As an intelligent human being I have the great misfortune to know many idiots.
But few, nay none but one, of them inspire in me the desire to create a thread such as this.
David Blaine refused medical treatment so as not to let people down…
How is he letting poeople down if he takes medical treatment???
Do people in the third world refrain from mortal starvation if a jumped-up ‘magician’ stays in some water?
Well, the point is truly obfuscated. In reality he had an expert medical team throughout and after the feat. He was always under treatment and didn’t refuse. He pushed it to crazy extremes, but that was the whole point.
If he keeps doing these stunts, the probability increases that he will die doing one of them. If that does happen, I hope no one tries to blame the public for enabling him by watching. Because I’m not convinced that many people are watching. I’d be surprised if a tenth as many people were keeping tabs on Blaine as watched American Idol last night. So I don’t think he has to worry much about letting people down.
I’m watching just in case he dies.
What?
The only reason I’m aware of this guy is to avoid anything having to do with him. All I know I learned from listening to other idiots on the radio talking about him. Whateve… :rolleyes:
There are not words to describe what a pillock I think this man is. Truly one of the greatest tools of this century.
Check out his website. You might want to get a sick bag first, as it’s 100% cringeworthy self-obsessed delusional nonsense. ‘Drowned Alive’ this stunt was called. Drowned Alive… sigh Its not even original - my little brother (as I’m sure plenty of other kids did too) used to hold his breath to get attention too.
The reaction when he came to London (to do his 45 days of self-starvation rubbish) was quite different from what he was expecting - he was anticipating support and praise, and the media ended up coining the phrase ‘Blaine-baiting’ as so many people came down to have a go at him for being a wanker. He was paid (allegedly) £5 million for the tv rights and did he donate that money to hmm… oooh I don’t know… 3rd world countries with people who are actually starving through no fault of their own? Did he do it even just to raise awareness of global famine? Did. He. Arse. ‘Hunger strike’ went from being a mechanism of political protest to ‘entertainment’. Thanks Dave.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3200170.stm
His stunts are just pointless wastes of energy/money/time - if he did it to raise money for charities or if he did something more worthwhile I could put aside the rampant self-love and see the point of it, but his stunts are just publicity for himself - I’m not going to eat for 45 days (woohoo! look at me!) - I’m going to stay underwater for a week (woohoo! look at me!) and then I’m going to hold my breath and hold my breath and hold my breath until you LOOK AT MEEEE!
Clap Clap
Methinks you nailed it there.
Not defending David Lame but, Hudini might have been one of the first illusionists of this flavour but did he have a worthy cause? Does Copperfield? Are any of these guys anything more that narcisisstic, self promoting attention whores peddling parlor tricks as magic?
Feh. The pox on them. Best thing to do is just to ignore them and starve them of the attention that feeds their egos. Unfortunately, there is always the Jerry Springer crowd that will remain rivveted. :rolleyes:
Pretty funny that the Brits were taunting him by throwing food at him in his suspended cube over Themes. 
No, s/he didn’t nail it. S/he didn’t come close.
David Blaine is a modern celebrity. He’s famous just for being famous.
Don’t call him a stunt-man, a magician, an illusionist, a dare-devil. And don’t criticize him for sucking at any of it. He’s a self-promoter. THAT’S what he does. That’s what he is. And, he’s good at that.
At some point in the past, perhaps if you had a particular talent you would be able to get your mug on TV and make yourself, the networks, and the sponsors money. What’s Blaine’s talent? Blaine’s talent is being able to get himself on TV.
Getting himself on TV is his job. That’s how he makes his money. Why should he donate it to charity?
Sure, he’s a total wanker, a tool, a whatever. Perhaps that’s part of his shtick, because whatever he’s doing, it’s working. He just had a 2 hour TV special in the middle of sweeps month, and you didn’t.
And, he got it because he’s done it successfully before.
Yeah, but it was British food, so it probably just helped him hold out longer… ::buh-boom-TISH!::
The thing I dislike about Blaine is not so much that he’s an attention whore but that all he does is abuse himself; he doesn’t seem to pull off miraculous escapes or anything like Houdini. (maybe he’s done this in the past, I dunno).
::shrugs:: I’m not entertained by magicians other than as parlor fun perhaps; once they get on a grander scale, it only magnifies the fact that it’s Just A Trick, It’s Always Just A Trick. Even though you can’t see or figure out what the trick is, knowing that there’s a trick pretty much puts it in There’s No Santa Claus territory for me.
Not really getting your point here caller! 
- I shouldn’t think he’s a wanker because getting himself on tv and being a wanker is his job and he’s good at it? And he’s more successful than me because he had a two-hour tv special? Huh? 
I wasn’t trying to nail anything - especially not David Blaine shudder… I was just expressing my opinion that the man is a waste of air, and his choices make him foolish, selfish and vain - in my eyes.
David Blaine is not famous for being famous - he became famous for being an illusionist/magician whatever (Look at his website). I think Paris Hilton is more of an example of being famous for being famous. That or most reality show contestants. He does purport to have skills.
An Arky - exactly the same for me - the only kind of magic/tricks I find at all impressive are the really close up card tricks that are really about skill and dexterity.
Mrald… Ta… I’d really hate to nail David Blaine tho’ shudder
Quicksilver - I think Houdini was an original, but Copperfield and his ilk? I’m with you on the narcissitic attention whore theme…!!
What’s the name of the guy whose breath-holding record Blaine was trying to beat?
There are a ton of magicians who do what he does better than he.
My point: he’s not famous for his awesome magic, nor his greatness at endurance stunts.
His talent is getting himself on TV. He might be “good” at some tricks. But, being good at tricks doesn’t get you a two hour prime-time special, a write-up in the New York Times (5 articles mention him in the last 5 days), and an appearance on Good Morning America. Don’t rule out the possibility that he has honed his tool-ness as a big part of his act (as in, “it would be cool to see this tool drown” or “it would be fun to throw british food at this tool in a box” or “I like seeing this tool in a block of ice”.)
As someone else mentioned in another thread, and the New York Times wrote, “Yet, the absurd seriousness with which Mr. Blaine approaches his public stunts leaves you with a certain glee at his failure.”
And, that’s a huge part of why people watch.
Is it lucky that he’s an ass and that plays into people watching him, or is it an expertly orchestrated assholia that has conned enough people into watching him?
When someone criticizes him as a guy you love to hate, they’re just playing right into his hands.
Why are you splitting hairs? Does it matter if he comes by his attention whoring honestly or not?
The shit he does is stupid. Most of us agree that it’s stupid. Most of us agree that it’s not entertaining. Why do we have to be advocates for his marketing talents those who are easily amused? Why give him props for appealing to the witless?
He’s a modern Geek, in the true carny sense. If he’d been born in the 19th Century, he’d be biting the heads off chickens and growling at kids.
Yes, he’s a wanker, and self promoter, and two-bit hack at what he does.
Somewhere out here in the wilds of the internet, there’s an interview with Evel Knievel and Blaine (lost the link, sorry) where Blaine and evel just seem to not connect at any level. The interviewer missed the point. Evel Knievel just did his stunts, in a striaghtforward and o-nonsense way.
It’s absolutely right that at some point he will be severely injured or killed doing these things. “David Blaine: Drowned Alive” what else would that be implying (btw, jsut what is drowning alive? If someone’s no alive, how can they drown? Stupid and sensationalistic). Unless he is monumentally stupid, he’s aware of this. So what makes him differnet from GG Allin?
The only possible solution is to ignore him.
Because, I think it takes a lot of talent to do it.
Oh sure. . .someone will scoff at that and probably give me a laundry list that includes “Deal or No Deal”, “Jerry Springer”, “Stephen King”, “President Bush”. But, if it’s so easy. . .go do it. Go entertain the masses. Go make a million dollars for a week’s worth of work. Anyone NOT think there’s a ton of guys out there who would trade places with Blaine in a second, who have a better act for 2 hours of prime-time, who are better looking and more charismatic than Blaine?
So, what’s their problem? Their problem is that they’re not as good as Blaine at getting on the TV.
I disagree.
I think it takes a certain moral flexibility to be that disingenuous. I think it takes a certain amount of con artestry. I think it takes a certain amount of narcisism. Certainly showmanship. And I think it takes a good publicist.
Is it true that few of us are in posession of the right combination of the above? Yes. Are these admirable qualities? I submit not and I don’t think you find them admirable either. You’re just arguing for sport mate.
I agree. However, I think that there are hordes and hordes of people with those characteristics that haven’t achieved what Blaine has achieved.
There are lots of folks out there with a ton of gall, who will go on TV and LIE to you to get your money.
There are also lots of folks who are trying to get their lying ass on TV to get the opportunity to get your money.
Blaine has achieved it with flying colors. He is not, a the title says, “above all. . .an idiot”. I think he’s quite the opposite, and that’s not just for argument’s sake.
I’m confused by the people who think that Blaine is a great magician like Houdini. of course, harry has been dead for almost 80 years, so a direct comparison is impossible. anyway, I think that houdini did better stunst, and they were more immediate. for example; Houdini would allow himself to be tied up and locked inside a padlocked mailbag-and he would escape 9within an hour or two). blaine’s stunts puzzle me-who really wants to wat a guy inside a giant fishbowl? And holding your breath for 9 minutes?
So iguess I’d rather see a magician like Houdini. anyway; how much does blaine get for this stuff? And that thing in london: who paid for it?
Agreed. Blaine is not an “idiot”. But what I think the OP is trying to convey is that he is not an admirable sort of celebrity and is not deserving of much respect despite his talent of manipulating the media and his fans.
Going along with your logic… Judge Judy, Jerry Springer, Paris Hilton and various other attention hounds who’ve met with measurable success deserve to be admired on some level.
And yes, the same can be said of many celebrities. Rightly so. But the OP picked David Blaine. And I don’t want to get into tarr and feathering of a society that admires and promotes this sort of bafoonery. I just happen to agree with the OP and that this latest stunt (among many) really illustrates very well that David Blaine is well deserving of the scorn he receives.
I really don’t get the hate. The guy is a moderately talented magician as far as ‘sleight of hand’ represents ‘magic’. Beyond that, from what I’ve read about him he does his stunts just to see how far he can push the limits of his endurance. What’s the big problem with that? I’m not sure why that makes him a tool. On the other hand, the thousands of people who hung around outside his little snowglobe at Lincoln Center, or came to see him standing in a block of ice, etc. would qualify as tools. What’s their purpose in being there- to see a guy standing still for hours? Don’t they have better things to do with their lives?
Blaine isn’t satisfied just existing, he wants to experience the limits of human survival. And if people are willing to pony up the scratch to watch him, all the better.