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Articles by Michael Langan
The Infinitely Stranger Cases of Sherlock Holmes
"My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes, as we sat at either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.
Audible Books & Originals
The Infinitely Stranger Cases of Sherlock Holmes Audible Audiobook – Unabridged "My dear fellow," said Sherlock Holmes, as we sat at either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.
Audible Books & Originals
Sherlock Holmes: Eliminate the Impossible Audible Audiobook – Unabridged In The Sign of Four, the great detective, Sherlock Holmes, famously says: "... when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ...". Eliminate the Impossible collects six canonical tales in which Holmes and Watson encounter mummies, angels, phantoms, invisible assassins, and arcane machines ... or so it might appear to those without a carefully stocked brain attic.
Audible Books & Originals
Sherlock Holmes: Eliminate the Impossible Audible Audiobook – Unabridged In The Sign of Four, the great detective, Sherlock Holmes, famously says: "... when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ...". Eliminate the Impossible collects six canonical tales in which Holmes and Watson encounter mummies, angels, phantoms, invisible assassins, and arcane machines ... or so it might appear to those without a carefully stocked brain attic.
Commentary: Remember "A You're Adorable?" by Perry Como?
Remember “A You’re Adorable?” by Perry Como? You’re a bit over the hill if you do. “‘A You’re Adorable” was a popular song with music by Sid Lippman and lyrics by Buddy Kaye and Fred Wise, published in 1948. The most well-known version was recorded by Perry Como, with The Fontane Sisters on March 1, 1949.” Listen and learn a new alphabet of young love. Como was the greatest! Michael D. Langan is the NBC-2 com Culture Critic.
Commentary: Who caused the deadly blast at the Gaza hospital?
Even though clear evidence to substantiate who bombed the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City may be forthcoming, it won’t make any difference to the Israelis and Hamas. Both are dug in on who did it and that won’t change. The U.S. is believable with its report that a Hamas – aligned group has done it. Hamas frequently lies diplomatically and is therefore not believable. A full evaluation of the crime scene, where some allege the death toll is over 500, by independent experts would be a good thing.
Commentary: How the Catholic Church might engage through use of AI in preserving its doctrines and beliefs
First, AI’s definition: It’s the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. Father Philip Larrey, Vatican expert and Chairman of Humanity 2.0, which facilitates “collaborative ventures between the traditionally siloed public, private and faith-bases sectors,” has developed strong ties with leading AI innovators throughout the world.
Book Review: "Housman Country: Into The Heart of England"
“Housman Country: Into The Heart Of England” By Peter Parker | Farrar, Straus and Giroux 544 pages – $30 “Like a true Englishman, he takes his pleasure sadly.” – A description by anonymous early American reviewer of Houseman and his book of poems, “A Shropshire Lad.” This was the view from the United States when A. E. Housman (1859 – 1936) published his collection, “A Shropshire Lad”, partly at his own expense, in 1896.
Commentary: What is the job of the Culture Critic?
Readers of the NBC-2.com’s Culture Critic’s column over the past five years and hundreds of entries already know what he tries to do. The NBC2 Culture Critic’s assignment is to help each of us better understand our American culture, others’ perspectives, and ourselves. I try to write about our beliefs and traditions, and how they affect our lives. Almost always, this means making clearer one’s own views about these issues in the writing itself.
Commentary: Good Grief in Naples
Death comes to us all, friends and family alike, doesn’t it? About this phenomenon, people sometimes people say, Good Grief, to express shock or surprise. The first known appearance of the phrase Good Grief was in 1900 in the English Dialect Dictionary. Those words also became well known because of their frequent usage by Charlie Brown, a character in the comic strip of Charles W. Schulz. Of course we’re tempted to ask, “What’s good about grief?” Here are some suggested replies worth considering.
Book review: God - A Human History
God: A Human History By Reza Aslan | Random House 280 pages – $28 A human history of God? What other kind could there be, unless God decided to write his own biography? (In fact, God did write about Himself in the Bible.
Book review: Robert Oppenheimer - A Life Inside The Center
Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside The Center By Ray Monk | Doubleday 825 pages – $37.50 “We knew the world would not be the same … Most people were silent.
Commentary: Anything big happen in the world on your birthday?
You might think that your birthday was quite enough. But you’d be wrong. Here’s why: The New York Times has a publication for sale that prints every front page of your birthday date from your natal year until now in a nicely bound book for sale. Of course it’s the Times’s way of making a buck on those who like history – or who think it’s a clever way of aligning the NYT’s front page with one’s arrival on earth.
Commentary: Some things change over time; others, like loss, don't
The names of some things change over time. Loss does not. An example of change: If you lived through WW II, you’ll recall the term, ice box. In the 1940s and and earlier, an ice box was “an insulated cabinet or chest with a portion for ice, used for preserving or cooling food, beverages, etc.” People also called them ‘refrigerators’ and they were used mostly before the invention of electric refrigerators.
Commentary: Wisdom from scattered sources
Occasionally, as I scan other writers’ work, I form a broader view of life. I’m sure this happens to you, too. Some examples of new insight for me about art and artists, all from articles in The Times Literary Supplement, May 26, 2023. Consider Peregrinus (p.9), “who passed through various sects, including Christianity, before burning himself alive before a large crowd in 165 CE, and the satirist, Lucian, who wrote his biography.
Commentary: James Campbell, aka (J.C.), former TLS NB columnist
Of all the writers I’ve come across over 40 years of reviewing books and writing commentary, James Campbell, former Times Literary Critic columnist, may be my favorite. There’s a piece about Campbell in the May 23, 2023, issue of the NYT’s book section by Dwight Garner.
Commentary: A Teacher Remembered…
The teaching profession across America needs great teachers now. Here is a brief reflection of one outstanding teacher, Dr. Joanne E. Langan, and educator for almost 50 years. Joanne taught English in public high schools in New York and Maryland, as well at Nardin Academy, a private independent Catholic school in Buffalo, NY, and into retirement in Collier County, FL, where she counseled public high school students. This teacher remembered is Dr. Joanne E. Langan, my wife of almost 64 years.
Commentary: Easter Morning
“Christ is Risen! With that glorious fact, let me welcome each of you to Easter morning services.” This is the greeting that Father Lawrence LaFrance, a retired priest in his early eighties from Canada offers. He’s been retained by the cruise line to minister to Catholics on a cruise through the Panama Canal before the Covid epidemic. Father LaFrance is a former high school English teacher, lives in community with a dozen other clergymen in retirement in Canada. He’s on a mission.
Commentary: “A shared shrug at gun control in Washington” not acceptable
“A shared shrug at gun control in Washington.” This is the headline of an article on the front page of the NYT on 3/30/2023. Its subhead reads, “G.O.P. Is Not Budging, as Shootings Mount.” We must go beyond asking for prayers, admittedly important, for the latest victims of gun violence in Nashville last week. Something more significant must be done in Washington, by the Congress.
Book Review: The Giver of Stars
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Book Review: The Giver of Stars
The Giver of Stars By Jojo Moyes 387 pages, Penguin Books, 2019 Paperback: $17.00 Langan’s Book Mark: 4 of 4 Stars The Giver of Stars, named after the Amy Lowell poem by that name, is a wonderful book. I wouldn’t have reviewed if it weren’t for Joanne, my wife of almost 64 years, having suggested it. As usual, Joanne is far better at spotting good writing than I am. What’s the novel about? It’s the story of women’s friendship in rural 1930s America, an epic feminist adventure, critics call it.
Commentary: Remember the song, "Half As Lovely, Twice As True"?
Remember “Half as Lovely…”? It’s one of my favorite songs because of a newer version by Seth MacFarlane (1973 – ), the American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian and singer. Great words, nicely sung, with a terrific trumpet accompaniment; the best I’ve ever heard. Puzzle: Who’s the trumpeter? We’re not told. Some background: “Half As Lovely…” was written in 1955 by Lew Spence, (1920 – 2008) an American songwriter.
Commentary: College Dropout; not a pretty sight
The March 19, 2023 issue of the NYT has a piece entitled “College Dropout’ in its Sunday Opinion section, p. 2., raising the alarm over the decline of enrollment in U.S. colleges. The usual suspects of the decline in admissions are mentioned: Covid, rising inflation, a strong job market and concern about debt contribute to the trend. The article, however, goes beyond these observable pressure points. It mentions other problems that lead to why more than a few colleges are going out of business.
Commentary: College Dropout; not a pretty sight
The March 19, 2023 issue of the NYT has a piece entitled “College Dropout’ in its Sunday Opinion section, p. 2., raising the alarm over the decline of enrollment in U.S. colleges. The usual suspects of the decline in admissions are mentioned: Covid, rising inflation, a strong job market and concern about debt contribute to the trend. The article, however, goes beyond these observable pressure points. It mentions other problems that lead to why more than a few colleges are going out of business.
Commentary: "Guests of the Nation" seems magical and fey in the turbulence of later wars
The Irish writer, Frank O’Connor (1903 – 1966) was prolific: he wrote poetry, dramatic works, memoirs, journalism, translation; nothing was foreign to his genius. An example is O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation” one of the best short stories in English. Note the ironic use of the word, Guests, in the title. In the O’Connor story, ‘guests’ means ‘prisoners. Normally, ”a guest’ is not a prisoner.
Commentary: "A Kiss to Build a Dream On"
Remember Louis Armstrong and his rendition of “A Kiss to Build a Dream On”, recorded in 1951? “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” was composed by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II. Here’s how it happened: In 1935, Kalmar and Ruby wrote a song called “Moonlight on the Meadow” for the Marx Brothers’ film, A Night at the Opera, but the song wasn’t used.
Book Review: "I am Rosa Parks"
“I am Rosa Parks” By Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos By now you know the inspiring story of Rosa Parks. She refused famously to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white person in 1955. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (1913 – 2005) “was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott.” As the writer Brad Meltzer puts it in this new book, Rosa recounted the incident: “It was the end of a busy Thursday.
Commentary: Remember the remark "When everybody's somebody, nobody's anybody?"
W. S. Gilbert, the English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator (1836 – 1911) first wrote it. Gilbert’s saying has great currency today in discussing what’s left of academic literary criticism. (My guess is that the average reader hasn’t got a clue about this kind of criticism and could care less about finding out.) Here’s an explanation of academic literary criticism, why it’s thought to be important, and its apparent disappearance.
Commentary: Sitting in traffic? A hearse would be worse…
Here’s why you’re sitting in your car and not going anywhere fast: The February 3, 2023 Naples Daily News reports: “More than 583,200 people were freshly entered into the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles database in 2022…” That’s more than a half million new folks on Florida highways just last year, folks. And it seems they’re all jockeying to get in front of you as you drive. It could be worse. You could be in a hearse, dead because of speeders or drunken drivers.
Commentary: World-weary?
You’re not alone. There’s an insightful new book out, “A History of Fatigue From the Middle Ages to the present.” It makes an attempt to explain the ways that the concept of fatigue has been thought about, and dealt with for the last 500 years. The book is written by Georges Vigarello, the French historian and sociologist. It’s reviewed by Anna Katharina Schaffner, professor of history at the University of Kent.
Commentary: Waco, after 30 years, a remembrance
The memory of the federal raid on the Camp Davidians near Waco, Texas, 30 years ago this week is the ghost of the past in today’s continuing controversy over a questionable consolidation of federal law enforcement and gun control. The takeaway: Absent a coherent strategy and strong oversight in law enforcement, bad things will happen. The history of what happened at Waco is an unending list of what-ifs and whys.
Commentary: Remember the song, “I didn’t know the gun was loaded”?
Exclusive: Hunter quarantined where classified docs found, but new evidence shows he was there many times Hunter Biden reportedly quarantined at the house where classified documents were found, but additional evidence shows he was there on numerous other occasions.
Commentary: Remember the song, "I didn't know the gun was loaded"?
This song is clearly out of date today, with people killing each other shamelessly, purposely, and with abandon. (Think 10 killed in Monterey Park dance studio on Lunar New Year’s Eve, and 648 mass shootings in the U.S. last year alone, according to yesterday’s NYT.) For a long time in America, nothing has happened to make firearms laws stricter, no matter how deadly things get.
Commentary: "What's it all about, Alfie?"
“Alfie” is the name of the terrific song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David featured in the 1966 film, “Alfie.” Bacharach, a musical genius, called “Alfie” his personal favorite of all that he had written. Here’s the story of the film: “Alfie” is set in postwar London, and it features Michael Caine as a chauffeur bent on promiscuity. A summary of the film: “After impregnating his girlfriend he takes off on vacation. He continues his life of womanizing, but he can’t hide forever.
Commentary: St. John Cardinal Newman’s definition of a gentleman
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Commentary: St. John Cardinal Newman's definition of a gentleman
Sunday, October 13, 2019: This was the day that John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was canonized in Rome, along with four others, all women, in a splendid, solemn ceremony.
Review: The Emoji Code 🙀
How Jonathan Jadali Is Accelerating the Growth of Ascend Agency The public relations industry is always in demand. The internet and the evolution of social media has made launching new businesses easier, yielding more competitive advantages to smaller and newer brands. As brands hustle to build visibility, this dynamic has directly contributed to a growing demand in the PR industry.
Review: The Emoji Code 🙀
“The Emoji Code: The Linguistics Behind Smiley Faces and Scaredy Cats” Vyvyan Evans | Picador 256 pages – $26.00 Langan’s bookmark: 5/5 This is a book about the history and value of the Emoji. By now you know an emoji is a small digital image or icon. It’s used to express an idea, emotion, in electronic communication. Many people love Emojis, by now well established, and other folks think they’re a nuisance used by those linguistically challenged. Which are they? Can they be both?
Commentary: Yogi Berra's enduring influence
Yogi Berra was born Lawrence Peter Berra on May 12, 1925, in St. Louis, Missouri. He died on September 22, 2015, a Tuesday. If you’re a baseball fan you’ll remember Berra’s great years as catcher for the New York Yankees. I remember most his twisting, contorted catches of foul balls popped up by batters and caught by Berra. He would go after a foul ball anywhere near the plate.
Book reviews: Character and Values
The English National Character: The History of an Idea from Edmund Burke to Tony Blair Peter Mandler | Yale University Press 360 pp – $35 ISBN: 978-300120523 The Making of Victorian Values: Decency and Dissent in Britain: 1789-1837 Ben Wilson | The Penguin Press 464 pp – $27.95 ISBN: 978-1594201161 “What kind of people are the English?
Review: The Fifth Gospel
“The Fifth Gospel” Ian Caldwell | Simon & Schuster 448 pages – $25.99 Ian Caldwell’s second novel, “The Fifth Gospel”, a murder mystery set in the Vatican in 2004, took ten years to write. It continues Caldwell’s interest in religious and gospel history, and family drama. This time frame is near the end of St. John Paul II’s papacy. JP II was a tough guy who worked almost until he died. He offered up his suffering, “a muted, rhythmic shaking” to the end. Caldwell includes him in the gospel story.
Review: Nicholas - The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus
By Jeremy Seal | Bloomsbury 252 pages – $24.95 Today is his day. And the cover of Jeremy Seal’s new book, with Santa making his way through what looks like snow, is attractive. But somehow, the British travel writer’s efforts to give us a comprehensive history of Santa comes up long, not short. We know what we admire about Santa’s spirit. It is his loving impulse to shower children with gifts and then to steal away to the next house, unnoticed.
Commentary: Christmas, 1959…
1959 seems a long time ago; 63 years. It was my first year of teaching after Joanne Ernst and I were married on June 20th of that year, and graduating a month earlier, May, from Canisius College, in Buffalo, New York. In September, I was a new teacher of English at Grover Cleveland High School. It was a public high school named after the President – on the west side of Buffalo – an area in need of an uplift, even then.
Commentary: Will you be sending Christmas cards this year?
We will. We always have done, although my handwriting is beginning to fail. Good thing my retired-schoolteacher wife, Joanne, has excellent penmanship. We plan to send a religious card, a representation of the Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli, an Italian artist of the 15th century. This is in remembrance of the birth of Christ. An article in The Smithsonian Magazine (2015) tells us how the first Christmas cards were ‘invented’ and sent in 1843. Here’s the way it happened.
COMMENTARY: "Shovel off to Buffalo", the Blizzard of 1977
Buffalo, NY is no stranger to heavy snow. The present heavy snow will leave its mark, but it won’t be pretty, or the last blast of rain, ice and snow across Lake Erie into Western New York. I remember the Blizzard of 1977, when we lived in Amherst, NY, a suburb of Buffalo. It was terrible. Snow plows buried people in their cars where they died. Roofs collapsed and more. It’s briefly described by Wikipedia, below.
Commentary: Benny Goodman's 1965 version of "Here's That Rainy Day"
Remember the jazz composition, “Here’s That Rainy Day”? It was a popular song published in 1953 with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical, Carnival in Flanders, on September 8th of that year. Later, Frank Sinatra recorded in 1958 and sang it numerous times in performance. “Here’s That Rainy Day” quickly became a jazz standard with recordings by Bill Evans, Duke Jordan, Wes Montgomery, Archie Shepp, and McCoy Tyner.
Commentary: A Thanksgiving remembered - Strawberry Plates
November 1983, at Georgetown University Our daughter Jeannie lived in a brick house two blocks from the main gate of the Georgetown University campus. It was a lovely area, with old, well-kept row houses huddled up against each other on brick and cobble-laced streets. A slight wind blew fallen leaves about in what seemed a discreet, if scratchy conversation with the stones. I was pleased to visit Georgetown this time of year, Thanksgiving, except for the trouble of finding a parking space.
Commentary: Cabaret singers Bobby Short and Andrea Marcovicci
Remember what Cabaret is? Cabaret is live entertainment consisting of dancing, singing and comedy acts that are performed in the evening in restaurants or nightclubs. I want to give high marks in remembrance to Bobby Short (1924 – 2005). Short was an American cabaret singer and pianist, best for his renditions of composers Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen and others.
Commentary: A favorite singer of mine - Mel Tormé
You can’t beat this lead from Google about a favorite singer of mine: Mel Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed “The Velvet Fog”, was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells.
Review: Newsroom Confidential - Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life
Newsroom Confidential Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life Margaret Sullivan St. Martin’s Press 272 pages $28.99 Perhaps you know that the French writer, Annie Ernaux, was the winner of The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022. What, you likely ask, has this fact to do with Margaret Sullivan’s new book, “Newsroom Confidential”? Here’s why I mention it.
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