Zip it, Clamp it, and Haul Ass

let's go
motors fire exhaust pipes chant potato-potato-potato

shouts: followin' you
how far can you go before you gotta fill that thing up
don't know
what ya mean ya don't know
no speedo no odometer
followin' me then

15 miles out of town they pass a tractor-trailer at 85 mph

how ya feel
great man
hows 75-80 suit ya
i prefer 70
yeah that's what we're goin'
yeah
ya'll were hittin' 85 passin' that truck
well we had to pass 'em
cool man
next stop roswell and the aliens
there's a dealership there
need parts for that old thing
my exhaust clamp snapped
bad
the pipe's shakin' off the front head
better zip up tight dark clouds up the road
leather jackets zipped and belted, motors fire, exhaust pipes chant potato-potato-potato

20 minutes outside roswell new mexico the clouds open up and soak the heros
a rooster-tail streams water into one of their faces

where's my front fender when i need it
looks cool though
feels cold

at the service counter at the dealership

what year you say it is
83 shovel
well it looks like we don't carry parts that old
you got anything else that'll work
i can sell ya this one for $10 but i can't garuantee it'll work
let's go with it

in the parking lot full of leather clad dentists and new machines

he didn't try to sell ya a shirt with that did he
nah man
let's bust out the tools and get this rigged up

brake lever detached, old clamp removed, new being pounde like a horseshoe, leather jackets thrown on the wet asphalt as workbenches

you guys know there's a repair shop in the back of the dealership
yes sir we do but we'd rather save the extra $100 for beer and smokes
alright good luck then

30 minutes later the repair is finished, brake lever reattached

looks good man
better than stock
that shit anin't comin' off again
hell yeah man little roadside maintnance
cool
ruidoso
let's go
motors fire, exhaust pipes chant potato-potato-potato

25 minutes outside ruidoso the heavy clouds dump a large late-afternoon mountain rain

damn front fender
-shouts-ya look cold man
damn water's runnin' down my back

after 30 minutes of looking for the lodge in the wet crowded streets the heros find it

turn on tha heater
throw me a beer
that was the shittiest ride i've ever done
hell yeah

there is nothing at the rally worthy of an adult male's attention

two days later they fire up the machines and ride home under a brilliant sky
a falcon attacks a bird in flight
antelope look up from their grazing and gaze at the machines hurling by them, chanting potato-potato-potato at high tempo

everything holdin' together
taillights rattlin'
one thing or another
hell yeah

safely back at home, under lone star's special spell, the heros conjure memories of heavy rains, busted exhuast clamps, and falcons preying
little is said of the rally, just as it is written here

Judge a Book by Its Cover

There's an old maxim which goes "Never judge a book by its cover," and this maxim, unfortunately, applies to more than just books, but also to people; again, unfortunately. But we do judge books and people by their covers. And while there is a bead of truth to the saying, one cannot deny that reading a book with a cool cover feels cooler, just as kissing a stunning woman is all the more compelling. With this idea in mind, I present the five coolest book covers in my collection (in no particular order) with a brief note on why I like each of them.

Critical Terms for Religious Studies, by Mark C. Taylor, University of Chicago Press, 1998.

This postmodern dictionary isn't what you'd expect from its title. A gripping cover wraps this edgy volume. I don't even know what painting this is but I like it. One of my favorite features of the cover is how the painting is so oddly framed by angled black borders. Another pleasing aspect of the cover is the use of different fonts --an interesting touch, and one we'll see more of as this list continues-- which keeps the eye bouncing and the orangish dot containing the "for" lends the cover a vintage detail, as does the dominant typeset.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Penguin Books UK, 1998.

This cover is real gem which is only out shined by the magical story inside. I came across this edition while in Japan. The Japanese tend to import books from British publishing houses more than from American ones. The green, leafy swaths on the blackish background gives the cover a vegetative, cool, and junglish feel.

The messy, typed over fonts spelling out the Marquez's name and the book's title gives the cover a dangerous and somewhat schizophrenic feel, as if someone kept typing the letters with a dirty typewriter. The praise blurb by The Times isn't thrilling in itself, but the fact that it's printed in a different font, akin to Garamond (the classiest of all fonts), lends a classic touch to the disjointed design. And what would a Penguin book be without the little oval-celled penguin, this time appearing in light blue.

Pure Immanence: Essays on A Life, Gilles Deleuze, Zone Books, 2001.

Here's a short but extremely deep French, postmodern philosophical text. More than the text though, the book cover captures the viewer with its graceful eeriness. It almost looks like a face there in the middle, but who knows. The book is published by Zone, an extremely stylish publisher of modern intellectual pieces.

In keeping with all the covers designed by Zone, the cover utilizes a different font and color for each of the lines of texts. The burgundy, yellow, and white go well together and contrast perfectly with the cool green smoke of the background image. The black blocked publishers mark in the bottom left smacks some solid boldness into this ephemeral, wafting design.

The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson, Scribner: Simon and Schuster, 1998.

Here's an eclectic cover chocked full of everything that makes a great cover. Designers should take notice of this cover. Thompson's drunken tale of his Puerto Rican nights is wonderfully represented by this colorful pallet. So what's great about this cover?

To start with, the colors are all bright and vivid. The solid red title bar syncs up perfectly with the bright, kinda light blue author type. The tart green negative picture clashes in just the right way with the other colors (and it doesn't really matter that the photo wasn't taken in Puerto Rico).

Not only are the colors spot on in their oddness, but the fonts alternate, with the title and author in a tough, military looking font, and the praise blurb in a stylish Garmond. Brilliant!

The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse, Picador USA, 2002.

The Picador cover of this epic novel which helped Hesse win the Nobel Prize is soft, subtle, and dreamy. Blurry marbles, glass beads, what is that a picture of anyway? It fits the book's personality and more than that, the cover stands on its own as a beautiful piece of tranquil photography.

Though the font is consistent throughout, even in its use of all upper-case letters, the lines are cleverly arranged around the space and in different sizes. The shifting location and size of the text lines makes the eye bounce around, just like a glass bead might in a Master Ludi's hand (if that's how the game is played).

The bright white text contrasts cleanly with the rainbow of smudged colors at work in the background. This is a fresh, clean cover that bids the reader a curious welcome. A must read for sure, but be sure to read this edition so you get the fresh cover art.

So there you have it, five amazing book covers that will make you want to read these books whether you have any idea at all what they're about. That's what a good book cover does: it compels you to read the damn book, if only for the reason you'll look cool reading such a cool looking book. And just to further prove my point about how a great cover will make you want to read a book, how would you like to read this thrilling volume:

Ethics: Treatise on The Emendation of the Intellect, Baruch Spinoza, Hacket Pub. Co., 1992.

Do you want to read this book? I think not. Even if you like Spinoza you'll dread reading his philosophy out of this boringly covered book. Hell, the only interesting thing this cover has going for it is the line separating the author's name from the title.

This book cover is like being in Delaware, "Hi, we're in Delaware."

World without my Superman

I always assumed my father would die in my lifetime -just as every child assumes of their parents- I just didn't know the event would take place so soon in both of our lives. Death is unpredictable and sudden, non-sensical and absurd.

"This is non-sense," that's all I kept uttering as I gripped my father's swollen hand in the hospital room. He was home when I clocked into work, and in the hospital when I clocked out. So many people's lives changed so quickly without notice.

But there is comfort in the non-sense, tranquility in the uncertainty, and a shining presence in his absence. Of all the deaths my father could've had, in light of all those dark possibilities, I'm glad Dad's death was swift, and I'm glad death found him on his motorcycle: the machine that always made him smile as it carried us hundreds of miles down the highway together.

Dad lived an amazing life, a life that amazed most of the people fortunate enough to befriend him. He constantly amazed me with his hair-brained ideas, and just the right amount of luck and skill to make them happen. Dad always believed in himself, even when he had no sane reason to do so. And that, in my opinion, was Dad's most admirable quality: the ability to face any challenge confidently- with a confidence that bordered on a foreknowledge of success (or at least a good time).

I miss you Dad, and I know a solid handful of your mannerisms live on in me. And your spirit, it too animates me and drives me forward. Everyone loved you, and we all miss you coming through the door.

My father Thomas Neil Burrus II, was killed in a motorcycle accident on 29 June 2009. He was 53 years old. He leaves behind a boat load of friends, family, and my precious mother, all who miss him dearly. He went ahead of me, his proud son- the only one who can claim that honor.
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For my father's memorial service, my cousin Amy and I made the following video that was played in the chapel. I hope all of you enjoy seeing Dad smile as he did all the things that made him happy. Please enjoy:



Peace Always,

Justin Burrus

It Never Stops, Still Going Hot, it's a Stingray

One of things I love most about being back stateside is working on motorcycle in the garage with the radio blaring rock n' roll. I didn't listen to the radio too much in Japan, but now that I'm back in the States, if I have wrench in my hand I've got rock in my ears.

It was during a wrenching session that I heard a totally insane song called "Stingray." I had no idea who sang it and I had no idea what in the hell the rockers were saying-- except for the word "stingray" haunting the chorus.

I kept singing that one damn word over and over in my head. There was something primal and vicious about the way the singer said that brutal word. Stingray, the word triggered so many images in my mind: a Corvette muscle car; a graceful terror of the sea; and just the pure sleekness and danger inherent in the word itself. A true word, one that expresses its meaning in a vacuum.

I spent the better part of an afternoon searching the web for the song. I came up with some bizarre results, mostly from the 80's when oceanic exploration and imagery ran rampant through American culture. After hours of surfing the stingray-less waters of Internet music charts, my fascination only grew.

Later on the evening whilst playing pool (the game of kings) with my buddies from work, I named my two man team "Stingray." My partner wasn't too thrilled about the moniker at the time, but after we swept the floor with the competition the name stuck. There's something 50's about it, something 80's about it, something hinting into the unknown future about it.

My friend was picking songs at the digital jukebox so I asked him to search for a song called "Stingray." He found it. Static X sings the song, and team Stingray marches the green felt of the pool table to its terrifying refrain.



The video really ties the song together, like a nice rug. It has all the elements needed in a kick-ass hard rock video: a psycho styled lead singer, a trollish bassist, a smoking hot and highly temperamental babe, a muscle car, hints of sex; all set in an abandoned crack house. High octane, neo-primordial symbols of chaos, destruction, danger, and coarse toughness. When I listen to the song I redline the throttle in my brain and I feel every surging blood cell speed through my tense muscles. That's what rock n' roll is about: venting the will to power--the ultimate aim of every organism.

Hawgs of Texas

This past April my father and I headed down to south Texas for the annual "Hawgs of Texas" motorcycle rally held at Welch Park at Somerville Lake. It was a wild time full of the 3 B's: bikes, babes, and beer. An amazing time was had by all despite the turd-floater rain on Friday night. It was my first motorcycle rally and one that is tough to beat-- at least as far as the second B is concerned. Below is video I made from the "clean" pictures of the rally. Enjoy... and next year leave your golf carts at home.



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As a side note, I'm very disappointed with YouTube and the greedy music industry for muting all videos using unlicensed music. I originally set the video to The Doors "Roadhouse Blues," an amazing song that fully captured the mood and atmosphere of the rally. However, when I uploaded the video with "Roadhouse Blues" onto YouTube it was muted. YouTube sent me an email saying a violated a copyright. What a load of bullshit. I could understand if I was making money off the video but I'm not. This is just another example of the music industry cracking down on audiophiles with the hopes that the public will spend $18 on a CD with only one or two decent songs on it instead of listening to, or downloading, those songs freely on the internet. Shame on you Warner.

Book Smarts Podcast

My first semester as a Texas Tech student wrapped up nicely and I have a slew of new skills for display, both in the classroom and here on my blog. The final project for my Instructional Theory and Design class called for a learning podcast for classroom use. My podcast aims at improving reading comprehension and enjoyment by teaching people how to read better using their hands.

I chose to illustrate a learning strategy because I think teachers spend to much time assigning homework and not enough time teaching students how to improve the skills needed to complete it. A study found that less than 10% of teaching time is spent teaching students how to improve their skills in a given area. With that said, please enjoy my prize-winning podcast dedicated to helping you read better.



This podcast was entered into the Texas Tech podcast tournament open to all students and spearheaded by the Colleges of English and Education. Six winners were chosen from the thirty plus entries to move on to the Digital Sandbox podcasting tournament which is being held this summer. I'm very pleased that my podcast, as monotonous as it is, was chosen for advancement. If you have iTunes you can listen to and watch the other entries on Texas Tech's iTunes University page.

Compost Happens (and smells like $hit)

I've got a wooden box in my backyard that smells like shit. No, I'm not talking about the outhouse, I'm talking about my compost pile. Even though composting is a stinky hobby, it gives me great satisfaction knowing that I'm keeping reusable stuff out of the landfill.

I had the idea of starting a compost pile while working in the kitchen at my part time job. Over the course of a lunch rush a lot of little bits of food fall on the floor which get swept up and thrown in the dumpster. Tired of seeing all this food go to waste, one day after sweeping the line I put all that waste into an empty pickle bucket, closed the air-tight lid on it, and brought it home for composting.

Composting the process of decomposing organic matter in a controlled way. Decomposition happens naturally in forests and other wild places, but in the city it takes a little effort on our part to occur. The goal of composting is to combine left-over organic matter so that it creates bio-matter, a scientific term for good dirt, which can then be reincorporated into the ecosystem to help plants grow harder, better, faster, and stronger. In a way, compost (the finished product of composting) is like a nutrient rich super fertilizer that can be used with almost any planting application.

I left the bucket on the porch for about week while I went around town gathering discarded shipping pallets that most businesses toss by their dumpsters. After gathering enough pallets I set to work breaking them apart, cutting the pieces to size and building the frame and side slats. Using discarded pallets as material for a compost pile is not only free, but it also keeps those pallets out the landfill as well. It's reusing wood to help reuse organic matter.

My compost pile roughly measures 3' x 3' x 3', and has slatted sides and a chicken-wire back which helps with air flow (an extremely important ingredient in composting). It only took an afternoon to complete the build and only required a hammer, nails, and circular saw for construction. Later I'll hinge the side so I can easily access the finished compost.

Ingredients

There is a whole science to composting which can be intimidating if you lose sight of the fact that you're just making dirt, albeit super dirt. Ideally, a compost pile should have a 3:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen. Carbon materials (browns) include: dry grass clippings, dry leaves, sawdust, hay, paper, and cornstalks, just to name a few. Some of these materials are difficult to find in the home but should be included in a good batch of compost. To boost the carbon matter in my pile I use sawdust, shredded office paper, and collected dry leaves.

The nitrogen (greens) half of the ratio is much easier to come by in the common home. Most vegetable and fruit wastes work great for composting, but stay away from meats and dairy products. Another great source of nitrogen matter is coffee grinds and tea leaves, as they decompose quickly and are fine in consistency. A general rule in composting is to break the matter down into as small of bits as possible so that beneficial bacteria have plenty of raw surface area to attack. So any matter you use in your compost, whether it is a carbon or a nitrogen, should be chopped into small bits. No one wants clumpy compost.

So far in my compost mix I have grass clippings, sawdust, leaves, and office paper, balanced with waste food from the restaurant which includes plenty of veggies and some bread. I also added dirt to give the mix consistency and some earthworms from the tackle shop, though the worms aren't required. Along with adding food to the pile, I turn it each day with a pitchfork (which adds to the "I'm a farmer, I work the earth" mentality) and add water to the pile.

Although I've only been composting for a week now, there's already a variety of insects like flies, ants, and worms dwelling in my pile that aid the decomposition process. A compost pile is a miniature and controlled ecosystem in itself, and I'm happy to give these beings a free source of food. Composting places me in symbiotic relationship with the material in the pile and the beings it feeds.

If you're tired of filling landfills with food scraps and grass mulch, I highly recommend composting. All these materials we usually throw away can be used to create nutrient rich planting soil which reincorporates waste into the ecosystem in a beneficial manner. Sure the process may be a little stinky, but it definitely smells better than a landfill.
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If you're interested in composting check out the compost manual.