Odds ‘n Sods:

Japanese canned bread: Bread that comes in a can and stays fresh for up to three years

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SurvivalBlog reader C.K. recommended the book Marion And His Men or The Swamp Fox Of Carolina. It is the true story of Francis Marion, an American Revolutionary War hero. Marion was the basis for Mel Gibson’s role as “Benjamin Martin” in the movie The Patriot

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The folks at The Daily Reckoning (one of my daily “must reads”) quoted a very telling letter from one of their readers about the U.S. housing bubble: “When you mentioned Las Vegas real estate woes, I’d like to comment further,” begins a letter from a reader. ‘I am a Phoenix real estate agent and March 2005 there were 5,000 houses on the market, March 2006 there were 35,000 houses on the market. Today there are currently 40,000 houses on the market. Staggering!'” If you don’t already subscribe to The Daily Reckoning , then I highly recommend it. Subscriptions are free.

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The month-long global stock meltdown cost investors $2 trillion. Stock prices seem to be rebounding (along with commodities prices), but it was still a stomach-churning few weeks.