Houdini vs David Blaine

[PrettySquareGal]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060509/ap_en_ot/david_blaine

I would have rather watched Houdini. I think Blaine is insane, but in a bad way.

Did anyone watch this live on TV? I did not. I love magic and suspense, but not this kind.

 

[scotrace]

Sick and Wrong

Maybe next outing he can try setting himself ablaze.

What is "magic" about such stunts? I mean really... staying underwater so passersby can watch you suffer? And I don't even want to think about the mechanics of "relieving himself via tubes."

 

[binkmeisterRick]

I read in a headline that he didn't break the record he was after, though he probably did for stupidity.[huh]

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I read in a headline that he didn't break the record he was after, though he probably did for stupidity.[huh]

I was thinking that, too.

 

[Hondo]

I read in a headline that he didn't break the record he was after, though he probably did for stupidity.[huh]

Stupidity, took the words right out of my mouth, heard on the news he also got liver damage, insane is another word, I don’t care to watch someone risk their health or seek publicity for such a foolish stunt

 

[Steve]

He had some liver damage before he ever went under if I recall correctly. Leftovers from his last dumb stunt.

I'd much rather watch Houdini than Blaine. Houdini had skill, Blaine uses more "dark arts" type of stuff.

 

[Michaelson]

Well, if there's any 'up' side to this madness, he volunteered to allow himself to be closely studied and monitored by a local hospital research group to see what results had taken place in his body with this stress. Talk about a 'stress test', this is a bit off the scale.

Still, what ever he has 'suffered' from his efforts will be used as data points for future studies on what the human body can withstand when under extreme duress.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Flash Gordon]

My 9-year old son and I strolled over to Lincoln Center on Sunday to see Blaine in person. I thought it would be amusing for him to see the hoopla. There was a huge crowd. My kid thought it was "cool" for a few minutes and then asked if we could go..."He's not doing anything". It really struck me how silly the whole thing was. All these people watching a guy in a giant fishbowl, watching them. [huh]

 

[Vornholt]

As an occasional magician myself, I don't particularly care for this kind of silliness either. Blaine can do some rather intriguing magic, but this is just spectacle, with no story behind it.

 

[Benny Holiday]

I could be wrong, but . . .

isn't he the guy the Londoners threw rubbish at a couple of years back, when he was suspended in a glass cage above the Thames?

 

[Feraud]

If Blaine is an illusionist, magician, or whatever, isn't this a just a trick? Doesn't the whole "it's sooo dangerous" theme lend itself to the fact that he is not in harms way?
Isn't that what magicians(Houdini, etc.) strive for when they saw their assistants in half or put a needle through their arm?

I am confused as to why people are taking this seriously. I figure it is just a stunt.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

Yep, it's just a stunt. No magic there. I don't even really consider him a magician. He's more a stuntman/idiot in my book. But Michaelson's right, at least he's allowed himself to be a medical guiniea pig, though I'd prefer other methods of damaging my liver when it comes down to it. And I don't even drink that much!:beer: :coffee:

 

[Feraud]

He did not look as waterlogged as I thought he would after a week in a tank.:coffee:

 

[Nathan Flowers]

His stunts are getting pretty tired....

So maybe for his next stunt he can crank things up a notch and try flying a rocketship into the sun. No twist, just fly into the sun and then disintegrate.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

But that's a perfectly good waste of a fine rocketship... On second thought, no, I like the idea.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

huzzah

Great minds....

 

[Mr Nick]

Who's the idiot?

No doubt the guy has issues. My concern is that he was able to capture the attention of so many people who didn't have anything more productive to with their time. Not to mention all the $$ spent on promoting it. It's a sad commentary on our society!

 

[Feraud]

I hate to defend Blaine because I think the stunt was silly, but this is what entertainers have always done. They try to capture the public's imagination with feats of impossible and daring.
Didn't Houdini pull similar stunts? Houdini pushed the envelope much as guys like Blaine or Angel try to. They are not interesting in doing "old fashioned" magic tricks. These performers strive to do something new and exciting that no one had ever seen before.

That kind of attitude does not always make for a sensible performance.

 

[Doh!]

Blaine's "tricks" bore me. Gimme Penn & Teller any day.

Actually, if you ever get a chance to go to the Magic Casle here in L.A. the close-up rooms are the most impressive. Last time I was there, this guy told us his watch would be off of his wrist by the end of the show. Sure enough, 15 minutes and several card tricks later, it was gone -- and nobody in the room saw him do it!

 

[The Wolf]

I've not enjoyed him for some time now

When he was doing street magic for television specials I heard how great David Blaine was. I rented the video and was annoyed more than entertained. He did some amazing tricks and some obvious tricks (i.e. taking a "bite" out of a quarter and having it reappear, with the "missing" piece springing back up on a hinge) all with over-acting and attitude.
When he stood inside a block of ice is the first time I saw him do something that was dangerous and simultaneously boring.
And to keep this tied to the golden age, I prefer Houdini as well.

Sincerely,
The Wolf