David Blaine - Never Ceases to Amaze

[Freaky Tiki]

American illusionist David Blaine, who failed to break the world record for holding his breath underwater last week, has announced his next stunt will be living among wild animals in the jungle"

http://imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-05-16/


This is going to be so magical!


Wait.....didn't Jane Goodall do this already? And didn't her studies actually help us understand the animal world better?

Who cares?! David Blaine is so much cooler!:rolleyes:

[wendybeth]

I'd be much more impressed if he went to live with the Grizzlies.

:D

[Freaky Tiki]

While wearing a suit made of steaks

[CoasterMatt]

I wanna see him live with those badass Dutch Sloth Bears... They ripped a macaque to shreds in front of zoo visitors. (Story here (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NETHERLANDS_BEAR_EATS_MONKEY?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) - great to read while listening to "The Circle of Life") :)

[wendybeth]

I wonder how long he'd be able to hold his breath?

[Freaky Tiki]

I wonder if the guy with the headset would be nearby, motivating him.

"Ok, we're at day two...here comes the bear....jingle your bell, it'll scare him.....

you're doing great. Use that leaf as toilet paper...fantastic.

He's having convulsions get him out of there! "

[Not Afraid]

One word: Gob.

[wendybeth]

I wanna see him live with those badass Dutch Sloth Bears... They ripped a macaque to shreds in front of zoo visitors. (Story here (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NETHERLANDS_BEAR_EATS_MONKEY?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) - great to read while listening to "The Circle of Life") :)

I saw that earlier- nothing slothful about that bear, eh? Terrible table manners, but moves pretty darn fast!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Smug sob.

[Matterhorn Fan]

How does this guy make a living? Does he come from money and not need to work? Is he making fries between stunts?

[Ghoulish Delight]

How does this guy make a living? Does he come from money and not need to work? Is he making fries between stunts?
Sadly, I think advertisers and TV produces pay him money to be a smug, mediocre magician.

[Matterhorn Fan]

What he does isn't "magic," IMO. They're "stunts."

I'm suprised that advertisers would be paying much, considering how little TV coverage he seems to get. (Or do I just not watch enough TV?)

[Ghoulish Delight]

What he does isn't "magic," IMO. They're "stunts."

I'm suprised that advertisers would be paying much, considering how little TV coverage he seems to get. (Or do I just not watch enough TV?)
Yes, the water stuff, and this animal thing are stunts. But he also does slight of hand card tricks, and the whole levitating thing. He is an illusionist...but while he's definitely very skilled at the slight of hand, he's not particularly imaginiative in his tricks, imo.

And I don't have a problem with the stunts themselves. I mean, Houdinni did the same sh!t. It's just his ridiculously smug attitude, and the fact that he seems to like to cultivate the belief that he really is magical, not just an illusionist that bug the snot outta me.

[Matterhorn Fan]

Yeah, I've seen the special with the slight-of-hand stuff. And the special that showed how un-magical the levitation thing is (the only-works-on-TV kind of thing).

What bugs me the most about him is his monotone way of talking. It's a complete affectation, which is stupid. Who would want to affect something that annoying? Bah. He's an idiot.

[scaeagles]

Nothing really bugs me about him, because he's never done anything that I've been remotely interested in. Staying in a block of ice for however long? Holding your breath for 7 minutes? While impressive, I suppose, why would anyone have an interest in watching someone hold their breath?

What bugged me the most was the title of the show.....wasn't it "Drowned Alive"? Is there any other way you can be drowned?

[Not Afraid]

I have to say, I never heard of him until he almost drowned/died/had liver failure.

[Ghoulish Delight]

What bugged me the most was the title of the show.....wasn't it "Drowned Alive"? Is there any other way you can be drowned?Seriously. Worst title ever.

The stunt thing can be fun. Again, it's what really made Houdini. But if it's gonna be interesting, there's gotta be some spectacle to it. And, as MF so rightly points out...he purposely puts on this "dullest human being on the planet" bit. WTF? Why would I want to watch you. You're smug AND dull.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Does anyone remember Doug Henning (http://www.doughenning.com/), the sort of flower-child magician who always smiled? He was such an opposite of David Blaine and, IMO, far more talented. He always stressed that what he performed were simply illusions, not "tricks" and I liked the honesty. He was an incredible sleight of hand magician and was a master of "close-up" magic. Best of all, he didn't have the attitude of Blaine that I find very annoying. Blaine's not a bad magician but he is pretty full of himself.

I always loved magic and wanted to be a magician after watching Henning but my stubby monkey hands never had the dexterity that was required. ::sigh::

And as far as I'm concerned, the best magician out there is a guy named Ricky Jay (http://www.rickyjay.com/bio.html). Simply baffling. If you ever get a chance to see him, do it. His shows always sell out almost immediately but he is wonderful.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Anyone see the David Blaine South Park? Basically, he started a cult based on his ability to "levitate". I was only marginally aware of him at that point, enough to know that I didn't really like him. Since then, I've for some reason seen him more, and now I totally get that episode. I mean, it's a bit of an exageration, but somehow I get the feeling he really would be happy to get a cult of people who really believe he can levitate.

No, he's not a bad magician at all, but he's not the greatest of all time, which is what he seems to think. Nor does he actually perform paranormal acts, which is what he seems to want people to think.

[flippyshark]

Ah, good old Doug Henning. He was planning to build a Transcendental Meditation theme park here in Central florida, but it never happened. (Not on this plane, anyway.) He was very likeable, with the biggest teeth you ever did see.

I admit that the earliest David Blaine specials were fun, and I liked how the street magic format placed the emphasis on people's reactions to the tricks as much as on the illusions themselves.

Nowadays, most people I talk to think Blaine has jumped the shark. Wait a second! David Blaine - Live in the belly of a shark! Now, that I'd watch.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Does anyone remember Doug Henning (http://www.doughenning.com/), the sort of flower-child magician who always smiled? He was such an opposite of David Blaine and, IMO, far more talented. He always stressed that what he performed were simply illusions, not "tricks" and I liked the honesty. He was an incredible sleight of hand magician and was a master of "close-up" magic.

I do remember the name, Doug Henning, though I never saw anything he did. I'm with you, I like honesty, that it's illusions. It is, it's slight-of-hand. Tricking the eye and getting you to look where he wants you to look. I know what it is and it's fun.

I haven't been impressed with David Blaine at all. Boring.

[flippyshark]

No, he's not a bad magician at all, but he's not the greatest of all time, which is what he seems to think. Nor does he actually perform paranormal acts, which is what he seems to want people to think.

On this one, I'm not so sure. I think he's playing the real/unreal line pretty cagily, just to keep people wondering, but I think he avoids making outright claims of any real powers. He even sells "how to" videos at ellusionist.com. (And he obviously knows that this same site sells instructions on how to do the levitations he does when seen live. Anyone can do them. Well, I can do them badly.)

Loudmouthed fraudbuster Penn Jillette has no problems with David Blaine. On his radio show (Radio Penn) he devoted an entire episode to Blaine, and that didn't even come up. So I take that to mean Blaine hasn't overtly pretended any higher powers and is not really seeking a cult. Penn would have been all over that. (Penn has nothing but harsh things to say about Kreskin, who does the same kinds of mentalist tricks, but most certainly wants you to believe.)

[Ghoulish Delight]

On this one, I'm not so sure. I think he's playing the real/unreal line pretty cagily, just to keep people wondering, but I think he avoids making outright claims of any real powers. He even sells "how to" videos at ellusionist.com. (And he obviously knows that this same site sells instructions on how to do the levitations he does when seen live. Anyone can do them. Well, I can do them badly.)

Loudmouthed fraudbuster Penn Jillette has no problems with David Blaine. On his radio show (Radio Penn) he devoted an entire episode to Blaine, and that didn't even come up. So I take that to mean Blaine hasn't overtly pretended any higher powers and is not really seeking a cult. Penn would have been all over that. (Penn has nothing but harsh things to say about Kreskin, who does the same kinds of mentalist tricks, but most certainly wants you to believe.)Ever watch the special that they show all the time? He does the levitation thing, and then he acts like the effort drains him...lying on the ground, acting hurt, and telling people to call for help. Feh.

[Moonliner]

Wow! This guy is a certified genius, I mean really just the other day I was thinking to myself "Man, what will this guy do for an encore?" After the excitement of watching a grown man float in water for days, followed by the action packed finale of a grown man holding his breath... What could he do to top THAT? Now we know. He's going to the zoo.

[xharryb]

I can't stand this idiot, but that's mostly just that I don't find him at all entertaining but do find him completely overhyped. That being said, a discussion about him invariably arose on another board after his latest brilliant idea failed. If you believe what several posters in that discussion said he isn't well respected in the magic community as most of his "magic" happens in post-production. They could just be jealous of the attention he recieves, but since I don't care for him anyway, I'll allow those folks to give me one more reason not to care about him.

[Freaky Tiki]

He's going to the zoo.

He's chaperoning a elementary school field trip.