[Paul Theroux is a notorious curmudgeon. He is also one of our best living writers and a natural Silverback. One year, as a Christmas present to Silverbelle Sandy, I went online and bought used copies all of all of Paul's travel books. It cost a pittance, but provided both of us with hours of reading... Continue Reading →
The Nose Knows
[A friend of mine, Silverbelle Janis, once asked "Did you ever stop to think ... that elevators smell different to midgets? It is, indeed, a profound metaphysical question. SB SM] A gorilla's sense of smell is stronger and more evolutionary intact than a human's, though both species share a similar sensory blueprint as primates. While... Continue Reading →
Saturday Silliness: Odds and Sods
[What else you going to do this morning? By the way, the buzz about my pants continues. Silverbelle Mary Jane, from the Arid Zone says "I haven’t been out of the house today, and I’m about 10 miles out of downtown, but there is some kind of ruckus going on down there so I’m guessing... Continue Reading →
The 19th Century London Garrotting Panics
[Ever try to garrotte a Silverback gorilla? You won't last long. Why do some crimes manage to instill fear in an entire society. The Unibomber comes to mind. And the Tylenol tampering? How about the guy who was shooting people at gas stations through the hole in his trunk? Anthrax, anyone? (And don't ask me... Continue Reading →
The softness of metal
[As a self-style rock 'n roller, I've always been a little dismissive of Metal as a musical genre. Sure, it's loud and fast, and kinda fun, but other parts I just don't get-- the glam, the posturing. The reality show escaped me as well. But, time moves on, the children get over, and now even... Continue Reading →
A “Beautifully Messy” Language
[This proves my point. "Oo-oo" is really all you need. Want a banana? "Oo-oo?" "Give me that banana!" "Oo-oo!!" "Put that banana where the sun don't shine." "Fuk-oo." All the rest is window dressing. This is a clear and simple explanation of how our language evolved. I learned a lot. Above all, the "rule" of... Continue Reading →
Tuesday List: The Strangest Collective Nouns
[I'm still not sure of the proper term for a collection of Silverbacks Maybe an Awesome of Silverbacks or a Magnificance of Silverbacks or a Delectabilia of Silverbelles. SB SM] What do you call a group of jugglers, a bunch of painters, or a pack of city buses? The peculiar answers to those questions may... Continue Reading →
Funny, but not “Clixed-Up”
[You might call these butchered cliches, because they are frequently mis-used and abused. They are distinctly different from "Clixed-up Michés" which are brain farts of epic dimension. I am always on the lookout for new ones. SB SM] https://silverbackdigest.com/2021/04/28/word-play-clixed-up-miches/ 10 Common Cliches (Almost) Everyone Gets Wrong If mistaken words are used often enough, people start... Continue Reading →
Stephen Morris’s Pants
[This is how things go these days. Trying to make the point that no one pays attention to me, or to the pants that i happen to be wearing, I post that I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say "Did you see those pants that Stephen Morris was wearing?... Continue Reading →
The Parsonage Turns 200!
[Big doins' at The Parsonage today. No silliness. More explanation to follow. SM]