Archive for March, 2009

There is the South Beach diet, Weight Watchers, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig and enough of a variety of other weight-management methods out there, including a wide choice of pills and books, to bury the average would-be dieter three feet deep. While all these methods have varying degrees of success, they also require a certain amount... »

It’s about 10 a.m. last Tuesday, sunny and warm outside. I walk out my front door, making sure to lock the door behind me, walk up the sidewalk to the corner, and take a right. Just around another corner and up ahead is my destination and as I turn off the sidewalk, I notice... »

It’s a lazy Sunday, making it the perfect time to check in on our local video bloggers — vloggers if you’re hip. Local geek-culture vlogger David (aka Kratos87Fan19) posted a review of manga/anime adaptation DragonBall Evolution. Fair warning: You’ll have to wade through a confusing and WAY overlong minute-and-a-half intro to get to the part... »

It has been some time since I’ve written a proper round-up of the goings on in Spartanburg’s blogland, so we have a lot of ground to cover. This is a good thing to do on a rainy day, however, and today is definitely that. Let’s start with Seeding Spartanburg, which saw blogger Tammy Stokes take... »

Here’s the gimmick: Each week, we’ll pick two local bands — an opening act and a headliner — link to a site where you can listen to their songs for free, then ask you to spend a few moments of your precious time to tell us what you think about them. Some may be... »

Local music addicts, pleas don’t worry: Listening Party is one the way. Expect it early this afternoon. »

What does Google News have to say about our fair city today? Plenty, actually. Take this charming bit from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal’s police blotter … Police are searching for a man accused of indecent exposure outside a business Monday night at Hillcrest Shopping Center. An employee told police a man, 35 to 40 years old and wearing a... »

Just to remind everyone, tonight (Thursday, March 26) we’ll be holding another of the highly informal Sparkle City Blogs Blogger Meet-Ups. Bloggers, blog-fans and others will meet up at Sonny’s Brick Oven Pizza, from 7 p.m. until at least 9 p.m., although bloggers are welcome to stay later if they so choose. In case... »

As some of you may have noticed, I’ve added some Amazon.com ads into the Spark’s ad rotation. While I realize that the last thing most of you want is to be advertised at any more in your daily lives, there’s a method to my madness here. You see, these ads have the rather cool ability... »

The other day I was watching my grandaughter play with a pot and a lid. She found it delightful to put a small object into the pot, put on the lid, then take the object back out. She also had a wooden spoon that she would sometimes use to bang against the pot with. These... »

After reading a recent post on TechCrunch about why online advertising is failing, I’ve starting thinking about what purpose the advertising on Spark actually serves. Yes, it does give the charitable few of you who click on the ads a chance to support the project, but beyond that, how useful are they really? After all,... »

Generally speaking, I try to avoid squabbles happening within the local Republican Party. I almost never have a side to take, and most of the time it’s not worth it to me to waste my energy following the back-and-forth internal action of a group that I have very little use for. Every so often... »

This week, I thought I’d forgo the regular format and instead check in on Spartanburg’s video-bloggers, who often get overlooked in our weekly round-ups. Let’s start with Kemosiri864, who vlogs about his view of faith, religion and hypocrisy. Not safe for work for language, but still well worth watching. Next up is sign-language vlogger jj3dartist, who... »

Calling all local blog readers! Calling all local blog readers! Today, I issue you a challenge: I ask you to visit a local blog, and leave a comment. It can be a blog you read all the time, or a blog you’ve never read before. It doesn’t have to be a long or involved comment, either.... »

And just when it was shaping up to be a quiet weekend, WSPA drops this bombshell on us … Spartanburg County Sheriff’s office tells News Channel 7 that one of their deputies has been terminated after they say the deputy admitted to possession and viewing of child pornography. Chad Bagwell was terminated from the department. The... »