Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

Science shows how our relationships with companion and other animals can change our lives for the better and influence how we see the world. Along with detailed research in the field called anthrozoology—the study of human-animal relationships—countless stories clearly show that bonding with companion animals, wild neighbors, and other animals can brighten up our days and help us appreciate and respect the animal beings with whom we have different sorts of contact.1 When I received a copy of NPR host Scott Simon’s new book called Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known, I immediately thought, “Wow, finally, an…

Although he thought of existence as a sorry mistake, the philosopher of pessimism Arthur Schopenhauer retained a strong “will to life”. One of his reasons for settling in Frankfurt was the reputation of that city’s doctors. In Frankfurt, he took many precautions, bordering on the paranoid, to preserve his life and comfortable lifestyle. For example, he kept loaded pistols at his bedside, carried a leathern flask to avoid drinking infected water, and forbade barbers from shaving his neck. To prevent robbers, servants, and others from reading them, he wrote his business records and personal thoughts in English, Latin, or Greek,…

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Thirteen Boston College teams earned a perfect score of 1,000 on the latest multi-year academic progress rate (APR) data released by the NCAA. The scores include data from the 2021-22, 2022-23 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.15 programs also posted a score of 1,000 on report focusing on just the 2024-25 season. ­­­ BC’s multi-year average APR for all sports was 991 out of 1000. In total, eighteen BC teams scored 990 or better, while twenty-three had a score of 980 or better.   The 13 BC programs that earned perfect multi-year APR scores of 1,000 were:…

As Mother’s Day approaches, the weight of having a parent with serious mental illness (SMI) often becomes more salient for many individuals. Serious mental illness is defined by disorders that may be particularly impairing, such as schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorders, and borderline personality disorder (BPD), to name some common examples. Holidays may be particularly painful, whether you are in touch with your loved one or maintaining distance to protect your mental health. Know that you are not alone in this experience, as I have supported numerous patients in a similar situation, whether it is with…

Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Bayern Munich to set up the Champions League final against Arsenal.Ousmane Dembélé scored early and Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Bayern Munich with a 1-1 draw to reach the Champions League final again on Wednesday.Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced clear after playing a simple one-two with Fabián Ruiz in midfield, then picked out the unmarked Dembélé to sweep the ball in under the crossbar in the third minute of the semifinal second leg.By the time Harry Kane equalized in stoppage time it was too late to keep alive Bayern’s dream of a Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble.The…

KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS 4K Restoration and Theatrical Screening Plans: “An enduring masterpiece of cinema starring Academy Award® – winner Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS is a prescient epic of obsession and corruption – and a defining work of art from seminal filmmaker Ken Russell. Assembled from the original camera negative, this new 4K restoration presents Ken Russell’s definitive vision of THE DEVILS by referencing the edit he privately constructed in 2004. KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS is the uncut and unfiltered theatrical experience that Russell always envisioned – and the first time the film will be…

I have to confess, the idea for this blog post was inspired by a song playing on the radio. I stopped to listen, as it happened to be one of my favorite bands, Fleetwood Mac. I know the song well, “Never Going Back Again.” This is where I began. The Pattern Beneath the Words The line is simple: “Been down one time, been down two times / I’m never going back again.” On the surface, it is about the unraveling of the relationship between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But beyond that, it speaks to a very specific kind of…

Gigi Bannister seeking assistance for husband’s careReggie Bannister needs no introduction to long-term horror fans. He’s practically the face of the entire Phantasm franchise — from 1979 to 2016 he portrayed the series’ ice cream truck driving, ponytail sporting, Tall Man battling, quadruple-barrel shotgun toting and occasionally acoustic guitar playing antagonist … fittingly enough, also named Reggie.Today, Reggie is 80 years old and in hospice care in California. And as his spouse Gigi Bannister told Wicked Horror, he could use your help more than ever.“Reggie’s condition is Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), secondary to Parkinson’s disease,” she said. “Same as Michael…

“It is a poor sort of memory that only works backward.”—Lewis Caroll’s The Red Queen Memory and imagination may be two sides of the same coin. Both our memories and imaginations recreate images of the past and future from existing fragments. So too for dreams, according to a recent study. A new study in Nature Neuroscience centers on how the brain remembers an experience that carries both a location and emotional charge. A memory is rarely a plain record of where we were. It carries tone, consequence, and bodily feeling. Place and emotion often fuse in our minds. This study…