LosAngeles

From the kind folks who brought you the Katrina debacle (OK, OK, I know! Mother Nature gave us the hurricane that wiped out New Orleans. But it was the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, that largely gave us the debacle part!) now comes a new act that has millions of home owners up in arms -- if not yet water.

Many homeowners are getting notices they must purchase flood insurance for the first time, even though they may live in areas never known to flood....as in, never!

These premiums can cost anywhere from $500 to a few thousand dollars a year. And, in a sweet-heart deal if ever there was one for insurance companies, flood insurance is a requirement for anyone whose mortgage is backed by the federal government. And, yes, more than 50 percent of all mortgages in this country are now guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (who, by the way, ought to be married by now, don't you think?)

Is actor Nicolas Cage having an Icarus moment?

The financially strapped actor continues to plummet, shedding assets as he goes. Cage's most recent offering is his seven-bedroom, 11,817 square foot Bel Air estate on Copa de Oro Road, which boasts an 1,800-bottle wine cellar, ample pool and home theater. After weeks in escrow, the home is back on the market -- and freshly reduced from $17.5 million to $9.95 million.

The manse was listed a year ago for a whopping $29,999 million. Ten years earlier, Cage purchased the sprawling 1940s Tudor for $6,469 million from Tom Jones (who bought it from Dean Martin).

Cage's mess brings to mind the Greek myth of Icarus, the wax-winged boy who, feeling invincible, flew too close to the sun, only to plunge tragically into the sea.

This house had me at 'Formal DR with French doors open to wrap around balcony.' And it got way better after that.

Almost 3400 square feet. Cooks kitchen, step down living room with beamed cathedral ceiling and fireplace. Alcoves, wood floors, iron details, master suite with fireplace. Dinner parties, outdoor happenings, privacy...this place has it all.

Reclusive Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has been lured out of his Alpine hideaway for the bright lights of the big city, and Los Angeles may never be the same again --- if the projects he has secured in the city ever get built.

First came word from the Architect's Newspaper that Zumthor would redo part of the sprawling Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus. Then we heard that Spiderman star Tobey Maguire (pictured) had snagged the Pritzker Prize winner to build a house in the city, according to blogger Edward Lifson.