The Outside Story By Steve Faccio The life cycles of the three species of stream salamanders native to New England – northern two-lined, northern dusky, and spring – are closely tied to the small streams where they are found. All three species belong to the Plethodontidae family, which are lungless salamanders that breathe through their... Continue Reading →
Contributed by Silverback Michael (Caspar Silverbacks) Gene Parsons is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and innovative engineer, best known for his work with The Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green. Parsons is credited with... Continue Reading →
[Put this in the "Nothing new under the sun" category. SB SM] Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex By James J. Conway Years before the Weimar Republic’s well-chronicled freedoms, the 1904 non-fiction study Berlin’s Third Sex depicted an astonishingly diverse subculture of sexual outlaws in the German capital. James J. Conway introduces a foundational text... Continue Reading →
Showdown at the Adventure Car Hop Corral SB J's (Mendocino Bonobos) memory of teenage hijinx taking place at the White Hut Car Hop stirred my own memories in the sub-folder labeled "Car Hop." By SB SM (Gilead Brook Silverbacks) It was 1958. Cars had fins and breasts had points. Beer was yellow and bread was... Continue Reading →
[According to the reviews on Google, the top-rated place to eat in Randolph, Vermont is Kuya's Sandwiches on Main Street. According to the judges of the prestigious James Beard Award, however, the top chef in the Northeast toils around the corner at a tiny Thai restaurant called Saap. SB SM] Nisachon "Rung" Morgan, chef of... Continue Reading →
[Do Silverbacks like their wine. You betcha. SB SM] Archaeologists have investigated Greek wine containers shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. Cristian Umili/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images Five Turning Points in the Evolution of Wine By Christopher Howard Contrary to popular belief, the evolution of wine precedes agriculture and the domestication of grapes. The genesis of wine may even predate... Continue Reading →
At one time the vision was that the four-acre parcel that hosts The Parsonage at 100 Gilead Brook Road would be turned into a working farm. Not a real farm, but an idyllic, poetic model of sustainability where you could sit in the herb garden and contemplate: Surrounded by flowers and overwhelmed by aromatics you... Continue Reading →
[Was Andy Warhol a Silverback? Good question. I'm not sure he would have fared very well in The Jungle. SB SM] from timharford.com on June 16, 2022 by Tim Harford Andy Warhol once gave a silkscreen portrait of Marilyn Monroe to a sceptical friend. Keep it safe in a closet, said Warhol: “One day it... Continue Reading →
[We've already had a Silverback tribute to Carl Russell, but I thought the way he left us was equally noteworthy. A small group of friends and neighbors gathered at Earthwise Farm and made a solemn procession up the logging trail following the brace of oxen pulling the cart bearing the plain pine coffin that held... Continue Reading →
[I'm letting Garrison Keillor carry the ball, which I should be doing, but I'm too important and too busy. SB SM] Father’s Day is a wonderful joke, a day on which you sit with your brood and someone turns to you and says, “When is Father’s Day? Isn’t it in June?” and you, the father,... Continue Reading →
