State of the Union

Obama started off by taking a moment of silence due to the tragedy in Tucson. Supposedly, becuase of the tragedy in Tucson, Obama wanted to integrate the senate and the house better. He didn't want a division between the parties. He said it himself. There should be no division between the republican and democratic party when there is a time of needed leadership. He then continued about how the Economy is getting better. I thought that the way he worded his sentences were very tricky. It seemed as though he was avoiding the truth. What it seemed like he was trying to say was that we are almost there, but not quite. This is something that the people of the United States need to know. When people tune in to watch their president speak they want to know what is happening with the country not a president twisting his words to make it seem like the state of the union is better than it actually is. When he was talking about the economy he mentioned something about businesses writing off investments. I think that this is a major step in progressing foreword and out of the recession. If business are afraid to invest then they cannot grow. What progression needs as fuel is the power to spend. Business's need to spend too. Now that business's have the opportunity to take the risk of investment without being penalized completely they can expand their company. Obama talked a lot about small businesses and how that is what America is all about. I completely agree, but the major businesses  and corporations also define our country. The big businesses play a major role in the success of our economy. From the little of economics that I know, I know that that the economy is based off of the workers and the productivity of those workers. This is what Obama talked about next. He talked about the changing of the "rules" and the way things used to be. The United States is no longer the powerhouse of new technology. Obama basically challenged the United States to step it up. He needs students to study harder and teachers to teach harder. He talked, just like every other president in the United States, about the future. If our country is based upon ideas and nobody thinks of new ideas than we wont have much of a country.
 I liked the way he talked about goals. It gives people a number, a figure, to refer to when thinking about what he said. Without this, his proposals may as well be empty threats. He proposed to stop giving to the oil companies and encourage the investment of cleaner energy and alternative cars that run on electricity.
He also talked about progression as a country in relation to the education and the infrastructure. Something that really mattered to me was the use of high speed rail. I'm going to college in Boston and I know that I will be making constant trips home. If I can save my family some money and make the world cleaner and get to my home faster, I do not see the benefits. A country is based off of its infrastructural. You can't spread ideas without having someone to talk to them about.
I don't stay on top of the war very much. I feel like the news constantly says the same thing. Troops are always being sent back home. I want to see numbers. Obama has been telling us that the troops will come back home in a couple months. Later, I just hear the same thing one more time. I'm not opposed to the troops being where they are but I feel like many empty promises are still being made when talking about sending them home. I think I will just need to see. Obama said July. Which July?

Oprah's interview with James Frey

Here is the link to Oprah's interview with James Frey
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Oprahs-Questions-for-James

A Million Little Pieces Final Blog Post

Frey had many messages throughout his book A Million Little Pieces. I thought the main message was belief. Frey was forced to believe in a bunch of steps to recovery and God. The entire process was extremely unpersonalized. Frey tried to find something to believe in and he still hasn't found anything. He believes in love and friendship and family. He uses the things he still believes in as leverage to overcome his addiction. He makes strong connections with the patients in the rehab facility and uses their presents as a deterrent from wanting to use drugs and alcohol. This books sends a message to anyone struggling with any addiction or anyone that needs hope or inspiration to any difficult task. This book gave me the mentality that "If James Frey can go through whatever he had to go through and still be successful than I can do one small task". Frey makes it seem as though he was thrown every curve ball possible and he only had a few things left. He was left with only his family and the urge to get better.
Anybody that has ever heard of this book knows a little bit about it. Oprah put it on her book club and got millions of people falling in love with Frey's tale of addiction. Then, the book's facts were researched. It was discovered that so many things are untrue about Frey's tale that it hardly makes the book credible. This book was published as a memoir meaning that the tale is told according to the facts as the author remembers them. Oprah destroyed Frey after she figured out that he lied to her and millions of other readers. I was taken aback. After having nearly finished the book, to discover that it is untrue! I was pissed. Some of the things that Frey lied about were so insignificant to the story. He may as well have published the book as a fiction story because I cannot trust anything that he says. He lied about the way Lilly died, about the amount of time that he spent in jail, and his "heroic" acts. The entire book portrays Frey as a bad ass. If his character actually existed (which I now know that it doesn't), he would be the action hero that didn't take anything from anyone. His character cannot be true and now I highly doubt anything he's written.
Regardless of what I have said above, Frey is a terrific author with a terrific tale and message. Without the lies, this tale still touched my heart and, even as a non fiction book, is a great read. It is truly inspirational and proves that anyone can overcome.

A Million Little Pieces Blog Post #5

The end of the book really shocked me. It finished with a dramatic scene where Lilly and Frey are caught hanging out by facility staff. The rules in the facility state that men and women cannot interact whatsoever. Frey and Lilly, although their meeting was accidental, have developed are strong positive bond. After their secret meetings are discovered, the facility staff tell Lilly that she can no longer see James. James is the only person Lilly has left in this world after recently finding out that her grandma had cancer. The instant she finds out about her love for Frey being forbidden she leaves the facility. After Frey finds out he goes after her. The same people who told Frey and Lilly that their relationship was forbidden end up helping Frey find Lilly. Frey goes to the nearest bus station and finds a crack dealer who directs him to wear Lilly went. He finds Lilly in a nearby crackhouse and she has been using drugs. The hardest part for Frey is to be physically near the drugs again. The burning desire to do drugs almost becomes unbearable for him. However, he keeps talking about how he loved Lilly more than drugs so he had to get her out and to safety. This is another message he is trying to send to anyone who is struggling with addiction: Find something that you love more. Frey said that Lilly gave him the strength to stay away from the drugs that were literally on him.
The end of the book tells what happens to everybody. Frey says that he has never relapsed and that he has created his own program. He is trying to say that no matter what you believe in, believe in something. Frey's method is unorthodox, but it gets him through the day. Also, the back of the book says that shortly after Lilly's grandmother died she hung herself in a special house that is like a rehab facility but allows patients to have day jobs. Lilly was sober until she died.  It is unbelievable to hear the story of someone like Frey. He would be the least likely person to stay clean, but a belief in himself kept him away from drugs.

A Million Little Pieces Blog Post #4

The first few pages of this section talk about the distorted views that the media and the public have on addiction. James Frey watches a show on TV about doctors in an Emergency Room trying to cure a patient who has overdosed and suffered with addiction. The show drags on about how easy it is for the women to get better and how the doctor and the women eventually fall in love and the women never has any relapses. James Frey thinks this is garbage. So do I. If society thinks that rehab is a walk in the park then they're wrong. This makes people think of the patients who relapse as weak. Media portraying addiction and alcoholism like it's nothing and like it's curable makes the whole thing seems easy. After reading this book it most certainly is not. Frey talks about what he would like to do to the people who made that show. He wants them to experience what it is like and he wants them to see if it was as easy as the show made it seem.
This section also talks a lot about Frey's feelings towards his family and how has family has helped him. Frey and his brother have always gotten along but the same is not the case with his parents. Everytime James Frey is near his parents he gets a feeling he calls "The Fury". It is extreme hate that causes him to think about drugs or drinking. His parents are loving and caring but for a strange reason he just hates them and for the longest time refused to see them. As he spends time with them in a family program against addiction and alcoholism Frey learns how to control "The Fury". His message is to find whatever way out. If something doesn't work for you then don't push it. People are forced to believe in AA and the Twelve Steps of the facility but since Frey doesn't buy it, he finds his own way.

A million Little Pieces Blog Post #3

In this part of the story James Frey reveals his past with someone that he loved. He told the story of his high school girlfriend who he adored to his new lover, Lilly. This seemed to be the chapter of memories and how they can either interfere with the rehab process or end it tremendously. Frey's best friend in rehab was a man named Leonard. When everyone was afraid of Leonard, James was not. This instantly created a mutual liking in the two men. Leonard was said to be a bad influence by the facility staff because he is known to be involved in organized crime. Frey doesn't listen to anybody's rules anyway. He develops a special relationship with Leonard and Leonard tells him the story of how he was brought up after a horrible deaths to both of his parents. Frey, still having both his parents, lost the only person in the world who he loved and this created a strong relationship between him and Leonard. After reading a little about James Frey on the internet, I discovered that Frey thinks of Leonard as the most inspirational man to him in his time of struggle. At times, Leonard was family and helped talked James through things.
James was also very against the idea of believing in a God. I'm not sure if I believe in God or not but I don't think the way James looks at it is right. He, like myself, believes in biology and the nature of evolution. What he doesn't explain is why he hates God so much. One would think that someone in a position similar to his in a facility like the one he is in would be forced to look at God. The program he is in makes the people turn to Jesus as their savior. I think this is a good method because it gives the patients something to believe in. If someone doesn't have belief then curing addiction is impossible.

Outside Reading Assignment Blog #3

The third part of the book really focuses on the psychological stress that patients deal with in rehab. Roy, a patient who gave Frey problems in rehab, was released from the facility a few months before he had a major incident. One night he came back to the rehab facility a completely different person. He was claiming that he was man named Jack and he was destroying everything that he saw. He was diagnosed with a personality disorder and the stress was shown to be caused from the facility. Frey is trying to tell people to keep faith when dealing with rehab. Staying away from using is almost as important is staying mentally capable. This is why I think some people, including Roy, are incurable. This is a problem that the center that Frey was at has to deal with all the time. Frey also talks about what possibly led him to the traps of alcoholism and drug addiction. He finally opens out about a girl who he loved who was killed while he was in high school. She was killed when he dropped her off so she could go out with a star football player. The football player ended up drinking and trying to beat a train. The train ended up killing the only girl that Frey has ever loved. Frey was blamed for the whole thing because the town didn't want to blame the football player. Frey blames himself and hears her voice. She was the voice of reason to him and since she left Frey became a heavy user. Frey's message, once again, is to stay close to the ones you love and not overreact to the things that happen. Frey stresses the importance of having control of your own life. He is trying to convey that, so you don't end up like him, you stay true to the person that you are. Not a person that someone else wants you to be. He talks about how love really influenced his choices in drug addiction. Losing his virginity to a hooker and losing the only girl he ever loved started the spiral to addiction in Frey's life. he stresses the importance of not making these little mistakes that may end up leading to drug addictions.
-Igor

A Million Little Pieces Blog Post #2

In the next part of this book, Frey talks a lot about fueling his addiction with something else. Whether it is cigarettes, football, or food, Frey seems to find a way to "change" his addiction for the time being. This is a good coping strategy that Frey almost secretly portrays to the public in his book. Although sometimes done very graphically, Frey's message shows the value of the second opportunity. He was very fortunate to have a second opportunity, and he wants to display the message of using this opportunity well. What I don't understand in this part of the novel is why he is so bipolar towards his family. IN the first part of the novel he is very grateful to be with his family and he shows love for his brother and parents. However, it almost seems as though he goes against those very same values when he is talking to his mom in this chapter. This may be an affect of the rehab that affects what he really feels. In his thoughts one can tell his deep love for his family, however, when he is actually talking to his family it seems as though something is wrong and he is cursing his family. He says, "My Mother is crying because her Son is an Alcoholic and a drug Addict and a Criminal". This makes it seem like he hates them and doesn't want anything to do with them because of the easiness of his voice. However, he praises them in the early part of the book. Frey is saying to keep your family close in times of addiction because, in reality, they are all you have. Drugs and Alcohol can ruin a family, but your family will always be there to help and make sure things are going better. It may be easy to lose hope, but Frey's message is clear: keep the hope in order to stay alive.

A Million Little Pieces Blog Post #1

At first, when I picked up this book I thought it would be the memoirs of a man with struggles. This would be a typical book of the struggles of overcoming an addictions. Not only, does James Frey struggle with addictions but he also struggles with life. Addicts and Alcoholics have difficulty accepting that they are addicted. This is not the case with Frey. He knows he has a problem and he can't help it. He knows, from what he remembers, that his problem had reached extremes. This memoir seemed to be talking about the pain it takes to actually enter into rehab or admit the problem. Although in the beginning of this book, it didn't seem like Frey had a choice of whether or not to enter into rehab. He was found on a plane, blacked out, with no memory of where he was or where he was going. He didn't want to go to rehab but was forced by his parents. For a short period of time, he truly believed that he could get better in rehab. However, with his many insecurities he found out that it wasn't as easy as he thought. What this book has really showed me is that the start of rehab seems to be the worst. James Frey started out thinking of suicide almost everyday. He wanted to drugs and he couldn't. He thought that without drugs he was dead. That is what he said an alcoholic is without alcohol or an addict is without his or her addiction; they are dead. What he really showed me is important in the first moments of rehab, which can be useful to anyone struggling with any kind of addiction, is the power of finding loved ones willing to help you through difficult times. Frey reached out to his parents and his brother along with friends to help him through the first days of rehab. He is trying to make a testimony to anyone who struggles. This may be all of us.