Richie Boy

Fri, 22 Apr 2005 16:47:39 -0500

When are we going to stop calling David Blaine a magician or illusionist? He doesn’t even perform magic tricks anymore and he’s not really mystifying people with illusions, unless he switched himself with a mechanized wax puppet that looked like him while he was boozing and nailing models the entire duration of the “tricks.” His feats of endurance and concentration (being entombed in ice, sitting in a plastic box, standing on pole) don’t seem to apply anymore to what a magician does. His tricks don’t seem nearly as impressive as people who climb Mount Everest, run ultra marathons, or who live like hermits in claustrophobic NYC studios for years. David, try living in a small apartment with an irate pet tiger, like that one New York guy. What do we call him: spectacle artist or stunt monkey? Do we call him a “media Jedi” for his ability to convince hundreds of cameras, commentators, and news people to focus on him? Or how about “guy who can hang out in uncomfortable places for a long time?” Given his penchant for being encased in small spaces, tests of deprivation and endurance, and threats with bodily harm, why doesn’t he, for his next trick, ride the New York subway dressed as a giant iPod for a week? Now, that would be impressive.

jenny

Fri, 22 Apr 2005 13:36:58 -0500

I remember seeing him in the ice at ABC's studios back when I first moved here. "Oh boy! I live in a city where I can see a guy in ice!" Am so glad I got out of that phase.

Kojak

Fri, 22 Apr 2005 12:43:53 -0500

Not again with this Blaine guy. Why can't he use his weirdass magical powers to cure cancer or feed the homeless? And why the hell does anyone care about him locking himself up in a Plexiglass cage? To hell with the tomatoes. Im gonna throw rocks.

Gothamist: David Blaine High-Wires in Manhattan This Halloween

Richie Boy

jenny

Kojak