I Can See!

Welcome back everyone I am glad to be typing to everyone again if not from a slightly awkward computer. You see since i have been unable to really use my own computer I have to be using Kristi's little chrome book. I don't know if anyone out there knows this yet but I really don't like laptops and I have seen their main purpose taken away so easily from misuse that the portability that they stand for is absolutely useless. I think its the tiny keyboard as well as the lack of a mouse. Other then that though the only other problem I have with them happens to be the lack of ability to get new parts for them easily. This is certainly not a problem at the moment but the small keyboard is because it is making me screw up multiple words over and over again.

Despite the time being grounded and the punishments that come with it I think I have been doing pretty good over the time without my computer. Yes my friends are disappointed not being able to see or get a hold of me easily but thats also why I like making friends with people I can see face to face. To be honest with you all it was definitely necessary and I will say that all of the rest of my life. There is also another upside to this punishment as well and that is that I don't have to look at the computer screen so often. I usually don't mind looking at the computer screen but at the moment I can barely read any of the words without straining my eyes.

You may all be asking why I don't want to be looking at computer screens that often so I'll tell you all that i got some glasses recently! It makes all of the pixels on a computer really stand out as well as everything else. I think I can even try to count the threads on my jeans now if I wanted to. The world is much brighter looking then I remember since I did where glasses at one other point. You see back when I was a kid I was also diagnosed with Astigmatism which causes blurred vision at any distance. because of this I loved my glasses very dearly but I didn't manage to keep good care of them. This lead to my carelessness when it really mattered when I went on a field trip. This field trip had one of those sand pits where you dig for dinosaur bones in a small place in Kansas city known as Science city. This place was amazing and in order to properly participate in this small dig I needed to take off my glasses. I soon forgot about them for that small event and the rest of the field trip. I later remember and went back for them but I couldn't find them and I was to embarrassed to tell anyone. Now I am much more mature and at least a little better at not being so stubborn or forgetful so the same thing shouldn't happen anytime soon if ever.

A Love For Literature.

As many of you might know I absolutely love to read and I guess now I will have plenty of time to do so. The reason for this is that I ended up in another slight bit of trouble which leaves me slightly upset but partially relieved. You see I managed to miss another session with Leif and this has lead to the rights for my computer being taken away again. This is definitely my punishment but I can't argue with it. This costs everyone around me something including me. This costs the parents trust, Leif's time, and my education which means that while some other kids my age might take this as something small I feel like this is more then enough of a punishment that I lose my computer privileges for a while. This will not stop me from posting anything but you can believe that I will be at least a little bitter ,but who am I to complain. I now have more time then I know what to do with. This will allow me to pursue any hobby I wish without the computer standing in between me and my goal or objective.

Following on my path for literature I finally got around to watching the movie adaption for the Book Thief which is yet again another good transference of the story to the big screen. Sadly I do have my complaints and that is all in the end. If you plan to continue reading this paragraph from here you might want to go and read the Book Thief and watch the movie first to understand what I am saying and for the rest of you there is definitely some spoilers so continue at your own pace or just move onto the the third paragraph. The full ending of the movie where Max comes back into Leisel's world after disappearing for about 3 years isn't exactly good in my opinion. This is not true to the book by all rights and does not convey the story that it was designed to pass on. I understand that they needed to make it so that people would actually go and watch the movie but it is not their movie but her book and by changing the movie you convey a story that does not exist. Max was never seen again by Leisel which this may seem like some kid ranting by the keyboard but this is important because it shows the tragedy of what happened and to distort the story and truth that sprang forth in her words seems like they were only there for money and not for the story that is conveyed. Alright. I had to get that out of the way since that is one of the main parts that bothered me. I understand omitting the stuff from the movie for the sake of being able to tell the whole story but adding in one part like that just isn't right. For the most part just watch until the part where everyone else dies and there is the real story. That may sound dark and gloomy but that's how the book was made and how it ended. That is definitely why they expanded the story into a happy ending but from the perspective of a person who enjoyed the book I will say you aren't getting the real story if you continue past that part.

I also before I even attempt to wrap up the whole blog I have to say thank you to a certain celebrity from the food network channel. Cole Malouin from Rachael vs. Guy cook off kids edition decided to come to my little blog and comment on my post known as Wrapping up a Series. The link is there for anyone who hasn't read the post or needs a refresher because I certainly did. I have to say thank you for recognizing that little old me exists out here and that I appreciate that you enjoyed it. I loved you on the show and despite not knowing how to cook properly myself I know good food when I see it and trust me you need to keep cooking because without kids like you there won't be anymore good food left in the world. What little that counts for I still have to say keep up the good work and you are definitely not forgotten.

Spring Breaking

Welcome back everyone and lets open my blog entry with the oh so beloved Spring Break. To be honest with everyone out there Spring is my least favorite season with Summer close on its tail. In fact these two are so close to each other I'm still looking for a tie breaker fact to solidify one in front of the other. Spring break isn't exactly bad though and is a nessacary break to prep for the beloved EOC's or End of Course exams. Of course we don't just jump right into them after the break but its the wrap up for the year as well as getting some relaxation before you buckle up for the hardest part of the year. Spring itself adds to the heat as well as allergy's which are both pretty evil in my book. Spring isn't exactly nice to me but the break is welcome before the storm.

Good to see Lief's face again since I truly needed to thank at least face to face. Otherwise anything I typed would just not have cut it. The more times I send an apology letter to him the more it seemed like I was just blowing him off and just not trying to get to the tutoring sessions. Kinda the same way the Little boy who Cried Wold works. The more I cried Wolf ( Sorry ) the less often anyone ( Lief ) would take me seriously. Because of this I was especially determined to see him this last time. This does not mean that I should stop trying but it does relieve a little bit of stress of him thinking that I just am not trying to get things done.

Other then all of that things are pretty plain around the area. Including that last sentence I think that nothing is out of the ordinary. In fact I'm ending the last paragraph the same way I do usually and then I start rambling off into some other subject that I didn't think of. I guess I'm becoming so predictable that I'm predicting myself. Beecause of this I apologize to everyone out there that comes here and sees nothing new. To be honest there isn't anything to complain about or criticize or praise most of the time. When I was in home school I loved referencing to things that I have seen or done in public school but now there isn't much to compare too. Things are so much different from back then and because of one year. Amazing how things work like that.

Partially Free

Recently I have gotten into quite a bit of trouble for me that is. I have not been shirking off my tutoring with Lief but I have not been attending them either which is not going well for me. Due to missing 4/6 of the tutorings with Leif I have gotten into some trouble and had my computer rights revoked for the last couple of days. I'm terribly sorry for abusing Leif's time and I payed the price for it because while losing my computer does not sound like much to anyone else there is more punishment internally for me than there is over the thought of losing my computer. I feel like I have let down my parents and because of this I get to feeling all guilty and this leads me to punishing myself more then the parents could ever do in the end. If Leif is reading this then I feel like I must say sorry here as well as when I see you on Monday.

Other then my problems with tutoring, things are doing fairly well in school. Starting off my school based discussion is the fact that I am a signature away from truly being apart of the A+ program. I know that many people don't know what this is since there is only 3 states in America that even use this program but I love it. The overall idea is as an incentive for graduating you get a scholarship depending on the school that you go to. This is amazing to me as this helps pay for at least the first 2 years of school allowing me to make the money to pay off anything for the next two years and receive a complete college education! On top of all of this the requirements are easy enough which makes me that much more excited. This is because despite how awesome this system is there isn't much stopping me from getting this scholarship at the moment. There will definitely be several hurdles that I must jump but in the end the pros outweigh the cons.

To wrap all of this up I'm currently out looking into Summer school. There is a legit reason for this as well. Since I gained no credit for doing any work in home school I need to make up those 4 different missing credits in some way or another. The easiest option at the moment is to either join a club or do some Summer school classes. I'll still be doing both but I need to catch up on my credits sooner then later so Summer school it is. I also don't mind getting all of my credits out of the way early either as it won't hurt me and extra credits within school help in the long run. Next I'm considering getting a job here soon. The reason is that I am almost old enough ( 15 1/2 years old ) to start applying for jobs. The jobs may not be fantastic but they work and many are within bike riding distance. I need to get a recommendation from my councilor and then I can start building a resume among other things to start making some money. I know that when I start getting into the job market a lot of my free time will be eaten up but this comes around either way and I'm willing to accept this. All in all this is going to lead down this path unless I decided to make some iffy decisions. .

Writing to Victory

Unlike what I had previously thought last blog entry I managed to actually get into the school newspaper! I know that this is rather abrupt but it was kinda the same thing for me. I did not expect to actually get into the newspaper at all due to the fact that they were late with delivering the news by at least a week. Either way I don't care because now when May rolls around I will be able to start participating in Newspaper!

You might be wondering why that first paragraph is cut so short and I do have an answer for that. The reason for all of this is because  I am mainly happy with my success with writing a poem. This poem is about Fahrenheit 451 and if you haven't read this book it is one that I recommend and most of this poem will not make sense if you haven't read the book since I don't ever directly say anyone's name or event. This poem makes me extremely proud as it brings back memories of crying on the floor with the parents trying desperately to create a poem for class. I did manage to after a lot of help. Still this is absolutely awesome for me so I hope you enjoy. ( I'm also posting my artist statement first )

I’m Galen Seaton and I have chosen to write a poem for people to read. I wrote this poem as an allusion to Ray Bradbury’s poetic form of writing. I attempted to cover large parts of the story using this poem. For example the meeting with Clarisse is very important, but so is the introduction of characters like Beatty or Mildred. You cannot have one person dominating a story and still encompass the plot thoroughly. I plan to primarily cover the symbolism and poetic nature of this book including the metaphors of dark and light; also the fountains of knowledge known as books.

I write this as a pem because I feel that very little else can show how beautiful this book is. Even in a society who reject books from their daily lives there is still people who keep their books safe and cherish the authors abilities. While many people have the talent for hidden meanings, metaphors, symbolism, and many other things the average person who lack such talent can experience a raw form of poetry. People today can see thse books and telents as a n unrefined diamond instead of a chunk of caol. Fahrenheit 451 leads a world where people struggle and strive to see coal instead of the potential for diamond.

Candles in the Dark

A tribute to Fahrenheit 451

Candles in Trillions lie dormant to eye.

Trillions of people watch and let die.

few candles can light on bright sunny day

Let alone burn in any small way

Some candles lack wicks to let fire burn

When one does light many stumps turn.

They gawk, they stare, they scream at the sight

To see someones small head come alight.

One man does slumber as he puts out the minds

Joy in his life as he runs around blind

He wanders to close to glorious light

Soon his mind starts to wander over moon and of night.

The world opens up while others close him out.

Ones he holds dear turn towards him as if to shout

“What does one such as you hold dear?”

He might turn and respond

“A life in which I can truly adhere.”

Another candle lay lit but now been let down

He joins the ranks of those whose mind not run abound

No one shall feel the pain that he has seen in his life.

He protects those from knowledge; his thoughts like a knife

Back to the man who lies no longer dormant

Where he lies not asleep of his bed in bitter torment.

He closes his eyes to seek one of a solution

He feels the world is in true need of revolution

A shard of light shines through the bleak darkness.

A flicker of light who lies close to his carcass

A man with the chance to see the world hang

a man who didn’t quite go out with a bang

This man did stand up for the lives of the many

his chance had been lost.

with no such gain not even a penny.

He stands his ground with the man doused in light.

To fight the man in the dark; the enforcer of blight.

Together they stand, together they fall

The enforcer is gone, destroyed in the brawl.

Men with lit wicks stand together in tatters

to recreate the lives in which the mind still matters.

I hope that you enjoyed my little show of skill on my blog. I certainly had a lot of fun writing it and it helped me get another A in my English class so all wins all around.