Blaine Pleased With Himself

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Kevin Connolly
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Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Kevin Connolly » September 24th, 2003, 12:10 pm

I ran across what looks like David Blaine getting a grip on a bad situation. For Adults Only - Explicit Material. :eek:

Blaine Takes Matters Into Own Hands

:o
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Wolfgang
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Wolfgang » September 24th, 2003, 6:39 pm

I understand it is only a link, but do we really have to go there? Is there nothing more tasteful left to discuss in a magic forum?

Guest

Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 24th, 2003, 6:49 pm

I agree with Wolfgang. Most improper.
There is no place for vulgarity in magic. Not even in discussions of it.
This is a sacred art form which should not be sullied by impropriety.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 24th, 2003, 7:25 pm

Don't be such prudes. Kevin asked me if I felt it was okay to post the link, and it's fine with me. The material itself is not posted on this site, and his post carries a note about "explicit material."
It seems that the image captures how many people in England feel about Blaine's stunt.
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Guest

Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 24th, 2003, 7:48 pm

I have always been prudish.
Still, apart from anything it does not give respect to a fellow performing artist.
Especially an artist who is putting money in every performer's pocket. Someone like Blaine with his high profile is earning money for every magician even the ones who don't like him.
I think he deserves better.
I am afraid that we shall have to agree to disagree on this.

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Wolfgang
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Wolfgang » September 24th, 2003, 8:24 pm

I do not feel like a prude either but there is a place for everything and if you want this kind of stuff to garnish the Genii forum than so be it......I still have my opinion and I thank you for being able to voice it.

Erik Hemming
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Erik Hemming » September 24th, 2003, 8:44 pm

I thought the link was vulgar, and offensive...in a good way. If discourse is going to sink to the level mental masturbation, it might as well do it in the most literal sense--then we all see it for what it is.

That being said, I laughed.

But to be absolutely truthful, I enjoyed the link HalS posted more.

(For more or less the same reasons....)
:D
Gordo

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Kevin Connolly
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Kevin Connolly » September 24th, 2003, 8:48 pm

I could be wrong, but watching it again, he could be just practicing the Niffin tube move very quickly. ;)
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Wolfgang
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Wolfgang » September 24th, 2003, 8:57 pm

No that we know what it is I seem to have to feel guilty for thinking otherwise.
And it looks like it is executed very poorly (the Niffin move that is...)

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Pete Biro
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Pete Biro » September 24th, 2003, 9:49 pm

So he has an itch? :eek: :eek: :eek:

I wonder if anyone is keeping track of the amount of press and comments DB is generating? :eek: :eek: :eek:
Stay tooned.

Guest

Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 25th, 2003, 1:52 pm

I have certainly noticed the press but I get a vibe that he is running into trouble. It seems to be virtually all bad press. I have been looking at UK newspapers and he is being ridiculed badly.

It seems that his management went over to Britain and had a big fight with the promoters over there.
Security is bad at the site and the whole thing is becoming ridiculous.

I have heard ( I don't know how true it is or not) an inside story that he is going to feign surrender and when he is taken down is going to "accidentally" drown and be found somewhere else. In other words get out of trouble and save a bit of face by doing a magic trick.I don't know if this is true but if it is you first heard it here.

I think his best bet is to stick it out if he can.
If he gives up he will be a laughing stock (in the UK for sure, perhaps elsewhere). If he fails to stick it out I think it will be a major blow to his credibility and could damage his career.

Usually even bad publicity can be positive but you can also have too much of a good thing.

I think that if he sticks it out he will win the Brits over in the end.

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Pete McCabe » September 25th, 2003, 10:06 pm

"I don't care what you say about me -- the name is spelled H-O-U-D-I-N-I."

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Ian Kendall » September 26th, 2003, 1:23 am

quote:

"I think that if he sticks it out he will win the Brits over in the end".

Pardon my cynicism, but I think Blaine's chances of winning over the Brits are sufficiently molecular as to be not worth considering.

Apart from Loe Sayer (who was deliberately resurrected by the Sun's showbiz team) I can't think of any laughing stock of the press (which Blaine most certainly is) ever coming back, especially in only four weeks.

Press aside, everyone I've spoken with, both magicians and real people, have the same opinion of DB, which is accurately summed up by the topic of this thread.

Take care, Ian

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 26th, 2003, 1:36 am

Originally posted by Ian Kendall:
Press aside, everyone I've spoken with, both magicians and real people, have the same opinion of DB, which is accurately summed up by the topic of this thread.
As a fellow Brit, I agree. One or two people are (mildly) intrigued as to the "How?" of Blaine's self-imposed starvation. A few of my colleagues have asked me, and I've said that I didn't know and I didn't care, and they've replied that they didn't really care either.

But the majority of any interest seems to centre round the "Why?" of his "performance".

Just my tuppence worth (or two cents worth, to you US guys),
Dave

Michael Jay
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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Michael Jay » September 26th, 2003, 3:12 am

When Blaine first appeared on the scene several years back, I didn't like his look, his editing, his style or anything about the guy. I took heat in several circles for my dislike of the man and my willingness to make my opinion crystal clear.

I have had a change of heart.

Reading all the garbage of late about David Blaine and listenting to everyone deride the man, I've come to the conclusion that Blaine is spot on. Let me give you some thoughts...

First, get over the idea that Blaine is on a "hunger strike." He is not. A hunger strike is used in conjunction with a political point or religious statement. Blaine is "fasting," which, in terms of the ideas that it conjures, is the more proper word for his stunt. So, quit calling this a hunger strike - it is not.

If a guy wants to sit in a box and fast for the world to watch, then more power to him. In fact, take a look at the magic sites around the internet. This is one of THE most talked of magic events presently and I'm hard pressed to find any stunts by a magician in the past, with the exception of Houdini's escape from the German jail, that have caused such ripples throughout the entire magic community and, more to the point, the world.

As for the actions of a few Brits, well they are the very, very few. Let's see, 10,000 people gather for an event and 5 or 6 of them do something stupid. Then, everyone points out that all 10,000 are against the event because of that fraction who did something stupid. Anyone besides me see a problem with this logic?

And, who amongst you would turn down the publicity that Blaine is now receiving (especially to the tune of multi-millions in cash and prizes)? Being honest, I don't think anyone on these pages would shun this press, be it bad or good. Vincent Price, in his acting carreer, took many really bad movie roles. When asked about it in an interview, he stated that it is better to make 20 bad movies than none at all. It is a matter of keeping your name out in the public eye and on their minds. That is called fame and Blaine has fame in droves.

Prior to this, Blaine was fairly unknown in the UK. Now, I don't think there is a Brit in all of Europe who DOESN'T know who he is. With the cash that he's making off this one event, in 44 days, I could retire and live a comfortable life until the end of my days.

Then, some moron goes and makes this idiot video depicting Blaine masturbating. And, what does it really mean? It means that even more people are now trying to find out who this Blaine guy is that anyone should care if he's masturbating on the internet or not. More press for Blaine.

I only hope he goes the distance. He is at the half-way mark (almost) and to give up now would be a blow to his credibility. I sincerely wish him the best in all of this and I hope he puts his detractors to shame.

Kick ass, David. Prove them all wrong.

Mike.

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 26th, 2003, 3:35 am

Originally posted by Michael Jay:
As for the actions of a few Brits, well they are the very, very few. Let's see, 10,000 people gather for an event and 5 or 6 of them do something stupid. Then, everyone points out that all 10,000 are against the event because of that fraction who did something stupid. Anyone besides me see a problem with this logic?
I don't think that 10000 are against Blaine's stunt because of the 5 or 6 (or probably several times that figure) who do "something stupid."

It's that most Brits simply don't care. "He's sitting in a box - so what? - big deal!"

Either he's getting nutrition from somewhere or he isn't, that's the only point of mild curiosity to some. But, other than that, most people seem to regard him as a freak, worthy of either derision or disinterest.

Originally posted by Michael Jay:
Prior to this, Blaine was fairly unknown in the UK.
Actually, he was probably the best-known conjuror a year or two ago, simply 'cos of his TV exposure. People would always ask me about him. Amateur conjurors (such as myself) were repeatedly being asked "can you do that thing that David Blaine did?" It's really irritating to be compared to a guy who uses so much editing, uses an ID, and does a Balducci followed by a wires shot. Yes, his unusual personality (for a conjuror) made him interesting. But, that aside, most conjurors were irritated to be compared with him.

And UK conjuring bulletin boards were (and still are) full of posts by Blaine wannabees, or Blainabees, as they're now known. The fact that a word has been coined for those people who wish to emulate Blaine demonstrates that he was well known.

I don't mean to disagree in general with your excellent post, Michael. But my opinion differs with yours on those two points.

Dave

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Michael Jay » September 26th, 2003, 5:20 am

Please, disagree as much as you like, Dave, that's what a good debate is all about! Points well made, sir.

While I cannot dispute your second point, as that is more to a fact than an opinion, I do have to disagree with the first.

In fact, if nobody really cared, nobody would show up to see Blaine in a box. The fact that there are crowds of people out there, on a daily basis, directly refutes your point that they don't care or that they are stoic. Even if it is just curiosity, it is still caring about the event. Who wastes time to go view something that they consider to be nothing to waste their time on?

And, when I compared the 5 or 6 to 10,000, I would suggest that it is more than 5 or 6, yes, but it is also more than 10,000. My numbers were more akin to proportion than an exact count.

Mike.

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 26th, 2003, 8:48 am

Dave, personally I had know trouble with the impact of his Balducci levitation followed by the wire stunt. Next day in the office's cafeteria (work for a fortune 50, so BIG cafeteria) one of my coworkers asked me if I could float like David Blaine. While holding a full tray of food, I turned to set up my angle, rose up, returned to the floor, and looked back to see the guy with his jaw dropped almost to the floor -- several years later he STILL brings it up in meetings.... Unlike D.C.'s stage illusions, most of what Blaine does can be performed by folks reading this board (e.g. two card monte, taking a bite out of a quarter, etc.) -- why not leverage it rather than complain about it?

Just me two cents.

Scott

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 26th, 2003, 8:49 am

Britain has always been a rough place to work. I should know.
The people are completely different from North Americans. They are cynical, saturated with entertainment,disrespecful of entertainers and dare I say it, ill mannered.
I think that most Americans trying to work in the UK would be in for a culture shock. Some have succeeded but a great many haven't.

David Copperfield died a terrible death there. He even took out a full page ad in a newspaper sarcastically thanking the British press for all the bad reviews.Or so I have been told.

I still remember one review saying that he was an "over the top American magician". In other words too flash and fancy. I once heard a British layman say that he was "all teeth and moody" To translate he was full of false smiles and insincerity.

It's a tough market. You have to be as hard as nails to deal with it.

When I first worked in Canada I couldn't believe the difference. Even the drunks were polite! I would make the weakest joke and was amazed to hear great gusts of laughter.The audiences were fantastic.

I would also be amazed to see reasonably good acts getting standing ovations. In England it would be unheard of unless you were an opera star or something.

In the UK I would come out on stage and find people sitting with their backs to me and they refused to turn around to watch.

This is why you will often find that some UK performers have very aggressive and at times insulting approaches to entertainment. When they come to work in North America they don't realise it is no longer necessary to be so aggressive and they still work nasty. Forgive them for they know not where they are.

However, if you make it with the Brits you really make it. Blaine has already won them over with his low key magic. That is the way to go with Brits. Low key. Not loud and American.

However, the publicity stunt could regrettably be backfiring. Mind you, I do believe that if the press leave off the ridicule ( unlikely, since the British press are bastards) and they improve security at the site AND he sticks it out he will win them over in the end. I am sure that not ALL Brits dislike Blaine.

I didn't like him at first but I confess that he has grown on me. His lack of presentation is actually masterful presentation in itself. I am beginning to reluctantly face the fact that he may actually be a great showman.

It would be a pity to lose it all because of a few drunken, ill mannered, disrespectful Brits.

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Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Robert Allen » September 26th, 2003, 8:57 am

It would be a pity to lose it all because of a few drunken, ill mannered, disrespectful Brits.
No it wouldn't ;)

Guest

Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 26th, 2003, 8:58 am

That's fair comment, Mike.

He is getting publicity.

I get the impression that many of the onlookers think "Hey, since we're near there, let's go look at that d*ckhead in the box." (My apologies for the strong language, but I'm trying to convey the reaction of "the man in the street" as I perceive it.) Now if that constitutes people being interested, then yes, people are interested.

And I could well be wrong. Perhaps many are extremely interested. My perception of people's interest isn't based on an enormous sample.

(I'm not trying to be contentious about what constitutes people being "interested." But there's a gamut that runs from involvement with the stunt down to contempt for Blaine.)

Dave

Guest

Re: Blaine Pleased With Himself

Postby Guest » September 26th, 2003, 9:00 am

Ah! Robert is not a fan!


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