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.

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.

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.

He's chaperoning a elementary school field trip.