A man attracted scores of curious onlookers when he performed the highly unusual stunt of inflating balloons with his eyes during a special show in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, last Thursday.

Pin Zui (stage name) wore a pair of glasses with a plastic pipeline linked to the balloon and drew wild applause from the crowd after fully inflating it.

Pin, a member of China television Guinness art troupe, performs his stunt in public in many cities around the country.

He is said to be the first person able to use his eyes to blow up balloons on the mainland.

(China Foto Press)

I am a Detroit Area Belly dancer who performers with fire. I also do many sideshow acts and live animal acts.

Shetan Noir

I remember I was busking on a popular outdoor mall at a commonly used pitch. As a muse, I played and sang between an outdoor cafe and restaurant. Buskers had used the stage for several years. I usually got a coffee at the cafe while on breaks and was familiar with the staff.

One day, a new staff member came outside and asked me to move down the way. When I asked the blond middle-aged woman why, she simply said she didn't appreciate me singing outside on a beautiful day while she slaved away inside. I told her it was my choice in life to busk rather than being a server and I really couldn't help her. She again requested me to move on and left with the satisfaction of having told me 'what for'. I ignored her request and continued performing.

As a mature busker, I had seen the like before. They have a problem with someone busking because they can't do it. After several other altercations, I had...

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Briefly put, the Naked Cowboy and candy giant Mars reached a down-to-earth settlement in Federal Court Friday over a Times Square billboard.

No one's talking, least of all the normally voluble Robert Burck, who parades around the Crossroads of the World in his skivvies, strumming a guitar and urging passersby to think of him as God.

Burck sued Mars for millions last winter, alleging two Times Square billboards and a mural that depicted a guitar-wielding M&M candy in tight white shorts gave the impression that he's endorsing their product.

Last June, Federal Judge Denny Chin ruled the Cowboy's suit accusing Mars of "false endorsement" could continue.

The suit was resolved Friday with a closed-door settlement.

By Owen Moritz
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Cooper/AP

It's survival of the fittest as some resort to dirty tactics in face of stiffer competition.

Outwit, outplay, outlast.
That motto from TV reality series Survivor also holds true for the buskers in Orchard Road.

The current economic downturn is certainly not music to their ears as they have seen takings drop in recent months.

If that's not enough of a worry, they also have to fend off competition from both legitimate and illegal buskers.

But more of that later. For now, the downturn is a more worrisome test of survivor skills.

Take the case of Mr Donald Wee, 51, who strums the guitar near Shaw House.

'More people are donating coins instead of $5 or $10 notes,' he lamented.

He used to earn about $100 in two hours but can net only $40 now. The former security guard went into busking four years ago when he could not find another job after he was arrested for fighting....

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