Four Year Strong is a pop-punk band formed in Massachusetts in 2001. Ten years of music and only five of mainstream fame. During the past five years they have released five albums: Rise or Die Trying(2007), Explains It All(2009), Enemy of the World(2010), and In Some Way, Shape or Form(2011)

Consisting of Alan Day on guitar/vocals, Dan O’Connor on guitar/vocals, Josh Lyford on keyboards/vocals(2006-2011), Joe Weiss on bass, and Jake Massucco on drums.

The bands sound has changed considerably since Rise or Die Trying, but the album encompassed all that FYS are. Throwing out insane amounts of energy bonded to each song and riff. Their songs were described as happy hardcore, and were almost the epitome of a mix of the two genres(pop and hardcore).

From that point, two years later they recorded an album full of nineties covers titled ‘Explains It All’, inferring that these songs were what shaped their childhood and made the who they are today. The album strays from Rise or Die Trying but changes each song just enough to give the audience the flavor they were looking for in the album. This cover of ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ is not as good as the Smashing Pumpkins version, but still embodies the essence of nineties grunge while keeping true to that hardcore sound.

Four Year Strong released their next album in spring of 2010 titled ‘Enemy of the World’. Many fans were skeptical the band was not going to return to their original sound, but like any incredible artist Four Year Strong delivered a record that made ‘Rise or Die Trying’ look like Charmander under the shadow of Charizard. They brought everything to the table and were becoming one of the biggest pop-punk bands in the world. The sound was more driving than the previous records, with obvious attitude and a message that they were NOT going anywhere.

Presently, Four Year Strong are enjoying the praise of their new album In Some Way, Shape or Form whilst touring the United States and Canada. The new album has been met by fans with excitement, disappointment, and neutrality alike. People have called it ‘uninspired’ and ‘Foo Fighter-esque’. It sold over 6,500 copies in its first week and ranked at number 88 on the Billboard top 200. These results are nearly half of what ‘Enemy of the World’ accumulated, ranking at number 47 on the Billboard top 200 and selling 12,000 copies in its first week. The album is definitely a new sound for Four Year Strong, and in my opinion, they seem to have lost a lot of traits they once had like attitude, complex rhythm/riffing, and that urgency the other records carried. However, I can still hear Four Year Strong and I admittedly love the record. My favorite track is “The Security of the Familiar, the Tranquility of Repetition”

FYS 2011

Joe Rogan is mainly known for his hosting role of Fear Factor(coming back this 2012) and his provided commentary for UFC. However what many are beginning to find is that Rogan has another dimension that is less known to the general public.

Uploaded on YouTube Sept. 13 2006 is a video of Joe Rogan on an unknown radio show speaking about his encounters with the hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine, more commonly referred to as D.M.T.

Accumulating over 2.6 million views in five years, Rogan has effectively spread the ‘fringe’ theories associated with D.M.T.’s uses.

“It’s more real than reality,” said Rogan in the middle of the answer. This is the kind of stuff that makes some people wonder where spirituality ran off too in western culture. Many arguments and debates have been set forth about this, but one thing is for sure. Cultures in eastern Asia and central/south America still use these mixtures for religious purposes. Even Buddhist monks will go into induced states of meditation, something that the hallucinogens mimic.

My opinion on all of this is that D.M.T. has yet to be explained, but I believe it holds some serious keys in terms of our inner-selves and ego formulation. Who knows what the future holds.

This up-and-coming YouTuber is becoming a sensation for strong-stomached viewers in the YouTube community. He could be eating three live cockroaches, or a half-decayed frog he found on the side of the road, but one thing is for sure, he has caught the attention of over 20,000 subscribing users around the world. In just SIX MONTHS!!!!

Food For Louis is a YouTube channel with just 14 videos and depicts a man only going by “Louis” eating grotesque animals(or drinking the occasional bottle of wasabi sauce) that would make even the strongest-willed turn away and cringe in agony.

His videos have landed him YouTube recognition as the 85th most subscribed user in the United Kingdom this month, the fourth most subscribed user in the United Kingdom this week, and the 24th most viewed user this week.

For having been around just six months, the above are very impressive numbers when compared to the some 490 million users worldwide that visit the site monthly.

I personally think this guy has either some serious grit, or he is just plain insane. Either way, you have GOT to check this him out.

Everyone is talking about a doomsday. The rapture, the end of the world, the second coming of christ, WHATEVER you want to call it. With all the evidence in the Mayan calendar and all of the media reference it just HAS to be true…… right?

This whole business has even got people starting their own doomsday/second coming dates, I wish I could predict these things like some people seem to.

The Coming is a website based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax is the capital city and right on the Atlantic ocean. The site throws down an end-date, specifically on October 21st, 2011… Isn’t that a year and two months early?

The reality of the situation is that these people, including those creators of “The Coming”, must be basing their ‘factual evidence’ on shaky ground(bible passages containing polysemous words.. having multiple meanings).

All is open to interpretation and opinion, and of course they have the right of free speech just as I do, but I believe it’s a little unnecessary! and who knows, maybe there really are signs, maybe this whole planet is truly going to go down in a ball of flames! I’ll be watching and waiting with the rest of the planet.

Check this video, all three filmed on January 28th, 2011 at Jerusalem above dome of the rock. Maybe this religious doomsday talk can be given a bit more justification?

Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock

…..M

Just this past Friday night on Oct. 1, Ralph Clarke and I had a slot at Aspetta Cafe. Located on 207 Augusta Avenue in central Kensington Market, it’s a good spot to hang out; chill atmosphere, cheap liquor(compared to many spots downtown), and nice people.

Yo, so I found these things a while ago called binaural beats. They are supposed to put out a frequency that effects your brain while combining it with a relaxing white noise. Although hypothetical, uses include but aren’t limited to, induction of lucid dreaming, meditation and relaxation. If you have any previous knowledge in psychology(I have little to none) you will recognize they come in the waves that your brain produces when you sleep…. Alpha, beta, delta, and theta among others. Here’s a little sample clip. Check it out, and take a listen before you sleep or if you want to even your head out or whatever! I don’t know if it actually works but it’s prettttttty cool.

Alpha binaural beat sample

For more info visit wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats

Photo taken from Waking Life

Pictured here is one of many discussions dealing with speculative topics featured in Waking Life, a film written and directed by Richard Linklater. During the course of the year(or however longer..) I’m going to be posting my own thoughts on some of these things, and I would really like responses. Also, check out the music tab for weekly updates on songs or sound clips I’ve made!!