One of Three Views of Notre Dame Cathedral by Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse lived a long, prolific life (1869-1954) using a vivid palette and a variety of styles, so it’s hard to know what to expect in a major exhibition.  What we didn’t expect was a lecture or a dissertation.  What we got was a powerful and scholarly exegesis of an unremarkable thesis.

The curators tells us that Matisse, like many artists, was a serial revisionist who relentlessly explored the same themes and settings wearing different glasses.  And, like many others, he achieved the ultimate expression of his vision by painting successively closer approximations to the signed canvas.  Quelle surprise…

To spell out the obvious, we think art appreciation isn’t about understanding the artist, the venue, the technique or the method, but about experiencing the personal effect. Although we are not above academic conceits, we would prefer to see them confined to the classroom.

Quibbles aside, we must tell you that there are several totally delightful paintings that you probably haven’t seen before.  Check out the curator’s selections (most of the exhibit) before you go.

The Matisse exhibit has been widely discussed.  We recommend Mary Tompkins Lewis’s review in the Wall Street Journal for an academic viewpoint   (It’s quite different from ours.)

Two suggestions.  Go early in the day to avoid the crowds (tourists love the Met).  And, if you’re a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch cardholder, take advantage of Museums on Us®,  which provides free admission to major museums nationwide on the first full weekend of the month.

George Segal’s Depression Bread Line at Grounds for Sculpture.
Photo © Louis J. Bruno

Accessible sculpture in a lavishly landscaped setting. Some major pieces, like George Segal’s Depression Bread Line, lots of stuff reminiscent of first rank sculptors like Rodin and Moore, and plenty of contemporary art that’s just plain fun.

The grounds — 44 acres worth — at Grounds for Sculpture are not just background noise. The walks, groves, arbors, plazas, ponds and gardens vibrate with artfully disposed plantings worthy of a world-class botanical garden.

The sculpture, some in a permanent collection, some on tour, is mostly contemporary, some edgy, some cheeky, some pushy, all grabby. Not for lovers of classical sculpture, but perfect for everyone else. We saw families with kids, seniors, young couples, and art students, all smiling, some laughing, some dancing to the sound of sculpture.

Grounds for Sculpture is not DeCordova, not Pepsico, and not the Stanford Art Museum. It is lush, entertaining landscapes populated with 250+ sculptures ranging from the kitschy to the sublime.

Looking for the Met outdoors? Get over it. Looking for fun, get with it.

The negatives? We think Grounds for Sculpture could benefit from an integrated plan for landscape architecture, and we’d like to see more curatorial material on the identifying plaques, (Not everybody likes/uses audio tours.)

The exhibit melds two complementary collections of black and white photographs taken, mostly in New York, by Photo League members between 1936 and 1951. Some come from the permanent collection of the Jewish Museum.  The rest are owned by the Columbus Museum of Art.

Photo enthusiasts will recognize some of the names that power this exhibit : Lewis Hine, Paul Strand, Berenice Abbott, Robert Frank, Walter Rosenblum, Lisette Model, Aaron Siskind, Sid Grossman, Weegee and W. Eugene Smith.  But that’s not all.  You’ll be introduced to a busload of equally powerful photographers whose names don’t grace the wall of fame.

If you missed the Radical Camera in New York and can’t catch in Columbus, in San Francisco at the Contemporary Jewish Museum (opens October 2012), or at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach starting February 2012, grab a copy of the book: The Radical Camera: The New York Photo League, 1936-1951 by Mason Klein and Catherine Evans, Jewish Museum of New York and Yale University Press, 2011.

Housed in the former Warburg mansion on the Upper East Side, the Jewish Museum today is both relevant and elegant. Affordable too. Admission is $12, $10 for seniors. Explore the history and discover the latest exhibits on their website: http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/

Enthusiasts call the NYBG one of the seven wonders of the world, but everyone acknowledges it as one of the world’s best botanical gardens. Its libraries, laboratories, experimental green houses, field research, and world class staff of horticulturists are second to none. But it’s the breadth and sheer beauty of its gardens and displays that attract, thrill and fascinate.

The 2012 Orchid Show, is no exception. Although the featured vertical orchid gardens of French botanist and artist Patrick Blanc fell flat — his creations for other venues are more elegant, graceful, and artistic — the thousands, maybe tens of thousands of orchids that orchestrate the Enid Haupt Conservatory to a crescendo of creation, make the Orchid Show a must.

If you haven’t visited the NYBG in a while, you’ll be surprised by the crowds. Come early — the Garden opens at 10:00 am every day but Monday, when it’s closed, except for a half dozen Monday Holidays. Cameras OK, no tripods. Onsite parking is $12 per vehicle, but you can get there by bicycle, subway and Metro North. For more information, visit the NYBG website: http://www.nybg.org.

You already know you pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.  And you probably know that the assessments on which your property taxes are based haven’t been re-evaluated for decades.

The upshot?  You’re probably paying more than your fair share of property taxes!  Experts say from 30 to 60% of Suffolk County home owners are over-assessed and paying more tax than they should.

What’s a gal or guy to do?  You can file a property tax grievance pro se — on your own behalf.  And you should if you’re the kind of home owner who files her or his own Form 1040 with two or more Schedules.  But there’s no Form EZ for property tax grievances, and no TurboTax to do the thinking for you.

Dude, you need a Licensed Suffolk County Property Tax Grievance Consultant, and I’ve got the best one for you! Her name is Elizabeth B. (Betsy) Roche, and she’s been slashing property taxes for Suffolk home owners for over 20 years.

I know firsthand because I’ve been her IT guy for most of that time, maintaining her office computers, providing custom tax certiorari software, and producing marketing mailers. And now — big drum roll please — a spanking new website!

I’ve always admired Betsy, who could manage three kids (now grown) and a husband, and run her property tax grievance business more efficiently than the men out there who did nothing else.  (A little reverse sexism;) But more importantly, Betsy is a white-hat practitioner whose methods are ethical, fees are modest and who succeeds in most of her outings.  Her success is built on solid case preparation and good professional relations with most of the Town Assessors, leading to many negotiated settlements.

You can get to know Elizabeth B. Roche, Property Tax Consultant for yourself at www.suffolkpropertytaxgrievance.com or at www.suffolktaxappeal.com (two addresses for the same website). The website, which builds on the success I’ve had developing appraisal and tax grievance websites for other clients, includes lots of self-help resources for do-it-yourselfers and straight-forward info, including a video, for the rest of us. And there are mobile versions for web-enabled cellphones and another for smartphones.

Almost forgot.  You can also get to know Betsy on her Facebook business page: http://facebook.com/propertytaxconsultant What’s not to Like?

Unfortunately, the registration process leaves out a crucial step.  The login information for the DBP account is not sent to the registered owner or administrator.

None of this poses any problem unless you later decide to transfer the domain registered through Google Apps to another registrar.  At that point, it becomes necessary to remove Privacy, which can only be done by logging into the associated DBP account.  Catch-22!

Here’s how to do it.

1. Go to Google Apps for Free, sign in, and go to Domain Management.
2. Select Domain Settings > Domain names > Advanced DNS settings > copy the Password, which is also the password for DBP.
3. Optionally, from the same page, Sign in to the DNS console, where you can Unlock the domain, and also find the Authorization Code your new registrar will need.
4. Go to Domains by Proxy and click on the big Log In button.
5. A pop-up window will ask for your Customer Number or Login Name and your Password.
6. Ignore the fields and click on Forgot your login information? Enter the domain name whose Privacy you’re trying to remove, and the Security Code captcha. An email will be sent to your Google Apps sign-up email account with your DPB Customer Number.
7. When you get the Customer Number, enter it on the DBP Log In pop-up along with the Password retrieved in Step 2 above.
8. You’re in!  Use the DBP management console to Cancel Privacy and to check/change the email address associated with the account.

Since the domain transfer process differs from registrar to registrar, I won’t go into details.  But basically you’ll want to start with your new registrar who will send a transfer request to GoDaddy or Enum.  You’ll normally be asked to Unlock the domain and to provide the Authorization Code available from the current registrar (Step 3 above). If you have the login for the current registrar, the process won’t cost you any sleep.

Modern trucking logistics

I read the article just as I was finishing work on a new website for DAIM Logistics, a Fultonville, NY firm providing warehousing, trucking and logistics nationwide.  DAIM was started just ten years ago by two brothers, Chris and Pat Oare, who own and continue to operate the company.  Pat is a veteran who served overseas, coming home as an officer.

As I learned about DAIM Logistics, I was taken by their no nonsense approach to business — particularly with their emphasis on logistics — and by the surprisingly rapid growth of their company.  DAIM just finished building a custom, 25,000 sq ft warehouse, office and operations facility on an eight acre campus from which they operate a growing fleet of 15 tractors and over 40 trailers.  Very impressive for a ten-year young company!

More impressive when you realize that most startups, particularly in well-served industries, go belly up within a few years.  Joe Klein’s article pointed to one of the strengths contributing to DAIM’s success: military know-how.

DAIM has a plan and they work it!  If you have a dry van or flatbed load to ship cross county or cross country, you won’t go wrong entrusting it to DAIM Logistics.

Festivities get underway on Friday evening, June 10, with a free Parade of Cars and a Cruise-In, followed by a “Blast from the Past” Concert and Sock Hop. Starting at 6:00 pm, local auto clubs, motorcyclists, and some of cars that raced at the Tri-Cities Drag-Way will parade from the Boys & Girls Club of Western Broome at One Clubhouse Road in Endicott to the Showplace at Binghamton Plaza, 33 W State Street, Binghamton for a Cruise-In. From 7:00-10:00 pm at the Showplace, Bill Grace will emcee a concert featuring The Rip Chords — remember their smash hit “Hey Little Cobra?” — and The Bruce Beadle Band. Admission is $10 and refreshments will be available.

The Reunion takes place on Saturday, June 11 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, at the Tri-Cities Airport in Endicott, NY, the site of the original Tri-Cities Drag-Way races. There will be no races at the Reunion — and no alcohol — but look for a giant show of classic, vintage and original drag racing cars, with their owners competing for trophies and dashboard plaques.  Four Drag-Way greats, national record holders, Wally Bell and Bob Chipper, together with Frank Heeman and Doug Crockett, will be inducted into the Tri-Cities Drag-Way’s Hall of Fame. In addition to the Car Show, the Reunion will feature a Swap Meet and Flea Market.  Admission is $5 per person plus $5 per show car, with a $25 fee for flea market vendor booths. The Boys & Girls Clubs will be providing entertainment and selling a variety of portable food, including a Pig Stand®  type pulled pork sandwich reminiscent of the pork sandwiches popular with Drag-Way hot rodders.

All proceeds from the Concert and Reunion will go the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broome County. For more information or to volunteer, call sponsoring coordinator Bob Connelly at 607-722-3544 or email Drags@BobConnelly.com. Check out the Concert and Reunion posters!

The Tri-Cities Drag-Way Reunion is sponsored by America’s Attic, Cook’s Septic Service, Cool 100 FM 100.5, Don’s Automotive Mall, Gary’s U-Pull It/United Auto Parts/Scrap Everything, Staples, Tioga Downs Casino and Wilcox’s Towing & Automotive Repairs.