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Blog Report: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008

Cross-posted from SpartanburgSpark.com.

What happened in the Spartanburg blogosphere this week? It's been something of an inactive week for local blogs -- crummy economy news, horrible gas situation, elections and debates to fret about -- but several local bloggers found the time to post their thoughts on this great internet of ours. Let’s take a look.

Craig over at 4P Photoblog has been posting regular images from his collection, including this handsome image, which he snagged in the parking lot of Charlotte's Discovery Place:

[W]e got to the museum before they opened, and I was able to spend some time trying out different kinds of shots from the top of the museum's parking garage. The shot above is taken from the pedestrian bridge that connects the museum and the parking garage. I thought the dark foreground, fence and bright, inviting background made for an interesting juxtaposition especially as it directly over the road below.

We tend to leave family-specific blogs out of the round-up, but local mommyblogger Summer Laney from A Window Into Our World recently marked her blog's 100th post, so we thought we'd give her a shout-out:

This is officially my 100th post!!!! I cannot believe I have kept this blog up as long as I have. I guess it is truly addicting and a good way to keep up with all the things that happen in our lives that I would never remember! ... So in honor of my 100th post, I was hoping that all the people who read, take a glance at, or stop by to "lurk" at my blog could leave me a comment. I don't care if I know you or not. Just say hey

Flying Oskar blogger Chris recently posted about having a good time in a bad economy:

The economy is in a tailspin. Gas prices are out of control. Food prices are crazy. What’s a fun-loving guy like myself supposed to do for the weekend when everything’s so crazy expensive? Well you just have to get creative that’s all. My girlfriend and I decided that we needed to break out of our seemingly never-ending chain of shop, restaurant, movie, shop, restaurant, movie so we decided to go natural. For one thing, going to a river or scenic local spot saves gas, because you’re not going out of town. It’s also creatively stimulating and usually free or at least very cheap.

In a refreshingly unironic post, Bab Bob from I Wanna Fly recently posted about -- guess what? -- being nearly ready to fly the airplane he's been building:

I'm finished with the plane! I still have to go through a condition inspection before the FAA inspector comes to look at it, but other than fitting one switch and sticking the numbers on, the plane is essentially finished. ... I have 1.2 hrs taxi and test time on the ground, and next weekend I'm going back to Crossville, TN for the Sonex fly-in so I can get a bit of flying time in a plane like mine. ... After the inspection, I will be a test pilot.

I've been dreaming of this for decades. Sometimes I can't sleep because I'm too exited.

Local author John Lane of Kudzu Telegraph fame recently posted a few reflections about having his Literary Papers Acquired by Texas Tech:

This morning I've been thinking about how last May my literary archives went to Texas. All my papers (letters to and from me, journals, notebooks, drafts and fragment of work both published and unpublished, contracts, bank statements, phone bills, you name it) had lived with me for over 30 years, and it was sad to see them all go, though Betsy was excited to have the boxes out of the basement. ... It's been strange since all that left not to be able to go into our basement and sort through some paper part of my life long-past. Now it's as if a part of me is gone to live in Texas, and I'd have to go there to visit it.

Long Purple Bike's Lydia is sick and tired, but that hasn't kept this highly active local blogger from rocking out:

Last night I kept waking up, in half-dreams imagining I had a great mechanical mask on my face, something like a Borg appliance. It's this dratted cold and it's been getting worse every day since Thursday. ... Thursday morning I awoke hardly able to swallow. Surmising I was sick and realizing this would account for the past few days' sneezing and coughing, I treated it to my usual remedy: vitamin C and E and a whole lot of sleep. I woke up again at 12:45 and realized I had to deal with the guy whose truck I dented the night before. Other than that, I don't recall accomplishing anything. ... That night, against my better judgment, I went out with my friend Bryant to catch Peelander Z at Ground Zero. ... Sure it was a lot of fun, and I didn't scream nearly as much as last time, but there's no way dancing around in a smoke-filled bar to music so loud the hair on my neck vibrated can be what a sick body needs.

Hub-Bub artist in residence Sarah Witt isn't letting on what she's building, but her most recent blog update is filled with cryptic photos of sewing, canvas, bamboo and creativity. What is she up to, exactly?

Local blogstar Tammy over at Seeding Spartanburg posted what she believes:

Are y’all familiar with the This I Believe series on NPR? It’s where, no surprise here, people talk about what they believe in. ... I’ve been doing a lot thinking this past week on who I am, where my passion lies, what I stand for and if I am wrong or right for choosing to do so. ...And I came to the conclusion today as I was on a walk downtown ... that I am not wrong. And I don’t mean not wrong … ever … on the issues… I just mean wrong on believing the way I do. Because I do encounter people that make me question that about myself. Who try to break my spirit. And I hate that about them that they would want to do that and I hate that about me … that I’d be so weak to question myself.

Amber over at Sim*plic*i*ty had some interesting thoughts on a TV show she recently saw:

I am watching something on Discovery Health called Paralyzed/ Pregnant. Basically, this woman is paralyzed, and she and her husband decide to have a baby. She goes through the pregnancy and labor and has a beautiful baby boy. ... The husband takes a paternity leave, and does all the work. He feeds, clothes, diapers, and gets up with the baby at night. Like, he literally has to do everything. ... Part of me says, "Hey, that's super cool that a paralyzed person can go through pregnancy and labor and be a mother." ... And then the other part of me thinks that it's completely and totally irresponsible and selfish.

Some Carolinian recently posted a few thoughts on South Carolina's voting machines, and why they may be the worst in the United States:

There is a of evidence that we do have the worst electronic voting machines in the country: other states have banned them and they don’t even leave a paper trail. The SC Election Commission is either out to lunch or in bed with the vendor. ... Congresses General Accounting Office released a report on severe lapses in the federal oversight of voting machines. In light of the slack attitude of the SC Election Commissioner Baum, the poor reputation of its machines, and the lack of federal oversite, South Carolina voters should be really concerned about protecting their ballots.

Sylvie is a blogger has been posting about how wonderful fall would be if it weren't for all that stupid ragweed:

I love the crispness in the air you feel with fall. I love the leaves as they change colors. Fall comes just in the nick of time for me fashion wise, as by the time it gets here, I'm utterly sick of my summer clothes. However Fall brings with it something that that doesn't agree with me at all. Ragweed, and all those other lovely pollinating weeds, plus the mold and mildew that falling and decaying leaves are sure to breed. Of course I'm allergic, very much so. SO much in fact that I get shots and take two prescription medications to help alleviate the symptoms. However even all that medical help is not quite enough at times. Like now when my sinuses are alternating between being completely blocked up and running like a raging river.

That’s it for this week. If you know of a local blog we missed, please e-mail the URL to publisher@spartanburgspark.com to that we can include it in the Sparkle City Blogs blogroll.

Also, we're thinking of hosting the next local blogger meet-up on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Date and location are flexible, and you'll be hearing more about it soon, but feel free to shoot us an e-mail with your thoughts and available times.