Tag Archive

Wanted: Local Bike Routes For Google Maps

By Steve Shanafelt

Earlier today, Google Maps launched a new feature which allows users to get road directions and route suggestions specifically intended for bicycles. These routes take a variety of bike-related factors into account, such as the slope of the road, the traffic volume on the roads in question and the existence of bike lanes. For... »

Miss Mom: My inner nerd

By Sylvie Galloway

By the time you read this, I may or may not have a fully operational computer. The reason for that is that my son installed an evaluation copy of Windows 7, and that copy expired March 1. “No biggie,” I thought. “I’ve installed hardware and software before. I’ve reformatted my hard drive on several... »

HammockCast: Bridging The Local Digital Divide

By Christopher George

This week I’m all ears…no really. I’m looking for your ideas on how we can bring some of Spartanburg’s less technologically savvy residents into our little community here at the Spark. In a world that’s becoming increasingly dependent on computers and the Internet, and knowing how that the two-way conversation of new... »

HammockCast: Picking Battles

By Christopher George

Everybody knows that the Internet was created with one main purpose in mind…well…besides pornography. I’m talking about arguing, specifically arguing about politics. On this HammockCast I ramble on about my own experiences as a veteran of more forum wars than I care to count. My conclusion: sometimes you’ve just got to... »

Blog Report: Five Spartanburg Twitterers To Follow

By Steve Shanafelt

While I’m still not convinced that microblogging is the future of the media, there’s no getting around the increasing popularity of Twitter. Part chatroom, part personal blog, part newsfeed, part social network, it’s hardly surprising that many people are enamored with the service Twitter provides, and in the last year there have been many... »

New Year, New Logo

By Steve Shanafelt

As many of you will have noticed, SpartanburgSpark.com has a spiffy new logo created by local artist/designer/mastermind Stephen Long. What’s awesome about this is that he decided to create this entirely on his own initiative, just because he thought it would be a good addition to the site. And boy, was he right. This is... »

Video-O-Rama: Haircut covers, KratosFan returns, JuicyBootyKeke’s Christmas Eve And A Snippet Of Song

By Steve Shanafelt

If you’ve ever wondered why YouTube might just be the best entertainment platform ever created, consider the following video. It’s a cover of the song “Loser” by 3 Doors Down as performed by Spartaburg-based acoustic rock band First Burn. By itself, this probably wouldn’t be interesting, and certainly not groundbreaking. But when you consider... »

Video-O-Rama: Brass Band, Deadlift, Robots And Pole Dancing

By Steve Shanafelt

I suppose it won’t be a huge shock if I reveal that many of the videos uploaded this week relate directly to the Christmas holiday. Of course, now that Christmas is over, the last thing many of us really want to think about is more red-and-green costumes, carols, gifts and all the stuff we... »

Blog Report: The Inevitable Holiday Blog Roundup

By Steve Shanafelt

As you might imagine, the buzz of the moment on almost every local blog relates to the Christmas holiday. Family togetherness, good cheer and all that stuff is the name of the game on the local blogosphere at the moment. But, if you know where to look, there are cracks in that thin veneer... »

Video-O-Rama: Panacea, Ecotherapy, Macbeth, And An Overdose Of Cuteness

By Steve Shanafelt

Local heavy rock group Panacea has a new video out. The song is called “3/30/33,” and it’s a slower, more somber tune than you might expect. Let’s take a look. If there’s any consistent, reliable indicator that Spartanburg’s culture is becoming a less rigid, more open thing, it’s the existence of programs like “Mindful Ecotherapy”... »

Blog Report: Over To You, With Chili

By Steve Shanafelt

Every so often — like when I’m in a big rush out the door to get to a holiday vacation — I like to turn the Blog Report over to you, the readers. You have a very simple task ahead of you: Check out SparkleCityBlogs.com, browse for recent blog entries that strike your fancy... »

Video-O-Rama: Re-Freerunning, ABC, Thai-Music Getdown And SPO Does Handel

By Steve Shanafelt

Another Spartanburg freerunning video? With some Williamston and Pelzer action too? And with sound this time? Can I get a w00t? (Or at least an insurance waiver?) I’m not sure why a local dance troupe would name themselves Another Bad Creation, since that’s the name of a not-exactly unknown hip-hop act from the early 1990s,... »

Big Idea: The Unified Spartanburg Calendar

By Steve Shanafelt

If you’ve been reading the Spark for more than a few months, odds are that you are more than aware of just how completely frustrated our attempt at creating an easy-to-use, easy-to-share calendar system has been. In fact, our in-house calendar system has never been very good, in spite of many, many attempts... »

Reader Soapbox: How I Freed Myself From Facebook

By Reader Soapbox

Soapbox contributor: Dani Draper To write your own Reader Soapbox, visit our Reader Soapbox submission page. The past few months I have come to realize the importance of dealing with people face-to-face. To help you understand how I came to this conclusion, I have to take you back eleven years. When I was twelve, in middle... »

Hub City Co-op’s Website Updated

By Steve Shanafelt

For those of you who have been following the evolution of the Hub City Co-op from good idea to actually-looking-like-it’s-really-going-to-happen store, you’ll be heartened to know that the group now has a brand-new website to replace their static information page (which, as long as we’re on the subject, replaced their free blog page,... »