There is a YouTube segment from NPR’s This American Life that is essential viewing. Rakoff was an essayist, a precise, delicious wordsmith who had so much to say that was wise. He died this past year at the age of 47.
Rakoff danced a lot as a child and into his young adulthood. In this video, shot three months before his death and four years in to his fight with cancer, he steps away from the lectern for a last dance. It is heartbreaking and beautiful, a moment so personal and yet so generous – an expression of love. Please watch.
Located on the ground floor of the glorious Payne Whitney mansion that houses the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the Albertine is a gem of a bookshop and reading room. The only French language bookstore in New York, it offers two floors of eclectic material in both French and English as well as a small offering of rare editions. The childrens' books on the second floor take flight under a ceiling painted as a cloudless night sky studded with stars and the zodiac's signs, all the brainchild of Jacques Garcia who oversaw the Albertine's meticulous design. The deep sofas and amber lighting lure one into a lingering frame of mind. We are definitely in Europe here - we could as well be in a cafe or bistro - far away from the raucous noise and hard edges of Manhattan. A rare moment of bliss.
http://www.albertine.com/"
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