Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

No. 3 Michigan went into Champaign on Friday night and had its way with No. 10 Illinois, and Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood knows it.”Demand it in practice. This group wants to win. They care a lot, and, so, that’s not going to be a problem. But the lesson was learned. They [Michigan] took the belt off and beat our behinds [Illinois] with it,” Underwood said about Illinois’ 84-70 loss to Michigan in his postgame press conference on Friday night.”If you like that too much, then you should probably go to the rec center and play.”Michigan out-scored Illinois by…

With growing horror, we have been following news reports of AI chatbots convincing troubled children and adolescents that suicide is a noble and acceptable release from their distress. Reading transcripts of these chatbot-child “conversations” literally brings tears at times—tears of rage that such dangerous devices are unleashed on unsuspecting and vulnerable children and adolescents. Suicide is the second and third leading cause of death for children and adolescents, respectively. The rate of youth suicide is rapidly increasing, with girls making more attempts but boys having almost three times the number of lethal completions (17.3/100,000 males v. 6.4/100,000 females) (Khushboo et…

Tell Me Lies is a Hulu series that follows a group of college students whose lives are slowly overtaken by the charming, exploitative behavior of one person among them. On the surface, it’s a story about young love, toxic obsession, and dysfunctional social relationships. But it’s also a painfully accurate portrayal of complex and nuanced themes like psychological manipulation, self-abandonment, and surrendering authenticity to belong. The show is slow at times, and sometimes plays like softcore porn. It’s definitely not for everyone. But if you can move past that, the series offers a fascinating look at deeper human vulnerabilities that…

Check out all the horror coming to Wicked Horror TV in March! Temps may get warmer, but from chilling classics to recent indy terror and slasher flicks of all kinds, the month will deliver an eclectic mix that’s sure to give you shivers. Watch out for a carnival of souls and a demon in search of runes. You’ll find Julie Christie attempting to avoid a demon seed and check out a realtor trying to sell a haunted house, and a scientist runs into trouble when he attempts to continue teleportation experiments that draw flies. You’ll be shocked and amazed at all…

Arguably, being a parent is the most challenging and important job a person can have; it’s a position unlike any other. Needless to say, there’s no designated time you clock on and off the job, and you’re on call unceasingly. There are fervent societal views abound about how a parent is “supposed” to act, prompting the notion that parents must achieve perfection in their role. Flawlessness? Talk about an impossible standard, not to mention an unimaginable one. (What does perfection even look like anyway?) Let’s just name this outright–it’s not fair. I can’t imagine anyone hitting 100% (whatever that means)…

There is something that I have noticed about people who love horror movies: a character can be chopped, drawn-and-quartered, decapitated, impaled, or tickled with a chainsaw, but when it comes to animals, especially a dog undergoing the same torture, some viewers say “nope.” Now that this year’s Good Boy is hitting Shudder today, some might still be on the fence about seeing it because it’s main star, a dog named Indy, is put in peril. Not a spoiler, but those who are hesitant to watch it, go ahead. It might be scary on a supernatural level, but our furry friend…

Last fall, which was early Spring in South America, my husband and I went on an “expedition” in Patagonia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, one of the most remote places on earth. The company we traveled with has a slogan: Go Deeper—into the wilds, into yourself. And we did. Now, I’m not an “outdoorsy person.” But on this trip, we were in the remote outdoors. And, despite myself, I enjoyed being there. And, I did “go deeper,” and learned a lot. Here are three take aways. I have nothing to prove. I’m likely older than (some) travelers who…

Alice Maio Mackay’s THE SERPENT’S SKIN Trailer: “Dark Star Pictures has released the new theatrical trailer for Alice Maio Mackay’s The Serpent’s Skin ahead of its upcoming North American theatrical release, which kicks off on March 27 in New York City and on April 3 in Los Angeles. At only 21-years-old, the trans Australian filmmaker has announced herself as a talent to watch, and her latest film had a celebrated world premiere at San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ film festival Frameline and enjoyed a buzzy run with stops at Beyond Fest, Fantasia Film Festival, London’s Frightfest, NewFest, and more. The Serpent’s Skin is Maio Mackay’s most ambitious film to date, combining her distinct filmmaking voice—known for channeling genre tropes through a…

If you have ever marveled at a murmuration of starlings or the harmonious motions of a school of fish, you may have wondered how these species achieve such communion of action. Apparently, even the biologists who study such questions are still wondering. By what instinct can thousands of birds fly as a coherent unit? They don’t need to practice for hours, days, and weeks on end, like our marching bands. And yet, we humans might also have some instinct for harmony. The Incoherent Mind In the practice of psychiatry, we like to think we have better radar than most doctors…

My hot streak with Adam MacDonald’s directorial features has come to a close. It’s a shame, because MacDonald brings a personal passion to his high school zombie flick, This Is Not a Test. The writer and director queried author Courtney Summers about the rights to her novel because he was so taken by her work, which was enough to win her over. That said, the result lacks a few components: a biting edge, The Breakfast Club magic, and something bigger than run-of-the-mill undead storytelling. He’s done so well weaponizing wildlife in titles like Backcountry and Out Come the Wolves, but…