Mickey Mouse et al visit a real-world Fantasyland

I hope these were just stolen costumes and not actual cast members kidnapped from Orange County, Tokyo, or Orlando and forced to dance for The Prodigious Progeny (i.e., Kim Jong-un).

At any rate, Mickey Mouse appeared in a country whose governance and economic characteristics bear his name. From the Boston Herald:

Performers dressed as Minnie Mouse, Tigger and others danced and pranced as footage from "Snow White," ”Dumbo," ”Beauty and the Beast" and other Disney movies played on a massive backdrop, according to still photos shown on state TV.

The inclusion of characters popular in the West — particularly from the United States, North Korea’s wartime enemy — is a notable change in direction for performances in Pyongyang. Actors and actresses also showed off new wardrobes, including strapless gowns and little black dresses.

In recent years, performances such as the "Arirang" mass games featured performers dressed as panda bears in homage to North Korean ally China.

This appears to be the first time Disney characters have been included in a major performance, though Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse have been popular among children for several years. Backpacks, pencil cases and pajamas imported from China often feature Disney characters, and stories such as "Dumbo" have been translated into Korean for North Korean schoolchildren. However, it is unusual to make such images a central part of a North Korean performance and to publicize it on state TV.

Frankly, Minnie Mouse doesn't do a thing for me. I'd rather see more about the strapless gowns.

Whatever's going on up there (including the likelihood that these were not licensed appearances), it's telling that this kind of thing appears to be happening more and more in the DPRK. Perhaps the Swiss-educated KJU really does aim to bring more western exposure to the North.

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Sheeple Mover™

In an effort to more closely consolidate Orange County's premier tourist attractions, officials in Anaheim, Buena Park, and Santa Ana have announced special buses designed to ferry tourists between Disneyland (arguably the world's most famous amusement park), Knott's Berry Farm (billed as the world's first amusement park), and the Discovery Center.

And really, the only reason I'm writing this post is to get that oh-so-clever headline out into the Interwebs.

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A mustache just like Walt, but not a beard like Grumpy or a soul patch like Apolo Ohno

Disney has decided to further liberalize the iconic clean-cut look imposed on its employees, namely allowing more facial hair. To understand why this is of interest to me, go here.

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SNL on OBL

It's been a busy semester, so I haven't caught SNL as many times as I'd've liked. In fact, I usually only tune in on Hulu if Saturday Night Live makes the news (as in when Betty White was the oldest host ever).

This past Saturday's show was "hosted" by Tina Fey, she formerly of SNL's "Weekend Update" and currently of 30 Rock. The one-time head writer reprised her impersonation of Sarah Palin (something I hope she'll continue to do from time to time if Sarah Palin remains in the national spotlight)...



... and she played a not-Ariel in a not-The Little Mermaid skit:



Not the most hilarious sketch I've ever seen, but it was a pretty innovative way to address the death of Osama bin Laden.

Shanghai Disneyland breaks ground this week

Though Hong Kong's Disneyland park is still treading water (my mom and I visited on a rainy summer day in 2009, when they cut ticket prices in half but closed about a third of the attractions), Disney is going ahead with another China-based theme park:

Walt Disney Co. will hold a ground-breaking ceremony Friday in Shanghai for a long-awaited theme park and resort, sources close to the matter said.

The event could mark the end of 16 years of speculation over when Disney would begin building its first theme park in mainland China.

The $3.6 billion project was first discussed in 1995 and would be the company’s fourth theme park and resort outside the United States.

About 1,700 acres have been designated for the park in northeast Shanghai. When completed, it would give Disney a valuable foothold in China’s emerging consumer market.

Chinese state media reported that the initial phase of construction, which includes the theme park and hotels, would be completed in 2014.

The city is extending subway lines to reach the resort.

Disney would reportedly take a 43% equity stake in Shanghai Disneyland while a city-run joint-venture company would own the remaining 57%.

Hmm... where I have I read that controlling less than fifty-one percent is the same as controlling zero percent?

This is part of a new boom in American theme parks located in Asia. Though it hasn't begun any serious construction yet (?), Universal Studios Korea is scheduled to open in Hwasŏng-shi in 2014.

And then there is the venerable Tokyo Disneyland — I've been to both the Disneyland side and Disney Sea — which managed to come out nearly unscathed after the devastating Tohoku earthquake last month, thanks to some clever engineering (I found this post quite interesting, as was all of Japan Probe's coverage of the quake and tsunami).

Happy Independence Day!

I personally recognize September 17, 1787, as the birth of the United States of America, but I will join millions of others across the county to spend the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by participating in a large family gathering (though not my own family) eating barbecue and watching fireworks.

But I always wondered if those in the proximity of Disneyland's daily fireworks display or Waikiki's semi-weekly fireworks display felt that such shows diminish their enjoyment of pyrotechnics when we celebrate our nation's birth. The answer is yes, sort of:

Juanita Driskell, a retired teacher who has lived a few blocks from the Anaheim theme park for nearly three decades, is so accustomed to the fireworks that when the crackling and hissing starts around 9:30 p.m., she just cranks up the volume on the television. Her two cats hardly bat an eye.

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"The good part is I don't have to leave the living room to see fireworks," Driskell said. "The bad part is that it's so loud."

And when the grandkids visit, she has free entertainment to offer, ushering them to the patio to take in the spectacle, eyes skyward.

Driskell's experience is typical of the love-hate relationship residents have with the 250 fireworks displays Disneyland stages annually.

Though many in proximity to the resort admit there is an appeal to the radiant bursts that fill the night sky on weekends, holidays and throughout the summer, those in pursuit of peace and quiet have tried for more than a decade to limit the noise and smoke.

When complaints from Disneyland's noise-weary neighbors seemed to go nowhere, they turned to environmentalism and lodged dozens of air-quality complaints. But the effort appears to have waned; regulators haven't recorded any recent air-quality complaints.

Last year, one resident sued Anaheim in federal court, saying that by holding hundreds of fireworks displays at the park each year, the city was violating federal water pollution laws. The suit was dismissed, but residents remain concerned about environmental issues.

It's no Vieques or Maehyang-ni, but I could see where people might get annoyed. My uncle, though, would say these unpatriotic residents should be waterboarded.

Return to Flash Mountain

Did you know that the Internet is full of pervs? Half of my 200 hits per day are people doing image searches, which range from tramp stamps, to naked Korean butts, to naked sex pics of Hong Kong celebrities, to strip-searched eighty-year-old nanas.

Occasionally someone will come by to learn why Korea should not be spelled with a C.

But lately my most popular post has been the one about people flashing their boobs on Disney rides like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, or especially Splash Mountain. Anything with "mountain" in the title will compel some women to show off their own mounds.

(I would warn you that the above link is NSFW, but the fact is, I have no idea if this is okay where you work. Maybe your boss likes this kind of thing and you having it on your monitor will make you more popular and more likely to get that promotion. So in lieu of "NSFW," I will offer the Kushibo Warning: The prior link contains pictures of exposed women's breasts, but it's up to you to decide if that's something you are able to view at work. I ain't your mommy or your nanny.)

Anyway, the imagineers at Disneyland imagined that lots of guests would imagine that's a good idea and imagineer their own such pictures, so they imagineered the job position of "boob cop," a person who would watch for malicious mammaries and nix whatever pictures they showed up in. Plus occasionally get digital copies of the exposed areolae so that pervs like me can show tham to pervs like you.

Well the good news for those of you who wish to live in a society where folks named Billy can flash their silly 'lil willy all willy-nilly, the economic downturn has forced Disneyland to pare down or eliminate that job description.

So, ladies, flash to your heart's contest.