NFT is 2021 word of the year amid cryptocurrency surge, Collins Dictionary says - Fox Business - Dictionary

An NFT is proof of ownership for a unique digital item that can be bought and sold on the cryptocurrency marketplace. Here's what you need to know about buying and investing in crypto. (iStock)

Cryptocurrency has officially entered the mainstream after having a landmark year in 2021. About 1 in 6 Americans have invested in, traded or used crypto, according to Pew Research. The emerging financial tool has become so established, in fact, that a common cryptocurrency term has secured its spot in a popular online dictionary.

The Collins Dictionary word of the year is NFT, an abbreviation for a "non-fungible token" that's traded in the cryptocurrency blockchain. It beat out other timely phrases like "climate anxiety" and "hybrid working."

An NFT is a certificate that represents ownership of a digital asset, such as a work of art or collectible. Virtually any digital file can be transformed into an NFT, from GIFs and video clips to digital artworks and memes — former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's first tweet was sold as an NFT for $2.9 million, Reuters reported. 

It's difficult to understand the value of an NFT without having a base knowledge of how cryptocurrencies work. Keep reading to learn more about crypto, including whether you should borrow a loan to invest. You can compare rates on a variety of financial products on Credible's online marketplace.

IS IT BETTER TO INVEST OR PAY OFF DEBT?

What is cryptocurrency and how does it work?

Cryptocurrency, also known as crypto, is a digital currency that you can use to purchase goods and services. Unlike traditional banking systems, cryptocurrency uses decentralized blockchain technology that securely manages and records transactions. 

Among its enthusiastic supporters, crypto is seen as the currency of the future. Some of these investors see cryptocurrency as a long-term investment, betting on its eventual widespread use. Other speculators invest in crypto to cash in on its short-term gains, which can be challenging to predict.

Take bitcoin (BTC) as an example. Since the token was first introduced in 2013, it has increased in value from around $100 to about $58,000 as of Nov. 30, according to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. In the past year alone, the value of bitcoin has fluctuated between about $17,500 and $69,000.

Of course, bitcoin is just one of the thousands of cryptocurrencies currently on the market. The total value of all cryptocurrencies globally is $2.64 trillion, according to CryptoMarketCap, although bitcoin does make up the lion's share of the crypto market. These are the top 10 cryptocurrencies by total market value:

1. Bitcoin ($1.1T)
2. Ethereum ($553.9B)
3. Binance Coin ($104.7B)
4. Tether ($73.4B)
5. Solana ($64.9B)
6. Cardano ($53.3B)
7. XRP ($48.2B)
8. USD Coin ($38.7B)
9. Polkadot ($37.9B)
10. Dogecoin ($29.3B)

There's an important distinction between the cryptocurrencies listed above and NFTs. Fungible cryptocurrency tokens like bitcoin can be replaced by other fungible tokens. NFTs, on the other hand, are one-of-a-kind assets that can't be replaced, which lends to their overall resale value.

3 WAYS TO START BUILDING YOUR WEALTH EVEN WITH DEBT

Should you borrow money to invest in crypto?

With the unique growth potential offered by cryptocurrency, you may be wondering how you can get your hands on it. A recent Wall Street Journal report found that upstart lenders are offering loans backed by cryptocurrency holdings — which some borrowers are using to buy more cryptocurrency.

However, it's not recommended that you take out a loan to invest at all, let alone in a volatile asset like cryptocurrency. That's because it's highly unlikely that the money you gain by investing in crypto will offset the costs of borrowing a loan. 

While your return on investment (ROI) is based solely on speculation, the interest cost of borrowing money is guaranteed. Use Credible's loan calculator to estimate borrowing costs and see this concept in action.

SHOULD I TAKE OUT A PERSONAL LOAN TO INVEST?

3 reasons to borrow money with long-term payoffs

Although borrowing money to buy crypto isn't advisable, taking out a loan with interest isn't always a bad investment. Here are a few examples of how loans can pay off in the form of long-term financial gains and savings:

1. You're buying a home. Real estate is an asset that appreciates over time, and housing costs are typically worked into a borrower's budget regardless of whether they rent or buy. And since mortgage rates are relatively low, it's unlikely that you'll lose money buying a home as long as you borrow within your means and repay the loan strategically.
2. You need to finance higher education. Many high-paying jobs require an advanced degree or certification. In some circumstances, borrowing student loans may pay off in the form of higher earnings down the road — although this isn't always the case.
3. You're consolidating existing debt. Debt consolidation loans let you pay off high-interest credit card debt with better terms, such as a lower interest rate. A recent analysis predicts that well-qualified borrowers could save nearly $2,400 by consolidating their credit card debt. Just be mindful not to rack up more debt while you repay the loan amount.

Visit Credible to compare loan offers on a variety of financial products, including mortgages, private student loans and debt consolidation loans. It's free to compare rates, which can help ensure you're getting the lowest rate possible for your financial situation.

HOW TO INVEST FUTURE STIMULUS CHECKS

Have a finance-related question, but don't know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at moneyexpert@credible.com and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column.

Adblock test (Why?)

PEN15 Recap: Lost in Translation - Vulture - Translation

PEN15

Season 2 Episode 11

Editor’s Rating 5 stars *****

Photo: Courtesy of Hulu

Wow, what a gorgeous little short film. The Before trilogy is shaking. “Yuki” explores the life of Maya’s mom. Written and directed by Erskine, it is a love letter to the woman who raised her. Yuki even gets her own version of the credits with real-life photos from back in the day. It doesn’t get discussed much, but Mutsuko Erskine is displaced in time just like Maya and Anna. Since she’s Maya Erskine’s real-life mom, she is also playing a 20-years-younger version of herself. Maya and her mom are linked — as outsiders in this American culture, as gals with low self-image, and by being time travelers. I’ve often wondered what it’s like for Maya and her mother to reenact these old moments of discord. Surely you can’t help but get stuck in a younger you’s mind-set again. But this episode shows that Erskine sees her mother as a fully formed person with a whole Wong Kar-wai movie of longing and missed opportunities swirling around her at all times. Let’s dig into it.

The cold open is devastating. Being a merch girl at her age: a hellish proposition. Yuki sets up a table with CDs at a restaurant where Fred plays a gig. She is enraptured by her husband’s drumming until she notices that she is the only person in the room actively paying attention to the band — cue special opening credits.

Yuki starts her day in a real Marge Simpson place. She’s making breakfast for a family that isn’t entirely grateful for her efforts. What’s more, her kids make fun of her for not being able to say “Hit Clips” or “Oreo McFlurry.” Maya and Shuji are fighting all over the house. Shuji makes an expositional joke that just because they are half-siblings, Maya is not entitled to half his stuff. The line is there to remind you that Shuji’s dad isn’t Fred, but you can tell that any time Shuji distances himself from Maya in this way, it really hurts her. Girl needs some allies!

After her depressing morning of underappreciated labor, Yuki goes to the Asian grocery store. A car cuts her off, so Yuki winds up taking the handicapped spot. To sell her deception, she walks with a limp throughout the grocery store. (Inspiring to know where Maya gets her commitment to the bit.) She even keeps limping as she spies a man — a man we eventually learn is her first husband?!?!?! Who has never even met Shuji?!?!?! But with whom she still has hella chemistry!!

Shuji’s absentee dad is an enigma. Who is he? What’s his deal? He’s also a drummer, which is incredible. Mom has a type. It seems like he abandoned Yuki while she was still pregnant, and she got with Fred soon after. He considers this the “real” end of the relationship, which is some classic dude stuff. “You moved on so quickly after I abandoned you and our unborn child; that’s cold.” Okay, my guy.

Yuki and her former beau go for a walk through their regrets. The camerawork is loose and ’70s as all get out, adding to the art-film vibe of the episode. Apparently, before she was a mom, Yuki was hella cool. She worked as a translator working extensively with touring musicians, which is presumably how she met Fred back in the day. Stevie Wonder gave her a bag and made her husband mad with jealousy. I love this peek into Yuki’s past. Kids don’t think about our parents as human beings, especially ones who existed before us. This glimpse of what Yuki gave up for her family is heartbreaking, given how underwhelmed her kids seem to be with what she does for them. Later in the episode, Yuki promises to give her Stevie Wonder bag to Maya, who has no idea who that is. Girl, wait until the 1999 MTV Movie Awards. Then you’ll know who Stevie Wonder is.

It’s also really affecting to see the similarities between Yuki and her daughter. Yuki thought she was ugly, which makes the fight in “Three” that much more upsetting. Imagine your child confirming the most uncharitable thoughts you ever had about yourself without even knowing how deep that could cut.

The mother-daughter relationship is an extremely fraught one. Until now, Pen15 has mostly explored it from the daughter’s POV. “Yuki” gives its title character the chance to evaluate the choices she’s made (the kids she’s had) and decide whether it was worth it or not. She gets to feel desired in the hotel bar, even getting her own li’l dream ballet to a Dionne Warwick song that immediately went into my Spotify playlist. But when her first husband seems averse to meeting Shuji, it’s a total boner killer. Parenthood is an inherently future-oriented identity. You are stewarding the next generation, not looking back on the past or any alternate present.

Yuki leaves the old hubby passed out in his hotel room, swiping the painting he bought and giving it to the son he’ll never fucking meet. Shuji has every right to be extremely messed up about his dad noping out of his life before even meeting him. Frankly, it’s a miracle of parenting that he’s the swaggering dickhead we see. In fact, Yuki’s life, which seemed unfulfilling and lonely at the start of the episode, is actually so well set up that she can fuck off for a whole day, and things are still running pretty smoothly.

Erskine beautifully set up things in Act 1 that a veteran TV watcher would assume would cause conflict later in the episode. But instead, Fred just gets it done, almost like he’s a full partner in their relationship. Hot sauce? Purchased. That call about the tour? Not mentioned. Dinner? Dad took care of it. Husband No. 1 passed out drunk in his hotel room at 6:40 p.m. Husband No. 2 makes dinner for his kids and listens when she talks.

In bed with the Good Husband, Yuki tells a story about working as a translator. She always feels trapped between her life in America and her past in Japan. She’s always worried about being too Japanese or not Japanese enough. It echoes a lot of what Maya went through in the last episode. But the difference is that Yuki chose this life. She’s happy with it, even if her husband is gone half the year, and she’s stuck as a merch girl the other half.

Adblock test (Why?)

Dictionary.com anoints allyship word of the year for 2021 - NBC News - Dictionary

Allyship, an old noun made new again, is Dictionary.com’s word of the year.

The look up site with 70 million monthly users took the unusual step of anointing a word it added just last month, though “allyship” first surfaced in the mid-1800s, said one of the company’s content overseers, John Kelly.

“It might be a surprising choice for some,” he told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday’s unveiling. “In the past few decades, the term has evolved to take on a more nuanced and specific meaning. It is continuing to evolve and we saw that in many ways.”

The site offers two definitions for allyship: The role of a person who advocates for inclusion of a “marginalized or politicized group” in solidarity but not as a member, and the more traditional relationship of “persons, groups or nations associating and cooperating with one another for a common cause or purpose.”

The word is set apart from “alliance,” which Dictionary.com defines in one sense as a “merging of efforts or interests by persons, families, states or organizations.”

It’s the first definition that took off most recently in the mid-2000s and has continued to churn. Following the summer of 2020 and the death of George Floyd, white allies — and the word allyship — proliferated as racial justice demonstrations spread. Before that, straight allies joined the causes of LGBTQ oppression, discrimination and marginalization.

“This year, we saw a lot of businesses and organizations very prominently, publicly, beginning efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Allyship is tied to that. In the classroom, there is a flashpoint around the term critical race theory. Allyship connects with this as well,” Kelly said.

In addition, teachers, frontline workers and mothers who juggled jobs, home duties and child care in lockdown gained allies as the pandemic took hold last year.

Without an entry for “allyship,” Kelly said the site saw a steep rise in lookups for “ally” in 2020 and large spikes in 2021. It was in the top 850 searches out of thousands and thousands of words this year. Dictionary.com broadened the definition of “ally” to include the more nuanced meaning. The terms “DEI” and “critical race theory” made their debuts as entries on the site with “allyship” this year.

What it means to be an authentic ally has taken on fresh significance as buzz around the word has grown louder. One of the aspects of allyship, as it has emerged, is how badly it can go.

Among the example’s of how to use the word in a sentence cited by Merriam-Webster is this one written by Native activist Hallie Sebastian: “Poor allyship is speaking over marginalized people by taking credit and receiving recognition for arguments that the unprivileged have been making for their entire lives.”

As global diversity, equity and inclusion executive Sheree Atcheson wrote in Forbes, allyship is a “lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people.” It’s not, she said, “self-defined — work and efforts must be recognized by those you are seeking to ally with.”

Allyship should be an “opportunity to grow and learn about ourselves, whilst building confidence in others,” Atcheson added.

Among the earliest evidence of the word “allyship,” in its original sense of “alliance,” is the 1849, two-volume work, “The Lord of the Manor, or, Lights and Shades of Country Life” by British novelist Thomas Hall: “Under these considerations, it is possible, he might have heard of Miss Clough’s allyship with the Lady Bourgoin.”

Kelly did some additional digging into the history of allyship in its social justice sense. While the Oxford English Dictionary dates that use of the word to the 1970s, Kelly found a text, “The Allies of the Negro” by Albert W. Hamilton, published in 1943. It discusses extensively the potential allies of Black people in the struggle for racial equality:

“What some white liberals are beginning to realize is that they better begin to seek the Negro as an ally,” he wrote. “The new way of life sought by the liberal will be a sham without the racial equality the Negro seeks. And the inclusion of the Negro in the day-to-day work, in the organization, the leadership and the rallying of the support necessary to win a better world, can only be done on the basis of equality.”

On the other side of allyship, Kelly said, “is a feeling of division, of polarization. That was Jan. 6.” Allyship, he said, became a powerful prism in terms of the dichotomy at a chaotic cultural time during the last two years.

Other dictionary companies in the word of the year game focused on the pandemic and its fallout for their picks. Oxford Languages, which oversees the Oxford English Dictionary, went for “vax” and Merriam-Webster chose “vaccine.” The Glasgow, Scotland-based Collins Dictionary, meanwhile, plucked “NFT,” the digital tokens that sell for millions.

While Merriam-Webster relies solely on site search data to choose a word of the year, Dictionary.com takes a broader approach. It scours search engines, a broad range of text and taps into cultural influences to choose its word of the year.

Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram 

Adblock test (Why?)

New Persian translation of “The Island of Missing Trees” published - Tehran Times - Translation

TEHRAN – A new Persian translation of award-winning British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak’s 2021 book “The Island of Missing Trees” has arrived at Iranian bookstores.

Neda Rahmani is the translator of the book published by Chatrang. Another translation by Ali Salami has previously been published by the Noon publishing house in Tehran.

The novel is a rich, magical new book on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker shortlisted author of “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World”.

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. 

A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. 

Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.

Years later, a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited - her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.

A moving, beautifully written and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history and eco-consciousness, “The Island of Missing Trees” is Shafak’s best work yet.

Several of Shafak’s novels, including “The Hidden” and “Three Daughters of Eve”, have also been published in Persian.

Shafak is the most widely read female author in Turkey. She writes in both Turkish and English, and has published seventeen books, eleven of which are novels.

Her work has been translated into fifty languages. Shafak holds a Ph.D. in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the U.S. and the UK, including St. Anne’s College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. 

Shafak contributes to major publications around the world and she has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people who would make the world better. She has judged numerous literary prizes and is chairing the Wellcome Book Prize 2019.

Photo: Front cover of the new Persian translation of Elif Shafak’s novel “The Island of Missing Trees”.

MMS/YAW

Adblock test (Why?)

Dictionary.com names allyship as word of the year for 2021 - The Guardian - Dictionary

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Dictionary.com names allyship as word of the year for 2021  The Guardian

Dictionary.com anoints allyship word of the year for 2021 - Your Valley - Dictionary

By LEANNE ITALIE

NEW YORK (AP) — Allyship, an old noun made new again, is Dictionary.com's word of the year.

The look up site with 70 million monthly users took the unusual step of anointing a word it added just last month, though “allyship” first surfaced in the mid-1800s, said one of the company's content overseers, John Kelly.

“It might be a surprising choice for some,” he told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday's unveiling. “In the past few decades, the term has evolved to take on a more nuanced and specific meaning. It is continuing to evolve and we saw that in many ways.”

The site offers two definitions for allyship: The role of a person who advocates for inclusion of a “marginalized or politicized group” in solidarity but not as a member, and the more traditional relationship of “persons, groups or nations associating and cooperating with one another for a common cause or purpose.”

The word is set apart from “alliance,” which Dictionary.com defines in one sense as a “merging of efforts or interests by persons, families, states or organizations.”

It's the first definition that took off most recently in the mid-2000s and has continued to churn. Following the summer of 2020 and the death of George Floyd, white allies — and the word allyship — proliferated as racial justice demonstrations spread. Before that, straight allies joined the causes of LGBTQ oppression, discrimination and marginalization.

“This year, we saw a lot of businesses and organizations very prominently, publicly, beginning efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Allyship is tied to that. In the classroom, there is a flashpoint around the term critical race theory. Allyship connects with this as well,” Kelly said.

In addition, teachers, frontline workers and mothers who juggled jobs, home duties and child care in lockdown gained allies as the pandemic took hold last year.

Without an entry for “allyship,” Kelly said the site saw a steep rise in lookups for “ally” in 2020 and large spikes in 2021. It was in the top 850 searches out of thousands and thousands of words this year. Dictionary.com broadened the definition of “ally” to include the more nuanced meaning. The terms “DEI” and “critical race theory” made their debuts as entries on the site with “allyship” this year.

What it means to be an authentic ally has taken on fresh significance as buzz around the word has grown louder. One of the aspects of allyship, as it has emerged, is how badly it can go.

Among the example's of how to use the word in a sentence cited by Merriam-Webster is this one written by Native activist Hallie Sebastian: “Poor allyship is speaking over marginalized people by taking credit and receiving recognition for arguments that the unprivileged have been making for their entire lives.”

As global diversity, equity and inclusion executive Sheree Atcheson wrote in Forbes, allyship is a “lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people.” It's not, she said, “self-defined — work and efforts must be recognized by those you are seeking to ally with.”

Allyship should be an “opportunity to grow and learn about ourselves, whilst building confidence in others,” Atcheson added.

Among the earliest evidence of the word “allyship,” in its original sense of “alliance,” is the 1849, two-volume work, “The Lord of the Manor, or, Lights and Shades of Country Life” by British novelist Thomas Hall: “Under these considerations, it is possible, he might have heard of Miss Clough’s allyship with the Lady Bourgoin.”

Kelly did some additional digging into the history of allyship in its social justice sense. While the Oxford English Dictionary dates that use of the word to the 1970s, Kelly found a text, “The Allies of the Negro” by Albert W. Hamilton, published in 1943. It discusses extensively the potential allies of Black people in the struggle for racial equality:

“What some white liberals are beginning to realize is that they better begin to seek the Negro as an ally,” he wrote. “The new way of life sought by the liberal will be a sham without the racial equality the Negro seeks. And the inclusion of the Negro in the day-to-day work, in the organization, the leadership and the rallying of the support necessary to win a better world, can only be done on the basis of equality.”

On the other side of allyship, Kelly said, "is a feeling of division, of polarization. That was Jan. 6.” Allyship, he said, became a powerful prism in terms of the dichotomy at a chaotic cultural time during the last two years.

Other dictionary companies in the word of the year game focused on the pandemic and its fallout for their picks. Oxford Languages, which oversees the Oxford English Dictionary, went for “vax” and Merriam-Webster chose “vaccine.” The Glasgow, Scotland-based Collins Dictionary, meanwhile, plucked “NFT,” the digital tokens that sell for millions.

While Merriam-Webster relies solely on site search data to choose a word of the year, Dictionary.com takes a broader approach. It scours search engines, a broad range of text and taps into cultural influences to choose its word of the year.

___

Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

Adblock test (Why?)

Dictionary.com anoints allyship word of the year for 2021 - McDowell News - Dictionary

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Dictionary.com anoints allyship word of the year for 2021  McDowell News