Gold is in the news this week, so it's got me reflecting on this amazing metal.
Did you hear, some German diggers think they've found the Nazi Gold "Amber Room"? Yes, it's supposed to have 2 tons of gold, hidden away at the end of WWII.
Also, it was this time of year, 160 years ago, that the California Gold Rush began.
We bought the earrings in the top photo, designed by Ed Levin, at Mackerel Sky In East Lansing, a great shop for goods made by local and not-so-local craftspeople. They're my favorite earrings, I wear them all the time.
The page they're resting on is from the 1926 edition of the World Book encyclopedia, for which my grandma Olive was an illustrator. It should read "BENNETT, OLIVE N." not "M." Her middle name was her maiden name, Nelson. I kept my maiden name as my middle name too. I didn't want to give up the name I'd spent 21 years with.Click on the images to see the details better.
The illustrators didn't sign their work, so we don't know which illustrations Olive drew. I've seen a lot of her work, and this is typical, so it could be hers.
I chose the page at the top because of the information about gold. Notice it says all of the world's money in 1926 was based on $8 billion in gold, except for a few paper currencies. It wasn't too long after that year, in 1932, that President Roosevelt disconnected the US dollar from the Gold Standard so he could get the mint to print more currency and ease the Depression. Gold was taken out of circulation as coins, and that's when Fort Knox became a depository for the gold.
If you want to hear interesting information on manipulation of the gold market by central banks to make their paper currencies seem stronger, check this out.
In light of the depreciation of the US Dollar (the Euro against the dollar reached $1.52 yesterday), maybe we should invest in more Ed levin jewelry, hehe.
Let me end with this Ron Sexsmith/Chris Martin video of "Gold in Them Hills." (Thanks, Peter.)
26 comments:
"I love goooooold!" From Austin Powers 3. I like thinking about the Hart-gene of creativity and see how far back it goes. Oh and btw, that's not technically a Coldplay video, it's Chris Martin sitting in on a song Ron Sexsmith wrote. Great tune, one of my favorites of all time.
Bo, I don't remember that line! What's wrong with me?
Thanks for the correction, I wondered about that, since I didn't recognize Sexsmith's voice from other Coldplay songs. I changed the text.
Who doesn't love Ed Levin jewelry. I order from www.shopspeck.com because they offer free shipping and outside of NY you don't pay tax! Awesome!
Leigh
Nice, Leigh, thanks for the tip! I have the first pair of silver drop earrings at that site. :)
Ruth, i looked around to see if i have any gold. i found only dust and cobwebs, yes my room needs some cleaning up.
Once while traveling i was listening to my cheap chinese iPOD.
a fellow traveler asked me if i am interested in selling it. i said you will not afford it. The iPOD is cheap but whats in it is priceless.
rauf, your words remind me of the Bible verse "lay not up treasures where moth and rust corrupt," which I was also thinking of when I wrote this post.
That music is more precious than gold.
I have some white gold earrings, and my necklace--the one I never take off--is both white and yellow gold. The chain is white gold and the tiny hearts that connect the chain throughout the necklace are yellow. Other than that, I have very little gold.
Music is the sound of gold.
Ha, remember Solid Gold in the 80s? That show was awesome! I loved the Solid Gold dancers. I totally wanted to be one, but of course my small boned body and utter nerdy white girl look is the antithesis of the Solid Gold dancer. :(
Heather, we seem to use gold as the measure of richness: heart of gold, good as gold. I think a little goes a long way. But I remember standing in the Covered Bazaar in Istanbul (Kapalıçarşı) in one of the gold halls where all you could see for a mile it seemed was gold gleaming in shop windows.
Hey, you've mentioned dancers in the last two comments. I think this is a serious dream of yours! Yes, I remember Solid Gold.
Yes, if I could have started ballet lessons at age 3, I might have had a chance. Unfortunately, dance lessons were too expensive for my parents' tight budget. I've occasionally considered taking a latin dance class.
Hey Ruth, very interesting post, neat about the Amber room, guess we'll have to wait till Easter to find out for sure, also very interesting about your Grandma Olive being an illustrator for world book.
I added you to my blogroll, very cool blog.
Bob, I think there is a lot of bickering going on at the dig in Germany, and it got delayed. But we'll see what happens.
Grandma Olive was quite something as a designer. She also designed wallpaper for Thibaut and dresses for Vogue. She died when I was only 4, so I don't have memories of her.
Thanks so much for the honor of your blogroll, how cool!
Those earrings look beautiful!! sorry, being a woman thats what excites me most about this post Ruth. :).
But the rest of the article is very interesting, I will surely follow up and read all about it. Being Indians we hear from childhood the elders advising everyone to buy gold whenever they have some extra money. I dont think many follow this advise now, theres too much instant gratification needed...
But I also beleive theres something noble about this metal and silver as well. I cant tell you how many times Ive lost a gold earring on a crowded street while going to school or somewhere else, and feeling upset about it and finding it the next time Ive walked that way, and very easily too, as if it had masked itself from all other eyes. People say gold always returns to its rightful owner.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road! I like this topic and the first thing that came to mind was the Wizard of Oz and how that story is all about changing the gold standard.
Mystic, wow, that's interesting about your lost earrings. Don is the finder at our house. I can't tell you how many times he's found a lost gold earring of mine.
Don, I keep forgetting that is what The Wizard of Oz is about, even though you told me long ago. It would be interesting to read an essay about it. I think I'll google on it.
And hey, your first comment as a blogger! Whoohoo!
i like this post. you have always been able to wear gold well. i think i've probably bought you silver jewelry (black onyx?) trying to convert you, but you wear gold so well. i love those earrings. are those the ones that i found in the driveway?
i must have missed the boat on that video. says it's no longer available....
i wish i had known my great grandmother. she lives on through us, you know.
and..wait...i didn't know that's what the wizard of oz was about???
Yea, what's this about the Wizard of Oz? My gold story is about Miera Artzi, one of my life's favorite mentors. She came to work at El Azteco in a divine conspiracy of the Universe to get me out of there. She helped me get a job at LCC and sang to me, "We are the champions my friend, and we'll keep on fighting to the end..." She lifted me up and helped me to realize my goals when I was in my early twenties, which led me to bigger and better things. One of my most memorable memories of her was when she mentioned that people all have a color that represents them. I asked what my color was, and after a moment of pensive contemplation, she answered: Gold. Hmmmm.... What does that mean? I love the symbolism of it, and whenever I have an exchange with anything golden, I see my reflection in it and its reflection in me.
Thank you, Wesrey, no I don't think these are the earrings you found in the driveway.
You know I think the Harts think of you as the next generation of Olive.
Yeah, I need to read this about the Wizard of Oz too.
Oh, and sweetie, I like silver too, and I wear it. :)
Swedehart, it sounds as though you have a gold bond. (Wait, isn't that a talcum powder brand?)
An experience like you had with your mentor changed your path. Have you done that with anyone? I wonder if I've ever said anything to anyone that changed their life. This makes me want to really pay attention.
We've heard all our lives about the Streets Paved with Gold, Ruth, so one wonders about how much there might be on earth compared to heaven. Hmmm. I am definitely a gold person. I don't need anything else...no diamonds or rubies or pearls. Just gold. :)
I love this post, Ruth, even if I am a bit behind!
Your gold is beautiful, Boots. You wear it well. But it's your heart that I cherish for its true brilliance.
If anyone happens to come back and read this, here is a link to the Wizard of Oz and the allusions to the gold market stuff:
http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/wizzoz.html
For example, "Oz" is oz. = ounce!
Heather, pardon me, I thought I responded to tell you DANCE ON! You would be beautiful any way you dance. But Latin, definitely Latin! (Sorry, but I'm picturing J Lo in that awful remake of "Shall we Dance." But she was pretty hot nonetheless.)
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