David Blaine

for all the big deal they made of this most recent stunt... we thought it was funny that he couldn't do it.

 

The funniest part is that WHEN he couldn't do it, his handler made a huge deal of his being able to walk again, comparing him to an astronaut coming back from outer space and having to re-learn to walk again...to handle gravity. WHAT AN EGO!!!

 

I'm really under-impressed with Blaine these days. When he was doing magic, I thought he was really cool; very low-key and doing some amazing things. Since he's moved on to stunts, I'm just sort of like, "Meh. . . "

I was happy to see that this NY Times reviewer agreed with me. My favorite quote from the article:
"Mr. Blaine explained that these exercises are all part of his 'journey,' that they 'make people think.' Magic, he said, 'brings people together who might not come together.' Well, so does the airport."

 

:lol: As Donald Trump once said, "There's no such thing as bad publicity..."

As for what I think, I most certainly don't hate the guy, but I'll sure give him props just for going out, doing it, and giving it a shot. He's all right in my book!

 

To state the obviously cruel: why couldn't he have just drowned?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ May 10 2006, 12:17 PM) [snapback]252817[/snapback]</div>

I don't hate him either; not at all. I'm just uninterested by him, at this point. And I feel like a lot of his stunts don't sound very impressive. Note that I'm not saying that they aren't difficult; just that they don't sound that impressive. As a kid, I remember watching David Copperfield (remember him?) walk through the Great Wall of China (with the requisite scantily-clad "nurse" there to monitor his vital signs). That sounded impressive and had a certain amout of showmanship. I don't know if it's Blaine's low-key manner or the way that presents it, but his stunts don't sound that fantastic. My thought process went sort of like: "David Blaine is going to be in a big fish bowl for 8 days. . . that's cool, I guess. . . What? He's going to have a breathing tube? OK. . . What? He's going to have feeding tubes and 'waste removal' tubes? OK. . . what's next?"

For his next feat, I understand that he's going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in really uncomfortable shoes!!!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ May 10 2006, 01:45 PM) [snapback]252902[/snapback]</div>

Then you expended more thought on the subject than I.

Copperfield was cool. I still remember the whole making the Statue of Liberty disappear... I think he also made a jetliner disappear... Seems like he just kept going bigger and BIGGER!

Actually, since we're all discussing it, let's examine another angle:

The stuff he pulls sort of gives us an idea of what our bodies are capable of... I mean, would anyone care on their own to research what happens to you skin if you spend so much time in water?

Not I....

h34r:

 

I don't care either way... though, I do agree that it's funny he couldn't pull it off.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ May 10 2006, 01:45 PM) [snapback]252902[/snapback]</div>

I heard that he wasn't going to wear socks!!

I agree with some of you guys...I guess it's kind of cool and he certainly has the requisite...Um...gonads to try some of this stuff. But...Eh, who cares? It's kind of like the guy in the Hummer, roaring down the highway. You look at 'em, think to yourself ' oooookay...' and move on. Nothing to see here, folks, nothing to see.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ May 10 2006, 02:38 PM) [snapback]252957[/snapback]</div>

To be honest, it was mostly trying to figure out why everyone was making such a big deal about it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ May 10 2006, 02:38 PM) [snapback]252957[/snapback]</div>

Yeah. Copperfield knew what he was doing. Although, even as a kid, I thought his "pre-illusion" stuff (i.e. acting out elaborate "scenes" with woman assistants) were sortta creepy.

I think that David Blaine's mild-mannered, low-key nature served him well in the "street magician" role, but doesn't work well for the "big stunts" role.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ May 10 2006, 11:57 AM) [snapback]252803[/snapback]</div>

Bit off topic, but I gotta defend Christo. His work with Jean-Claude is rather amazing imho. You may dislike it, as this kind of creativity may not fit traditionally accepted perceptions what constitutes art. The genius of most great masters have been recognized posthumously anyway. Find me another contemporaries who would endeavor on such grandeur creations. Noble is also the fact that Jean-Claude & Christo pay fully for all what's rendered. Each installation is paying for the next one, in essence true artists that don't succumb to power of money.

Granted 'the Gates' where rather unimpressive in comparison to other projects. Personally I did like it.

Nothing will take a away the splendor of covered Riachstag and Pont Neuf, both I've been lucky to see and I'll never forget the imagery to the rest of my life as my artistic sensibilities responded to Christo's vision. I've missed 'the Umbrellas' and 'Running Fences' tough to my chagrin.

It's all subjective in the eye of the beholder.
What is art?

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