Justin Burning

@jburning.com

Writer (Panels of the Profane (WIP); Hand-Held Hell (2023)), musician (Gathering of October Ghouls), composer (The Bad Man), runner, cyclist, cook, dad (human & doxie), horror and animal lover. jburning.bigcartel.com jburning.bandcamp.com

You couldn't pay me enough money to sit through Eli Roth's wholly unnecessary AI-tainted remake. Even before the use of generative AI was known (but also, OF COURSE Roth would use AI), it was DOA.

Last year was a pretty good one for extreme metal, but I still listen to Igorrr's "Amen" pretty regularly. Despite incorporating so many subgenres of music, it's a spectacularly cohesive album, I think, and features one of the cleanest, most balanced productions on a metal album in recent years.

The album cover for French extreme metal band Igorrr's 2025 release, "Amen."

Happy Saturday! Are you interested in submitting to Crossroads? We are now accepting proposals for our third issue, "This Haunted Landscape." Think sacred places, hauntings, and regional cryptids. We close submissions on September 1st.

Crossroads - Issue 3 - Proposal

The issue theme is "This Haunted Landscape" and will focus on the folk horror of place in the USA. Think haunted places, sacred spaces, and regional cryptids. All contributors will receive a $50 paym...

forms.gle

Man, it's been so long since I've had to find a new job for real — 15 years since a CV refresh, a cover letter, proper interviews that weren't just a formality, any kind of skills assessment, a background check, a drug screen. I forgot how much goes into it and how anxiety-inducing it all is.

Saw the 2026 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, despite qualms. I really enjoyed it. I loved so much of the humor and its warm embrace of how silly its entire concept is.

This week, I got COVID for the first time since about a year into the pandemic. Thankfully it's very mild. The worst of it is a cough, which brings out one of my most toxic traits: insisting on drinking coffee even though I know it exacerbates the phlegm.