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.

Monday, February 28, 2011

The War Is Over

Frank Buckles, America's last known veteran of World War I, died today. There are no known remaining veterans of Germany, Austria, France, Italy, or of any other combatant army. They are all gone "over there". I wish them peace. And that we, following behind, remember a few of them come Armistice Day. Now, they are all poppies in a field...


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Make Mine Mead

No. Not THIS Meade. [Robin of CNN].
THIS Mead is what I am talking about. Sort of like a dry Sauternes with the Viking kick of over 12% alcohol. I have a certain pastime which.....let us say...is oriented toward Lord of the Ring-type adventuring. After eighteen months of effort, I achieved a certain distinction. I was saving a bottle of Ragnar's Reserve for the occasion. Perfect for celebrating overwhelming victory. I am putting in a case order. Today. Who knows when the next overwhelming victory may occur?


Procurement Note: Check out http://www.honeyrunwinery.com/. The photo of the vintners proves without question to me that they are some of my favorite people. If I make a wine pilgrimage trip, no Napa Valley bastion of me. I'm sailing my longboat to this place!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Mr. Washington


He is one of my very few heroes. Not for what they say he did but for what he really did. And for the things he refused to do. Anyone that accomplishes everything they ever dreamed and then walks away from the offer of ultimate power is a hero to me. Happy birthday Mr. Washington.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Hospital Days

I have been spending a lot of time at the hospital lately.

Driving out of the hospital parking garage every day makes a person very much aware of how happy a thing it is to be healthy. And to be free to drive around with the car windows open. And to feel the sun on your face.
But these are guilty pleasures. Purchased with the sorry currency of someone else's misfortune. And of the lucky suffering that leads to health. I thought of those last two sentences tonight as I was the one driving home. I liked them so I share them with you. I am not particularly proud of them. But they are true all the same.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Epic Cinema: The Young Victoria (2008)

Every Valentine's Day, people tend to ponder deep questions. Such as "Does True Love Exist?" Or, as Martin Amis so perfectly said, "Is it me? Is it now?" If we can find even one perfect example of such a thing, then of course it exists. And if it exists, then we must conclude that it is probably not a unique phenomena. That it can be, and is, replicated throughout nature.

The Young Victoria tells the amazing and true love story of Victoria and Albert. Young people who, like many young people, found themselves questing after love but facing almost insurmountable obstacles. Imagine it. You have to marry someone of "royal blood". You have to marry someone of the right age. You have to marry someone of royal blood, of the right age, and from the right sort of country. The weightiest forces of your family, your culture, your very nation, are brought to bear against you in this process. Just as at any American Thursday ladies night or Friday happy hour, you meet the usual selection of fools and shallows. Then, the perfect person just walks in the door. Of a palace. In a beautiful uniform. You share progressive thought. You play chess. You laugh. You spend the rest of your lives together.

This is a great movie and a perfect one for Valentine's Day. This story really happened. True Love manifested itself at the most rarefied level. Against all the odds. Against even the wills of governments. Under the horrid microscope of history. And it bloomed. And it lasted for decades. With as much vigor and depth as when they first caught each other's gaze.

It can happen. It happens every day. It happened to Victoria and Albert. And it happened to me. Here's to all love, and all lovers, everywhere. This is our day.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Man Of The Hour

This man saved my Irish Redhead's life today. And, along the way, he cured a condition that has menaced her for twenty years. When we first met him a few weeks ago, he spent over two hours just talking to us. About the issue. About this and that. He posited certain theories. All of which came true. This morning, early, before the day long surgery, his entire team came up and introduced themselves. Described what role they were to play in the day's events. One even kissed her hand. That, friends, is the result of real leadership. Of true professionalism. Of a commitment to excellence. Of giving more than a damn.

His name is Andreas Tzakis. They say he is the best in the world. He doesn't speak of such things. Afterward, I wanted to buy him a martini. At least. He didn't have time. He was off to help someone else.

As I mentioned, they say he is the best in the world. You will never hear any quarrel with that notion from this corner.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Fuzzy Photos Of Great Bars




Colony Bar, Grandover Resort, Greensboro, North Carolina. This is a marvelous bar tucked away in a marvelous resort hotel. The wood paneling was taken from an old tobacco barn.