Monthly Archives: December 2018

Capturing the Nation’s Mood (Podcast Review)

Review for Capturing the Nation’s Mood podcast, Democracy Works, December 6, 2018

In this episode podcast of Democracy Works, we get a lot of insight into the emotional effects that politics has on the American people. This specific podcast states that people’s political emotions are gauged on a scale of 4 separate topics Anger, pride, worry, and hope.

The podcast first begins speaking on the topic of anger. In this section, there is a lot of focus on the style of aggressive and antagonistic arguing between people with polarized political ideologies. An example of this that the podcast uses is the relationship between young liberals and older conservatives. The podcast claims how the two opposite groups tend to argue without any regard for either side, which, in turn, creates lackluster political improvement. Additionally, the podcast speaks to a lack of true communication in political discourse. The example the podcast uses is the Fred Rogers testimonial before the Senate Committee. The speaker stated that in this testimonial, the chief legislator offered a lot of polite questioning and discussion with Mr. Rogers. She tells us that if this style of reasonable discourse is incorporated into everyday government and people were less quick to judge and were less dismissive, much less gridlock would potentially occur.

The next section that comes into play is pride. A main point of pride that is brought up is the sense of durability our current governmental system has. The idea that there are systems of checks and balances for each political branch and that no singular individual can hold fundamental power for far too long is, in many ways, a sense of pride. Something that is actually pretty funny was the idea that, in most polls asking about pride, most Americans cannot explicitly say what exactly makes them proud of their nation even though there is so much to be proud of. The civic engagement that Americans partake in, is something that we as Americans should be proud of specifically. No other nation has the same type of civic engagement, participation, and love for the community that the United States has.

Worry was the next section that was discussed. In this specific podcast, “worry” was defined as anything that causes unease to American citizens. One panelist mentions that he was worried that Americans take their civil liberties for granted. he believes that if democracy is not valued and cultivated enough, it may not necessarily sustain and improvement cannot be made. Worry can also be seen in the type of disengagement of citizens. People, when they come across opinions they do not agree with, tend to hide and forget instead of working with it.

The final section that was discussed was hope. Hope is a topic that I personally believe is most pertinent to us as Americans at the moment. With current political officials driving policies that are against certain interests, one cannot help but try to remain hopeful that things will change for the better and that our people, Americans, will come together for a united cause.

 

All in all, this was an interesting conversation to listen to, especially considering that it is my first political podcast. I am especially inspired by the fact that many of the speakers were Penn State faculty that I hope to one day be able to meet and have a discussion with.

 

 

Lion Bash Recap!

Lion Bash was, without a doubt, one of the first large-scale university events I attended as a freshman. I recall hearing about it in one of the new student pamphlets that were presented to us upon arriving at the school.

I was amazed by the size and scope of LionBash. I came from a small suburban town to the southeast of Pennsylvania and was not really accustomed to seeing an entire community come together for one event. I spent the first half-hour or so walking up and down Allen street just observing the stands and tables that were displayed in those three blocks or so. One of the first things I noticed was how many university-based organizations and clubs there were. Throughout the day, I saw multiple performing arts, service, interest, and political student groups recruiting and sharing their ideas and opinions with the public. A group that, in particular, caught my eye was an organization that dressed up as fictional characters such as superheroes and fairytale characters to spend time with children with terminal diseases at medical institutions. Seeing the amount of passion that the group had was a clear indication that Penn State was the school for me.

Additionally, the politics-based interest groups that I saw also caught my attention. Though I was not a very politically involved high school student, politics-based groups that I saw at LionBash helped present me with a new perspective in aspects of American Politics. For example, until LionBash, I was not completely aware of “Gerrymandering” as a term. Though in high school, we were briefly taught terminology and definitions for the word, I never really saw it come onto play until LionBash. Having “Gerrymandering” explained to me and demonstrated on a map helped me solidify my understanding of the term and realize its influence in political elections and how it resonates as a negative aspect of American politics.

Finally, something that I saw that day that inspired me the most was the public service groups that came out to become more involved with the communities that they served. A prime example of this was a presentation by the Centre County fire department division that services the area surrounding Penn State. Throughout our daily lives, we never really stop to think about and appreciate all the hard work and sacrifices of the men and women working in fields of public service. That day, I saw a group of 4 firemen sing a song for the public at the LionBash event. Seeing the smiles and pure sense of enjoyment on people’s faces, I understood that the event’s true purpose was to help strengthen the relationships of the community as a whole.

Caricature done at LionBash

 

Final RCL Blog How has my Definition of Rhetoric Changed? (RCL 12)

At very first, Rhetoric and Civic Life seemed to be just another class that would focus on enhancing a student’s writing and speaking skills. To be honest, I didn’t really think much of it. In high school, virtually every class and activity I was involved in had some element of public speaking and creative writing to it. In class, presentations on related topics were frequent. In orchestra rehearsal, there were times that I found myself leading the vocal forefront of a fundraising team. Even as a boy scout, many of the activities we had to complete during out scouting adventures involved speaking to others, gaining their trust, and garnering support. I always believed that writing and in turn, speaking, was something that people couldn’t just learn in a classroom setting. I always thought it was something that had to be cultivated, practiced, and tested, and that no amount of “classroom instruction” would really be able to help in any way, shape, or form.

That perspective is long gone.

Throughout the course of the semester, I’ve been able to learn a multitude of different writing, public speaking, and presentational skills. Each unit our class accomplished together was another element of rhetoric learned. In Unit one, I picked up vital skills in intensively researching topic and forming my research into a presentable argument. In the second unit, I crossed those skills to investigate shifts in cultural ideology and learned to present the ideas I found in a fluid and professional manner. In the third and final unit, I learned the importance of working well with a group and that without cooperation, nothing can be achieved.

Though each unit on its own seems wildly different and unrelating to each other, upon completing each task and assignment, I’ve come to realize that each topic complements the other. After finishing unit one, I saw that I could cross the research skills that I had just acquired into the presenting a paradigm shift in unit two. After finishing unit two, I saw that I could utilize the elements revolving around an ideological shift in the way that my group and I presented the History of a Public Controversy assignment. Each unit built off of one another allowing for a sense of fluidity that may not necessarily be found in other classes.

I now see that rhetoric is something that needs to be heavily practiced and rehearsed for anyone to be able to do well. However, I also understand that instruction and guidance are vital to its presentational success and that one cannot expect to be able to achieve their maximum potential and achieve success without both studying rhetoric and practicing it as well.

 

Signing off, this is Alex Wu.

“CAS 137 w/ Dr. O’Hara 2k18”

Bach Suite No. 2 in D minor Allemande (Passion 10)

The d minor Allemande is a very special movement, even in the case of this being a primarily minor suite. For starters, the movement is notably more aggressive and mean in its style. It immediately starts with a broken d minor chord and rushes into a section of descending sixteenth notes starting from b-flat. Next, halfway through the second measure, another broken chord is played except this time, in an inversion. Sixteenths again follow the broken chord but in an ascending pattern.

At measure 9, a very technically difficult section for the cellist is presented. Though to the ear, it doesn’t sound any different from sections before it, the number of accidentals and odd notations in the music makes it a very challenging section for the left hand.

One unexpected bit of free-form, improvisatory writing in this Allemande happens at measure 9. Bach takes a D sharp to A harmony and connects it to a long a running pattern of 32nd notes. The sudden increase in speed is both difficult for the musician to play and difficult for an audience to interpret.

Another technique that Bach utilizes in the Allemande movement is four-bar phrases. Each phrase ends with a cadential figure on the 4th bar. For example, from measure 13 to 17, the music starts with an augmented A major chord. Four measures later, the phrases finishes on an e, the V chord of that A. Later on, we see a section filled with cadences except instead of ending with the V chord falling to the I chord, they play out in the exact opposite manner.

Personal liberties in this movement are especially noticeable in the broken double-stop chords that are constantly being played. The chords are presented in a way so that they can be manipulated and elongated if need be. In Maisky’s version of this piece, he takes the time to elongate each of the double-stops and the chord endings.

This specific movement is actually very special to me as it is the first movement of the Bach suites that I played for my current private teacher. As a university professor, he really wanted on me to focus on the importance of knowing when personal liberties should or should not be taken. This has influenced my personal rendition of this movement. Personally, I think that time should be taken on such double-stops but only if they come at the end of a phrase. A good example of this would be at measure 13. Though there is a massive chord that is played, the chord actually starts the transition into a new phrase instead of ending, thus, it would be counter-productive to take any time in that specific double stop.