In the past week, I took out my sea kayak (SS. Miller Samuel) and boat (dubbed “Mom Said”) for the first time this season and have started wondering if it has influenced my perception of the credit crunch. Are we already underwater? Zillow and Shiller thinks so.

Last week, the WSJ ran a fun story on page 1 by Michael Corkery called For Mortgages Underwater, Help Swims In.

>While lawmakers in Washington struggle to solve the nation’s foreclosure crisis, officials here are using a small fish to clean up some of the mess.

>The Gambusia affinis is commonly known as the “mosquito fish” because of its healthy appetite for the larvae of the irritating and disease-spreading insects. Lately, the fish is being pressed into service in California, Arizona, Florida and other areas struggling with a soaring number of foreclosures.

>The mosquito fish is well suited for a prolonged housing slump. Hardy creatures with big appetites, they can survive in oxygen-depleted swimming pools for many months, eating up to 500 larvae a day and giving birth to 60 fry a month. That can save environmental crews from having to repeatedly spray pesticides in the pools while the houses grind through the foreclosure process.

Of course, Fannie Mae wants to keep those houses occupied so fish don’t factor into the credit crunch. In James Hagerty’s article Fannie to Aid Underwater Loans:

>Fannie Mae is preparing to introduce by midyear a program of refinancing mortgages for people who owe more than the current value of their homes, a situation known as being “underwater.”

>The plan is the latest twist in efforts to contain the surge in foreclosures on homes in much of the U.S. It differs from a bill approved by the House on Thursday that would authorize the Federal Housing Administration to insure loans for distressed borrowers only after the lender has written down the principal — something many lenders are reluctant to do. Fannie’s refinance plan would result in new loans of equivalent size, leaving the borrower underwater but giving him or her a lower monthly payment or at least a fixed rate.

Of course, there can’t be a discussion about liquidity without the mention of beer and wine.

Judy Weil, editor at Seeking Alpha, posts a funny: Maybe Beer Will Help Stimulate House Sales.

>A group of real estate agents is hosting a free condominium and beer-tasting tour.

I can only imagine the liabilities the Oregon agents were subject to without thinking. Of course, wine generates the same result. It also makes me wonder about Baltimore.

To help you steer through this complicated morass, the following video will show you others that lost their cool.