Author Archives: Michael C. McGreevy

It’s called gratitude, and that’s right

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Another exercise I had was to write a thank you letter for one of my happy pieces of encouragement…

As I mentioned in my post yesterday I had a very hard time coming up with three enemies to my creative self-worth due to the fact that I had far more positive artistic influences in my life than negative ones. That said, I had an equally hard time listing three positives because there were a LOT to choose from. I did manage to finally pick three to write down, and of the influences I selected was Salvatore “Sam” Falco.

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It’s my own worst enemy

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Editor’s Note – As part of my work with The Artist’s Way I am occasionally required to complete certain assignments that are intended to help me discover the things that have me “blocked” as an artist.  Unlike the daily exercise of completing 3 pages of long hand in a journal these stories do not, necessarily, have to be private.  As such I figured that since I was writing this anyway I’d go ahead and put some actual content in this journal for a change instead of letting it fester here unused.  Please understand, though, that what I am writing is not necessarily going to be a rational take on my experiences or any kind of plea for help.  On the contrary, these entries are actually part of a conscious effort to improve myself and my self-worth.

I have been asked to describe one of the “monsters” from my past that has held me back as an artist.  I really had to think hard about this because, frankly, I’ve had more support than not in my quest to be an artist. After thinking about it for a while I did manage to come up with my three, and here are the details on one of them…

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EA SPORTS Active special at Amazon.com: Today only!

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EA Sports ActiveIf you’ve thought about picking up a copy of EA SPORTS Active but haven’t pulled the trigger on the actual purchase yet today may be the day to do it.  As part of their “Black Friday Deals Week” Amazon.com is now selling the popular fitness game for only $39.99 (which is $20 off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price).

Amazon is limiting the purchases to one per customer and, if I am reading the site correctly, this offer expires after today (Monday, November 23rd). The odd thing to me is that this is being advertised as a “Black Friday” special. They are calling it a Black Friday Deals Week, but the last time I checked today was Monday, and it’s not even “Cyber Monday.”  I don’t know about you folks, but in kindergarten they taught me that there were seven totally different days in a week, and only one of them was Friday. I just don’t think Friday would be quite as awesome as it is if everyday was Friday.

It is clear that in the mad dash to actually turn some kind of profit in the wake of a horrible economic recession retailers are extending sales well beyond the traditional Day after Thanksgiving madness, but like all things Holiday related the constant push to have the shopping season last longer is getting a bit out of control. Next thing you know we’ll have Black Friday sales in January.

Nintendo Wii coming to Sports Authority

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SportsAuthorityIt appears as though the line between fitness and video games is getting even blurrier.  

Nintendo announced on Wednesday that they will soon be bringing the Nintendo Wii in Sports Authority chains nationwide. Marketed by the folks at Sports Authority with the catchy phrase “We know fit.  We know fun”, the console will be displayed in an interactive kiosk that will include fitness and sports related games and accessories in select stores starting on November 19th, 2009.

I have mixed feelings about this.

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A little exercise goes a long way

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Photo courtesy of akeg

Photo courtesy of akeg

Exercise is an important factor in getting to and maintaining a healthy weight. I realize that, for many folks, that statement is about as necessary as “oxygen is an important factor in breathing,” but for some of us it is a tough pill to swallow.  For most people, exercise is not an enjoyable way to spend their time, and the thought of getting in the CDC suggested 30 minutes of physical activity every day is frequently so intimidating that they choose not to start an exercise regimen at all. Conversely, they may go from a completely sedentary lifestyle to one in which they are exercising so vigorously and regularly that they end up hurting themselves or becoming discouraged over the fact that the weight isn’t coming off as quickly as they hope it would.

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And now you’re older still…

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So.  Yeah.  I’m 37 now.  One step closer to that magically delicious number of 40.

It was a damned good birthday.  Krystalle took me out to eat at Ted Peters Smoked Fish, a St. Petersburg institution that I thought I had never been to.  I’m not so sure of that anymore.  While I was eating the fish spread, in particular, kept making me think of my Grandpa Andres.  I didn’t have any actual memories of going there with him, but I know for a fact that he loved the restaurant.  When I called my Mother to ask if he had ever taken me there as a child she said it was certainly possible, so I think he may very well have done so.  Of course thinking of that set me on a trip down memory lane remembering the places here in St. Pete that mean something to me.  While we were eating at Ted Peters we were sitting almost directly across the street from Ten Pin Lanes – one of the places my Great Grandparents used to go bowling on a regular basis.  On the drive home we passed the church where I went to Boy Scouts and the high school my sister went to.  We passed by the nursing home where my Grandmother died and the Taco Bell we used to go to on Tuesday nights when we were dancing at Bennigan’s After Dark.  We passed the Middle School I went to where I really started to feel a passion for theater and the youth center I was sent to during the summer as a child where I learned lots of things about life that I’m not entirely sure my Mother sent me there to learn.

All these memories in the course of a 5 mile drive.

I do love this town.  If for no other reason than for the fact that I can go almost anywhere here and remember something that can put a smile on my face.

My evening was taken up by yet another performance of Night of the Living Dead, but it was pleasantly accompanied by some Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes that Katrina made for me that were absolutely amazing.  I had four of them.  Maybe five?  I don’t remember and I don’t care.  They were my birthday present and between those cupcakes and lunch at Ted Peters I still probably took in fewer calories than I would have had I done the annual trip to Crazy Buffet.  After the show we stopped by Four Green Fields and I accepted one of the drinks that were offered to me as a birthday present (I kinda had to drive home and had the boy with me.  Not really a recipe for getting tipsy, yanno?).

Life is good.  I am happy and surrounded by amazing people.  You couldn’t really ask for much more on a bithday.

Are you addicted to junk food?

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Original image courtesy of r3v || cls

Original image courtesy of r3v || cls

I started smoking when I was sixteen years old.  At the time I was convinced that I was young and invincible, despite the fact that I had proof of the dangers of cigarette smoking living with me in the form of my lung cancer ridden Grandmother.  Truth be told the reason I started smoking is even stupider than the act of smoking itself. I liked a girl. She didn’t like me back. She hated smokers and I was convinced that I would “show her” by picking up the habit. Apparently being stinky, having yellow teeth, spending money I didn’t have, and significantly increasing my chances of dying due to any number of horrible diseases was the perfect way to get revenge. I’m surprised I didn’t follow up by huffing spray paint.  That would have really showed her.

I have, in the course of the last twenty years, stopped smoking several times.  The last time I did so was in February of this year, and while I have slipped up and had a few cigarettes in the months that have passed on the whole I have remained smoke free.  Regardless of the fact that I’ve gone through it several times, though, quitting has never been easy. There are many situations in which I simply want to smoke, and there are physical symptoms of withdrawal that I go through as well. Those symptoms have included the inability to concentrate, shakes, extreme headaches, and intense irritability (the latter being so extreme that in several cases my significant other and I got into fights that almost led to the end of our relationship during periods in which we were both suffering from nicotine withdrawal).

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Geek fashion is good for your skin

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I'm only Wearing Black...Geeks do not, as a general rule, offer much in the way of challenge for the contemporary fashion designer.  You can pretty much sum up the majority of our clothing lines in the with a basic formula :

  1. Take one black t-shirt.
  2. Print something witty on it in white text.  You can also substitute an obscure pop culture reference.  Bonus points if it’s witty AND an obscure pop-culture reference.
  3. ???
  4. Profit

Truly, one of the oft-repeated jokes you’ll hear at any sizable convention is “Meet me at [location].  I’ll be the fat guy in the black t-shirt.” While we’re doing our best here at ShrinkGeek to help you shake off the first part of that joke, it’s an indisputable fact that most of you reading this probably have your fair share of dark shirts in your closet.

Fortunately for you that means you’re less likely to develop skin cancer.

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“Caring, investing wimps” make great step-parents

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Mother NatureBack in the 1970’s actress Dena Dietrich became the face of Gaea personified when she warned us all that it wasn’t “nice to fool Mother Nature.” At the time she was doing so in an advertisement for margarine, but that phrase and the ominous warning lurking behind it has been a prevalent theme in our society as we have time and time again discovered scientific ways to disrupt the “natural order” of life. While it is undeniable that technology has improved the standard of living for mankind on our lovely planet, history has shown, again and again, how nature points out the folly of man. In the medical world, for example, our efforts to combat disease have in some cases resulted in viral strains that are immune to treatment and far more deadly than the original condition we were seeking to eliminate.

Drug resistant diseases may not be the only way in which Mother Nature is thumbing her nose at us for attempting to circumvent her rules, though. A new paper published by the University of Sheffield claims that the use of oral contraceptives could cause women to select “provider types” as mates, and that doing so may have a detrimental impact on the health of their children.

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Bigben Interactive introduces new fitness accessories for the Nintendo Wii

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My Body CoachNot too long ago I wrote a story about how several programmers hooked up a treadmill and a Wiimote controller to their personal computer in order to play the Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Game Aion.  I’ve also written several articles about how the fitness gaming industry is exploding and more and more companies are coming out with innovative new ways to help players get fit using their consoles.

I knew that game designers were going to continue to push the envelope to find the “next big” thing in the fitness gaming arena, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the step that Bigben Interactive decided to go in.

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