Santa Clause - The latest Victim in the Madoff Ponzi Fraud

The list of victims in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme gets longer by the day. Santa Claus has come forward and admitted he was wiped out by the duplicitous Madoff. In an exclusive interview, Santa said, “It’s all gone. Every last penny. I can’t believe I trusted that horrible little man; he is getting coal for sure this year.”

Putting a brave face on things, Santa went on to explain how easily he had been duped, “We were members of the same Country Club for goodness’ sake. If you can’t trust another member of your club, who can you trust? I shared a shower with the man.”

Apparently, Mrs. Claus had been against the whole thing. “Look him up in the book,” she kept saying, “If it seems to good to be true, it probably is,” was one of her refrains over the last few years as the profits kept mounting up against all the odds.

“I wish I had listened to her now,” said Santa, “but it’s too late. I am wiped out. Everything is going. The yachts in Dubai and Monaco, the Ski lodge in Aspen, the private island, everything! I might be able to hang on to the Manhattan condo, but my broker tells me I could never shift it in this market anyway.”

Santa went on to explain in detail the lengths Madoff had gone to to keep drawing money in. The returns just kept coming, and Santa was persuaded to keep on re-investing the profits. Santa vowed to continue the charitable works he has performed in the past. Like many victims of the scheme, Santa lives for his charitable donations - giving Christmas presents to worthy children around the world - but it looks as though those days may be gone.

“I will do my best,” said Santa, “I don’t want  to disappoint any little children, but the pressure is on this year. Some children may just have to accept a smaller present this year, but I will make sure every one gets one.”

The financial situation isn’t helping either, with factories in China slowing production, and credit still tight, Santa may not be able to raise the funds. The growing awareness of global warming issues is also adding to the burden. “People just aren’t prepared to buy unnecessary frivolities that cause environmental damage this year,” said Santa, shaking his head sadly. “I don’t know what I am going to do really.”

We wish Santa all the best, and hope he manages to recover from this dispicable con as soon as possible. If any one is deserving of a bailout, surely it is Santa?

Merry Christmas.

The world’s highest hotel opened fully for business this week. The Park Hyatt Shanghai, which is situated in the heart of the Lujiazui business district in Pudong, occupies floors 79-93 in the 101-floor Shanghai World Financial Centre. The hotel takes the highest hotel honor from the Rose Rotana in Dubai. The hotel’s top floor holds a private dining and function space, capable of holding 250 people for cocktails and 120 people for dining. The hotel has 174 rooms, all of which have views over the Huangpu River and Pudong. The building itself is 492 meters tall, and is currently the tallest in Shanghai.

The hotel will have a rather short-lived reign as the highest hotel once work is completed on the International Commerce center in Kowloon, Hong Kong which is under construction and has plans for a 300 room, 7 Star Ritz Carlton near the top of the structure.

International Commerce Center Kowloon under construction

Park Hyatt Shanghai

Image credits

The Daily Show

Yves Chelsea stands at 14 stories, with room for 41 families, according to public information. And some units offer a landscaped outdoor space, which utilizes the Quebert-like setbacks on sections of the building. It looks like all units have floor-to-ceiling widows. Other information we could find mentions all-glass cabinets and countertops in the kitchen and access to concierge service.

Pictures in late August showed the building as still awaiting completion - it still had a crane sitting atop the final floors.

Javerbaum started on The Daily Show as a writer, becoming executive producer in 2007, according to the movie bible (IMDb). He has also written for the Academy Awards a couple of times and served as a consultant for The Colbert Report.

[cityfile]

And then I refreshed my memory (what would we do without the IMDB?) and noticed that Busfield was on thirtysomething (which I never watched - I was a bit too young for it; now I are one and it would probably be a lot more relevant) and West Wing (which I didn’t watch regularly, but have since seen in reruns; it was a good series from what I’ve seen) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (which I’ve never even heard of nor seen). He’s also been doing a lot of producing. Unfortunately, one of his more recent projects, Lipstick Jungle (starring Brooke Shields), is rumored to be canceled soon.

Busfield’s home is three bedrooms, three baths, and has just under 2400-square-feet (according to the LAT). It boasts spectacular ocean and mountain views and over an acre of landscaped grounds. The home has vaulted ceilings, blonde maple wood floors, and custom cabinets. Sounds nice. We’re really wishing we could see exactly what they are talking about.

The MLS has no pictures at all, and the agent’s site doesn’t have the home on their site. Maybe they don’t plan to give it a ton of publicity, or maybe they just haven’t gotten to that part yet.

The house, called Casa de la Luz, is just over 2500 square feet. It was built in 1968. The living room has folding mahogany doors that open up to a private deck that overlooks the beach. This home has seriously stunning ocean views.

The master suite is on the 2nd story and has a fireplace, walk-in closet, and large bath. It also has an ocean view. The upstairs has three more bedrooms and one bath, with the other two bedrooms and one bath on the main floor.

We’re a little surprised that the living and dining rooms aren’t just a touch bigger. Although, those beach homes are crammed in so tight about all they can do is go up - and only so far at that. The master suite is also smaller than we imagined, but the view is phenomenal. Of course. Way too much white throughout the entire house for our tastes, but you already know where we stand on that one. The WSJ reports that the home has rented for as high as $18,000 per week during high season. Yes, per week. We really need a new line of biz, no?

Finley started out with the Baltimore Orioles, then went to the Houston Astros, playing four seasons with them. He was traded - along with Ken Caminiti - to the San Diego Padres, where he again spent four seasons. It was during his stint with the padres that Finley hit his career high batting average of .298 (that’s a pretty darn good batting average, folks).

When he became a free agent, he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and stayed there for about six seasons. The Diamondbacks offered him substantially more than what he was making with the Padres. During his career, we estimate he made around $70 million (based on reports of what he probably made with each franchise). That’s a lot of purchasing power, my dears. He had over 300 home runs and about 320 stolen bases over the course of his career. He was released from the Colorado Rockies last year, so he’ll have plenty of time to run his development firm with his wife, Amy.

Chateau de Villette

A lot of movie fans travel to see the filming site of their favorite flick. And Chateau de Villette is no exception. Many fans of The Da Vinci Code movie starring Tom Hanks have visited this 185-acre estate about 35 minutes northwest of Paris. It was featured as Sir Leigh Teabing’s home. (Teabing was played by Ian McKellan.)

And it’s for sale for 39 million dollars !

The main house has eleven bedrooms and bathrooms (with 18 beds and 17 baths total), all of which were remodeled within the last 10 years, according to public information. The Chateau was designed by architect Francois Mansart in 1668 for Louis XIV’s Venetian ambassador. The gardens were designed by Le Notre and spread out behind the home.

Villette is considered on of the most significant historical chateaux in France. It was designed around the same time as Versailles, earning it the nickname “Le Petite Versailles.” The dining room features an original 17th-century carved stone buffet and the limestone entry hall harkens back to the 17th century as well. The gourmet kitchen was installed in 2001. It also has two service kitchens and a banquet room.

And if that’s not enough, it has a gym, billiard room, library, music salon, and a grand staircase. The property also boasts a chapel and reception room for hosting weddings, a greenhouse, and horse stables. Many more modern amenities have been added to the property as well: wireless internet, a swimming pool, a tennis court. It basically has just about everything you could want. Including plenty of privacy. Gee, why didn’t Brad and Angelina just buy it instead of renting someplace else?

Meg Ryan's home for sale

Actress Meg Ryan is selling her six bedroom, seven bath Bel-Air home. According to various sources, it had been for sale off the record (a pocket listing) for quite a while. But Ryan has officially listed the home for $19,500,000.

Ryan bought the home in 2000 when she was separated from her then-husband Dennis Quaid. As if that wasn’t enough to keep her name in the tabloids, she was linked with Russell Crowe right around the same time. She and Crowe were in the movie Proof of Life together.

The Spanish style home was built in 1931 and has a gated, private drive. The living room is double-story, stenciled beamed, there’s a 30s-era bar, formal dining room, and a cook’s kitchen. According to the listing, all rooms open to and overlook the 180 degree view of the city.

Additionally, the bedrooms have en suite baths, there’s a pool and full guesthouse, and the master bedroom is separate from the other bedrooms. The screening room even has a separate entrance.

Ryan purchased the just over 6800-square-foot home in 2000 for $8,500,000, reportedly close to the asking price. It sits on nearly three-quarters of an acre.

I have to admit, my darlings, that I have watched many a Meg Ryan movie. She’s been a favorite for a very long time. She’s probably best known for two movies: When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. It’s too bad that she’s mostly relegated to things like Sleepless, You’ve Got Mail, French Kiss, and Kate & Leopold.

Admittedly, we’ve seen Sleepless countless times and consider it a pretty good chick flick. Kiss is something we’ll watch over and over, too. And Kate has Hugh Jackman. Need we say more? But Mail was so very disappointing. Ryan’s grittier roles in When a Man Loves a Woman, Proof of Life, and Courage Under Fire weren’t exactly well-received, sad to say. By the way, how awesome would it be for Ryan to make an appearance on “NCIS” with her co-star in The Presidio, Mark Harmon?

Ryan has recently been blasted by ex-husband Quaid for rehashing some of the reasons they split (including mentioning that he cheated on her a long time before they broke up), citing it might cause anguish for their 16-year-old son Jack. She most recently starred in The Women with Annette Bening and Candice Bergen, who, by the way, was in Ryan’s debut film.

The 5th bedroom is for maid quarters, according to the listing. It has five baths (although one listing mentions six), with dual sinks and a separate tub and shower in the master. The master suite also includes access to the deck, and one of two fireplaces. Additionally, the home has a screening room with plenty of seating for movie buff friends. The home is just over 4,900 square feet, with the entire property on about a half acre.

Hart also played Sabrina in a variety of other series (5) and has done a fair amount of voice-over work, including the animated Sabrina series and Clarissa Explains It All. And she produced quite a few Sabrina episodes, too. She has acted in a variety of things since then, but nothing as long-lasting as, of course, Sabrina. (She’s probably sick of that name by now.) She has two children with her husband, Mark.

[sources: 1, 2]

The Larsen company of Arizona has a piece of property up for auction in Phoenix on the 25th of this month.

The property in question is 7110 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix, Ariz, consists of 15,000 square feet of livable space with 13 bedrooms, 14.5 baths and garage space for 7 cars on 2.7 acres. Recent  additions include the plush theater room and large exercise room.

I am struggling to work out just exactly what extra value comes from having once been owned by the McCains, but this property is currently listed for $12 million with Sotheby’s International. Mr. and Mrs. McCain sold the property just two years ago at the height of the housing bubble for $3million. Which makes perfect sense to me - a senator in the know should be able to gauge these things fairly accurately.

The current owner, property developer Jade Popple, has apparently poured another $3million in renovation work into the property, and the property is somehow now worth $12 million? Wishful thinking? Time will tell. Don’t get me wrong - this is a lovely piece of property, but……..

If you are interested in owning a piece of “history,” this is the auctioneers website with full details of the sale:

homeslarsen.com

The kitchen has a nice little island and includes a Viking stove and sub-zero fridge. Of course, we’re wishing there were more photos to do this room justice. All we’re seeing in pics is a bit of the stove, a pot rack over the island, and tile countertops - white with green edges. It seems like it’s a decent size, but that’s all we can tell from the pics.

It looks like the bedrooms are upstairs, with a sloped, exposed-beam ceiling. But the city views are incredible. (Not really liking the wall hanging, though.) And check out the master closet - it’s a dressing room. Is that a spinning shoe rack we see? This place is bigger than many people’s bedrooms, darlings.

The listing also mentions a brick patio perfect for entertaining and a huge home office.

Jewel recently married her sweetheart, champion rodeo cowboy Ty Murray. When she was trying to make it big as a singer, she played small venues in San Diego, California and lived in her car. She collaborated with Steve Poltz on some songs on her hit debut album, which went platinum about 12 times.