More Surviving the Sky Bodily Fluid Fun:

" By day two Wednesday, 10 had dropped out, several after vomiting, which is banned in the "Survive the Sky" high-wire contest, and one when a 31-year-old was hit by diarrhea... 'We had one couple this morning who vomited everywhere, even over the other couple,' said Jasmine Ee, a Singapore Cable Car spokeswoman."

Meet Moe the Rat.

"...Families smile and wave at us, thinking Moe's a new Disney character."

Day Four of the Surviving the Sky contest (verbatim from the website):

"Krris 7 Sandy have dropped out after some 70++ hours in the cable car. This time it is not 'Time Out' for the toliet break.But 'Team 20' out of the challenge for $50,000."

Enough with the toilet references, already!

Hipster artist Shag's loving tribute to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. The first audio-animatronic show at Disneyland is now 40 years old, and has survived with only minimal changes over the years (ie: the loss of a whistling sequence and a terrible pun upon the name of the light operetta composer Jacques Offenbach). Shag's paintings of the show look very much like something Mary Blair might have done as design sketches, only a little more bananna-daiquiri-soaked.

"A stomach-churning endurance test involving couples from all over East Asia is taking place high above Singapore. Thirty-six couples began the so-called Survive the Sky challenge which involves living in cable cars for a week, with only one 10-minute toilet break a day."

Sounds like a typical rolly-coaster endurance contest. However, the organizers of this event appear to be in violation of the Geneva Convention...

From Reuters:

"Organisers thrust candy at the couples to see if they'll breach rules on meals, or ply them with surprise challenges such as requests to hop on one foot during the breaks."

More info from the official site. Too much info, really...

"Thai Team 23... withdrew from the challenge after making one round in the cable car during the trial run... Motion sickness set in and Termwitkhajorn dashed out of the cable car, heading straight for the toilet to vomit."

"When the clock struck 12, the father-daughter team withdrew after the lady suffered from menstrual cramp..."

"Coming from South Korea, the married couple who has nominated a breast pump as their luxury item withdrew from the competition..."

"The next team that exits from the competition... were disqualified from the challenge after Zacky has thrown up in the cable car. This happened at 10:00am this morning..."

Some of the rules for the Surviving the Sky endurance test. If anyone reading this works for Amnesty International, you may wish to take note!

8.3 Disposal of Urine, Vomit & Faecal Matters Outside of the Cable Car Whilst in Operation

Under no circumstance are all participating teams and participants allowed to dispose of any waste materials (inclusive but not limited to) vomits, urine, faecal matters, etc. outside of the cable car whilst in operation...

8.4 Excretion of Urine, Vomit & Faecal Matters Inside of the Cable Car Whilst in Operation

Under no circumstance are all participating teams and participants allowed to excrete of any waste materials (inclusive but not limited to) vomits, urine, faecal matters, etc. inside of the cable car whilst in operation (even into empty bottles and or Styrofoam boxes)... All cable car units are kept under surveillance 24 hours a day. Event Marshals will be assigned on a twenty-four (24) hours shift to keep record of this matter. This will be counter checked by Event Officials.

This is a story that can only get better as time goes on, so count on Danny's Land to be there with updates!

(Thanks and a tip of the Minachi-Gasa to Trevor.)

Descending by Thomas M. Disch is a story about riding an escalator.

The LBJ Robot needs your body warmth.

From the Miami Herald: "For the fifth time in 20 years, Michael Eisner is negotiating an employment contract with the Walt Disney Company... Eisner has taken in more than $1 billion in compensation from Disney since coming on board 20 years ago, which averages out to more than $50 million a year."

A Tennessee woman is dead after an accident Sunday afternoon on a Pigeon Forge amusement ride. [1] [2].

Big Thunder Mountain Re-Opens:

"A crowd of Disney managers and invited media were on hand as the first riders exited the attraction (Big Thunder Mountain). While some MousePlanet readers say that the ride feels slower, others reject that notion, saying that it would be extremely difficult—if not impossible—to slow down a gravity-based roller coaster at perceptible levels without making major modifications to the hills and track."

Now, allow me to translate. By "others", you should read "fanboys who act as self-appointed authorities". The ride was never all that fast to begin with, so you spend six months away from it obsessed with the thought that Disney might change the speed, then you ride it and suddenly develop a completely ill-informed opinion. Did it occur to anyone that they might contact the Elevator, Ride and Tramway Unit of the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health (phew!), who conducted the investigation into the Big Thunder death and re-opening, and simply ask?

Mouse Planet goes on to refute the "others" by mentioning "The track itself sports far more brakes and sensors ..."

Coming Soon: Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, a museum dedicated to the memory of Playland-at-the-Beach. Founded by "Peter Pan CEO" Richard Tuck, about whom you can read an interesting and moderately creepy article from the San Francisco Gate here.

(Thanks and a tip of the Tyrolean to Candi Strecker.)