LONDON (Oct. 16) - David Blaine - shaman to some, charlatan to others, showman above all - is getting ready to leave his box.

The American magician is approaching Sunday's end to a 44-day fast-cum-vigil in a dangling plastic case - hungrier, hairier and, he says, wiser, than when he went in.

Blaine, 30, who has previously been buried alive and encased in a block of ice, says the feat is both the hardest and "the most beautiful" thing he's done.

It has undeniably captured the imagination of Britons. Over the last six weeks, onlookers have reacted with a pungent mix of support and ridicule, while commentators puzzled over whether the stunt offered tasteless spectacle or spiritual insight.

Brian Keenan, who was held hostage in Lebanon for 4 1/2 years, wrote in The Guardian newspaper that people were "drawn to this half-naked man hoisted in the heavens. We eat our hamburgers and ice cream in part wonder, part homage, part adoration."


The same paper's theater critic, Michael Billington, judged that "this strange public confinement ... acquires something of the unresolved ambiguity of art." But in The Independent, columnist Terence Blacker condemned the "creepy" Blaine as part of a disturbing trend toward entertainment that "tweaked the public's sadistic impulse."

Blaine certainly brought out a streak of malice in some. In the days after his 7 foot by 7 foot by 3 foot plexiglass box was hoisted 40 feet above the River Thames' south bank on Sept. 5, the illusionist endured the sound of drums and foghorns, the smell of sizzling burgers and the sight of hecklers' bare breasts and buttocks.

One man was arrested for firing paint-filled balloons at Blaine's box. Another was fined for trying to damage the water supply to the box, which allegedly contains only a quilt, a pillow, a journal, a change of clothes and a photo of the magician's mother.

But as time went by, ridicule turned to grudging respect. By the final week, taunts had largely been replaced by encouraging shouts and handwritten signs stuck along the fence around "Camp David," Blaine's riverside enclosure.

· Blaine is experiencing heart palpitations and breathing difficulties, according to a statement on his Web site.

· "My vision's really blurry, my head is always throbbing, I black out a lot, I'm just trying to conserve and make it to the end," he told CNN earlier this week.

Hundreds of people -- teenagers, tourists, families with young children -- gathered daily beneath the box near Tower Bridge. A lethargic Blaine, sporting a new bushy beard and matted hair, rewarded them with weak waves and beatific smiles.

Thousands are expected to show up on Sunday to watch Blaine's exit, which will be broadcast on television and streamed to paying subscribers on the Internet.

Blaine's Web site says he may have to spend a month in hospital recovering from the ordeal. By Day 38, the site said, the magician was "occasionally incoherent and has been exhibiting signs of delusion," smelled strongly of sulfur and was longing to take a bath.

A former street magician, Blaine now specializes in feats of endurance. Before entering the box, he said he hoped the test would help him find his "truths."

Many onlookers seem to agree there's something spiritual about the event. Many of the signs dotted around the site had a metaphysical cast. "The butterfly will emerge from its cocoon," said one. "Physically thin - spiritually fat," declared another.

Paranormalist Uri Geller, a friend and mentor to Blaine, said the American is "a shaman. He has the quality of Rasputin, of Mesmer."

"He believes it is important to suffer," added Geller. "He thinks that is a very real and true human emotion."

Retired carpenter Terry Hutt said he spent every day at the site after watching Blaine enter the box on a live television special.

"You hear the bad bits, but there's more good bits," said Hutt, 68, clad in Union Jack shorts, T-shirt and hat. "People become friends, they share their sandwiches. And we get lots of entertainment. We had Michael Jackson's double the other day.

"This morning a woman brought a dead pigeon in a box. I think she hoped he could bring it back to life."



10/16/03 12:39 EDT

http://www.foxnews.com/st...96,00.html

I am ashamed to say that I will be there.

:shamed:

hi pan

Stunt???

Christopher said:

hi chops

Don't be ashamed, darling girl! You are one of the coolest chicks ever, which will totally outweigh the cheese factor!

Natsume said:

i hope your eating selena cake in london

AnotherLoverToo said:

Christopher said:

They will only serve me Selena cake with sweetcorn and a side of mushy peas here...

Stunt? it's a friggin' joke. I did the same thing the other day in New Cross,

I took my hair out to funky Afro style , put on my long coat and went to New Cross (Floetry country! S.E. London Reprazentin'!)

There's a central reservation which also divides two venues from one another and I was crossing over and saw a friend of mine and we stood up and talked for about 2 hours while people from both venues looked out the windows and drivers beeped at us!

Publicity stunt? = Hell Yeah!
Did It Work? = Hell Yeah! I gt a lot of ppl coming to see me DJ the next night!

Is David Blaine an Asshole? = Damn right!

I've boycotted the whole 44 days and any1 who went to see it well, I shall now shut up!!!

Only Dre's 4 what they're worth!

'dre

DreZone said:

Natsume said:

but you like that

DreZone said:

I keep saying this, I think its a really interesting thing he's done and he has obviously thought a lot about this experiment. Im interested in the extent 2 which the human body has survived and hopefully his memoirs will give us some indication as 2 his account. Its those boorish British folks, who give us a bad name who R the 'asseholes'. Havent they got anything better 2 do than 2 shout abuse and hurl stuff at him? Fair play 2 David Blaine an admirable experiment.

Natsume said:

mushy peas




I hope you have a great time Pam!

JDINTERACTIVE said:

JDINTERACTIVE said:

I will co-sign with You on the fact that the British publics behaviour towards the whole thing has been nothing less than savagery.

However, I think I'd respect it more if small-penis Blaine was doing this for some particular reason ike maybe Charity, as opposed to his own personal gain.
He doesn't need any more popularity and now I think that it has split ppl's opinion of him right down the middle.

As U can tell I am NOT a Blainiac!

'dre

bananacologne said:

JDINTERACTIVE said:

Basically...in a word: nope!

bananacologne said:

Its easy 2 B cynical.

It's easy 2 be clinical too

bananacologne said:

Try telling that 2 West Ham's strikers.

Someone should have held up a sign that read:

Not long now David

Lleena said:

eheheh, he's itching 2 get out look. It looks like he's gonna be sick!

a dead pigeon?

Countdown is ON! I will be leaving in a bit to see him. I bet people will be there to throw mounds of eggs at him... we are afraid of a riot!!



I will be thinking of you, Llee!!

JDINTERACTIVE said:

How will David Blaine survive for six weeks without food?

Alok Jha
Thursday August 28, 2003
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk...16,00.html

If he's fit and well-prepared, he shouldn't have many problems staying alive. But he will have a hangover from hell when he gets out - his muscles will have wasted, his body cavities will be full of fluid and his blood will be so acidic he won't be able to think properly.
Illusionist David Blaine's latest stunt will be, he claims, to stay suspended above the Thames in a clear plastic box without food or outside contact for six weeks (although he will be given water "by tube"), starting next Friday. Blaine promises there will be no trickery.

"The first thing you do when you stop taking food is you start to live on all the carbohydrates being stored," says Jeremy Ward, a physiologist at King's College London.

The liver and muscles store glucose as glycogen. In the early stages of starvation, glycogen is converted back into glucose. The store lasts about four days. "Thereafter, you have a problem," says Ward. "The only way you can get more sugar is to break down the muscles." This is essential for the brain and red blood cells, which do not have the ability to use fats as an energy source.

As the muscles break down, and those that remain eat up the fat, acidic waste builds up in the blood. The kidneys normally get rid of excess acid but become overwhelmed by the amounts produced during starvation.

"The increase in acidity in the blood will make people breath faster and deeper," says Ward. "Although that gets rid of carbon dioxide and so makes you less acidic ... you're doing more work." More work means you use more fats and create more acid.

The blood proteins will also be used up to feed the brain. As a result, water from the blood leaks out into the tissues. Fluid starts to collect in the body cavities and the limbs within a week. "At the end of six weeks, [Blaine] won't be in a good way," says Ward.

The last phase is multi-organ failure. Ward says Blaine is likely to sustain damage but it will be reversible. He believes preparation is the key. "I suspect he's pretty fit. He'll have been talking to trainers and physiologists and will have been building up his glycogen stores by eating lots of carbohydrates," he says.

Natsume said: