Week One

By Lucas Jauregui.

This week I made two instrumental beats using FL Studio and an MPK25 Midi Controller. My roommate and I exchanged Ideas about music. My entrance into the music scene at Penn State has been slow. As an out of state student it is a little more difficult to enter groups that had already existed since high school. I recently got in contact with my orientation leader who had mentioned someone who would be interested in singing or rapping. I am particularly trying to work on more EDM beats rather than hip-hop. I am going to see where this takes me. I went to a cultural event at Dieke Building that displayed different cultures music styles, along with information on holidays and samples of food. Very interesting event. I’m glad I went! I also, just got tickets to see Kanye West at the Bryce Jordan center which wshould be not only fun but helpful in immersing myself into the Penn State music scene. Other than that it had been a relatively slow week. Anyone know any clubs? Or suggestions? Also, if you want particular songs remixed leave it in the comments. I would love to have nice vocals to practice with.

 

Top 5 Songs of the Week:

  1. Tep- No- It’s Alright (NGHTMRE Remix)
  2. Gucci Mane Trap House 3 Ft Rick Ross
  3. Alina Baraz- Can I
  4. King Harvest- Dancing in the Moonlight
  5. 213-So Fly

Arboretum and Permaculture

By Lucas Jauregui.

The Arboretum helps foster a sense of civic life because it was designed to bring people together to appreciate this area and provides calm space for everyone to enjoy. Also an arboretum has ecological advantages because it promotes habitats for various insects and rodent.

This reminds me of a vivid memory associated with my education: two teenagers, covered in dirt, tasked with planting on a 30-degree slope with a couple of shovels, a homemade bunyip, some basic understanding of agriculture, and the desire to contribute to their school. I went to a Montessori school founded on some of the same principles of intellectual rigor, the promotion of imagination, creativity and commitment to justice that characterize Bowdoin. Classes were designed for discussion and self-initiated projects that mattered to us and to our community. A friend and I wanted to grow vegetables and herbs for the cooking of our “community lunch” (a weekly event run by students). We researched different forms of agriculture and got the teachers involved. We came across “permaculture”, learned about the concept and techniques used, and figured how to determine the contour lines of the terrain (a must in permaculture). We had two options: a $600-laser level or a homemade bunyip. Needless to say, we made a bunyip with scrap wood and with it found the contour lines necessary to strategically plant vegetables and deep rooted grasses so our garden retained water and resisted erosion. That self-sustaining system we developed is still providing for the school’s lunches; a common good for our school, the environment and our community. I smile everytime I drive by.

Música

By Lucas Jauregui.

Downstairs I hear my uncles, cousins, brothers and parents talking, to what a person unfamiliar with my house would consider boisterous. My family is that loud Latino family. Like most Latino households, there is always commotion. I smell garbanzo beans that my mom had been making all afternoon. I hear laughter followed by the scratch of the needle hitting the vinyl. Music has always been important.

My dad loves to sing and introduced me to music at an early age to everything from Ray Charles to Latin American grunge to The Andrew Sisters. I like how music breathes life into an atmosphere and takes charge of the mood. And how it gets people to laugh, cry, smile, and wonder. I was immediately enticed to be a part of something so central to my house. And so, I started playing piano. The piano is incredible. About 34 muscles are used to play piano. Piano is a temperamental instrument and by this I mean, it conducts the players emotions. For two years now I have been part of the local music scene in South Bend by producing instrumental beats. I have tried to share with people something special to me so they can show their talents to the others.  

I walk down the stairs to be immersed with food and family. Music is captivating. Every time I hear the scratch of vinyl I remember these nights with my family. Music is in my roots and it is part of who I am.

This blog will track my development in music at Penn State as I begin to enter the music scene.

Penn State Newbie

By Lucas Jauregui.

Penn State is a sort of world within a larger macrocosm. There are community values, mantras and practices that are specific to the “Penn State” environment. The Circle is described similarly to a university, with food courts, buildings, athletic courts and fruit groves. The company is also a largely bureaucratic system and Mae starts at the very bottom like a student here at Penn State. Much like being a newbie at The Circle, one meets people in higher ranks that can show the said “newbie” the ropes of the new environment like Annie does for Mae. As a “newbie” at Penn State I am still being encultured to this new world but I am picking up on some things like: one does not enter the bus on the back door, and when someone yells “WE ARE…” one must quickly respond with “PENN STATE.”  That way one can scale the ranks and have special privileges. At Penn state one also receives special privileges by attending meetings, and events on campus to meet the people with power.

Little Pictures of Learning

By Lucas Jauregui.

1 RCL Blog

1.2 RCL blog

My style of learning was is a mix of two photos. The first picture that reflects my style of learning, is the match. A match is used to ignite objects, when struck against something abrasive a flame is made. Bringing it back to the way of learning, It takes me little bit to understand certain topics. Like the match, when my understanding is struck against something abrasive (something challenging my thoughts) my knowledge is ignited. One my knowledge is ignited I find the practicality of and use of this knowledge. Knowledge does not exist in a vacuum but rather through the interrelation “the way we know.” Knowledge is more of a verb than a noun. It is not static but in progress. What we know is contested, changed, negated, and compromised through our interactions with different people (similar to how a lit match can change the physical composition of objects) The second object, is the rubber band. This made me think about how I learn because it starts off small and becomes big. The rubber band ball grow larger by slowly adding a rubber band one at a time. It builds upon itself. The other way it reminds me of learning is because as rubber bands are added on some break off. It further elucidates the idea that learning and knowledge is in a state of change.