudrun. Gudrun's brother Gunnar, however, wishes to marry Brynhilde, and this is impossible because Brynhilde has sworn to marry only a man who can defeat her in combat. Only Sigurd can do this. **SIGH**

Gudrun's ever-helpful mother provides a potion to make Sigurd forget his love for Brynhilde and recognize Gudrun's beauty and passion for him. However, Gunnar, exrecising his authority as Gudrun's brother, will allow Sigurd to marry Gudrun only under the condition that Sigurd also win Brynhilde for him. **DOUBLE SIGH**

Sigurd does this. Disguised as Gunnar, he passes Brynhilde's test, and an astonished Brynhilde accepts him as a suitor. The two queens, Gudrun and Brynhilde, are married on the same day.

Later, Brynhild and Gudrun are bathing together in the Rhine River (apparently comparing racks). Brynhilde comments that the water washing Gudrun will soon wash a greater beauty (herself?). Gudrun, more than a little annoyed at the remark, clues Brynhilde in. When Brynhilde learns that she had been tricked into marrying Gunnar, she plots revenge and (ashamedly) tells Gunnar that Sigurd had overstepped the bounds of propriety with her. Naturally, Gunnar gets very angry, and he has Sigurd killed (by Gotthorm). The vengeful Brynhilde goes on to kill Sigurd's three-year-old son, and wills her own self to die. When Sigurd's funeral pyre is aflame, Brynhilde throws herself upon it – thus passing on together into the realm of Hel.

Poor Gudrun is completely overwhelmed. Wracked with sorrow and delirious with grief, she predicts the death of her brother Gunnar. Out of her wits, she goes to live in the forest.

Meanwhile, King Atli's (Attila the Hun's) Hunnic Empire continues to grow. Although Atli had overthrown the Goths and seized many treasures, legends of gold and the beauty of Gudrun (YES!!!!) catch his interest. Atli wants both, and his Huns hasten westward.

Though not looking, our poor widowed queen has found another king to marry. Urged on by her mother, she marries Atli. Foremost in Atli's mind, however, is the rumored gold. Atli and Gudrun go to live in Hunland.

Eventually, obsessed by the idea of the gold, and thinking he can somehow get his hands on it , Atli summons Gunnar and his brother Hogni to Hunland. His herald claims that the King of the Huns wishes only for their assistance. He is growing old and wants his sons by Gudrun, Erp and Eitill, to have strong protectors after his death. He implies that Gunnar and Hogni might one day rule the Hunnic Empire in their names. Although Gunnar suspects a trap, he and Hogni make the trip.

When Gunnar and Hogni reach Hunland, the real reason for the invitation becomes apparent. At first Atli demands gold as the price for their lives. His huns burst out and rush them from their mead hall, but the brothers beat back the attack.

Seeing that the brothers are powerful fighters, he shifts tack to the idea that, since Gudrun is now his wife, they owe him the gold in compensation for Sigurd's death. Gunnar and Hogni know this is not Gudrun's idea, and besides the battle has already begun. They call upon their Goth allies amongst the huns, and carnage ensues in a battle for the mead hall. They capture Atli. Gudrun, however, pleads for his life. Mocking him as an unfit warrior, they let him go.

Atli then goes throughout the countryside rallying his warriors who return to beseige the mead hall. Finally they burn it forcing out the defenders and taking Gunnar and Hogni into captivity. Gudrun pleads for them, but Hogni is killed and Gunnar is cast into a pit of adders. Gudrun sends Gunnar a harp, and the music stills the snakes, except one, which bites him... Gudrun hears him cry out as he dies. Gudrun is once again heartbroken and furious.

There are Viking funerals for Gunnar, Hogni, and the fallen Huns, and a funeral feast is readied in the remains of Atli's mead hall and palace.

NOW FOR THE GOOD PART:

Finally appearing at the feast, Gudrun presents two goblets to her husband, toasting his health.

As he drinks deep from the goblets, Atli feels regret over the loss of the gold. However, he also feels satisfaction that Gunnar is dead. Gudrun then announces that, in vengeance for her brothers, she has slain their sons Erp and Eitil. The goblets were made from their skulls and had been filled with a mixture of their blood and honey. The remnants of their bodies have been fed to Atli's hounds. As the mead hall explodes in horror and anguish, Atli turns pale and falls into a swoon. He is carried to his bed, as sick though he had been poisoned.

Gudrun is not yet done. She enters his bedroom, wakes him, and drives a knife into his breast. She then sets fire to the hall.

Full of sadness and remorse and detesting her life, she tries to drown herself by jumping into the sea with an armful of stones. The waves find her revenge fitting, however, and instead of drowning her, carry her to Sweden, where she marries another king, Jónakr.
______________________________________________
N.B. ~ "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" is a reference to Brynhilde's famous death on the pyre in the opera Götterdämmerung. It means we should not assume the outcome of an activity. It plays upon an American working class perception of Grand Opera with overweight sopranos singing Brynhilde's final arias.

Various name spellings:

Atli = Attila
Brynhilde = Brynhildr, Brünhild, Brunhilde, Brunnhilda
Gudrun = Gutrune
Gunnar = Gunther
Hogni = Hagen
Sigurd = Siegfried


SOURCE: Various Wikipedia articles