Is David Blaine Crazy or Great?

[Graham C]

Derren Brown is fun.

Agree with you there

Blaine is entertaining I suppose.  I liked his early street magic stuff, some of that was genius but then all these endurance stunts are becomming a bit tedious.  The box thing in London was so annoying and he had only himself to blame for the abuse he got for doing it - I mean, only in England would people abuse you for doing something like that I think, if he'd have done it in the US, he'd probably have got away with it.   That balancing on a column thing he did in Time Square, you know if that had happened in England, loads of people would have been trying to make him lose balance - it seems to be in our nature

Saying that, the missus will probably watch it on tele and I suppose I'll sneek a peek

[bolt pp]

david blaine is right at it.

he always does these stunts where people cant physicaly get to him...standing on a 200ft pole; in the ice; in a box both under and above ground.

its the same pricapal just a different format everytime.

i think using some sort of sophisticated tecnology he can project images of himself onto certain place.

he never seems to go too far either, just enough to retain plausability.

street stuff he used to do was class.

[JungleCat03]

He's got a talent for showmanship and magic tricks so why doesn't he just stick to this!

Sitting in a box getting eggs chucked at him or holding his breath underwater just doesn't cut it for me. That's not magic or entertainment.

I used to love his show where he did his tricks on the street and the kids all went nuts as he stuck cards to windows by throwing them or apparently severed and re-attached chicken's heads.

Any old muppet can sit in a box. Many a tramp does it for a living. And they'd be glad of a few eggs chucked at them.

[bolt pp]

He's got a talent for showmanship and magic tricks so why doesn't he just stick to this!

Sitting in a box getting eggs chucked at him or holding his breath underwater just doesn't cut it for me. That's not magic or entertainment.

I used to love his show where he did his tricks on the street and the kids all went nuts as he stuck cards to windows by throwing them or apparently severed and re-attached chicken's heads.

Any old muppet can sit in a box. Many a tramp does it for a living. And they'd be glad of a few eggs chucked at them.

hes not even sitting there!! hes indoors watching gmtv or harry hills t v burb that he recorded on his video

[steeley68]

He's got a talent for showmanship and magic tricks so why doesn't he just stick to this!

Sitting in a box getting eggs chucked at him or holding his breath underwater just doesn't cut it for me. That's not magic or entertainment.

I used to love his show where he did his tricks on the street and the kids all went nuts as he stuck cards to windows by throwing them or apparently severed and re-attached chicken's heads.

Any old muppet can sit in a box. Many a tramp does it for a living. And they'd be glad of a few eggs chucked at them.

I totally agree with this statement. When he first appeared in a cinema trailer where he flicked a deck of cards and asked you to pick a card (you, in the audience) and he showed you the card, that was AWESOME (I know it's suggestion and stuff). What he is doing now is just stupid. Sitting in a box, and another box - oh, now a goldfish bowl just doesn't seem to be as exciting as magic and illusion should/used to be.
I think Mr Blaine has become too much up himself and should go back to what he is good at - street magic.

[lvlarc_uk]

He's mad alright!

Illusionist David Blaine has begun his latest stunt - spending seven days underwater in his "human aquarium" challenge in New York.
The 33-year-old lowered himself into a 2.5m (8ft) acrylic sphere filled with water at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

A mask and air line will keep Blaine alive, while food will be provided through a tube.

"My only fear is the unknown," Blaine said before descending into the sphere.

'Pretty insane'

Hundreds of people turned out on Monday to see Blaine - who spent 44 days in a suspended acrylic box over the River Thames in 2003 - begin his latest stunt.

After seven days he will attempt to break the world record for holding breath under water, which currently stands at eight minutes, 58 seconds.

He revealed an unexpected twist to the challenge, telling reporters he would be handcuffed into 150lb (68kg) of metal chains for the dramatic finale.

"So basically besides holding my breath for about nine minutes hopefully I will have to escape from all these chains, and if not I will drown and the world will see something pretty insane," he said.

 


Click here to see pictures of David Blaine in his 'bubble'
Send us your comments 

Dr Murat Gunel, who specialises in surgical treatment of strokes, said a lack of adequate oxygen in Blaine's brain during the breath-holding challenge, especially after seven days under water, carried a risk of irreversible brain injury.

"David might never be the same again," he said.

"Even if he is fine immediately after, there is a risk for developing seizures in the long run.

"We all advised him against this stunt."

Blaine entered the "bubble" wearing trousers, rubber shoes and a special diving mask.

During the seven-day challenge the water temperature will be maintained at around 36C and he will be able to control his own core body temperature by wearing specially designed wetsuits.

He has also undergone intensive training for the challenge, shedding 50lbs (23kg) in body weight since January to improve the efficiency with which his body uses oxygen.

"I feel pretty good. Though I've been sleeping very little and breath-holding non-stop," Blaine said.

"My system is completely empty and I did that so there's no waste. That way in the sphere I don't have to use the bathroom."

[AndrewT]

The main reason he doesn't really do street magic any more is because a lot of those secrets are out, thanks to the internet. Quite a few sites sprung up explaining how he did all these tricks. Once you know how the trick is done, David Blaine has very little else going for him. He's not got a likeable persona, he doesn't really engage with the audience, he doesn't have any discernable wit or charm. You're essentially just watching a moody git showing off.

So, he had to try new things, hence the ice/box/pole endurance stuff - things no one else is doing at the moment.

Thinking about it now, another reason why we were so unimpressed with his 'living in a box' trick was because we were led to believe that we would be watching a man take himself to the edge of starvation for the sake of entertainment. He turned up at the start looking as if he'd undergone a six month weight gain programme under the tutelage of Colchester Kev and at the end he was the same size as he was when he did all the street magic.

[lvlarc_uk]

Watch the video here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4964068.stm


He's bonkers!!

[Rod Paradise]

The problem that David Blaine has with his image in this country is that he takes himself so damn seriously. There is no humour at all in his act, as he cultivates an aura of Christ-like reverence.

He got his arse well and truly spanked the time he did the box thing by Tower Bridge from people taking the mickey - he went back to the US with his tail between his legs as he wasn't given due deference by the Londoners.

Derren Brown is fun.

 

Saw on another forum that Dominik Diamond did an article today pointing out that BLaine's main stunts seem to be about doing nothing for a long time in a stupid place i.e. competitive laziness  .

Got to say though, while I find his stunts boring & just exercises in showing off, his live magic etc is outstanding, although the guy from the show Mindfreak is far more spectacular (and scary).

[Sark79]

I like Monkey Magic.  Monkey Boy and Tuffty are good magicians

[mjrevie]

To be honest, I dont think your giving the guy enough credit.

His persona is an act. He changed the image of what a magician should be like - out went the top hat, out went the bowtie and in came someone who took magic so serios, that even sceptics of magic think that some of what he does is bordering on scary/freaky. By taking himself so seriously, people take his work seriously.

As for his 'stunts' of doing nothing, he is pushing himself to the limit - 40 days without food, 7 days underwater, 61 hours in a block of ice - yeah all things that he is doing nothing, but pushing his body to the absolute limit.

I'm not a huge fan of his but I think the guy has got to be resepected.

[Josh]

"Dr Murat Gunel, who specialises in surgical treatment of strokes, said a lack of adequate oxygen in Blaine's brain during the breath-holding challenge, especially after seven days under water, carried a risk of irreversible brain injury."

The guy voluntarily spent 40 odd days in a box. Is it really possible to injure his brain further?

[bolt pp]

HES NOT IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF I HAVE TO GO UP THERE AND DRILL A HOLE IN THAT BLOCK OF ICE THEN I probably wont because it would cost me travel money.

BUT YOU GET THE POINT.

[OffTheRadar]

To link this and another thread, I read in Derek McGovern's sports betting column in the Mirror today that David Blaine's latest and most grueling test of endurance is to watch a re-run of Sunday's snooker final in one sitting - he's 12/1 against to succeed

[bobby1]

He's mad alright!

Illusionist David Blaine has begun his latest stunt - spending seven days underwater in his "human aquarium" challenge in New York.
The 33-year-old lowered himself into a 2.5m (8ft) acrylic sphere filled with water at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

A mask and air line will keep Blaine alive, while food will be provided through a tube.

"My only fear is the unknown," Blaine said before descending into the sphere.

'Pretty insane'

Hundreds of people turned out on Monday to see Blaine - who spent 44 days in a suspended acrylic box over the River Thames in 2003 - begin his latest stunt.

After seven days he will attempt to break the world record for holding breath under water, which currently stands at eight minutes, 58 seconds.

He revealed an unexpected twist to the challenge, telling reporters he would be handcuffed into 150lb (68kg) of metal chains for the dramatic finale.

"So basically besides holding my breath for about nine minutes hopefully I will have to escape from all these chains, and if not I will drown and the world will see something pretty insane," he said.

 


Click here to see pictures of David Blaine in his 'bubble'
Send us your comments 

Dr Murat Gunel, who specialises in surgical treatment of strokes, said a lack of adequate oxygen in Blaine's brain during the breath-holding challenge, especially after seven days under water, carried a risk of irreversible brain injury.

"David might never be the same again," he said.

"Even if he is fine immediately after, there is a risk for developing seizures in the long run.

"We all advised him against this stunt."

Blaine entered the "bubble" wearing trousers, rubber shoes and a special diving mask.

During the seven-day challenge the water temperature will be maintained at around 36C and he will be able to control his own core body temperature by wearing specially designed wetsuits.

He has also undergone intensive training for the challenge, shedding 50lbs (23kg) in body weight since January to improve the efficiency with which his body uses oxygen.

"I feel pretty good. Though I've been sleeping very little and breath-holding non-stop," Blaine said.

"My system is completely empty and I did that so there's no waste. That way in the sphere I don't have to use the bathroom."

Bloody typical isnt it, you sit there for hours and then bubble!!!