Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

Before Halloween Horror Nights, Fright Fest, Howl-O-Scream, and Knott’s Scary Farm, was Spooky World. With little dispute, Spooky World is credited as America’s first established haunted theme park. The first attractions included haunted houses, sideshow attractions, horror celebrities, and a hayride which became the event’s signature event. Spooky World billboard. Why was Spooky World a Success? For those who were too young to remember, or not even born yet… 1991 was a time ripe for horror, and the legends we celebrate today were in their heyday.  Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface were all household names. Many of…

“Maybe is the beginning of all journeys.” — Anonymous We’ve often been told we need to be confident, strong, and bold in our decisions—to say “yes” or “no” quickly and decisively. But what if we’re not sure? Perhaps a “protector part” inside us shouts, “Be decisive; don’t appear weak.” But when a friend asks us for a favor, or our partner suggests a dinner party or trip to the in-laws, we don’t have to decide on the spot. There’s no shame in sitting with it—there’s often much to consider. The Power of Pausing Imagine your partner asks you to join…

A Halloween display in a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, is fueling outrage after video captured mannequins wearing red hats staged in what appears to be an execution scene. The display — located in the predominantly Hispanic Second Ward neighborhood — features multiple mannequins.  Two of the figures — dressed in red hats, black shirts, khaki pants and black masks — are seen hanging from ropes around their necks on a wooden gallows topped with a Mexican flag, FNTV video shows. The mannequins are barefooted and appear to have stacks of zip ties in their pockets. Nearby, a third mannequin dressed in a…

Taylor Swift was seen hiding under umbrellas as she arrived for Selena Gomez’s star-studded wedding celebration. The “Blank Space” singer was pictured stepping off an aircraft at Santa Barbara airport on Friday afternoon in a dark shirt — as several people rushed out to cover her with a cluster of black umbrellas. Only the hitmaker’s elbow could be seen in snapshots from her big arrival. A bystander could be seen carrying some luggage and a white box — potentially a wedding gift for Gomez and her groom Benny Blanco. Once Swift descended the plane’s steps, she hopped into a waiting…

President Trump is backing a White House plan to tap former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to run Gaza under a United Nations-backed transitional authority once the war ends, according to Arab and US officials familiar with the proposal. Under the draft, Blair, 72, would serve as interim administrator of a Gaza International Transition Authority (GITA) that would govern the enclave for several years with Palestinian technocrats and an Arab-led peacekeeping force before handing control to Palestinian leaders, officials told the Wall Street Journal. The blueprint is being circulated to Arab and Israeli counterparts and remains one of several options…

Wisconsin businessman Bill Berrien, a supporter of President Donald Trump, ended his Republican campaign for governor on Friday, days after it was reported that he followed numerous sexually explicit accounts online, including a nonbinary pornography performer. Berrien, a former Navy SEAL and one of three announced prominent Republican candidates, issued a lengthy statement saying “I had no idea that running for political office could be almost as dangerous” as “hunting down war criminals in Bosnia.” Berrien said he concluded he could not win the Republican primary. “Looking towards what is in the best interest of the party, voters, donors, and…

This post is part one of a series. Speaking feels like the most natural thing in the world. You think a thought, open your mouth, and words tumble out in perfect sequence. Yet this apparent simplicity masks one of the most remarkable feats your brain performs daily. Consider this: An 18-month-old can form words reasonably well but won’t master toilet training for another year. Meanwhile, our closest evolutionary relatives—despite their intelligence and dexterity—cannot speak at all. This is not because their mouth is anatomically incapable of speech, it’s because speech is difficult to coordinate, and apes lack the brain networks…

Assata Shakur, a Black liberation activist who was given political asylum in Cuba after her 1979 escape from a U.S. prison where she had been serving a life sentence for killing a police officer, has died, her daughter and the Cuban government said. Shakur, who was born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, died Thursday in the capital city of Havana due to “health conditions and advanced age,” Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Shakur’s daughter, Kakuya Shakur, also confirmed her mother’s death in a Facebook post. Shakur’s case had long been a thorny issue in the fraught relations between the…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For two weeks, Memphis has been bracing for an influx of National Guard troops after President Donald Trump announced his intention to deploy them to the city. On Friday, residents finally learned more about that plan, and it looks to be very different from the deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that the troops will be part of a surge of resources to fight crime in the city that includes 13 federal agencies and state troopers. The National Guard troops will be from Tennessee, and they will be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service…

Everyone knows Guillermo del Toro. He is the mastermind behind some of modern horror’s greatest works. From The Devil’s Backbone to Pan’s Labyrinth, he has shown a style and range that few other directors can compete with. However, del Toro may be finished with this unique style of film in a recent interview with Empire. Del Toro has been in the spotlight more than usual as fans anxiously await his new Frankenstein film. Netflix’s Frankenstein is set to release for a limited theatrical run on October 17th before its official release on Netflix on November 7th. However, Del Toro tells…