Chapter 3
Psycho Studios: The Sprinkler
Chapter Three
11.1.2023
Editor – Mr. Z / Content
Research – Mr. W / Content
Psycho Studios is an independent Film/TV production company. We are a
multimedia platform and have a podcast as well as this newsletter.
Psycho Studios – Film/TV production
Psycho Studios Podcast
Psycho Studios: The Sprinkler [Newsletter]
Phoenix Arizona
Email – psychostudios66@gmail.com
Website – psycho–studio.com.
Instagram – psychostudios66
X [Formerly known as Twitter] - @Psychostud666
Forward
Mr Z. and me are a father & son team that started our production company about
a year and a half ago. We are working on the next phase of the production
company and look forward to being involved in feature film making. We wanted to
roll out a podcast and newsletter to give our audience a means to hear where we
are headed and what we are experiencing. The newsletter [The Sprinkler] is fun,
informative and value add for our audience! We want to remind our audience that
we leave politics at the door. We want our energy to be positive and wellness based.
Humor is in our DNA, along with creativity and a thirst for good film, music and
food. Our foundation is built on the horror genre, with other genres in our
repertoire as well. We hope you will join us monthly as we explore different ways to
enrich our lives and have some fun with exploring the human race.
We bring old school and contemporary to the table. Our topics we explore on our
podcast will be front and center here as well. We will add practical value add life
skills to the newsletter to make it worth everyone’s while!
Mr. Z & I are authentic & lucid and we operate with the credos of “do unto others”
as well as “be cool to one another”.
We want to connect with people, and be present while we enjoy this journey. We
have embarked on something that is moving in a direction that affords us to display
our creativity and love for film & music and more.
We have a very contrasting way in which we were brought into this world and our
perspectives meld in a way that is entertaining, rewarding and beneficial to those
that can trust sage advice.
Come with us as we explore ways to live in the moment and appreciate all we have
rather than what we have not.
Our first few chapters of The Sprinkler will be introductory. The Sprinkler will
move to a subscription-based newsletter in the future. We are talking less than $10
per month for a 13-month subscription. The banner below speaks to what the
content will be in each chapter of our newsletter. We are confident if our
subscribers follow our wellness & practical life skills, they will save hundreds to
thousands annually! The 13-month subscription will include a special holiday
recipe and stress reliever issue as well as a 13-month printable electronic calendar
comprised of original photography by Mr. Z. We will share an update about the
subscription when we are ready to roll it out.
Welcome psychos one and all!
The Sprinkler
Film – Music – Autos – Some Sports – Wellness – Commentary – Headlines &
Practical Life Skills
Film
Mr. Z and I are in our favorite month of the year! October! The weather cools
down in the desert [it took about three weeks into the month to do so this year – we
made it!] and we get to experience our most special holiday – Halloween! We
continue to watch random and obscure horror films and I have been watching one
horror movie per day. [Minimum] Here is a partial list of the flicks watched this
October:
Dr Phibes [The Abominable]
The Blob [1958]
The Decent
Friday the 13th [1980]
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Other Universal Classics
Scream [1996]
Some Hammer Films
Halloween [1978]
Halloween [2007 - Rob Zombie]
Sleep Away Camp II
The Ring
Texas Chainsaw Massacre [1974]
Texas Chainsaw Massacre [2003]
Saw X
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Regarding A Nightmare on Elm Street; Mr. Z and I went to the theater to see this
classic! Harkin’s Theaters has Classic Tuesdays and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing
this iconic horror feature brought to us by Wes Craven! And the classic film nights
are only $5 per ticket! We both give this movie a solid 9 and feel it is in the top 25
iconic horror films of all time. Mr. Z enjoys the third installment of the franchise
“Dream Warriors” along with Wes’s “New Nightmare”! The interesting part of the
seedling for the idea of Freddy and the Nightmare film came from a true series of
stories about some young Asian men having terrible nightmares, refusing to sleep
and ultimately dying from lack thereof. Incredible how true life can often be
scarier than any imagined film and those real terrors make their way into our
imagination.
Mr. Z will be on hiatus in the great Northwest over Halloween this year. He
deserves the downtime for sure! That leaves me to fend for myself over
Halloween! I have a fairly simple scary set up by my front door and some creepy
use of caution tape! I will be wearing a scary mask or two, and handing out candy
to the trick or treaters! I enjoy having scary movies playing rather loudly with the
doors open as the night unfolds. This often lends itself to many of the little ghouls
being too scared to approach! When Mr. Z was a kiddo and into his teens, we had a
very elaborate set up for Halloween. This included a fog machine. An almost full-
size animatronic Jason Vorhees and other scary elements. Mr. Z and I were
reminiscing about how he would wear a scary mask and blend in with Jason and
the others in our little courtyard. The trick or treaters would approach and he would
scare the bejesus out of them! We reflected on how some really little kiddos would
be too scared to approach and their parents would force them to come to the door –
we would feel bad about those circumstances and take our masks off. Parents can
be scarier than any monsters!
Sorry for the Halloween tangent.
A few more film items:
Disclaimer: We remind our audience that our reviews are based on how a film or
music makes us feel. How it moves us. It’s not our intention to sway our psychos
one way or the other. We strongly feel you cannot be right or wrong about movies,
music, books and the like. It’s how something makes you feel, the emotions it stirs.
We love film & music. And love to share!
Mr. Z and I watched Barbie. We wanted to see what the craze was all about. To be
clear, we watch more than horror movies. We appreciate all [most] film types with
the exception of musicals and kiddie films. We would also be obligated to add
superhero movies to the list of flicks we stay away from given their downward
spiral!
Barbie: I think we can sum up the experience as saying; WOW!
Mr. Z - 1 Mr. W – 1.5 [This is higher than it should be simply because Mr. W digs
Margot Robbie!]
Mr. Z speaks to the agenda it shoves down the audience’s throats as well as the fact
the move doesn’t truly bring a damn thing to the table! I concur, between the
agenda as well as the exaggerated acting the movie is like ipecac! [Ipecac syrup is
a medicine that causes vomiting!]
The world loved Barbie, Mr. Z and I will stick with the ‘Heimer side of
Barbienheimer! Oppenheimer was brilliant! We move on, as we are still seeing
pink from engaging in the Barbie film. We took one for the psychos and watched
Barbie! You’re welcome!
Here are a few film nuggets for our audience to check out:
Copycat – [This is a somewhat obscure feature starring Sigourney Weaver and
Holly Hunter – and the serial killer is a famous singer – musician in real life!]
Body Bags – [John Carpenter’s obscure horror feature]
Black Rain – Michael Douglas ripping it up in Japan as a corrupt cop]
The Fury – [Kirk Douglas in one of his last great roles – Brian DePalma at his
heavy – handedness!]
In Cold Blood [Amazing, see the black and white version – based on Truman
Capote’s game changing docu-novel]
Reminder:
Thanksgiving flies into theatres on 11.17. This should be twisted as it is brought to
us by the creative and maniacal mind of Eli Roth! You can count on Mr. Z and I to
see and review this sick turkey treat! This will be far less “pink” than Barbie, and
much redder like Cabin Fever! The idea for the film comes from a “mock trailer”
Eli Roth did for 2007’s Grindhouse feature.
Music
Mr. Z is a fan of Oliver Tree, who recently dropped a new album. Here is his take
on that record: The music on this new O Tree album, is reminiscent of when
Oliver Tree was known simply as “Tree”. The music flows with less of a country
vibe than his last album did. The country vibe is there to a degree with a nice
evolution and not as heavy handed. Mr. Z found that Oliver is at his best on this
record when he is rapping at a fast pace! The album is a must listen for all Oliver
Tree fans! Mr. W appreciates the unique nature of Oliver Tree and suggests that
our psychos that are not familiar with ‘Tree should give it a try! Mr. Z finds it a true
shame that Oliver Tree’s upcoming tour is limited and he won’t be visiting us in the
desert! Oddly enough, Oliver’s previous Arizona concerts were all sell outs. Mr. Z
has one more tidbit about this album; the songs are laced with heartbreak and most
of us can relate to that very human element!
George Lynch, former lead guitarist of Dokken dropped a new album; Guitars at
the End of the World. Don Dokken [lead vocals and founder] and George had a
falling out back in the day and never reconciled. They were great together in the
era of heavy metal and glam rock of the 1980s. Mr. W [me] promised to review this
album. Here we go: I gave it a listen. Lynch’s new record is fine for those into
guitar only music. This is not my cup of tea to be fair as it is all instrumental, my
least favorite. I’ve never been a fan of that style of music as I need me some lyrics to
connect to music. That being said, this is an album containing 13 songs and comes
in just under one hour in length. The track that stood out to me was Psycho Beta –
go figure! Lynch is blazing on many tracks and throws in some bluesy sounds on a
few songs. For those of you that dig 1980s guitar rock or appreciate rock guitar
sounds in general give it a listen. I appreciate how guitar talented George is, and it
was interesting listening to an entire album without lyrics. This was some sort of
record for me. I feel like I have taken two for the audience this month between
Barbie and now this album!
From last month - Mr. Z and I are going to see Avenged Sevenfold at the beginning
of October in Phoenix. It seems like we purchased those tickets so long ago and
suddenly here we are! AV7X is one of Mr. Z’s very top favorite artists since the
group first broke with their Nightmare album. The group has a dozen albums in
their catalog and the latest album, Life is but a Dream really rocks in a unique way!
We spoke of this stellar album in last month’s newsletter and this is a thumbs up,
five-star piece of vinyl! Interestingly enough Mr. Z and I are seeing the hard
charging group in the same venue we saw them about a decade ago! The group is
iconic and unique in the same breath. They have a great mix of hard rock, and
poetic lyrics along with excellent musicianship! This show will rock the desert!
We fast forward post-concert…
Regarding Avenged Sevenfold – the concert did ROCK the desert, definitely an
understatement! The group played about two hours and impressed both the casual
fan of their sound as well as die hards like Mr. Z and I. M Shadows [lead vocals
and more] spoke to the audience towards the beginning of their set about how they
had to cancel the previous night’s show in California. M Shadows voice was out
when he woke in his hotel room and could not perform. Naturally the concert
goers in Cali were disappointed. M Shadows spoke to understanding the
disappointed fans; but some fans called him out for “faking it” just so he could blow
off the show. People! That is not M Shadow’s make up! The group’s stage was
simple, with the obligatory lights that seem to be part of every rock concert. The
videos played behind the simple stage set up were both creative and intertwined
into each song the group blasted out to the audience. M Shadows sounded amazing
and his energy, along with the rest of the group’s was stellar! There was a point
when there was a visual tribute to their former drummer, The Rev who passed
away far too young! The thing that surprised Mr. Z and I was the set list. The
group worked their way through about 17 tunes and it was a great mix of their
more traditional sounding rock songs along with their more etherical and elaborate
productions. Think Pink Floyd meets Metallica. M Shadows voice never wavered,
and he carried his vocals across the still very warm desert night sky. The concert
seemed to end as quickly as it started. We appreciated the fact the concert ended,
and there was no back and forth regarding an encore. When it was over, it was over.
What started off with Game Over ended with Life is but a Dream – seemed very
fitting!
Hit Mr. Z and I up by email if you would like the set list. We put together a kick ass
playlist on Spotify! Mr. Z knew every song they played and the correct order the
following morning! Did someone say music total recall?
The experience was layered with peculiar elements, like eating at Raising Cane’s on
our way to the show and the food being well below their standards. This was
compounded by a warmer than usual evening, and many large sweaty bodies
throughout a packed crowd. A wall of a human sat directly in front of me, oh well,
what ya gonna do? The exit from the show was its own Nightmare! Regardless of
those irritations within the show, the experience and going with Mr. Z was uniquely
special! Shout out to AV7X, or maybe I should “Hail to the King”! It was an
amazing experience and we recommend catching this fabulous group before M
Shadows experiences more issues with this voice. M Shadows stated he had steroid
injections in his neck to be able to perform for the Phoenix concert! Now that is
fucking rock n roll! Long live ROCK!
Music quirks; We thought we would share some musically odd elements for Mr. Z
and I.
Mr. Z – knows what group and what song from that group from a single note or
two when a song starts- what an ear! He also is some sort of savant when it comes
to music after listening to a song once – he not only remembers each note and lyric
but he also knows if he likes the song or not! Really? Yes! He does not need to
marinate in his music – he knows out of the gate if that song – album will make his
Spotify library and his personal play lists. Let’s say Mr. Z has musical total recall!
OK, he has musical total recall! The other part of him knowing right out of the
gate if he digs a song is that once he does “like” a song or album he over indulges in
it! There are far worse addictions than being addicted to great music!
Mr. W - knows what group and what song from that group from a single note or
two when a song starts – knows lyrics to almost every song of the genres he listens
to – but does not know album titles, or years of release. Narrow genre focus – 1960s
[very little 1950s] – 1970s classic rock. 1980s – the so-called metal side. Appreciates
the pop side of 1980s for nostalgia. 1990s – Nirvana fanatic – The Beatles of his era
and most of the Seattle Sound too. 2000s-2020s – any rock and roll. Has grown to
truly appreciate Mac Miller. One last quirk for Mr. Z [for now] – when he starts his
Spotify, whether in the house, in a car or going on a walk with his iPhone – he
ALWAYS has to start a song at the beginning. He feels anyone who starts listening
to a song anywhere but the beginning should be investigated. [For what, he won’t
say]
Autos
We are Mustang fanatics as well as Jeep nuts! We really are auto enthusiasts
regardless of year make and model.
It’s unfortunate this kind of hobby is for the rich. We enjoy what we have. I know
Mr. Z and I would have an airplane hangar full of a variety of vehicles in it if
money was on object!
We are sharing reviews and thoughts about vehicles from the 1950s to the present.
We will start with the iconic 1957 Chevrolet Belair. Sporting a 283 V8 that
produced one horsepower per cubic inch!
1957 Bel Air - details - never owned one. As the years have passed Mr. W has
grown to really love and appreciate the classic - 1955-1957 chevy Belair and
Nomad - The 283 V8 - fuel injected version - first time in passenger car that an
engine reached an advertised one HP per cubic inch / trannys - 3 speed manual - 2
speed powerglide - 3 speed Turboglide auto [+$50]
Mr. Z has a soft spot for the old Jeep Cherokees. The Jeep Cherokee 4x4 - 4.0 – ran
from 1994-1996 & 1997-2001. Those Cherokees have no linkage to the “garbage”
Cherokees of the newer variety other than name and maker. The Jeep Cherokee
along with the Grand Cherokee ushered in the era of the family SUV before
anyone even knew what the hell a SUV was! They were boxy, and simple to look
at. They were work horses and when set up with the 4x4 – 4.0 six-cylinder engine
they were and still are very capable on and off-road vehicles. When these rigs were
and are taken care of, they can last a lifetime. There was a top-of-the-line Limited
edition in some years and this prettied the Cherokee up with better exterior colors,
more options and leather interior. These Jeeps are revered amongst the 4x4
community as well by those of us that appreciate more simple machines that kick
ass and take names. Everyone should old an old Jeep at some point in time!
And one more auto tidbit before we move onto Some Sports.
A 1981 DeLorean was found in my home state of Wisconsin with less than 1000
miles on the odometer! The 90-year-old owner had this piece of Americana in, you
guessed it; his barn! The car was covered in decades of dust and dirt along with
lots of rodent droppings. There were mice running around inside the iconic vehicle
brought to prominence in the movie Back to the Future, when it was looked at by
some buyers! A company that deals with DeLorean autos; Midwest DeLorean is
the company that purchased the barn find and will restore it for future sale. This
one will probably command six figures once all prettied up. The vehicle was the
brainchild of one John DeLorean who once worked for GM and was responsible
for the iconic GTO. John left GM when he felt he was being passed by for
promotions given his relatively young age compared to the stuffy old white men
that ran General Motors. The DeLorean Motor Company was ultimately a disaster
and these vehicles were cool to look at but underperformed as a high-performance
ride. The story would take pages and pages to write as it is one of the classic
American downfalls. Towards the end of the car company’s existence, they were
approaching bankruptcy. What did the founder do to try and save his company in
his namesake? He tried to purchase an enormous sum of cocaine to raise the
money to keep the DMC afloat. Unfortunately for John DeLorean, he ended up
buying the coke from DEA agents in a fancy hotel! We are very sure, John wishes
he could have gone back to the future when the agents flashed their badges and
threw the handcuffs on the rugged, good looking and once promising car builder!
There’s a Michael J Fox joke in here somewhere as well, but Mr. Z edited me on
that one!
Share with us what your favorite vehicle is and or was! We love to hear from our
psychos!
Some Sports
Previously, from Chapter Two:
The too early Super Bowl Picks:
Mr. Z – Eagles v Bengals with Eagles winning.
Mr. W – Eagles vs Dolphins with Dolphins winning.
We are not going to adjust these based on where we stand around 7-8 games into
the season.
The Dolphins are sizzling on offense with a super smart head coach – Mike
McDaniel! The Eagles are winning, but struggling on offense. QB Hurts is
underperforming. It’s a long, short season. The Bills are faltering. The 49ers are
skidding to a two-game losing streak. The Cowboys are the Cowboys. The Chiefs
seem to be finding their groove and are returning to their pre-Taylor Swift form!
The NFL season is almost at its halfway point and there are about six teams or so
that will position themselves for the playoff push.
Regarding the Green Bay Packers – they stunk it up again after losing to the
horrible Denver Broncos! They sit at 2-4 and the season is lost. It would be one
thing if we saw growth with this young team, but they clearly are digressing. Love
does not appear to be the answer, when it comes to the Green Bay Packers starting
quarterback position. More on this in the Commentary this month. Mr. Z and I
watch the Packer’s games each Sunday and the Bronco’s game was brutal. As I
told Mr. Z, watching the games with him as a father – son experience is well worth
the train wreck that is the Green Bay Packers this season. Mr. Z made his world-
famous scratch whiskey sours and these surely helped the somber mood as the
Packers offense sputtered like an old car found in a barn!
On the Major League Baseball front:
Milwaukee Brewers are reviewing their plan for the next season after being bitten
by the Arizona Diamondbacks! Craig Counsel, their awesome general manager is
most likely not returning to helm the ship for the upcoming 2024 season. He is off
to the Mets?
The World Series will throw its first pitch on 10.27. We will find our hometown
team of the Arizona Diamondbacks facing the favored Texas Rangers in Texas.
The NBA kicks off its new season on 10.24 with the Milwaukee Bucks tipping off
their new season on 10.26 against their arch rival 76’ers. The Bucks roll out their
newly re-vamped roster with Damian Lillard joining other worldly superstar
Giannis Antetokounmpo! Giannis just signed a three-year extension on 10.23
keeping him in the smallest TV market in the NBA – Milwaukee, for at least
another three seasons! The Bucks are also rolling out a new head coach; Adrian
Griffin. I have question marks already about Griffin. He has never been a head
coach in the NBA – and to compound issues he had his main assistant coach resign
right before the start of the season. Terry Stotts quit the team right before the
season was to tip off, reportedly over the way Griffin managed him. The Bucks
were counting on Stotts to help the first-year head coach [Griffin], not to mention
Stotts had coached Lillard for about nine seasons in Portland. I’m hopeful the
Bucks talent will supersede this coaching snafu. I have my doubts about this Griffin
guy, I hope I’m wrong!
One more note: Flag Football was added to the 2028 Summer Olympics! We will
explore this in more detail in next month’s The Sprinkler.
Wellness
For this month our theme; be kind to yourself!
We hope our psychos have continued to do so or have adapted to trying journaling,
and showing gratitude. These elements can and do make a difference in our
wellness and they have a positive arc to those in our circle and even out of our
circle. An off shoot of the gratitude piece, try a gratitude jar. This is a simple
element that has an interesting twist to sharing gratitude. There are several ways to
go about this; a simple practice is to have small pieces of paper at the ready and
when you think of something you are grateful for write it on one of the little note
papers. Keep these simple, and once you have written the gratitude note throw it in
a jar. [A Ball canning jar is perfect!] Depending on your level of commitment to
this as well as your patience, go into the jar once every six months or once a year.
Read your notes, and reflect on those thoughts. To take this to another level, write
an old school letter to anyone that was in your “gratitude jar” and let them know
how you feel about them! Who doesn’t like to receive an old school letter with
positivity in it? Don’t forget the stamps!
A few more wellness tips before we move to Headlines:
Psychologist details why “Caspering” is better than so-called “Ghosting”.
Caspering is named after the loveable “Casper the Friendly Ghost” cartoon
character. This action is a means of weaning off communication with a potential
romantic interest as opposed to just vanishing like a “Ghost”.
Check out the article in Forbes written by Mark Travers:
https://apple.news/Ah_8He4AfS8ujOcq4HwJihQ
Check out Three myths about being happy, we talked about this in our Psycho
Studios podcast:
Happiness is a feeling / it’s really more about enjoying things - feeling full
or satisfied - and what does happiness mean to you
Having issues and challenges in life are why you aren't happy - untrue -
it may be cliché but we make our own happiness - live in the moment
Having a goal or target of being happy - it’s not practical and can be
defeating - searching for happiness is like chasing a tiger's tail - we can be
happier - it’s more of a direction and leading the life we want & love
Read the full article in The Atlantic by Arthur C Brooks.
https://apple.news/A4yXTuOqORluHohDto0AHhg
And let’s remember staying physically active also contributes to our wellness.
Check out this article by Alexandra Elizabeth. She explores what physical
therapists say we should be doing that are simple! The experts say we are hurting
our bodies if we are not doing some basic exercises and the article explores simple
tools to achieve these suggestions.
https://apple.news/A3-ydVHHIQLqjdjeDpMWuCw
And a little more wellness:
Mr. Z hits the gym on a regular basis and I plan on joining him once per week to
expand what I’m doing already and spot for him when he is using a lot of weight!
This will commence when he returns from his hiatus. We will share some gym tips
in our next newsletter.
My simple and cost-effective routine includes drinking plenty of water. There are
many articles written about how much water to drink. It can be dizzying trying to
follow all the recommendations. My track coach used to say if your pee is clear, you
are good to go. Let’s be mindful of the clear part, as it is more about your pee being
pale and odorless to indicate being well hydrated. Drink water first thing in the
morning, even if you have to force yourself. Drink water throughout the day and
make it part of your daily routine as opposed to a chore.
Besides drinking water, and watching what I eat, I do the following:
- Walk 35-40 minutes five days per week [I don’t worry about tracking my
steps – a good paced walk for this amount of time is ideal] **
- Military push-ups – 75 without stopping or pausing six days per week
- Wrestling style sit-ups [Legs crossed at ankles – and when doing the sit up
only come up about 75% of the way – arms crossed at chest.] I do 100 of
these without stopping six days per week
** Hiking is a great supplement to walking in your neighborhood.
The key is to find what works for you, that you will do consistently. When you are
doing your exercise – walking, do your best to stay off your electronic devices. Make
this time about you and feeling better. Reminder, please consult with your doctor
before jumping into any exercise routine if you have not been active.
We sincerely want to know our psychos are taking their wellness seriously and being
kind to themselves! That’s an order!
Commentary
We practice what we preach and we will continue to stay away from politics and
associated topics.
First, let’s speak to the 75 th anniversary of In N Out Burger. Being born and raised
in the Midwest, I was unaware of this iconic burger joint until moving out to the
desert some 30 odd years ago. There were no In N Outs in Arizona when my son’s
mother and I made the trek to the desert. We found the tasty burgers and shakes
when we would vacation in San Diego. After a little more than a decade residing in
the Phoenix area, In N Out came to our neck of the woods. Ironically the In N Out
very near where Mr. Z and I lived was built on the pad where the now demolished
Fiesta Mall once stood. I can’t say they are my favorite burger joint, that is reserved
for one of Mr. Z’s world-famous smashed cheeseburgers! I can say if Mr. Z and I
are in a pinch for something to eat that is quick, hot and fresh we head to the In N
Out in our little corner of Mesa. The service is consistently quick and mostly
friendly. The burgers are tasty, and utilize fresh ingredients. The fries are lacking
which is so funny to me for a brand that does such stellar business. If one could pair
McDonald’s fries with In N Out burgers and consistency I would be hooked like a
fish during spawning season! Regardless, Hollywood and its brethren seem to love
this iconic burger franchise. In N Out continues to expand and maybe one day they
will be near you if you are in an area that is In N Out deprived. [Que the dirty
joke!]. Side note about something Mr. Z and I would do back in the day. In N Out
is closed on most major federally observed holidays. Typically, the ones that were
observed were on a Monday. Mr. Z and I would purchase food from another
restaurant that was open on a day In N Out was closed and eat our meal on In N
Out’s patio area. So many people would slow down, stop, get out and walk up to
the restaurant seeing us eating there. It was a silly but a fun adventure, simpler
times as we like to say. Here’s to another 75 years In N Out!
One more commentary item, and I promise to keep it short. I could write about
this topic for days; The Green Bay Packers.
I am a die-hard fan, and bleed green. I will admit my A positive blood is a little less
green over the past few years. I have not missed a game in person or live on TV in
over 35 years! [One exception, the Packers vs the Texans a few years ago – I
watched this game recorded due to a rendezvous with a very special blonde!]. The
organization has had a stellar run with the likes of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
[I am not going to speak to these two men and how they are off the field – that’s for
another time]. The two hall of fame quarterbacks brought consistent winning, title
hopes and two Super Bowls to the smallest TV market in the NFL. Many Packers
fans, myself included feel like Green Bay left a few more Super Bowls on the field
with that amazing QB duo!
The relationship between the Packers and Rodgers soured over the last couple of
years he was on the roster. I’m doing my best to edit myself here, as I could
expound on this for days…
Rodgers was ‘jetted” off to the Jets this past off-season and the 4 th year rookie
Jordan Love took the reins to this storied franchise. When the GM for the Packers
drafted J Love a few years ago it was the turning point for his poor relationship
with Aaron Rodgers. There was hope Love was the answer. That Love would find a
way to be his own man and bring winning back to the Packers after a down year
last season. The buzz around the building in Green Bay was that the “kid” was
ready. He had watched Rodgers and was coached by quarterback guru Tom
Clements; he would be destined to be the next star.
The season is so bad, I was rooting for the Minnesota Vikings when they played the
49ers on Monday Night Football!
Sadly, the season is lost for the green and gold. We will keep watching at that is
what true fans do! Carry the G!
Headlines
- Aaron Rodgers is reportedly burning with jealously over all the attention
Travis Kelce is receiving based on his love interest – Taylor Swift. This may
seem like tabloid fodder, but we are including it as a headline as this seems to
confirm what many think about Rodgers! He is a tool!
- We support all our psychos wellness! Mental health becomes more and more
a focus for the citizens of this planet. We have a long way to go, but there
have been great strides in this area since the pandemic. [3.2020]
In the, I’m clueless about sensitivity arena – Clemson’s head football coach
Dabo Swinney was dropping an insensitive joke after the team lost their third
game of the 2023 season: When the coach was asked about whether the
team utilizes a team psychologist, the coach stated “We got him. He’s
probably on suicide-watch right now!” We are not about censorship, but we
are mindful of refraining from saying certain things that contribute to
hurting others that are experiencing personal circumstances that are dire. F
Dabo!
- In the did you know file, McDonald’s had a different so-called mascot before
the somewhat creepy Ronald McDonald! Speedee was the enormous chain’s
first mascot and was used within the company logo before the iconic Golden
Arches made their way on the scene in 1962. Speedee was a chef in the
typical chef garb with a hamburger for a head. I’m pretty sure I had
nightmares about a character like that after too much partying!
- More Aaron Rodgers news: Aaron continues to speak to returning this
season after his Achilles tendon injury. Many experts including doctors who
operate and repair these kinds of injuries are recommending A-Rod take the
rest of the season off for continued rehab. According to one doctor, [Dr.
Simon] if a patient returns to strenuous activity after this type of injury too
soon the Achilles tendon can stretch too much and then have play or slack in
it. This outcome is not something that can be repaired. At Rodger’s age
[almost 40] this is a recipe for disaster. Many say Rodgers speaking to such a
quick return is his way to stay relevant! I will comment – Aaron is a tool!
- Some great news out of the Colorado – Arizona area. Water usage on the
Colorado River is down considerably! Between record breaking winter
snowfall and farmers, cities and Native tribes using less water; the largest
reservoirs [Lakes Mead & Powell] have seen their water levels raise
substantially!
- Rick and Morty returned for season seven this month. [October] This Adult
Swim cartoon favorite has gone through quite a shake up over the last year.
This off beat, smart, and outrageous show is the brainchild of Justin Roiland
and Dan Harmon. Justin was in the news for the wrong reasons last year and
was basically “cancelled” from the show. Justin not only wrote for the show
he created but lent his voice to the title characters and many more. Mr. Z
and I will explore this in more detail in our Psycho Studio’s December
podcast
- In the are you kidding me drawer – A fourth grade teacher showed their
class “Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey”. For those that are not familiar,
this is an unrated or hard R feature film. We won’t delve into its content,
suffice it to say even without the use of iconic children’s characters the
graphic violence is not for elementary grade consumption. We want to
emphasize we are not for censorship. We do have strong parenting thoughts
and experience. There should be limits and timelines for all children. I best
bite my fingers, as I could go on all day about this. Let’s call this teacher off
their rocker and leave it at that.
- We mentioned that it was In N Out Burger’s 75 th anniversary in October. Mr.
Z and I dined at our favorite [read closest] iconic burger joint the other day
after wrapping up our script writing for the day. I read part of an article to
Mr. Z as we waited for our number to be called. The article was titled “11
Fascinating Facts about In N Out”. This was by Zoe Strozewski. I fancy
myself a wordsmith and the word fascinating carries weight with me. As far
as any noteworthy items, the article fell flat like my all-white lettuce that
should have been green on my burger. I have to admit I almost choked on
the somewhat under cooked fries when reading item #6 “…chain is
staunchly committed to quality.” This is their mantra but I feel that the
consistency has been lacking for a while now. The two items Mr. Z and I
gravitated to were the ones about how the chain switched from Pepsi to Coke
in 1990. Turns out the deal that the chain had with Pepsico illuded to
Pepsico not getting involved in a burger business outside of In N Out – and
guess what? Pepsico did anyway. Pepsico acquired a chain called Hot N Now
and this ruined the partnership. Dumbasses! And the second fact that In N
Out is only in seven states at this time and they are all west of the Mississippi!
They have 391 restaurants and plan on expanding to the Southeast post
haste. [“Hot & Now” – I think that is what the girls called Mr. Z in high
school!]
- The family and friends and those touched by the disappearance of Natalee
Holloway in 2005 have closure. The monster Joran van der Sloot confessed
to murdering her in brutal fashion when he ran into her vacationing in
Aruba. She was 18 at the time. We are not going to go into any more details
as this tragic event has reached its conclusion. RIP Natalee.
- More entertainment news, Amber Heard accused star of dressing like Johnny
Depp, showing up drunk to set to get her fired. Aquaman & the Lost
Kingdom was a bad movie in more ways than one. Notes written by Heard’s
therapist Dr. Dawn Hughes are the basis for these claims. According to
Heard, Aquaman himself; Jason Momoa wanted her fired! I think this story
is all wet!
- California nearly decriminalized psychedelics, but changed course. Maybe
they became paranoid? I have a very strong take on drugs in this country. I
will keep that take to myself until I discuss it further with Mr. Z. The
situation with drugs in the U.S. is very political and we stay away from those
topics.
- McDonalds and Wendy’s are winners in the false advertising lawsuit that was
brought against them. I think I’m running into a plethora of headlines that I
am passionate about. The case centered around the way the commercials for
these fast-food giants show the food to be and what the food actually looks
like when you order it. The fact they won the case, shows injustice on all
levels prevails! I will leave it at that!
And ending on a much lighter note;
With Halloween having just past, we thought we would share the largest pumpkin
grown in the state of Wisconsin – The pumpkin came in at over a ton – 2420
pounds! Brian Mathiowetz from Eau Claire grew this beast! Can you imagine how
many pumpkin seeds there were! What a tasty treat roasted pumpkin seeds are!
This wraps this month’s headlines!
Practical Life Skills
The Garage:
Something most of us appreciate is a clean vehicle! Two suggestions Mr. Z and I
recommend is a monthly car wash subscription coupled with a California Duster.
We suggest seeking out a local car wash, one of those that you remain in your
vehicle and move through the wash system. These car washes are typically very
good for a decent wash. These types of car washes leave something to be desired
when it comes to making sure your vehicle is completely dry. They usually have free
towel usage and a covered area to vacuum and dry your auto. Some of us take
more time than others when it comes to the final detail. Regardless, a quick
vacuum along with a quick once over to dry the excess water off including the door
jams really helps maintain your vehicle’s appearance and overall condition. This
style of car wash provides [in most cases] a monthly subscription. At our local car
wash the monthly fee is $14 for unlimited washes for the assigned vehicle. You
might ask, why not just wash it yourself in the driveway? For many, space to wash a
vehicle can be a challenge. Additionally, the amount of water and hassle to wash
your vehicle on your own is not worth it. Ask yourself, is the juice worth the
squeeze? Utilizing the monthly car wash element along with Mr. Z’s organizing and
fresh scent suggestions are a game changer! We invest a lot of money into our rides,
keeping them maintained from an appearance standpoint shows pride of ownership
and assists with resale value! A clean car is a happy owner! Listen to Mr. Z’s tips on
having a clean smelling auto. We will drop links for the products in next month’s
newsletter. And let’s not forget the one and only California Duster! This is an
amazing tool to keep your vehicles dust free and looking great between washes.
These dusters actually work better the dirtier they get! No BS! We will share a link
to this item next month as well.
The Kitchen:
A few tips from the kitchen of Mr. Z:
- Make sure to maintain your main knife[s] sharpness – see previous info on
knife sharpening
- Make your own vanilla! Mr. Z will have more on this next month in The
Sprinkler
- Having the basics at the ready doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Making
sure you have the essential elements to make a variety of meals and baked
goods is cost efficient and healthier! Mr. Z will share his kitchen basics in the
November newsletter – to include essential utensils, pots & pans, a good cast
iron skillet, cutting boards and many more!
- Having a good arsenal of cleaning products is key as well, after all there is
clean up to think about. You don’t have to break the bank to have a well-
rounded set of cleaning items. A good dish soap, we recommend any of the
Dawn products along with some of the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are a great
foundation. Those items along with a good countertop cleaner [The kind
depends on the surface you have in your kitchen] and a good appliance
cleaner-polish are key pieces to keeping your kitchen in tip top shape. We
suggest the Weiman line of products to include their anti-bacterial counter
cleaner, granite countertop polish as well as their stainless-steel cleaner –
polish.
- There are other small items we may not think about until we need them. Mr.
Z will run those down as well, including a zester and a good cooking
thermometer!
Look for Mr. Z’s top six cocktails every man [& woman] should master in next
month’s newsletter!
Cheers!
Interesting Individual:
We will be putting the spotlight on an interesting individual monthly. This can be
someone living or dead, real or fictitious. This is our second interesting individual:
Alfred Hitchcock - [1899-1980] Alfred Hitchcock, also known as Hitchcock, Hitch
or even son of a bitch was a groundbreaking writer – director for America [&
British] cinema. This maniacal and brilliant man changed feature films in many
ways. Often copied, never duplicated let’s take a look at the films Mr. Z and I love:
[This will not encompass his full body of work, nor any TV work. We look at the
films that moved us.]
Frenzy 1972
The Birds 1963
Psycho 1960
North by Northwest 1959
Vertigo 1958
To Catch a Thief 1955
Rear Window 1954
Dial M for Murder 1954
Rope 1948
We will review these in detail next month!
Hitchcock received the Life achievement award – 1979 – from the American Film
Institute
His second to last film was Frenzy [We won’t talk about his last feature; Family
Plot], many so-called Hitchcock fans may have missed Frenzy. This is an R rated
film and shot in the U.K. It is unique in his filmography given its freedom he had
with it being in that R rated realm. A must watch for any film buff!
New York 1960. Promoting Hitch’s masterpiece!
Closing
Thank you for taking the time to read chapter three of Psycho Studios “The
Sprinkler.” We look forward to sharing great stories, ideas and suggestions along
with humor and insight! Our next issues will be part of a monthly subscription fee.
For less than $9.99 per month you will enjoy all our great topics and more specific
practical life skills that will save you easily 5-10x the subscription cost. Details will
be available on our website when we roll this subscription piece out.
Be safe and stay psycho!
Mr. W / Mr. Z
Psycho Studios
11.1.2023