From this morning’s Times:
I think what Telemark might have meant was the practice some TV magicians have used of performing the Balducci Levitation on the street and filming the reactions of the onlookers (genuine astonishment, shrieking etc), then telling the onlookers that they are going to be let into a little secret of levitation. The magician then does a much higher levitation (using apparatus) which is filmed over the shoulders of the onlookers. The two lots of footage are merged, combining the higher levitation footage with the footage of the onlookers genuinely going ‘wow’.
I’m not sure that made any sense.
I don’t know if that is what Telemark meant, or even if David Blaine does that, I only know that some street magicians do that.
I think people are being taken in by Blaine’s previous incarnation as a “magician”. He seems to have given up on that and now concentrates on these stunts. I am fairly certain that there is no trickery afoot here - the box is suspended from a crane in full view in a very public part of London (just around the corner from my office in fact), and there is no way he could be passed any food or replaced by a double without people noticing.
The problem is he is in a no-win situation - if he fails then people will mock him, if he succeeds people will cry “fix!”
Quite how you can use the presence of a water bottle as evidence of cheating I have no idea. The water comes in through a tube. He fills the bottle with water and drinks it, as it is easier than drinking from the tube in the roof of the box. How on earth does this make any difference? The quote about water fed through a tube was that the water is fed into the box through a tube.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing or maybe people here just haven’t ‘got’ how great this guy is but, at present, he’s not attracting very much ‘wow’ from those passing but he is getting a lot of ‘wanker’ signs. Oh, and a lot of people waving food at him.
What is he, an endurance artist, maybe, or is it more Evil Knevil showman-type stuff. . ? When does the magician thing start ? Why suspended by Tower Bridge – what’s that got to do with whatever it’s to do with ?
Watching paint dry seems so much more entertaining and purposeful – can someone really be that self-whatever-the-hell to get off on people watching you for 6 weeks in a box ?
Am I missing the point, is there a point, or is he really just a silly wanker?
Ever seen the guy interviewed? I’d maintain he’s been in a practicing stupour for the past 30 years…
As most of the points have been addressed already (apart from the reading material… apparently he’s got a journal with him to record his daily thoughts… but no other book), and since I only clicked “reply” to make a point jjimm’s already made (re. the eggs, the golf and the drum, and that this activity should be heartlily encouraged), I have not much more to say.
Except that, on the corner of Blaine’s park by Tower Bridge, there’s a little cafe that makes fantastic cooked breakfasts. And, if the door’s open, and the wind is in the right direction, which it usually is, Old Davey-boy should be getting a lovely waft of eggs, bacon and sausages most mornings.
And I don’t care what religion you are, or what dietary lifestyle choice you have taken, a faint whiff of a good bacon butty when you’ve not eaten for a couple of days would be enough to make Mr Blaine think twice about his publicity stunt…
He’s just a silly wanker.
That’s pretty funny.
I might go up there and dance for him tomorrow.
That’s a point. No man, no matter who the hell you are, can go 44 days without a knuckle shuffle - and he’s living in a plastic, see-though box.
So, you be careful over there, fizzygoodmakefeelnice. I’d suggest ducking if he seems to become a little, hrmmm, ‘animated’ at your dancing.
Goodness, how does a man ‘cope’ for 44 days . . . ?
Nasty. He has got a photo of his mother in there with him…
Anyway, I’ve had a better idea. I want to go up there and wave a huge sign at him saying …
DAVID BLAINE: I BURNING YOUR DOG
Any other ideas?
To respond to Daniel and Miller…I could care less if the guy makes this stunt or not. To starve yourself on purpose for the sole sake of entertainment is moronic.
But maybe that’s just my experience in dealing with kids who live right at the poverty line talking.
Scylla, that’s a great essay on magicians – thanks! That said, on what basis do you say with such confidence that Blaine isn’t a confidence artist?
Don’t get me wrong – as I said, I greatly enjoyed watching his TV specials in which he performed street magic. That said, I am almost certain he was employing camera angles and editing to spruce up his tricks, making them look better than you’d expect. At first, I felt cheated – and then I reminded myself that that’s what magicians do. They look for where my assumptions are, and they perform the trick behind cover of my assumptions.
I’m not sure why you think Blaine is in the tradition of Houdini; I see him more as between Copperfield and Geller.
Daniel
At least I now know why he has the ‘note book’ with him. Surely not the photo of his mother as well . . . . that wouldn’t be very ‘magical’ :eek:
I don’t get it.
Here he is, comparing himself to Houdini, and yet four days on, he’s still locked in that box.
He’s a shit escapologist.
…what?
Exposed their charms. I love the British.
I know people that can do that standing on their head.
[sub]I’m not one of them though[/sub]
For “note book” read rice-paper dipped in fat and lightly fried.
And let’s face it, we only have his word that it’s ‘pure’ water. The scope for cheating is vast, but I don’t suppose it matters. Blaine is out for publicity, he doesn’t care what people say, as long as they’re talking about him. That’s what makes a great showman.
no, he’s out for the $7 million he’s going to make from selling th rights to this stunt.
From Pobitch just now:
Well duh! New York is full of decent people… London’s full of drunk tossers with a highly developed sense of disrespect (and humour).