[Richard Heinberg is my kinda guy, because he obsesses about things like gas-powered leaf blowers, but also because he is not afraid to dig deep into full lifecycle analysis. Everyone wants the quick fix, the easy solution, the immediate gratification. Air is polluted? Easy-squeezy. Put solar panels on the roof and buy an electric car... Continue Reading →
Music to Go To The Dump By
[This tribute to Silverback Ken comes via the pen of Silverback Bill (Hinesburg SBs). Although the Silverback community is geographically disperse, as opposed to Vermont-specific, it is still highly highly-specialized, self-selected, and endangered. There is a wealth of wisdom to be gleaned by examining the legacy of SB Ken. SB SM] Photo Image courtesy Stowe... Continue Reading →
Authentically Kardashian
[Remember when things were "amazing" and "awesome." Or when we were all things "locavore?" Favored words come and go just like the "It" label that periodically attaches itself to young females of the species. Luckily, here in The Jungle, the word of the year is, was, and will forever be Oo-oo. SB SM] NEW YORK... Continue Reading →
Remembering Netflix
[It's pathetic when something this recent is falling into the nostalgia category. Lest we forget ... when I moved to Vermont in 1979 there was but a single channel of broadcast television. Approximately 6 years later I bought the first VCR in our village of West Brookfield for $1500. And it was used. The person... Continue Reading →
Pal O’Mine
[We lost SB Ed earlier this year. He was one of the original members of what was then the Silverback Film Society, but Ed was "one of the originals" in many other ways. At his celebration of life event in September, more than 600 folks packed Chandler Music Hall to remember him. For me, the... Continue Reading →
Ryan McCarty Tells Us How to “Bring Your Soul to Work”
[In his own words, Ryan McCarty describes "My Why ..." My work has led me to champion people as an internationally renowned Keynote Speaker, Co-Founder of Culture of Good, and author of the groundbreaking book "Build A Culture Of Good". I help organizations champion their people and culture to create an inspiring, meaningful and empowered workplace... Continue Reading →
The Low Down on the Greatest Dictionary Collection in the World
https://www.atlasobscura.com/ From “unabridged” to “slanguage,” Madeline Kripke’s library is a logophile’s heaven (or hell). BY APRIL WHITE NOVEMBER 14, 2023 These boxes represent just a portion of Madeline Kripke's dictionary collection—around 10,000 volumes and counting. COURTESY LILLY LIBRARY MADELINE KRIPKE’S FIRST DICTIONARY WAS a copy of Webster’s Collegiate that her parents gave her when she was a fifth grader in Omaha in... Continue Reading →
The New Interactive Smartboard
The Beauty of Chalk Jessica Wynne’s Do Not Erase: Mathematicians and Their Chalkboards makes the case for slower, low-tech tools in the classroom. By Roy Peachey OCTOBER 24, 2023 In A Mathematician’s Apology, G. H. Hardy writes, “The mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s or the poet’s, must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colors or the words, must fit... Continue Reading →
David Sedaris: Punching Down
[I don't know how to properly credit this essay. It's written by David Sedaris. It was a podcast that was produced by someone at the Detroit Free Press, then posted on Facebook, where it was shared a zillion times. That said ... he makes some good points about overly-coddled children and unrealistic parents. SB SM]... Continue Reading →
Rick Hannon, Soundscape Designer
[Silverback Steve Shepard of The Natural Curiosity Project, our podcasting partner, has just posted his interview with Rick Hannon. It's well worth 12 minutes of your time. SB SM] Writes Steve: "I first ran across Rick Hannon's work when I purchased his album, "Dusk to Dawn on the Camas Prairie." After listening to this extraordinary... Continue Reading →