That Is Not What I Meant, At All

Alright Alright Alright.  I officially suffer from blog title commitment phobia.  But I have a really, really good reason, I promise.  I wasn't totally satisfied with "Lofty Thoughts" because, well, most of my thoughts just aren't that lofty, even on an ironic level.  Although the title aptly described my writing space, I felt the need for something slightly more well rounded.  I took the phrase"magic lantern" from the T.S. Eliot poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Proofrock".  Not only is it one of my favourite poems of all time, but I feel a personal connection to the context in which the phrase was written.  As the poem suggests, "magic lantern" is also an old fashioned term for a film projector.  As a good percentage of my posts are about movies, I feel this title is more than appropriate.  Look for a corresponding change in URL coming soon, as well as a new background picture.  I will leave you with the stanza from "Proofrock" which contains the magic lantern:

And would it have been worth it, after all,

Would it have been worth while,

After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor --

And this, and so much more? --

It is impossible to say just what I mean!

But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

Would it have been worth while

If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,

And turning toward the window, should say:

"That is not it at all,

 That is not what I meant, at all."