(SCOTLAND) Over the past few years, local fringe festivals have taken on a life their own. Although starting small, some have now grown to enormous sizes.Take the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for example. Believe it or not, over 500 buskers and street-performers have registered to perform in the festival making it the world's largest.

"Artists and performers take to hundreds of stages all over the city to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and includes theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, children's shows, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions and events.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, a registered charity, is the organization that underpins...

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(AUSTRALIA) Chayne Hultgren a.k.a. "The Space Cowboy" has just set a new Guinness worlds record by swallowing 18 razor-sharp swords. The brave performance artist acomplished the feat by swallowing the 72cm swords in Sydney. "The Space Cowboy" beat his own 2008 record of 16 and used different throat stretching methods to perfect the art.

More...

Seems some in Hertford are busy using their heads for something other than hat-racks these days. The East Herts Council has applied to let buskers perform outside a Maidenhead Street site. Street performers may soon be able to entertain at a pitch formerly known as the Woolworths store. The application allows for "performance of plays, live music, recorded music performances of dance, and anything of a similar description to live and recorded music and dance. Interested parties or responsible authorities may make representations in writing to East Herts Council by May 26."

(HASTINGS) A busker, Dean Langley, set up shop outside the Anchor pub in Hastings and started to play “Wonderwall” by Oasis. He then played “American Pie” by Don Maclean. Then he played Wonderwall again. Then American Pie, then Wonderwall. After two hours, the landlord of the pub approached Mr Langley and pleaded with him either to stop playing or to learn a third song. Mr Langley then became abusive and was arrested.

Is there anyone who can read this without feeling passionate sympathy with the pub landlord? When General Noriega took refuge in the Holy See’s embassy in Panama in 1989, the American army bombarded him with non-stop repetition of terrible old rock records. It has been reported that a torture technique in Guantanamo Bay involved playing Barney the purple dinosaur’...

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(DARTMOUTH) The majority of students at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire are graduating with debt - and way too much of it - since the average graduate carries $35,000. That's why many young people are turning to alternative means - not just to survive, but to thrive.A Huffington Post interview with William Imbert reveals how he included China, Switzerland, England, Manhattan, and Princeton to juggle, piano, and unicycle away his student debt. Also figuring into the equation was teaching English and some 300 tennis balls.

"I was 24 years old and on my own in a foreign land. I began doing street performance and living by the beach for $80 a month."

Included in the interview is how he paid off his $15,000 student loan, 3 great tips for street performers, and a quote...

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