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Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Farrow and the Consequence of Fame

There were two remarkable, maddening, things that happened over the weekend. Both events were related to fame and the failure of human consequence against the living, but the terms of the punishments were different: Both eternal, but one forever ended.

On Saturday, we read in the New York Times about the harrowing child abuse Dylan Farrow suffered at the hands of her infamous father, writer, director, actor and movie producer, Woody Allen.

On Sunday, we learned of the early death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who, at age 46, lived up to his earlier prescience about fame and fortune leading to a quick Hollywood death.  He made his point real in New York City with a needle jabbed in the arm of his corpse.

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As Elaine's Dies a Second Death

Elaine’s, a venerable restaurant on New York City’s upper East Side, is closing in nine days after being open for 48 years.  Elaine’s, in its heyday, was a hotspot place to be seen.  Woody Allen played his clarinet there.  Authors celebrated their books there.  Celebrities went there to be seen.  Elaine Kaufman — the “Elaine” in Elaine’s — died six months ago and now her namesake restaurant is following her to the grave.

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Underlining and Highlighting August Strindberg

My wife Elizabeth and I were at Whole Foods on the Upper West Side for some good wholesome food shopping. On our way out, a collection of books near the exit caught my eye. There was a sign inviting people to take and leave books. Every so often someone would come by and take the books to a charitable organization whose name I have already forgotten because I was so focused on the fact that there were a lot of books being given away.

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