Hello!

Welcome to The Epic! I am launching this blog as a manifesto for and a guide to living well. The title and motto of the blog are taken from the Epicureans, at least some of whom believed in the notion that not one minute of the future was guaranteed to them and that as a result they had the duty to live life to its fullest every moment.

I believe in discovering fun and pleasurable things wherever I find myself each day and I am told I have a knack for unearthing them. My hope is that by sharing in my pleasures and some of my ways of finding them you will begin to collect all the riches that lie in the moments of your life. They are there. Take them! All our lives should be.....Epic.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Epic Bookshelf: Daylight Noir


We go west,” she said, “through the Beverly Hills and then father on.”
I let the clutch in and drifted around the corner to go south to Sunset.
Dolores got one of her long brown cigarettes out.
“Did you bring a gun?” she asked.

I have always had a thing for Los Angeles. Not modern L.A. Old school, Raymond Chandler era L.A. Especially Beverly Hills. Which I like a LOT, even now. Particularly when I am dining at La Dolce Vita or drinking in the lobby bar of the almost inordinately swanky Beverly Hilton. Or doing both at Morton's on Melrose, while it lived.

I have never placed a volume on the Epic Bookshelf without having read it, but I am doing so now. Photographer Catherine Corman has put together what appears to be a marvelous selection of black and white photos of L.A. based upon Chandler's books. The Paris Review currently has an Epic piece by Jonathan Lethem integrating Corman's photos with Chandler's text. A sample from Lethem's article is found above. Ms. Corman's web site for the book has a wide selection of samples of what we will find when it is released on October 31. I plan on having my own copy of Daylight Noir on that very day. You will find me reading it at the Beverly Hilton bar. Bring a gun.

5 comments:

The Chukker said...

I have to tell you this, I enjoyed reading your blog so much!
Best
Chukker

M.Lane said...

Chukker, thank you! Your compliment means a LOT to me.

ML

Anonymous said...

I love the old LA scenes in film/DVD as well - Last Christmas my wife bought me the whole series of 77 Sunset Strip from 1957 to 1964. I still haven't seen it all. Although much of it is "staged", there are some scenes that are great to watch - and you can almost step into the old LA.

Best -- Paul

The Blushing Hostess said...

I love that quote. I usually ask that of my Hisband when we go to the bank, but I digress.

M.Lane said...

Paul, what a great gift! I'm going to see if I can rent them...

BH, just don't quote it at the airport. You will then get to meet a LOT of people you don't want to meet...

ML