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Theecarey's Journal

theecarey
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06/21/2009 18:52 #49024

Looking forward to Salvador Dali
Category: simplicity
I had read yesterday about the dermatologist (Edmund Klein) who was "paid" in drawings by his patient, surrealist artist, Salvadore Dali. Klein passed ten years ago, and recently his wife has allowed these drawings to emerge. They have been well taken care of- been housed in a downtown safe. It is hard not to be intrigued by Dalis work and the artist himself. I'm really excited about this. How cool that the drawings will be viewable by the public come the end of this month?! This is a nice thing for Buffalo, a pleasant surprise to say the least. Benjamins Art Gallery on Elmwood had the honor of framing the pieces. wow!

From the Buffalo News:


A darkened bank vault is no place for Salvador Dali's exuberant, surreal art. So art lovers were happy last August when 15 sketches by the celebrated Spanish artist were brought to light by the widow of Dr. Edmund Klein after they had been locked away in downtown safe deposit boxes for more than 30 years.

But they've remained out of the public eye.

Now, after framing at Benjaman's Art Gallery on Elmwood Avenue, the drawings are being readied for their first showing, from June 27 to Aug. 27 in the University at Buffalo's Anderson Gallery, along with four other Dali works owned by Martha Klein - two lithographs, a watercolor and a silver statuette.

All were given to Klein's late husband, a renowned Buffalo dermatologist, in return for his treatment of Dali's skin cancer over nearly a decade, starting in 1972.

Klein, whose patients also included actors John Wayne and Zero Mostel, got along famously with the highly imaginative artist and hesitated to bill him for the visits to his winter residence in a New York City hotel or homes in France and Spain.

So Dali "gave him a drawing each time," Martha Klein recalled in the Williamsville home of her daughter, Rene Rubino, as a team from UB Galleries boxed the collection for the trip to Anderson Gallery on Martha Jackson Place in University Heights.

The largest pieces - the lithographs and watercolor, also gifts from the artist - were hung in the Kleins' home, but there was no room for the drawings, so they went into deposit boxes for safekeeping.

Avoiding exposure to sunlight in a temperature-controlled room for all those years wasn't the worst fate for the delicate drawings - including several angels - executed in Dali books, sketch pads and a photography catalog and dedicated to "mon ami Klein" or "mon Angel le Doctor Klein," said Paul Chimera, a Dali specialist from Amherst and the family's consultant on the collection.

On balance, the vault is "probably a pretty good place for them," Chimera said.

The Klein collection will be exhibited with two Dali paintings owned by UB and four from Niagara University's Castellani Art Museum.

Martha Klein, whose husband died 10 years ago, a decade after Dali, hopes the exhibition will attract a buyer or buyers. Though the family's collection has not been appraised, she is confident it would fetch at least enough to pay for the education of her nine grandchildren.

She would prefer to sell the set intact, she said, because breaking it up "would spoil the story."






The when and where of it all:
[box]Salvador Dali Exhibition Slated for UB's Anderson Gallery, June-August

Release Date: June 18, 2009

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "Salvador Dali," an exhibition of works by the Spanish surrealist that coincides with the 20th anniversary of his death, will be presented June 27 to Aug. 27 by the University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery.

It will feature 15 original drawings, two lithographs, a poster and a silver sculpture from the Edmund Klein Collection; two paintings from the UB Collection, and a sculpture and several drypoint etchings from the collection of Niagara University's Castellani Art Museum.

The exhibition will take place in the second floor gallery of the Anderson, 1 Martha Jackson Place (off Englewood Avenue between Main Street and Kenmore Avenue).

It will be free of charge and open to the public. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Further information and directions can be obtained from the gallery at (716) 829-3754.

The 15 sketches and the silver sculpture in the Klein Collection belong to the family of the late Edmund Klein, M.D., a world-renowned skin cancer researcher who was a research professor in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and who served as chief of dermatology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

For nearly a decade, beginning in 1972, the year he won the coveted Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research for his outstanding contributions to the treatment of skin cancer, Klein treated Dali for skin cancer in New York City, France and on Spain's Costa Brava.

Paul Chimera, a spokesperson for the Klein family and a Dali aficionado, says that over the years, the doctor and the artist became close friends and that Dali paid Klein unconventionally for his medical treatment by executing, personalizing and dedicating to Klein, the original drawings to be shown in the UB exhibit.

"The drawings were sequestered for more than 30 years in a bank vault in downtown Buffalo," says Chimera, resident of Amherst, "and have never before been exhibited."

According to Chimera, the drawings were executed on the frontispieces or other blank pages of certain Dali books, on sketchpads, a photography catalogue and the back of a technical paper written by Klein.

Another piece is included as well: a poster of a Dali watercolor featuring the U.S. Capitol building topped by the Winged Victory of Samothrace, dedicated to Klein from Mary Lasker.

A catalog of the Klein Collection will be available at the exhibition.

Sandra Olsen, director of the UB Galleries, says the exhibition also will feature two Dali paintings from the UB Collection: Portrait of Katharine Cornell (oil and mixed media); and Labyrinth (oil on panel), as well as several works of art on loan from Niagara University's Castellani Art Museum.

The Niagara University holdings include a suite of five drypoint etchings with stencil, including King David, King Solomon, Noah's Ark and Joseph, from the 1975 Dali portfolio, "Our Historical Heritage;" The Curse Overthrown, a 1974 drypoint etching with stencil from the series "After 50 Years of Surrealism," and Crucifixion (not dated), a marble sculpture with gold details and inlaid gemstones.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.[/box]

Dali and his wife, Gala, just fascinate me.
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wiki on Dali:

wiki on his wife, Gala:

I would enjoy a conversation with either of them.

See some Dali at "virtual Dali":

a few examples of work that likely look familiar to you, snagged from google images:

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ladycroft - 06/23/09 04:57
I totally want visit his home when I go to Spain. I just saw it on an English fashion show and it looks amazing!
jbeatty - 06/22/09 19:23
I really need to go see this.
metalpeter - 06/22/09 18:54
That one with the clocks is pretty famous, it is even in a Bugs Bunny Movie I like. I forget what it is called but there is some chase scene in an art gallery and they go into painting and in each painting the characters change based on the painting it is really a great part of the movie artisticly.

06/10/2009 02:21 #48882

Thoughts of Rugby Dancing in my Head
Category: weekend
I totally want to watch some Rugby games this summer & fall.

Some of you do too, right? :)

between all the men and women's games going on, we should all be able to find something fun to watch!

whose in?

I'm checking the schedule and seeing what is going on and where.

It will be fun!*nods*
mrmike - 06/21/09 18:19
Most saturdays in Delaware Park you can find some pummelings, er games.
pyrcedgrrl - 06/10/09 17:33
As discussed last night over our hideous bowling alley beer, I am SO in. :D

06/07/2009 01:39 #48857

covering ground- gmaps pedometer
I'm currently obsessed with Gmaps Pedometer.



I don't know why I haven't used this before! I'm slowing down on catching on for some things, I guess. Becoming less of an 'early adopter' and more of a 'when i get around to it' sort of mentality. Seriously? I still use MapQuest.

So, I'm not a big fan of using an actual pedometer. I have them, but they collect dust. I don't really care how many steps I have taken, just the time and miles. Besides, I don't trust that it (or me) gauges my stride correctly. I generally know how far I have gone, and for how long, but I am curious for more specific distance-data on the various paths I take, or veer off of, or whatever.

Sure I know that if I am walking a decent pace, that in 15 minutes I should have covered a mile. Some days, however, 45 minutes may have passed, feeling like I covered three miles, but my dragging feet barely covered two.

or I stopped and smelled the lilacs.

or scratched a dog under their chin.

or took in the view for an extra minute or two.

So, I need to know. really know.

obviously this can be generalized to other forms of transportation/bodily movement.

Anyone else use this or have another neat way to gauge miles?

05/16/2009 00:43 #48678

As the Axe Turns- estrip tales of horror
Category: silliness
don't mess with a girls quest for books.
or she might just hack your ass in half!


the saga begins with one guys search for an 'over processed hair-public transportation cutie', a concerned (but sketchy?) online "friend" who says, "beware of axe murderers", and a voice from the shadows telling this sordid tale.

"Everything is red she is hearing death metal in her head, and not even the bands she likes."


the drama continues as the mysterious "concerned friend" rises from her icy tomb and is hungry... hungry for cheap groceries, "the perfect book" and revenge for anyone who dares takes her books away.

This means YOU,book nazi.
"No book for you!"

ah, and no last word for you but the shriek of your limbs being hacked off with a special Japanese axe.

see (e:theli), (e:tinypliny) and (e:metalpeter) unravel the full story (and comments and ensuing silliness) at:

(e:theli,48665)



(e:metalpeter), i don't know what to say. I want to write a comment but I can't even begin to do so right now, but I will. I was just laughing so damn hard that I woke my sleeping bf, and disturbed my lounging cats. I need to reread the whole thread and your brilliant additions to the "(e:) true-story" haha

cracked me up, thank you thank you thank you

theecarey - 05/17/09 13:04
thankse:heidi.I forgot I even wrote this, it was late and I havent been back on since. maybe there will be a movie- we'll need that 'movie trailer voice' guy to do it. eh, can't think of his name.

naw, it's all good, (e:metalpeter), meant as a compliment- I was laughing so damn hard, even wheezing at times, it was awesome to crack up like that. I was really, "LOLing" and "LMFAO"

hahahahah, yes, (e:tinypliny) "sketchy and hungry for cheap groceries" :) I wonder if that would fit into your user pic? if not, 'axe murderer' sure will. :P

of course, you arent really a rage crazy axe wielding lunatic :D

hmmmm... next years halloween costume..


metalpeter - 05/16/09 17:37
You are welcome. I will also say sorry I didn't intend for you to disturb your cats or the sleeping boyfriend. I have to also say I was laughing as I wrote some parts of it. It was a regular laugh and not like an evil movie cackle or anything like that.
tinypliny - 05/16/09 07:36
HAHAHA Sketchy? And hungry for cheap groceries?? Now come on!

;-)
heidi - 05/16/09 01:22
Is that copy for the book jacket? Too funny!

05/15/2009 16:16 #48675

billing mistakes,collections, headaches!
Category: semi rant
oh my!

as part of a new patient examination, my new doc had me go for a ton of blood work for baseline health, etc. I use Quest for all that blood sucking stuff. This was back in October.


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My insurance always takes care of lab fees, but I received a bill from Quest rather recently. I forwarded it on to my insurance (through snail mail), but somehow they didn't get it. Then I tried faxing it to them daily for a week, different locations, different times, always busy. Called, tried new fax numbers with same result. They have all this communication documented, as I kept calling them to explain my inability to get the bill to them. I was told to re send through the mail (different addy than originally sent) and that seemed to work.

In the mean time, I got a call from a collection agency!

I guess Quest sent it off to collections pretty quickly although this is the first I heard of even having an outstanding 'bill'.

So back and forth I go with the collections agency. I called them once I received a letter- I wanted to find out what date this happened, etc. (why so quick?) Of course they launched into payment options..

them: "send us money"

me: "no"

them: "if you can't pay it all, we can put you on a payment plan"

me: "no. this isn't my bill, I do not owe you anything- it is currently being handled by my insurance company"

them; "send us money and your insurance will reimburse you"

me: "uhhhh no. I will not assume what you say is true. I need direct communication from insurance company before making any decision. I'll call back"
(really now! and hell no I'm not sending money! - later call to insurance company laughed at the collections brazen attempt to say what the insurance company would/wouldnt do- and no, it is not up to me to pay the bill in any capacity, as it is covered)

I would/should send them a "Spider Drawing As Payment", like this:



so daily calls from collections ensued. i felt like one of those people that avoid the phone expressly for this reason. I just didn't want to have the same conversation until I knew more.

I then received word back from my insurance- in writing and a phone call, that the bill was an oversight on Quests part and that they indeed should not have billed me for anything and that the bill was indeed paid in full by the insurance company. It will fall upon Quest to contact collections and state that this account should not be there. The bill was paid! There is no actual "bill". Argh!

I made a call to collections to inform them of this update, to tell them to stop calling me, and that any interaction I have with anyone on this matter will be with Quest and/or my insurance. Yeh, they are doing their 'job', but enough already!

As a last ditch effort, the collections person actually said for me to call my insurance and to let them know that they can pay the bill with a debit or credit card, and here's the reference #, phone # and contact person, etc. imagine that? And I did call my insurance people just to see if there was anything else I needed to do (and to document my self initiated follow up).

Feeling empathy for dealing with collections, the gentleman I spoke to said that he would call them on my behalf as a favor, but they wouldn't deal with them financially, just reiterate what I said- as the bill being in collections isn't appropriate and that it was a mistake on Quest. So the letter sent to Quest pertaining to this matter was copied to me and they have X amount of days to resolve this billing error and to take me out of collections.

In the mean time, I will see if anything changes on my credit report updates.

and I will wait a little longer before answering my phone again!

although- I'm now on top of my Fair Debt Collections Practices Act..
wiki article:


actual fun-tastic PDF document of Fair Debt Collections Practices Act blah blah blah:

and a super quick "ehow" to get them off my ass:


but still waiting for this next
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written by this guy
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looked for "smiling happy collection agents" in google images, but nothing turned up in search results. just "request impossible"






metalpeter - 05/16/09 17:47
it is really amazing how one small mistake by quest really snowballed. It is one thing to owe money and do something funny like the spider thing but to be called for money you don't owe because there is no bill really is insane.
mrmike - 05/15/09 16:53
Sounds like my recent tete-a-tete trying to get the fools at two insurance companies to get off their asses and cover my kids. Turns out the cable company who shant be named never turned off the policies. Wish I'd known that during last summer's bell's palsy saga.