STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Mara wrote:

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I just don't get it. Does anyone care if he soaks himself in water for 7 days or holds his breath for 8 minutes?? Doesn't he know magicians are supposed to do magic tricks???

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I posed this exact question to my family at dinner last night, and my mom said, "Well he must have a following?" Everyone I talk to doesn't seem to care, so I'd like to know who his following is....

I guess he failed to beat the record.  And does anyone know why he had to live in a fishbowl for 7 days before trying to beat the record for holding your breath underwater???

I have failed to see the point to any of his specials. Standing in a block of ice? Living in an aquarium for a week? Standing on top of a pole for however many days? How is any of that magic?

His card tricks are good though.

If David Blaine is *really* doing these stunts and it's not an illusion, then I think he's awesome! I don't think that he thinks of himself as some sort of a god at all, at least no more so than any other celebrity might(just my perception). I also think he is incredibly attractive

I must say though that I found the part where he *pulled the woman's teeth out* more fascinating than the breath holding.

Luv2Shop wrote:

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We watched the end of that last night and my husband turned to me and said, "that man is the anti-christ" It was a very strong remark to make, but the guy does think he is some kind of god. He just REALLY gives me the creeps.

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This is exactly what I was thinking while he was holding his breath. They had that "angelic" music playing and the light shining on him, much the same way a movie of a holy figure would. I was almost offended at that music, because you don't hear that kind of music in any sort of situations, really, except in religious portrayals.

ETA: I hate that this post admits that I watched the show. Some friends and I got together to watch the "Life of Brian" show that was on afterwards, so we caught the tail end of this, and kept it on because it was an easy show to watch so we could talk at the same time :)

-- Edited by ttara123 at 15:56, 2006-05-09

I haven't read anything dedicated just to Houdini, but two books I read recently ("The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" and "The Little Friend") had characters that were obsessed with his ability to escape seemingly impossible situations, like being chained up underwater, and the way he captivated an audience with what seemed like magic. So, while I didn't watch the David Blaine special, I think he's following in that same tradition.

FashionPrincess wrote:

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Random thought, question:  Where did he go to the bathroom during those 7 days?  In his shorts?!?  That had to be one dirty fishbowl, hehe!

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An article I read said he was fed by a tube and "relieved himself" via a tube.  Hopefully separate tubes!

Anyway, yeah, I don't get it either.  I don't think he claims that he's a magician, does he?  I think he just does stunts and stuff, but I don't think he does the rabbit-out-of-a-hat kind of thing. 

What I don't understand is why on earth was a show about a man holding his breath for nine minutes a two hour long show?  That's 13 times longer than it needed to be!  I didn't watch the show, but I watched the last part of it online this morning.

he does a lot of slight of hand tricks and illusions - he's not just an escape artist.  Yes, people can call him an idiot all they want, but he's a rich and doing something he loves.

I guess I have a different view on it. The guy I went to school with William (Bill) Kalush used to do magic tricks in school talent shows and escaped from a straight jacket in my speech class in high school.  I saw him a couple of years ago and was just thrilled for him that he's been so successful doing something he loves.  When I caught wind of this latest stunt I googled him and learned that he just opened a non-profit magic library along with David Blaine and some other magicians. Anyway - more power to them both, I say

Abracadabra - Library Conjures Up the History of Magic

By GARY SHAPIRO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
February 3, 2006

Presto! A magic library has opened south of Herald Square, featuring books on all areas of conjuring history.

An elevator ride from the bustling street leads to the Conjuring Arts Research Center, the only publicly accessible, fully staffed, nonprofit magic library in America.

Harry Houdini later in life expressed interest in starting a magic school and library in the city. A century later, founder William Kalush has accomplished this vision.

Want to know which illusionist first sawed a person in half or which Albany-born magician performed for Abraham Lincoln's guests at the White House? You now have a central place to find answers to such questions, after making an appointment to visit. Mr. Kalush said he hopes the center will draw writers, historians, collectors, scholars, enthusiasts, film producers, and performers who are seeking to study the history of magic and its vibrant connection to the present.

The collection is catalogued online at www.conjuringarts.org.

Strolling past Houdini's lock picks and leg irons or seeing large cartons of marked decks of cards near posters of miraculous burial escapes, one realizes this is no ordinary place. How many conference rooms boast a parabolic mirror used to make items float? Shelves brim with 9,200 books on all areas of magic history, from card and coin manipulation to every conceivable type of prestidigitation. There are even sections devoted to bibliographies of magic and fictional works relating to magic. A trove of instruction sheets, scrapbooks, magicians' correspondence, manuscripts, and other primary source material are arranged in rows of black binders.

Although much material is of interest to sleight-of-hand specialists, Mr. Kalush's aim is democratic: "You shouldn't have to be a rich collector to read material about magic history."

A rare-book room features hundreds of leather-bound volumes including one printed in Venice in 1520 on arithmetic that shows how to read three friends' minds at the same time. Nearby sits a 16th-century medallion featuring Hieronymus Scotto, the first card magician whose face is known.

Donor levels at cultural institutions are often designated by humdrum titles such as "patron" or "benefactor." The Conjuring Arts Research Center's are named for legendary influential cardmen: Charlier, Hofzinser and Erdnase.

Membership privileges include access to "Ask Alexander," the most comprehensive magic history database ever assembled.

Mr. Kalush's goal is to scan every magic book, letter, broadside, interview - in short, everything related to magic. "I know we can do this. It's not infinite," he said.

In anticipation of this daunting project, he bought unbound runs of magazines over the years, so they would be easier to scan.

The office is bustling with a full-time staff that includes a head librarian, membership coordinator, digitizer, computer technician, and translator. The advisory board includes a noted historian of recreational mathematics, David Singmaster; a magician who is a member of the experimental theater troupe Wooster Group, Steve Cuiffo; an attorney who is a student of Slydini, Philip Varrichio, and internationally known magician David Blaine.

The center held its first fund-raiser in November at the Cutting Room. Mr. Kalush eventually hopes to link with universities, other libraries, and museums for lectures and classes.

Mr. Kalush said it is now an optimal time for magic research. Technology has increased the speed and amount of information available and the study of popular culture, years ago seen as not worthy of academic attention, is more accepted, he said.

Another of the library's features is Munito, an in-house dog and mascot, named for a 19th century dog that could do tricks. The conjuringarts.org Web site notes that Munito spends his day "researching digestion of cards."

-- Edited by detroit at 20:54, 2006-05-09

theotherjess wrote:

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FashionPrincess wrote:
Random thought, question:  Where did he go to the bathroom during those 7 days?  In his shorts?!?  That had to be one dirty fishbowl, hehe!
I saw part of an interview he did on Best Week Ever and Kelly Ripa asked him the same thing.  He said "you're swimming in it" or something to that effect.  Can we say groooooss?

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I saw that interview with Kelly Ripa-- he was just kidding. After he said that, he showed her the tubes that were like vacuums or something and just sucked it all out when he went to the bathroom in them (still gross, but hey)