Greetings from RuLabinsky Ranch and welcome to your traditionally late 2015 New Years Letter!
| We'd like to dedicate this year's letter to the memory of Steve's brother, Paul Rubin, who passed away on January 3. We will always remember Paul for the comedy and creativity he brought into the world, from his wacky cable show Radio Free Brooklyn, to his musical spoof of the Scopes monkey trial (Sodom and Gorilla) and his novelty band, Cab City Combo. Paul also did some serious acting in a number of commercial pieces and a variety of Shakespearean roles. Farewell Paul. | |
In general, things are going quite well here at the Ranch. Let's start with our absentee members, Izaak and Max.
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Izaak is still living in Sydney, Australia, working at the Google office. He's having a grand time with his friends there and, of course, taking every excuse to travel. Last year, Izaak went to Thailand and Cambodia, took an exciting camping trip in northwest Australia from Darwin to Broome, visited Steve and Amy in Canada, and of course made many trips to various Google sites, including Mountain View, NYC, and Seattle. This year, he's already got trips planned to Bali and Mexico. |
| Izaak has learned more about the headaches of management this year, since he's been running a small team that produced a major release in November of Google Maps on hand held devices. We are so proud of his successes! His current plan is to return to the USA by the end of 2015. |  |
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Max is still living in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. Last year, he worked a variety of freelance animation gigs, including several months working at Production Club, the outfit that produces the concerts of Skrillex. In August, Max finally got a full-time gig working for Tesh Media as a motion graphics artist for the new day-time TV show, Intelligence for Your Life. The show is doing well, and best of all, it pays well, offers a lot of creative freedom, and they love Max. He's even become friends with Connie Sellecca, John Tesh, and their son Gib! Congrats Max on your successes and hard work. |  |
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Probably the biggest highlight of Max's year (and maybe of his life!) was his voyage to London to see his long-time idol, Kate Bush, perform in a rare series of concerts after a 35-year hiatus. People traveled from all over the world to see her, and Max was one of them! Max also visited Steve and Amy in Canada, spent a week whooping it up with friends in New York City, and went on two driving trips with his friends — last January to Seattle, and this January to Mammoth Lakes. |
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Travels for Amy and Steve included an amazing trip in February to Australia to visit Izaak, starting with 5 days in Queenstown and Milford Sound, New Zealand. A big highlight of the trip was being wined and dined by Izaak and his group of friends, who call themselves the "Gay Jews of Sydney". In early May, we took a long weekend trip to Sedona and the Grand Canyon that was pretty awesome. Then, in July, we left for the East Coast and Bala, Ontario once again. This year, we began the voyage with a driving trip from Buffalo to New Jersey, NY, Vermont, Montreal, and Ottawa. In October we also spent a long weekend with Max in LA. |  |
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Amy's highlights for the year included producing the audio book version of Impossible Cure (she worked with an audio engineer and read the book). It will appear on Amazon and iTunes in the next few weeks. Amy continues to promote her books through writing articles and newsletters. She also blogs on amylansky.com, and in the fall, began a new blogging experiment, Ask Amy (amylansky.com/askamy). Amy is now beginning research and preparation for writing a third book that blends her ideas on active consciousness with ideas from Hawaiian shamanism. She continues serving as a board member of Coastside Jewish Community and co-led the search committee for their new clergy. She also takes some time out for creative fun with acrylic painting, knitting, and sewing. |
| Steve continues working on his CAD software Electric at Oracle Labs, counting down the months until his slated retirement at the end of 2016. His primary focus, however, continues to be his fiction writing. On July 1 he released his second romance novel, A Good Little Girl Like You, and on January 1, his third in the romance trilogy, Seductive Synchronicity. He is busy at work now on his fourth novel. Amazing! Steve also continues his work supporting the CDC's vaccine injury database for the National Vaccine Information Center. |  |
Another highlight of Amy and Steve's year was making various improvements at the Ranch. It's been 30 years since we did any "redecorating." The kitchen has now been substantially updated (cabinet refinishing, redoing the tile grout, new appliances). We're improving two of the bathrooms now too. Another new development is that we've really gotten into juicing, after we were inspired by watching the awesome and entertaining movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. We recommend it to each of you — it could make a big difference in your life.
Much Aloha to all of our friends and family out there in the world. Although things do at times seem bleak, we sense that the tide is turning. Our individual states of consciousness and focus on a better world will help make it so!
Love,
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Amy (lansky at renresearch.com): impossiblecure.com activeconsciousness.com amylansky.com renresearch.com Max (mlanskyrubin at gmail.com): maxamania.com |
rulabinsky.com
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Steve (strubin at strubin.com): staticfreesoft.com strubin.com sageardman.com medalerts.org Izaak (izaak.rubin at gmail.com): izaakrubin.com |