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 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.

4 comments:

~Tessa~Scoffs said...

Lovely post, Mr. Lane. Have a lovely day with your Irish Redhead.

Main Line Sportsman said...

I recently watched this film and thought it was excellent..

Belle de Ville said...

I agree, this is the perfect film for Valentine's Day.

Petunia said...

So sweet! Will have to check out that movie. A very happy Valentine's Day to you both!