Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

New Zealand’s annual bird election is contested by cheeky parrots, sweet songbirds and cute, puffball robins. This year’s winner was a mysterious falcon that wouldn’t think twice about eating them. Kārearea, the Indigenous Māori name for the New Zealand falcon, was crowned Bird of the Year on Monday. But the annual poll, run by conservation group Forest & Bird, is no ordinary online vote. The fiercely fought election sees volunteer (human) campaign managers apply to stump for their favorite bird. Feathers fly as avian enthusiasts seek to sway the public through meme battles, trash-talking poster campaigns and dance routines performed in bird…

A 19-year-old man was fatally shot in a normally quiet Queens neighborhood Sunday evening, according to authorities. Cops responded to a 911 call about a male who was shot near 64th Road and Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills around 7:40 p.m. on Sunday, according to the NYPD. Upon arriving, cops found Jean Rios, 19, unresponsive and unconscious with a gunshot wound to his chest, police said. Jean Rios succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead after he was shot in the chest Sunday evening. David Burns/@FD4D Rios was transported to New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he succumbed…

Two long-eared donkeys from an English sanctuary have shattered Guinness World Records — one for its enormous height, and the other for sporting the world’s longest ears on an animal of their kind, according to reports. Dynamic Derek, a 5-foot-5 gentle giant, was officially crowned the world’s tallest donkey, while his stablemate Bambou took the title for longest ears on a donkey, measuring a whopping 13 inches, BBC reported. Both donkeys live at the Radcliffe Donkey Sanctuary in Huttoft, which is home to dozens of rescue equines. Despite his behemoth stature, Derrick is a big softie, according to the sanctuary…

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was out of the Yankees starting lineup for Game 162, but he appears to be a go for the playoffs Tuesday.  A day after the second baseman took a 97 mph sinker off the left forearm, forcing him to exit Saturday’s win over the Orioles in the fifth inning, Chisholm was still experiencing some swelling and soreness that kept him on the bench to start the game. But he pinch hit in the seventh inning, striking out, and played the final two innings in the field.  “I should be good,” Chisholm said before Sunday’s 3-2 win at…

A Texas college student suffered “catastrophic” burns after an alleged drunk driver struck him on his drive to campus, according to reports and authorities. Aidan Poole, 19, was driving on I-27 to Texas Tech University when an alleged intoxicated driver, Thomas Rich, hit Poole’s car, sending it airborne, and causing his gas tank to explode and erupt into flames, according to multiple local outlets. Aidan Poole, 19, is suffering from “catastrophic” burns after an alleged drunk driver struck him on his way to campus. Gofundme The fiery collision left Poole with severe second and third-degree burns, KVII reported. Rich has…

Personal Perspective: It’s only too easy to view life and death as two separate and very different experiences. When that happens, the denial of one extends to the denial of the other.

MIAMI — “We did it to ourselves.”  One Met fairly and concisely summarized a Mets season gone wrong in one perfect sentence that could serve as the epitaph for a wasted year — a wasted year that ended, fittingly, with a no-show performance in a must-win game.  These $340 million Mets will be recalled as the most expensive collection of talent that didn’t even make it to October. Give them credit for one thing. To a man, they understood this was an abject failure.  “There’s no one word to describe it — pain, frustration, you name it,” manager Carlos Mendoza…

You can’t even say they went out with a whimper, because a whimper requires a heartbeat and the Mets flatlined this game, same as they’ve flatlined the past 3 ½ months. A whimper produces an actual sound, and across 2 hours and 49 minutes on the last day of this abomination of a season, the Mets were as quiet as a church mouse. A whimper requires even a minimum amount of oxygen. And in what would have been their last gasp of the season … well, they couldn’t even muster a gasp. They lost 4-0 to the Marlins, who were…

Taylor Swift is in the building. The pop superstar, 35, quietly stepped out Sunday for fiancé Travis Kelce‘s afternoon Chiefs clash against the Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium, People confirmed. Kansas City improved to 2-2 on the season with the 37-20 victory. Taylor Swift has supported Travis Kelce at Chiefs games over the past few seasons. AP The appearance from Swift comes one day after she attended pal Selena Gomez’s star-studded wedding to Benny Blanco in Santa Barbara, Calif. The 14-time Grammy winner has enjoyed low-key outings at Chiefs games this season, including the team’s home-opening loss to the Eagles at Arrowhead…

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…