By: Barbara Lipkin

Although many poo poo the printed words of newspapers, I have read some excellent articles recently in the Los Angeles Times. Yesterday on Super Bowl Sunday, Rosanna Xia interviewed Gil Elbaz notorious for co-founding Applied Semantics Inc. This company built technology that connects related online subject matter and was purchased by Google in 2003 for $102 million.

What I found most interesting though, is Elbaz’s perspective on work and motivation. He describes a summer job during college when he sold vacuum cleaners door to door. He discovered that 1 out of every 10 people would buy a vacuum and he earned a $200 commission. He turned that around by saying he was earning $20 for each presentation. Today, he is the founder and chief executive of Factual Inc., a company that aggregates and organizes huge amounts of online data. Obviously he is hugely successful. However, his perspective is valuable for all of us.

Attention Calabasas Homeowners

By: Barbara Lipkin

Time flies. It is almost February 1st as we enjoy incredible California sunshine-another day in paradise. Fortunately, Lew Sichelman reporting in this Sunday’s LA Times, has reminded us that tax relief on mortgage debt forgiveness ends in 2013. The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 allows taxpayers to “exclude from income the discharge of debt on their principal residence”. Although, homeowners have until the end of 2012, it may very well take up to 11 months to persuade banks to foreclose or sell homes for a lesser value than they are worth. With short sales taking months, it is time to remind our short sale sellers to get their properties on the market if they want to take advantage of “the most important tax-relief provisions enacted by Congress during the housing crisis to help financially strapped homeowners” per Mr. Sichelman. Definitely something to consider.

From humble beginnings to a successful hair-care empire

By: Barbara Lipkin

At this time of year, we all think back about what we can do to improve our lives- health, business, family. I was inspired this weekend by an interview in last Sunday’s Los Angeles Times written by Ronald D. White. He wrote about John Paul DeJoria, co-founded and CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems. It was educational to  learn about his life. Each time he was fired, he tried something else. In one case, it was because he made more money the first year than the owner of the company. He lived in his car at one time. I laughed when he said one should pick a friendly street when you live in your car. His persistence was inspiring. Among his advice:

• Keep trying
• Don’t give up
• Like your work

What an amazing person with great advice this time of year!

To read the full story go to: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/22/business/la-fi-himi-dejoria-20120122

By: Barbara Lipkin

A huge number of iPads were sold this year. They were definitely an item on Christmas wish lists. And now they can solve crimes. Those lucky iPad & iPhone owners know they should activate the app to FIND their iPad or iPhone. This tracker helped solve 2 home burglaries & saved Christmas for 2 families.

A Westlake Village resident was awakened by noise at 3:30 AM on Christmas Day.  He spotted the intruder who ran away.  His home had been burglarized & among items stolen was an Apple iPad.  He called the Sheriff’s Station & told deputies the stolen iPad was giving a signal from a nearby house. Not only did they recover the iPad but also arrested the suspect.  He is a resident of Vista who was visiting the area.

Our wonderful  & smart Malibu/Lost Hills deputies and detectives conducted a thorough follow-up investigation, which led them to information regarding a burglary which occurred in Vista, on December 22, 2011. Two flat-screen televisions, a laptop computer, and more than 40 Christmas presents belonging to children were stolen in the burglary in Vista.

They contacted San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies who police the community of Vista.  They conduced a search inside the suspect’s home in Vista.  They found all of the stolen property from the Vista burglary.

The Vista victim began to cry when she was told the good news.“Deputy Brower saved Christmas!”

Using this app on the iPad saved Christmas for two families.  I think that is something to be thankful for – technology can help solve crimes..

Lynn Zwerling helps an inmate during her weekly "Knitting Behind Bars" program at the Maryland prison system's Pre-Release Unit in Jessup. (Karl Merton Ferron, Baltimore Sun / October 27, 2011)

Knitting is a wonderful way to relax and enrich your creative side. It is also a great way to give back to your community in terms of donations of baby hats, blankets for foster children, caps for chemotherapy patients.

Now knitting and crochet will be walking the red carpet on the coattails of the Kardashian name. A major yarn producer has entered the keyword name game to sell their luxury yarns. Creative use of trending celebrities is being used to grab attention. Word has it from the BlackStitch that Tahki S.Charles yarns is introducing Kourtney, Khloe, and Rihanna soon. New yarns with hot topic, highly searched celebrity names are sure to be winners with young knitters and crochet crafters. The naming of yarn gets an entirely new meaning for its initial online success, but the proof of the pudding lies in the finish, the way the yarn performs on needles and hooks.

In my mind, Knitting has much more value than having yarn named for celebs.

In 2009, a 67- year old woman started teaching Maryland prisoners to knit as a form of personal transformation. To me, that is a worthwhile endeavor.

By: Patte Gilbert

On October 21st at 5pm, stop by our office at 23647 Calabasas Road to look at fine art, taste local wine, listen to live jazz and take a look at some of the hottest Ferrari’s & Masserati’s from the Calabasas Auto Gallery.

The art show will host 5 artists that are well known for their plein air paintings. Perhaps most notable is David Gallup who recently won the California’s Art Club’s gold medal for painting of the year. Below, find a brief biography and one notable artwork of David Gallup, Lynn Gertenbach and Karl Dempwolf.

David Gallup:

David Gallup is an explorer. Not just of nature but of the introspective and spiritual connection man has with his environment. His life’s passion has become a quest for new interpretations of the natural world without leaving his roots in Plein-Air Observation-Based painting. Working in the style of the impressionist masters, David’s works are created on location in some of the world’s most beautiful and fascinating places. They often depict moments when natural elements obscure solid forms, such as fog, rain, glare, or darkness. These elements are used in Gallup’s work to visually represent the sense of awe and mystery he feels for the natural world.

Gallup’s love for painting en plein-air has led him to explore the styles of French and California Impressionism over the years, drawing inspiration from both. He has a passion for capturing fleetingly beautiful moments in nature in a mixture of luminous color and dynamic brushwork that are uniquely his own. David’s paintings depict the ethereal nature of our world and are influenced by such artists as Claude Monet, John Twachtman, J. A. M. Whistler, Hiroshi Yoshida, and Emil Carlson. His work has won numerous local and international awards, and can be seen today in galleries, museum exhibitions and collections nationwide. He is represented by Montana Trails Gallery in Bozeman, MT, and Morseburg Galleries, Los Angeles. For more go to: http://www.dgallup.com/bio.htm

Lynn Gertenbach:

During her nearly 40 years as a professional painter, Lynn has traveled around the world five times to paint and exhibit. She has made numerous trips to Europe and South America. In 1980 The Instituto Cultural Norte Americano sponsored a traveling exhibition of Lynn’s paintings to three cities in Peru. For more than two decades Lynn has traveled to Japan to appear at her perennial one woman shows there.

Lynn has painted portraits of many noted persons such as Maestro Zubin Mehta, the Maharaja of Navanagar, Maestro Ravi Shankar, many actors and corporate CEO’s.

She has received numerous gold medal awards and received the Life Achievement Award (Hall of Fame Inductee) from the Colorado Institute of Art. In addition, Lynn also won First Prize in the Landscape Category of the 2002 Autumn Salon Show held at Edenhurst Gallery in Beverly Hills, CA. For more go to: http://lynngertenbachart.com/3/miscellaneous6.htm

Karl Dempwolf:

Karl Dempwolf spent his childhood growing up in the picturesque Bavarian countryside but at the age of fourteen he and his family immigrated to the US on the Steam ship America. Dempwolf received his BA from California State University Northridge CA, where he will always be recognized as that institution’s first All American Athlete.

Over the years Dempwolf has participated in exhibitions at the Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine University in Malibu, the Phippen Museum in Prescott AZ, the Carnegie Art Museum in Ventura County, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana CA. California, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Dempwolf’s work can be found in publications from North Light Books, entitled Art from the Parks. His paintings are in the permanent collections of large corporations, among them McGraw-Hill Publishers, and the National Park Foundation. Dempwolf’s newly published book “A Painter’s Journey” is available here.

Can you believe this?

By: Barbara Lipkin

There are so many ways that companies try to sell their products to us – cookies on our computer, commercials on TV and the internet; even sponsors for blogs. Now they are after our dogs. My dogs, Charly & Teddy, do seem interested when they see other dogs on TV. But this is above and beyond. Nestle has designed a TV ad for dogs. They are one of the world’s biggest makers of pet food. They have launched the 1st TV commercial designed especially for dogs using a high-frequency tone to grab their attention. Dog’s hearing is twice as sharp as humans.

The commercial will be screened on Austrian TV this week & features a tone similar to a dog whistle that humans can barely hear as well as an audible squeak like a dog’s toy including a high pitched pink. The dog is shown pricking his ears. Next thing you know your dog will tear out a page from you magazine that shows a dog food that smells like steak so you buy him what he smells.

By: Barbara Lipkin

Just one hour away is the delightful Santa Barbara Zoo, formerly A Child’s Estate.

Compact & easy to get around, it is the perfect place to take young children or just stroll around & enjoy the grounds & the animals. When you enter, the baby otters are delightful.
They are playing & tumbling. My little granddaughter, Emma, could not get over their antics. On our way out, they had crashed & were sleeping in a ball of fur.  The giraffes are fun to feed as you watch their long tongues grap the lettuce. The grounds are beautiful & well maintained & a train takes you on a short ride.  In addition, the weather is perfect – our own Riviera. There are special events on the weekends.  Sometimes we forget that such wonderful places are right in our backyard.

By: Barbara Lipkin

The city of Hidden Hills celebrated its 50th anniversary as an incorporated city with its annual Fiesta. Beginning with an outside concert on Friday night, the celebration continued with the parade on Saturday morning.  Among the parade ‘s highlights were the firetrucks, marching bands from Calabasas H.S. & El Camino H. S. & the famous dog walkers headed ny Angel with their large assortment of Golden Retrievers,pugs, poodles & other assorted breeds. The day continued with games, pet contest, bake sale & Tommy’s hamburgers.  In the evening we had the big rides & barbecue. An art show, pancake breakfast & other events completed the weekend.

By: Barbara Lipkin

According to AOL:
“Bank of America is donating — and in some cases bulldozing — some of its foreclosed houses, according to Boston.com. The paper reports that the bank will donate 100 Cleveland-area homes located in communities eligible to receive grants from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.”

My Take-

“This is certainly an unusual real estate market.  Now foreclosed homes are being donated or bulldozed.  What about keeping homeowners in these homes during hard times?  That seems to me to the best way to stabilize a neighborhood.  Who takes better care of homes than their owners?  Work with them on modifications or sell them to new homeowners on short sales or REOs.   This blows my mind.”