Chapter 4
Psycho Studios: The Sprinkler
Chapter Four
12.1.2023
Editor – Mr. Z / Content
Research – Mr. W / Content
Psycho Studios is an independent Film/TV production company. A multimedia
platform with a podcast as well as this newsletter. Feel free to reach out to Psycho
Studios through their website / email.
Psycho Studios – Film/TV Production
Psycho Studios Podcast
Psycho Studios: The Sprinkler [Newsletter]
Phoenix Arizona
Email – psychostudios66@gmail.com
Website – psycho–studio.com. [Access to our audio only YouTube channel
available.]
Instagram – psychostudios66
X [Formerly known as Twitter] - @Psychostud666
Forward
Mr Z. and me are a father & son team that started our production company about
two years 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 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 [& drink].
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. 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 & more.
We have a 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.
At this time, The Sprinkler is in its introductory phase and we share it with our
interested audience.
Our goal is to move The Sprinkler to a subscription-based newsletter sometime in
2024. 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 Special note - The year was 1963. The location was Dallas
Texas. It was a Friday, light rain. President Kennedy had only been on the ground a
short time. Exiting Air Force One about an hour before his motorcade made its
way through Dealey Plaza; the positivity saturated the air. Others were in the iconic
Lincoln, most notably Mrs. Kennedy. About an hour after the first shot mortally
wounded the President, he was pronounced dead. When Mrs. Kennedy was
waiting to finalize the swearing in of President Johnson; she was asked if she wished
to change from her blood-soaked pink dress. She stated; “No, I want them to see
what they’ve done to Jack!” The country & world would never be the same. The
poor, the needy, the middle class in America lost its voice. A half dozen years later
the country would lose what remaining innocence it had; to the Manson clan and
their murders. RIP - JFK & what could have been.
Film
Mr. Z went to see Dream Scenario over the Thanksgiving weekend. Mr. Z gave it a
solid 7, which means he really liked it! He is a Nicolas Cage fan, that helped with
driving the high score as well. He felt the film was disjointed, all over the place like
a boat without a rudder. He definitely liked the idea, calling it “cool” and
“imaginative”. He gave a shout out to the acting too! The film has a cavalcade of
character actors we all know by face but maybe not by name. Mr. Z gave mention
to Michael Cera, our favorite Canadian son from Super Bad! As Mr. Z and I
suspected when we saw the trailer for this “Dream”, the director did not know how
to end the movie. This makes sense given the potential for a loop with the core
idea. The ending is graded as poor, and he still gave the flick a 7! That is saying
something. Mr. Z suggested; what if everyone else ended up with the
“circumstance” that Nick Cage’s character had and Cage’s character no longer
garnered the attention? It would be a darker ending, something Mr. Z and I know
we are not aligned with conventional Hollywood endings.
‘Tis the season:
What many consider the be the Mount Rushmore of holiday movies:
Animated Xmas movies – How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Frosty the Snowman
– Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – A Charlie Brown Christmas – The Year
Without a Santa – Ren & Stimpy Xmas Special
Xmas movies – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – Gremlins – Miracle on
34 th Street – A Christmas Story – It’s a Wonderful Life - Elf
Other film notes
We are still recovering from a great horror movie feast from October that we dared
top with this cherry - Barbie! Yikes! Barbie was reviewed in our last newsletter
and our previous month's podcast, check it out!
We went to see Eli Roth's Thanksgiving - let's rate it and talk about it! Eli Roth
based this on the "fake trailer" that he wrote for Quentin Tarantino and his
Grindhouse flick. Eli wrote Thanksgiving with a childhood friend because there
were very limited horror movies over the so-called holidays, if any.
Score:
Mr. Z - 3
Mr. W - 2
The movie was a farce at $15 million! It lacked the edge and smarts that many of
Eli Roth films have had. Im not sure what they were shooting for, for all we
know it will be a hit. We remind our audience that reviews of any kind are opinion.
One cannot be right or wrong about movies, TV, books, and the like. It’s what
moves someone. What makes them feel a certain way.
This news just in from Mr. Z: Thanksgiving has doubled its $15 million budget in
gross receipts. And just announced, a sequel to this movie has been green lit for a
2025 release! Talk about a whole new meaning to leftovers!
Recent horror release notes
Five Nights at Freddy's - PG13 tragedy that grossed a shit ton of money, budget
was $20 million and has grossed in excess of $285 million! This makes this flick
Blumhouse Production’s highest GROSSest film!
Cobweb - not even sure what I watched? I think this is considered elevated horror -
thanks Jenna Ortega!?
The Pope's Exorcist! Vomit! It was a 1.5! Sequel coming as the first made a shit
ton of money too.
The Last Voyage of Demeter - holy shit Batman! Maybe a 2! Terrible!
Influencer - this small film has a lot of positive reviews - very vanilla and
predictable! 5.5! Can be entertaining if you want a distraction.
Sick - made Mr. Z sick cause it was so bad! 2! Mr. Z 3! Somebody give me a shot!
Random
Mr. Z and I will be watching ‘Talk to Me’ soon pairing it with Caviar and
Champagne! We will review this as we talk to each other.
We will be breaking down the Scream franchise very soon! One of our favorite
directors; Wes Craven! Looking forward to this! “What’s your favorite scary
movie?”
In Scream News
The lead or co-lead actor who played "Sam" in the rebooted Scream movies that
started the franchise again in 2022 has been let go from the third installment. This
is based on her written opinions on the Israel - Palestine war. We will refrain from
commenting on this as it moves into politics. Sounds like Jenna Ortega has left the
latest Scream production too. Her leaving reason[s] has not been confirmed. Mr. Z
is hearing that it may have something to do with production schedule conflicts to
include Netfilx’s ‘Wednesday’.
Check out these random flicks:
We may have recommended a couple of these before - if we are being redundant,
it's because they were so good!
X -This Ti West film is really a trip and to describe more would give too much
away / 2022
Martyrs - this movie is literally insane / 2008
High Tension [Haute] - a must watch feature from down under – [now on Amazon
Prime] / 2003
The Birds - if you haven't seen it or haven't seen it for a while - go watch it! / 1963
The Curse of Frankenstein - [This film started Hammer’s Universal Studios
Monsters interpretations] / 1957
In Psycho Studios News:
We finished our first full blown movie script! 96 pages, give or take! We are excited
for this accomplishment and our goal is to make this feature film at some point in
2024. It will be a low budget horror movie that is smart and has realistic and
sensible dialogue as well as a logical story. For sure it will be gory and violent! We
are moving forward with the selling - pitching of our six copyrighted treatments!
We are starting our next treatment outline on 12.1, which we are very excited
about! It is related to Trent Reznor believe it or not! And indirectly related to
Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”!
And no holiday season would be complete from a film standpoint without the age-
old debate: Is the original Die Hard a Christmas movie, or isn’t it?
We polled a lot of people and extrapolated the results:
Out of 100 people, 60 said YES – 36 said NO and believe it or not, 4 have not seen
Die Hard!
That delivers the following - 60% YES – 36% No and 4% not digging the Hans
standoff!
Mr.Z is adamant it’s an Xmas movie and Mr. W is positive he is right, it’s not a
Christmas movie – ‘cause it isn’t! Yippee Ki-Yay…well you know the rest!
Deck the halls with floors of terrorists, full a lull lull lull, lull lull lull!
Music
For all you Spotify fans it’s time for the annual year in review! “Your 2023
Wrapped” is available to Spotify customers. This may be one of the best features
Spotify offers! Here are our stats in a nutshell from Spotify:
Mr. Z – Top five artists:
Linkin’ Park – AV7X – Oliver Tree – Royal Blood – Mac Miller
Listened to almost 55,000 minutes! His top genre – Alternative / Metal
Mr. W – Top five artists:
Ratt – Foo Fighters – Van Halen – Nine Inch Nails – Led Zeppelin
Listened to almost 31,000 minutes! His top genre – Rock
Suffice it to say we love music! It moves us, motivates us, and keeps us company!
Mr. Z - thoughts on the new so-called Beatles track [Mr.W could not bring
himself to listen to this] Mr. Z thought it was borderline disgraceful the new
track was released and said “why?” To each his own, Mr. W is glad he did
not listen to it!
Avenged Sevenfold - Still reflecting on this amazing group and concert! It
will be hard to top this one! This reminded Mr. Z and Mr. W how much
concerts with their favorite groups are so special. It also reminded Mr. W
how much going to a concert like this one reminds him to listen to the artist’s
entire catalog. Another fun thing after going to a concert is to make a playlist
based on the set list of the show! Great memories!
Reminder - for those rock n roll psychos out there - if you haven't listened to
the following 2023 releases - get on board man!
Foo Fighters - But Here We Are
Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman…. [Font this!]
More 2023 releases continued:
Puddle of Mudd - Ubiquitous [present - appearing or found elsewhere] - U -
Bick - We - Is
Avenged Sevenfold - Life is but a Dream…
Korn - Untitled (Deluxe)
We will review the following albums for next month:
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds - Yes, the Stones!
The Hives - The Death of Randy - blast from our past - getting older gives me
the hives!
Some random groups we suggest our psychos listen to and or revisit:
The original line-up - Black Sabbath - this is Ozzie as lead singer / We also
suggest the Ronnie James Dio iteration - look for this as a so-called Easter Egg
in Roth's Thanksgiving flick!
We know they are popular - if you haven't listened to them in some time The
Doors – eclectic and musical poetry
The entire Linkin' Park catalog – Mr. Z’s top artist from Spotify Wrap!
Breaking Benjamin – underrated alternative rock with a twist!
Stabbing Westward – never received enough recognition – this group was
caught between the end of the hair bands and the start of the grunge
movement. Worth a listen for sure!
The Hives – Dropped a new album, very surprising! Their sound was oddly
different and popish with great energy
Lastly in Music- Top seven STP songs. [Stone Temple Pilots]
Mr. Z’s list of STP’s top seven songs. It was a challenge for him to whittle this list
down to seven! These are in no particular order:
Big Bang Baby
Meatplow
Sour Girl
Crackerman
Still Remains
Unglued
And Vasoline
If you’ve never listened to this top of the heap grunge group please do so! For those
who are familiar, give them a revisit and enjoy Scott’s sultry vocals.
Autos
1966 Chevelle - for any American Muscle car enthusiast the Chevrolet
Chevelle is the cats’ pajamas! Mr. W owned a 1966 Chevelle 2 door hardtop,
canary yellow over black vinyl interior. This was a 327 V8 - 4-barrel carb
with dual exhaust. Power Steering - manual brakes and a 2 speed Powerglide
automatic transmission; known as a 2-speed slushbox. It was in Ok condition
– but looked great at 10 feet! Mr. W hit a top speed of 120mph on Howell
Ave. in Oak Creek Wisconsin when he was in his late teens. That speed was
based on the less than accurate factory speedometer. Things move really fast
at that speed!
1972 Chevelle SS - 396 Big Block V8 - Muncie 4 speed - one of the most
beautiful autos Mr. W has ever been around and driven! Mr. W had a couple
of good friends that owned these beasts and was fortunate to not only drive in
these muscle kings but also drove them for an ultimate experience.
Mr. Z - 2002 Jeep Wrangler Apex - 5 Speed - 4.0L - Silver over the
Naugahyde [almost tobacco in color] interior – this was a beautiful 4x4 ride!
The Apex Wrangler was a special option package and only available in a
couple of colors. The silver model had gradating black decals across the hood.
The Jeep was lifted and as Mr. Z said it was a garage queen. Large off-road
capable tires and wheels were shoved under the lifted Wrangler. Mr. Z loved
this Jeep and oddly enough when it was decided we should sell the Apex, the
owner Mr.W and Mr. Z bought this Wrangler from, drove down from northern
Arizona to buy the Jeep back! Great vehicle – great story!
With the weather changing this time of the year, we want all of our psychos to
be safe on the roadways. Slowing down, defensive driving and patience are
keys to safe driving! Consistently have your tire pressure checked and tire
condition verified. Keep your fuel tank at a ¼ tank or more and use a fuel
additive for winter driving if your climate dictates that!
Stay safe & have fun on the roadway!
Some Sports
Brewers update - Mr. Z and I are not baseball fans as we have previously
discussed. …born and raised in Wisconsin I keep an eye on the major teams
from my home state. Brewers’ former manager Craig Counsel signs with the
archrival Chicago Cubs! Brewer's fans lose their mind! It reminds me of the
Favre situation back in day - let's talk about it
Brewers’ new manager is Pat Murphy who was Counsel's bench manager - to
help with continuity
MLB - Rangers beat our hometown Diamondbacks in the World Series -
November 1st - Rangers won the series 4-1. Talk about cutting off the head of
the snake!
Milwaukee Bucks are 13-5 to start the season. The wild acquisition of
Damien [Dame] Lillard is a work in progress - and the natives are restless to
see greatness!
Most recently the Bucks finished 4-0 for the inaugural In-Tournament series.
They are the number one seed in the East. The jury is still out about this latest
addition to an NBA regular season. Is it a gimmick or will it bring renewed
enthusiasm for regular season games? The last few in tournament games
seemed to have a pseudo playoff feel to them.
The Bucks have a new head coach in Adrian Griffin as well as a very different
roster! Patience needs to be observed for the long 82 game season!
Fear the Deer! BTW, the special court designs/colors for the in-season
tournament are wild & cool!
Las Vegas was home to a Formula One race - this was considered a disaster
by race fans and residents of Las Vegas! Flag dropped at 11p Arizona time on
Saturday the 18th! Our favorite and most trustworthy mechanic went to the
race - delaying an auto repair for a family friend! How dare he!
** look for our practical life skills piece in an upcoming chapter of this
newsletter about finding a good mechanic.
Green Bay Packers’ notes - We will need to let the season play out to
determine if Matt LaFleur is the answer. At this time, it looks like Matt will
stay on for next season along with GM Brian Gutekunst! President Mark
Murphy steps down in 2025, and seems like he will let the new president
make the big changes with the coach and GM. Defensive coordinator Joe
Barry will most likely be gone-or maybe not?
Packers wrapped up the month of November by playing on Thanksgiving Day
against the Detroit Lions. Packers win on turkey day! [Or ham day!]
Lombardi hated having the team play on Thanksgiving. The coach’s attitude
about not wanting his players to be away from home and family on the
holiday is what opened the door to the Lions being perennial turkey day
players!
The Pack are 5-6 with 6 to go! Love had his best day as a pro starting
quarterback and is stacking these types of games with three great
performances in a row. His record in those three games is 2-1.
To beat the hated Lions and their blow-hard coach Dan Campbell is very
special! And it was the marque early NFL game on Thanksgiving! I am
thankful for the win in such a dominant fashion! The early turkey day game
broke the NFL ratings record for the early turkey day game with over 33
million homes tuned in to watch the Packers declaw the Lions!
Mr. W is eating some crow [or turkey] for calling the Packers season all but
over a few weeks ago!
Carry the G!
Lastly – look at these stats:
Love & Rodgers first 11 games as a starter
After their first 11 regular season games as the Packer’s starting QB
Jordan Love v Aaron Rodgers:
J-Love – 225-372 – 60.5% / 2599 yards / 60.0% / 19 TDs - 10 INTs / 87.4 QB
rating / Record – 5-6
A-Rod – 228-359 – 63.5%/ 2599 yards / 64.5% / 17 TDs - 9 INTs /
90.5 QB rating / Record – 5-6
These stats are uncanny! Rodger’s accuracy [which impacts interceptions] and his
QB rating top Love’s. Mr. W is blown away to see the turnaround Love has had in
the last three games. 2-1 record in that span. Matt LaFleur’s play calling has
improved considerably from a results standpoint and the pass catchers are being
aggressive with their blocking and more importantly their pass catching.
Wellness
We will have a special guest writer for our New Year’s special The Sprinkler. This
special guest will be sharing their thoughts in our Wellness section and they will
have suggested links to visit as well!
The bottom line for Mr.Z and Mr. W is a wish for all their psychos to take care of
themselves. Practice breathing techniques, eat well. Stay hydrated! Live in the
moment, be present. And by all means, show gratitude! Let’s those people in your
life know they are important to you. This is such a positive, and may feel awkward
at first. Once sharing thoughts of gratitude and thankfulness become more regular
the sender will feel the positivity and also let those in their life know what they
mean to them! The holiday season can feel stressful, overwhelming and frenetic.
Take a deep breath. Try not to please everyone. And appreciate what you have and
those in your life!
Happy Holidays to all of our psychos!
Our mantra:
“Let’s be cool to one another”
This is something we will continue to bark about and live by!
Some very helpful links:
1] Check out this really cool animation out of the U.K. for helping with anxiety.
Incredible animation on battling and overcoming anxiety - BBC
2]This video is excellent, and as you can see in the title of the link below; negative
thoughts and depression can be attacked in two minutes! Great stuff about simple
journaling. Something Mr. Z and I have been talking about for months.
Fight Depression and Burnout in 2 Minutes a Day: 3 Good Things Activity
It can be a great building block for fighting this debilitating feeling and condition!
Remember, if you are someone in your circle are thinking about or talking about
suicide or self-harm, please seek professional assistance immediately! Take the
thoughts and feelings serious! Research your local resources from your county and
state as well as your employer.
Nothing is ever worth taking one’s life. Nothing. There is always a path to heal and
repair our wellness.
“Self-care is not selfish. One cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
- Eleanor Brown
Commentary
Mr. Z and Mr. W have a reoccurring theme this month and that is to enjoy the
holidays, meaning spending time with family and friends and neighbors. Cheers to
good times and being safe and present!
Mr. W has these comments about the commercial side of the holidays:
Holiday advertising - Not only the Christmas holiday - but Halloween -
starting so early. These started this year earlier than ever! The saturation
point is real and spoiling these fun holidays.
Christmas holiday advertising, earlier than he can ever recall - advertising –
literally Christmas commercials both print and TV rolling out before
Halloween! Talk about scary!
Halloween - set up in stores end of July beginning of August – that is really
scary and gross!
Year-round Xmas stores, did not catch on like many thought they would.
This was something reported on years ago and thankfully the Xmas stores
that are Xmas 24-7/365 did not come to fruition at the level anticipated.
There are several stores like this throughout the country including Arizona.
Thankfully they are few and far between!
Email, social media alerts and advertising at an all-time high for Black
Friday, which is more like Black November and part of October! Black
Friday use to be literally the Friday after Thanksgiving. Now Black Friday is
being advertised in October! WTF? Mr. W watches a few TV channels from
the U.K, and they had Black Friday commercials! Wait, what? England
doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving! Pardon me Governor?!
It is broken record time, but the holidays should be for time spent with family
and friends. Showing and sharing gratitude and giving back as one can!
The entire idea of got to give gifts - lots of gifts and spend spend, spend, has
become overbearing and overwhelming. Think of the little things!
Appreciate what you have and not what you don’t.
Reach out to friends, family and neighbors and give the gift of time.
Volunteer! Help those out in need with your time and expertise.
Good will towards Man & Woman!
Headlines
- Reminder – 11.30 was Computer Security Day;
Tips – Always make sure you have a strong password.
Consistently update spyware and malware accordingly.
Encrypt and back up your data.
Use a VPN when visiting sites with video content.
- This should be under sports, but its such a crazy headline, Aaron
Rodgers returns to Jets practice after roughly three months after his
Achilles injury. This injury historically takes at least five months for
anyone to return to professional sports activities. Insane!
- Electric vehicle owners are reporting 80% more issues than they
experienced with traditional gas – diesel powered autos! This is part of
the challenge to get Americans to switch to electric. Coupled with high
starting prices for new EVs – it will be a growing pain for this industry
for years to come.
- Suicides have hit record highs in the United States in 2022! An
increase in older adults as well as the youth of the country are
unpresented. Other age groups besides the ‘states older citizens have
dropped, but are still well above average. Please see our piece in our
wellness section of this chapter.
- Headlines continue to spark interest in investing in the cannabis
industry. Please research this investment area before rolling into the
green.
- On a lighter note, a man had his girlfriend bite down on his bicep to
make sure to leave bite marks. Why? So, a Denmark tattoo shop could
outline the bitemarks for a permanent tattoo. Bite me!
- Arizona is building solar panels over some of its canals. These canals
carry water throughout cities in the greater Phoenix area. The simple,
but awesome idea will help with evaporation as well as sending power
back to the grid!
- In more smart news regarding the use of technology; Six Flags Magic
Mountain in California will be erecting a number of solar panels. The
cool thing about these is where they will be installed. The parking lot
of the Six Flags will have the solar panels installed, this will keep the
parked cars under shade and the power stored from the sun will power
the park!
- Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce share their favorite spots for date night -
Who F'in Cares! Will Taylor Swift be in Green Bay for the 12.3 game?
See previous response!
- Even when countries try to pay their citizens to have more children,
birth rates continue to decline. Taiwan has spent more than $3 billion
to get its people to procreate! Birth rates around the globe continue to
drop. It’s hard to believe throwing money at people is the answer! In
the immortal words uttered in the movie Willow “What about the
baby!?”
- More and more cities in the U.S are banning the right turn on red
laws. This change happened back in the 1970s to help save on fuel and
other non-sensical reasons. The problem is, a majority of drivers don’t
stop and yield when the light is red. They “pause” if we are lucky and
this puts pedestrians, bicyclists in harm’s way not to mention those
turning left into the same intersection. This is another example of a
good idea, that seems to be on the way out due to some Americans not
heeding the rules and laws. Red light! Green Light!
- Lastly, the invasive Cocaine Hippos are back in the news! No, these
are not hippopotamuses that do drugs! These are a hippo population
that is literally running rampant since Pablo Escobar had them
imported back in the day, as crazy drug lords will do! Pablo imported
four of these massive beasts in the 1980s. When Escobar died in 1993,
the four hippos were left to breed and romp without predators. A
study published this year estimates that there are approximately 200
hippos! That’s right – 200! These huge animals can weigh up to three
tons! The plan to eradicate these evasive animals is complicated as to
not cause an outcry. Sometimes unsavory means are required to
control a problem. What’s more important? The humans that live on
that land, need that land for crops and living space or these
disgustingly large and damaging hippos? The three-prong attack by
the Columbian government includes sterilization. [A hippo
vasectomy?] Exporting some hippos to their native land in Africa and
some zoos around the world. [Yeah, that is cost effective, we’re sure!]
And euthanizing some of the population. We are supporters of animals
and the humane treatment of all animals. There is an exception and
that is when humans are moved into second position of importance!
This brings a whole new meaning to “Say hello to my little friend!”
Fucking Tony Montana!
This wraps this month’s headlines!
Practical Life Skills
The Garage & Tool Shed
DIY chemical usage - cost effective and peace of mind!
Pest Control - Pest control is recommended for most parts of the country. For some
areas, such as the desert Southwest they require pest control year 'round due to no
freezing temps. Finding a local bug & weed company - retail outlet is key. One on
one information shared by bug & weed employee is super helpful. Take notes for
future reference. Purchasing the right chemicals that work, and are safe are key.
Using proper equipment is essential as well. [No bulky sprayers or powered
sprayers required.] We use Bug & Weed Mart. We recommend patronizing small
businesses and in this case its way more efficient.
Weed Control - Pre-Emergent - This is one Mr. Z and I are still kicking ourselves
about. We should have done this many years ago! The pre-emergent can be applied
once or twice a year depending on your location in the 'States. A good quality and
long outdoor hose and a simple sprayer are all that is needed for equipment. The
length of the hose will depend on the size of your yard. This can easily be walked
off for measure. Be mindful, there are different pre-emergents based on spraying in
grass – plant sensitive areas as opposed to rock landscapes. This fairly simple DIY
will keep weeds out, save your back on bending over and picking weeds and your
kiddos will love you for not making them "go pull weeds".
"Complaining" / Dis$%#&* Tire Story - See the after holidays newsletter for
details about a negative experience at a very popular tire store and how we got
some of our "time back" in the way of cash.
Onto more practical life skills:
The Kitchen:
We are past the turkey holiday, but turkey is great year-round. Mr. W highly
recommends Reynold’s Kitchens Oven Bags [turkey size]. He has made turkeys for
Thanksgiving for about 20 consecutive years and his turkey is almost always moist!
Say it with us “MOIST!” He uses the Reynold’s bag, follows the directions closely
and makes sure he stuffs his bird. Mr. W prefers old school wild rice for his stuffing
of choice. He recommends you stuff your bird with what you like! This simple,
cost-effective kitchen helper is the key to tender and juicy turkey without being
shackled with basting. Why not try an Xmas turkey?
Cocktail accompaniments:
For cocktails and some deserts:
Simple Syrup – This is so ‘simple” hence the name and so much tastier and
cheaper when we make it ourselves. Simply take one part water to one part sugar.
Bring the water to a slow boil, add the sugar and reduce heat to maintain boil over.
Once the sugar is dissolved remove pan from burner. Once this is cooled, a Mason
Jar is a great container for it! Shelf life for this in your fridge is about four weeks.
If more sugar is used, it increases the shelf life. Mark the Mason Jar with date
filled for easy reference.
Lemon Juice – having fresh lemon juice on hand is critical for any kitchen – home
bar. Mr. Z is adamant that using bottled lemon juice should be illegal. This simple
task can be handled by having a hand-held lever juicer. Nothing fancy needed for
the juicing part. A good paring knife is helpful too. And we store our fresh lemon
juice in a Mason jar as well! The juice is good for 4-6 weeks in the fridge when in
a sealed container. When juicing the lemons, utilize a small bowl to collect the
juice. A simple kitchen strainer can be used to eliminate most of the seeds and
pulp. A good hand-held zester is a handy kitchen tool to have around as well. You
can save some lemon rind in a Ziploc bag, if need be for some ‘zesting’.
Make your own ice - bottle water or filtered tap water are keys to clear and no taste
ice. A multitude of ice trays are available on Amazon. Cheaper yet for good ice,
use a gallon Ziploc bag and poor bottled or filtered water into bag. Freeze bag and
break up with ice pick once solid. Also, check out the cool "rocks" ice trays on
Amazon. These are simple ways to make certain drinks ROCK!
From the Bar:
Six cocktails from Mr. Z that everyone should know how to make:
Classic Whiskey – Bourbon sour
Martini
Manhattan
Old Fashioned
Sidecar
The Classic Boilermaker
Look for tips, tricks and detailed recipes in our special holiday The Sprinkler from
our resident bartender Mr. Z.
Remember to enjoy your drink responsibly and NEVER drink & drive.
Cheers!
Interesting Individual:
Our most interesting individual for this month [IIM]:
This month's IIM is John F Kennedy. 35th President of the U.S. His assassination
anniversary [11.22.1963] always coincides with Thanksgiving. Mr. Z and I refrain
from speaking to and or about politics. This recognition of JFK as our interesting
individual, is more about the hope and the freedom JFK brought to the nation. JFK
was known as a great father. A great friend. A smart man. A brave man. He was
known as a man who believed in equality regardless of race or sex. He was known
as an American who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, however he treated
all he met as equals. He was reported to have an I.Q. of 150, putting him in the
same company as the divisive Elon Musk as well as Mark Zuckerberg! He was
friends with the rich and famous. He was reported to be a ladies’ man and strayed
from his marriage on multiple occasions. The most famous woman he was reported
to have had an affair with was Marilyn Monroe. Her infamous "Happy Birthday"
rendition to JFK was telling on many levels. There have been countless books,
movies and teleplays written about Kennedy. The depth of JFK goes far beyond a
young U.S. President, and a president that was tragically murdered. The majority
of his historic relevance to many is the time he spent as a politician leading up to
his untimely death. As we all do, he had good, bad and indifferent in his life.
Regardless of where you may land with your thoughts on JFK; we know one thing
for sure; he was definitely an interesting individual!
Closing
Thank you for taking the time to read Chapter Four of Psycho Studios “The
Sprinkler.” We look forward to sharing great stories, ideas and suggestions along
with humor and insight! Future issues will be part of a monthly subscription fee on
or around Spring of 2024. 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 piece
out.
Be safe and stay psycho!
We would love to hear from our audience. Comments, feedback & suggestions are
welcome!
Email us at - psychostudios66@gmail.com
Reach us at our website - psycho-studio.com.
This is a work in progress and our podcast, newsletter and more can be accessed
through our website! We make announcements on Instagram and X! [when we
drop new content].
Happy Holidays!
Mr. W ~ Mr. Z
Psycho Studios ~12.1.2023
Special note: The January 1 st The Sprinkler will have limited written content. As
mentioned, we will have a special guest writer for the Wellness section. In addition,
we will have 13 recipes shared by a number of friends. Mr.Z will have the recipes
for his six top cocktails. And, Mr. Z will have a printable electronic 2024 calendar
with 13 original photographs. See you then!