By: Cindy Libonati

Shared by the KCM blog

John R. Talbott, previously a Goldman Sachs investment banker, is a bestselling author and economic consultant. When it comes to the housing market he is also a prophet. When housing prices started to skyrocket in 2003, he published The Coming Crash in the Housing Market correctly warning us that a real estate bubble was forming. Then in January 2006, he called the absolute peak of home prices in the US by releasing a new book, Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble.

Mr. Talbott, the person who accurately predicted the housing bubble and its bust, now has a new prediction – IT IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME! In a recent article, Homes – Buy Now!, Talbott simply explains:

“I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice. It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home or refinance your existing home with thirty-year fixed rate mortgage debt.”
He goes on to explain that his conclusion is based on four different metrics, all of which favor buying today:

• Home Prices Relative to Peak Prices During the Bubble
• Home Prices Relative to Construction Costs or Replacement Costs
• Home Prices Relative to Incomes and Rents
• Home Prices in Real Terms, Not US Dollar Terms

Bottom Line
If the person who called the real estate bubble and its bust says now is the time to buy, we believe it is time to buy.

Award Winning British Artist offers drawing and painting for adults

By: Serena Scott Thomas

Winter 2011 with Sarah Stitt

The artist teaches an introduction to the language of drawing and painting, while providing guidance on how to express one’s vision on paper and canvas.

The course is an introduction to:
• Overcoming the fear of creativity
• Measuring, perspective, and learning to look dimensionally
• Using pencil, charcoal, and ink
• Learning composition and color theory
• Understanding depth and space
• Experimenting with tone
• Utilizing various surfaces and tools

Suitable for all levels:
This six-week course is designed to inspire confidence in students who want to learn art history and the traditional methods of drawing and painting.

Location
Paradiso Arts
by courtesy of Laura Alvarez, MFA
2918 Santa Monica Blvd #2
Santa Monica CA 90404

Class is limited to a maximum of 12 people per class. Each class is 3 hours.

Tuition
$410
Saturdays: 10am to 1pm
From Nov 5th to Dec 17th, 2011
(date of last class TBD)

Contact
For questions about the class,
Emaill sarahstitt@me.com
Phone: Sarah’s Studio 323 571 2344
Website: www.sarahstitt.com

For questions about Paradiso Arts
Email: paradisoarts@gmail.com,
Phone: Laura at 310 592 5879
Website www.paradisoarts.com

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp on Sarah’s work:

“Her landscapes rarely include people yet she excels at portraiture especially when
painting her own three children Grace, Gabriel, and Esther. As they change each year, gaining the attributes of adolescence and young adulthood, she paints the loss of youth, the growth of knowledge, and she does so without sentimentality. As with her landscapes, these are paintings not documents, and recall the similarly rigorous stance of American artist Alice Neel. Yet, like her landscapes, these paintings do measure time as it is passed in Los Angeles.”

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is a journalist and art critic living in Los Angeles.
Her most recent book, Rebels in Paradise: The Los Angeles Art Scene and the 1960s is published by Henry Holt in July 2011

By: Steve Tipp

Tuesday morning I was sitting in a big meeting listening, checking my phone, slipping it into my pants pocket, listening a little… and the next thing i heard was glub, glub, glub the sound of my phone slipping from my pocket, landing in my coffee cup and the case filling with coffee. I had pre-ordered a new iPhone 4S, so i smiled and remained calm. Little did I know I would remain calm!

Now my email would remain at my office, and at our home, so would my twitter and
facebook. Because the tiny motorola phone I pulled from the drawer, heck I couldn’t
event figure out how to turn it off in my pocket, I didn’t have a blue tooth, I was having to
actually pull over to make a phone call from my car! Texting? brb: takes a few minutes
to peck out! Things started to fall into their old places.

But the one thing that was a big change is there was space in my day. That space
occurred all over the places where I would pull out the phone and fill in the gaps with
bits of info, social network, news, filler, filler, filler. Now space. And it was nice. And
calming. I was more present. I am more present!

We went to dinner with a couple of great dear old friend couples, the guys busy
entertainment exec’s were checking their phones, getting a call from a boss, an email
confirming a tv show being picked up, sharing SIRI. My little motorola was sitting there
blank. I was paying attention to them, not my own world. I was in the moment, not
being touched and buzzed by bits of info coming at me from all over the universe, not
really relevant to dinner at all…

Every day I call AT&T and ask when is it coming?

My calendar, I don’t want to miss an appointment, where is the soccer game, how
do i phone in the score, i have the phone in app too! My music, I went for a bike ride
yesterday, I couldn’t listen to the new Ryan Adams. It was quiet. I could hear how quiet
my bike was, i could hear myself breath. Then i started hearing a little creak. Oh well.

I know I can’t stay here in the dark ages, we can’t go back. But maybe I can learn to
turn it off…

Fire Precaution in Calabasas

By: Karen Lee

The recent brush fire on Alizia Canyon in Calabasas should be a good reminder that fire season is upon us. Hot temperatures, dry brush and upcoming Santa Ana winds make the perfect fuel for this extreme danger.

Make sure that brush around your house is cleared, and that trees are trimmed away from the roof.

Have a plan for evacuation-what to take-important documents should be in a metal fire resistant box that can be grabbed in a moments notice. Prescriptions and family photos should be at the top of the list. Last minute decisions can be disastrous. A few years ago when a fire threatened Bell Canyon, Valley Circle Estates, and Hidden Hills, I remember loading shoes in a laundry basket to take! That would have been a waste compared to other, irreplaceable items.

By: Serena Scott Thomas

Senior Wellness

As pets age, their bodies become less able to cope with physical or environmental stress. Since pets are very good at hiding signs of illness, health problems may seem to appear suddenly when, in fact, they have been gradually worsening over a period of months. That’s a key reason why most experts recommend that healthy senior pets see their veterinarians every 6 months.

When is a Pet “Senior”?

With many pets living well into their teens, many owners wonder: When is my pet truly senior? The answer is that there is no specific age at which a pet becomes senior. Individual pets age at different rates, and most large- and giant-breed dogs become seniors earlier than small-breed dogs and cats.

Health Issues in Senior Pets

As your pet gets older, being aware of his or her general health can help you monitor for early signs of any problems. As pets age, their organ functioning changes, their immune systems become weaker, and they are more prone to developing certain diseases or conditions, including:

The Senior Pet Exam

Just as with people, it’s important for pets to see their doctors more often as they age. A thorough senior wellness exam is designed to promote the longest and healthiest life possible, recognize and control known health risks for older pets, and detect any signs of disease as early as possible, when there are more options for treatment and control.

We look forward to working with you to ensure your pet’s senior years are as happy, healthy, and long as possible. Please call us at (818) 222-7387 for an appointment or visit your Pet Portal to learn more.

By: Karen Lee

Need something delivered to your house but don’t have time to get it? That’s what the Calabasas Delivery Service is for. Just give them a call and they will place any local order for roughly $11 and deliver it to your door. Owner Chad Krauland says they will deliver anything except for human cargo. At this point, they don’t have a license to transport children to and from school or sports events. <!–more–>

Chad got his start in Malibu where he began delivering to a tight group of customers. Today, the business does about 40 daily deliveries in Malibu and eight in Calabasas. They also deliver free to senior citizens if they need a prescription, one way the company gives back to the community.

To order from your favorite establishment that doesn’t deliver, call 818.457.6867 or check them out online at http://www.calabasasdeliveryservice.com/.

If you love the outdoors and want to experience the adventurous cowboy way of life, you’ll probably enjoy a trip to a Dude Ranch for your next vacation. Dude Ranch Vacation is the only travel agency specializing exclusively in dude ranch vacations. It is a free service that helps people find the vacation of their dreams. Through connections with ranch owners all over Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, the Dude Ranch vacation site has the tools to find the perfect ranch for you. So whether you are looking for a family vacation, cattle drive, resort ranch or family reunion I can take the work and worry out of finding the right ranch.

Many of the featured Dude Ranches on my site are offering discounts this time of year to fill cabins and lodges. There are ranches all over the west that will give you the vacation of a lifetime.

By: Karen Lee

As reported on patch.com

If you know a teen who is making a difference or inspiring the community in a particular way, they could qualify for a trip to the London Olympics. Beginning today you can help showcase an inspirational teen’s achievements by nominating him/her for a once in a lifetime experience from Coca-Cola – the honor of carrying the Olympic Flame next July during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

Coca-Cola will be selecting 10 teenagers who inspire others through their dedication to living positively and effecting meaningful change to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. The 10 selected torchbearers will have the opportunity to share their passion with the world when they carry the Olympic Flame in and around the historic town of Oxford, England, July 9-11, 2012, as it makes its way to London for the Opening Ceremony on July 27, 2012.

Go to LivePositively.com for a chance to win.

For more information go to: http://calabasas.patch.com

So you think you have an antique or piece of art that might be of value and you wish Antique Roadshow was in your neighborhood? John Moran Auctioneers is the answer. In business since 1969, this family owned business has walk in appraisal day on Wednesdays from 9-noon. (Call to verify) For no charge, their experts will give you a verbal estimate of value. If you are lucky enough to possess a true gem, they will take it on consignment for a reasonable commission for their next auction.

John Moran Auctioneers will also come in and give appraisals on estate possessions and offer them at auction. Auctions are open to the public.

Located at 735 W. Woodbury Rd. Altadena, 91001, their phone number is 626.793.1833.  Visit their website at www.JohnMoran.com.

Bring the entire family to the Underwood Farms for a day on the farm. Pick your own fruits and vegetables for the freshest, most hands on way of showing the kids where our food comes from. My kids and grandkids went last weekend and raved about the taste and price of this fresh produce.

For your convenience, they have a number of pull-wagons to transport your “prize pickings” and/or  children from the field to the Farm Market area.  There is $3.00 admission fee to the Farm Center Monday – Friday and $5.00 on weekends and holidays. Weekend admission includes a tractor-drawn wagon ride to the fields.  Most picked items are priced by the pound.  For more information on our admission, please click here. It’s a great way to spend a day outdoors!  For a complete calendar of crops and their months of availability, check out our Crop Calendar!