New David Blaine stunt

[rkmsuf]

Now this can't be good for you.

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Magician Set to Live in Aquarium
Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:23 PM EDTblaine, cayman-islands, david-blaine, entertainment, new-york, odd-news, people, scuba, tv, underwater, world-recordStart Chatting915
Associated Press
This photo, supplied by ABC, shows David Blaine interacting with the wildlife as he trains underwater in March 2006, in the Cayman Islands, for his two-hour prime time ABC television special. Blaine, who will stay in a specially built aquarium, for seven days and nights, in front of New York's Lincoln Center, will attempt to hold his breath underwater longer than any human being in the finale of the stunt on live television. The show is scheduled for May 8, 2006.(AP Photo/ABC,Donna Svennevik)

NEW YORK — David Blaine intends to sleep with the fishes — but only for a week, and in full public view.

The 33-year-old magician will perform his latest stunt by living underwater for seven days and nights in a "human aquarium" in front of New York's Lincoln Center.

He will conclude by attempting to hold his breath underwater longer than the record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds.

The finale of his latest stunt will air live in a two-hour ABC special on May 8 (8 p.m. EDT).

Blaine's previous feats of endurance include balancing on a small platform for 35 hours and surviving inside a massive block of ice for 61 hours, both of which were performed in New York. In 2003, he fasted for 44 days in a suspended acrylic box over the Thames River in London.

The "human aquarium" in which Blaine will float is a specially built 8-foot acrylic sphere. He will receive liquid nutrition through a tube and the water will be kept at a balanced temperature to help keep his core temperature close to 98.6 degrees F.

Passers-by will be able to touch the aquarium, take pictures with Blaine and communicate with him. He will enter the sphere on May 1.

To prepare for the challenge, Blaine trained with U.S. Navy Seals and a world class free-diving team. An inside look at his training will be shown on the ABC special, which is titled, "David Blaine: Drowned Alive."

hxxp://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/04/13/165499-magician-set-to-live-in-aquarium?pp=1

[Desnudo]

He'll be wrinkled like a prune when he gets out.

[rkmsuf]

He'll be wrinkled like a prune when he gets out.


Significant shrinkage.

[rkmsuf]

dola, like where do the turds and wee go? they have like a guy with a net fishing out the turds?

[Desnudo]

Probably has a turd hose

[rkmsuf]

Probably has a turd hose

Wow those are expensive.

[MikeVic]

dola, like where do the turds and wee go? they have like a guy with a net fishing out the turds?

That made me think about his cube-living stunt... where did the turds and wee go then?? On top of the New Yorkers' heads?

[Franklinnoble]

dola, like where do the turds and wee go? they have like a guy with a net fishing out the turds?

He'll have to keep some good-sized bottom feeder fish in that tank with him.

[Honolulu_Blue]

That made me think about his cube-living stunt... where did the turds and wee go then?? On top of the New Yorkers' heads?

I thought the cube was in London.

[rkmsuf]

That made me think about his cube-living stunt... where did the turds and wee go then?? On top of the New Yorkers' heads?

It was in London. Over there it's cool to drop feces on people.

[Franklinnoble]

It was in London. Over there it's cool to drop feces on people.

He was dangling over the Thames. There are worse things in that river, I'm sure.

[Maple Leafs]

Are we so desperate for entertainment that we'll fall for a trickless magician?

[Franklinnoble]

Are we so desperate for entertainment that we'll fall for a trickless magician?

Have you been in a cave for the last five years? Or have you just managed to overlook the proliferation of reality television in this country?

[rkmsuf]

Are we so desperate for entertainment that we'll fall for a trickless magician?

I'm a David Blaine fan. I thought his intial couple of shows were great and really interested me. I know close up magic is no mystery but still I kind of liked his vibe. Some of the stuff taken at face value is pretty cool but like anything you can tear it apart.

As far as the stunts...they are just stunts. Take them for what you will but even if it's an illusion the guy is interesting.

Flame on.

[oliegirl]

That made me think about his cube-living stunt... where did the turds and wee go then?? On top of the New Yorkers' heads?


Turds and Wee? Is that anything like Miss Muffet's Curds and Whey?

[rkmsuf]

I've never read the version where she eats human excrement.

[DanGarion]

I think it would be cool if his new stunt was to let someone shoot him in the head...

[rkmsuf]

A lot of people dislike the guy. I can't figure out where that comes from. He's an entertainer just like all of them. He certainly isn't in your face or anything.

Sure he has a sweet deal with ABC but what is he supposed to not take that and go do cable? Or Vegas?

Anywho, just kind of baffles me.

[Lathum]

I think he is awesome. Street magic is an awesme special that they sjow on the learning channel. As for his latest stuny he is pretty insane and will probably suffer brain damage.

[sachmo71]

Turds and Wee? Is that anything like Miss Muffet's Curds and Whey?


no, because one of them is a breakfast cereal. it's up to you to choose which is which.

[Raiders Army]

This thread has rkmsuf's longest posts ever. He must really like this guy...in what way I don't want to guess.

[Wolfpack]

I think he is awesome. Street magic is an awesme special that they sjow on the learning channel. As for his latest stuny he is pretty insane and will probably suffer brain damage.

Speaking of which... ;)

[Axxon]

I think he is awesome. Street magic is an awesme special that they sjow on the learning channel. As for his latest stuny he is pretty insane and will probably suffer brain damage.

I agree with this. I'm not a fan of these stunts but his magic is well done and underappreciated because people want bigger and more fantastic stunts as opposed to magic. He gives the people what they want and then they hate him more.

*shurg*

[JonInMiddleGA]

I've never read the version where she eats human excrement.

IIRC, the National Endowment for the Arts funded that particular project.

[sterlingice]

I think it's time to call the Super Best Friends (tho it does have an image of Mohammed so maybe Comedy Central won't air it now :p)

SI

[stevew]

I think it would be cool if his new stunt was to let someone shoot him in the head...


Only if the move after would be for him to be disemboweled as well.

[stevew]

Are we so desperate for entertainment that we'll fall for a trickless magician?

lol

Just watched that again the other night.

[JeeberD]

I think it's time to call the Super Best Friends (tho it does have an image of Mohammed so maybe Comedy Central won't air it now :p)

SI

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Muhammad.jpg

[sterlingice]

Oh no! FOFC is going to be burned down!

SI

[EagleFan]

I dislike the guy because he is a prick. I know there are other celebrities who I like and may not know how much of a prick they are, but I know this guy is a prick. My brother, who used to be fairly active in the "magic" scene, had the dishonor of meeting him once. Based on hearing the attitude that Blaine had pretty much solidified my opinion of the prick. Actually, based on how he came off, I would venture to say that about 99% of the people who were there came away with the same opinion.

Oh, to give a little background on my brother. He is a very personable guy who has the ability to making friends where ever he is. Based on that, there have been many people who I have disliked that he has been able to get along with so if he thinks the guy is a prick, he really must be bad.

[Oilers9911]

Only if the move after would be for him to be disemboweled as well.

I vote we allow David Blaine to go free and disembowel you.

[EagleFan]

I vote we allow David Blaine to go free and disembowel you.

That's not very nice.

Besides, no talent pricks don't get the "one free disembowelment" pass.

[cmp]

He's at 5 minutes now holding his breath.

[cthomer5000]

Nope, not today champ.

[oliegirl]

How long did he hold his breath?

[cthomer5000]

How long did he hold his breath?
Looked like just over 7 minutes.

edit: 7:08 was the offical time.

[sabotai]

7 minutes, 8 seconds.

[oliegirl]

Looked like just over 7 minutes.

edit: 7:08 was the offical time.

YAY! He didn't even get close to the record :)

[Dr. Sak]

I cant tell what is worse, this stunt or listening to Stuart Scott trying to explain this stunt...

[cthomer5000]

I cant tell what is worse, this stunt or listening to Stuart Scott trying to explain this stunt...

Stu Scott, easily.

[sterlingice]

Well, he's got a good 6 minutes on me

SI

[Young Drachma]

Whatever works for 'em./

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I think it would be cool if his new stunt was to let someone shoot him in the head...
I would watch the ABC special to see someone drop a toaster in the tank.

[molson]

I guess David Blaine would be included in my list of "Who I like that everyone else hates".

[Schmidty]

I guess David Blaine would be included in my list of "Who I like that everyone else hates".

Ditto.

I think it's funny that so many of you hate a guy that (although he's a "magician") has more balls, more women, and more fame than you ever will. It's pure jealousy, and it's as funny as it is pathetic.

[Franklinnoble]

Ditto.

I think it's funny that so many of you hate a guy that (although he's a "magician") has more balls, more women, and more fame than you ever will. It's pure jealousy, and it's as funny as it is pathetic.

1. I'm not sure what kind of testicular fortitude it takes to sit in a 96 degree bathtub for a week, and then try to hold your breath at the end, but I'd hardly consider myself a coward for not wanting to try. Unless, by your definition, more balls = insane.

2. How many women do you need? I think most of us here are married, and I'm pretty sure none of us are still virgins (way to go, Shorty!) But, hey, Magic Johnson got more women than me... I'm sure he's better off for it.

3. Yeah, he's more famous. I guess that means I'll have to settle for being able to shop at Wal-mart without having some jackass asking me to do a card trick for the rest of my life. Damn. Guess I really am just jealous of the dude.

I mean, it couldn't possibly be that I think a particular entertainer has a lame and tired schtick... gotta be jealousy.

[ISiddiqui]

Jealousy? Don't think so. He's just taking up my time. I don't need to hear about him as much as I don't need to hear about Natalie Holloway (why are either wasting my time)... and I don't think anyone is jealous of Holloway.

[Schmidty]

He's just taking up my time.

So ignore him. Change the channel when he's mentioned if he offends you that much. It's not people are forcing you to listen to news on him.

[Karlifornia]

I'm jealous of Natalie Holloway....an Aruban vacation, outings with the dreamy Joran Van Der Sl---SAY WHAAAAA??? OH, NATALIE!

[Franklinnoble]

So ignore him. Change the channel when he's mentioned if he offends you that much. It's not people are forcing you to listen to news on him.

I think what's bothersome is watching another program on the same network during any time in the last week and being forced to see a dozen promos an hour... "David Blaine... Drowned Alive!" I mean, the oxymoron factor alone was making me crazy...

[astrosfan64]

The guy is a good person and good entertainer. Did you ever see his street magic program. He brings joy into people's lives.

You guys are just hating. Franklin, aren't you the guy that used to say every other post you would hit it? I would assume that means you want more then one woman.

[jbmagic]

I wonder if his street magic is all setup with the people he showing the trick to.

[MJ4H]

I like David Blaine, too. I understand why some find it annoying, but I don't. I like his brand of street magic a lot, and I think he is just crazy enough to be interested. I watched last night while my wife left the room in disgust when I stopped on the special. I was disappointed he didn't break the record but glad he appeared to be ok afterwards. He is obviously a very strong-willed person. Interesting to see.

[scooper]

I'm not a big fan of his, nor do I really dislike him. I didn't watch his special due to 24 conflict. But seriously, how does 7 minutes of no oxygen not cause brain damage?

[jbmagic]

I'm not a big fan of his, nor do I really dislike him. I didn't watch his special due to 24 conflict. But seriously, how does 7 minutes of no oxygen not cause brain damage?

because its a magic trick, an illusion.

Just like his other trick when he was frozen.

[scooper]

because its a magic trick, an illusion.

Just like his other trick when he was frozen.

If it's an illusion, why not break the record?

[jbmagic]

If it's an illusion, why not break the record?

That will be cheating. :)

[rkmsuf]

because its a magic trick, an illusion.

Just like his other trick when he was frozen.

hxxp://www.jbmagic.com/

[lighthousekeeper]

If it's an illusion, why not break the record?

To set us up for his next illusion?

[ISiddiqui]

I think what's bothersome is watching another program on the same network during any time in the last week and being forced to see a dozen promos an hour... "David Blaine... Drowned Alive!" I mean, the oxymoron factor alone was making me crazy...

Indeed... I really don't give a crap if he breaks the record or not. That's his own thing. But I don't need to be bombarded with it. It's kind of hard to say "ignore him" when his promo is on all the freaking time and news channels have stuff on him as well. It's the oversaturation that our media loves to do that pisses me off about the media's "thing of the month".

[cthomer5000]

I'm quite a fan of his street magic. Not as interested by the stunts, but as a magician the guy is extremely entertaining.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Ditto.

I think it's funny that so many of you hate a guy that (although he's a "magician") has more balls, more women, and more fame than you ever will. It's pure jealousy, and it's as funny as it is pathetic.

Ahh. . . Your hatred of the University of Michigan has become very clear to me now. Thanks for the insightful explanation!

[KWhit]

David Blaine peed on my dog once. That's why I don't like him.

[JeeberD]

http://www.magicdirectory.com/blaine/images/southpark.jpg

[JS19]

I think the guy is an idiot. If my friend came up to me and said he was gonna sit in a tank for a week then try to hold his breath for 9 minutes I think I would have to kick him in the nuts on principle alone.

[rkmsuf]

I think the guy is an idiot. If my friend came up to me and said he was gonna sit in a tank for a week then try to hold his breath for 9 minutes I think I would have to kick him in the nuts on principle alone.

oh really. maybe a little green would change your mind.

you'd probably blow your friend for the money blaine makes.

[IwasHere]

I think the guy is an idiot. If my friend came up to me and said he was gonna sit in a tank for a week then try to hold his breath for 9 minutes I think I would have to kick him in the nuts on principle alone.
Even if he followed that up by explaining that the idiots at ABC were willing to give him 5 million dollars for his crazy stunts?

I have some friends here who would be willing to do that for a case of beer.:)

[JS19]

Ok, you guys got me on this one, for millions of dollars the guy isn't an idiot. However, if there was no money involved in the whole deal and he was just doing it just to do it I stand by my kick in the nuts statement.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Even if he followed that up by explaining that the idiots at ABC were willing to give him 5 million dollars for his crazy stunts?

It may not be as idiotic as it appears at first blush.

ABC is locked in a virtual tie with Fox for the #1 position in the current sweeps period. And last night's gamble worked, at least short term (in other words, if it's the difference in winning sweeps overall then it works, if it ultimately doesn't produce a win then it was a gamble that didn't pay the dividend they hoped for)

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_4630.asp
ABC got exactly what it wanted out of Blaine, a ratings bump.

“Alive,” airing from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., averaged a 4.1 adults 18-49 overnight rating, up 11 percent over the previous week’s 3.7 average in the timeslot. That helped boost ABC to a 3.7 average on the night, 9 percent better than the previous week’s 3.4.

“Alive” matched the 4.1 overnight rating earned by Blaine’s 2002 special “Vertigo” on ABC. During the 9 p.m. hour ratings peaked at a 5.4, just a smidge behind Fox’s “24.” In fact, “Alive” finished 0.2 ahead of “24” at a 6.0 in its final half hour, when divers had to go into the tank where Blaine had been living underwater for a week to pull him out during his breath-holding attempt.

That, combined with a 14 percent week-to-week rise for the series finale of 10 p.m.’s “What About Brian” at a 3.2, gave ABC a solid bump in its sweeps competition with No. 1 Fox. With another solid stunt tonight, when it airs an original movie about bird flu, ABC could creep closer to Fox in the May sweeps. The networks are currently tied at a 4.0 average for the season.

[AgustusM]

I'm quite a fan of his street magic. Not as interested by the stunts, but as a magician the guy is extremely entertaining.

my feelings exactly.

his street magic shows were very entertaining - but the stunts are just boring to me.

[Franklinnoble]

Here's what I don't get - why do advertisers really care about "sweeps?"

I mean, if I'm buying ad time, I want to look at the normal, average ratings - not the artificially inflated ratings that networks try to bust out during sweeps...

[KWhit]

Here's what I don't get - why do advertisers really care about "sweeps?"

I mean, if I'm buying ad time, I want to look at the normal, average ratings - not the artificially inflated ratings that networks try to bust out during sweeps...

I've always wondered the same thing.

[JonInMiddleGA]

re: sweeps -- Here's an article that sums it up more clearly than I probably could have. The link goes to the whole article but I'll paste the key points to save the less interested some time. (The article is from '99 but it still rings pretty true to me)

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news1999/dec99/news11206.html

Sweeps are a joke, right?
But who is the joke on?

Everyone knows that the sweeps, with all the hype and special shows designed to pump the ratings, are a joke.
But the joke, it seems, is on the media buyers--and their clients.
"Advertisers and media people say they know the sweeps are hyped, and that they take it all into account in their media buys," says CBS executive vice president for research and planning David Poltrack. "But despite what they say, they go ahead and use the Nielsen and Donovan analyses, neither of which adjusts for the problem."
...
The sweeps don't have any real impact on network ad sales and pricing.
Since all six nets are rated on a daily basis by Nielsen Media Research, media buyers can ignore the inflated sweeps ratings.
The problem comes when you get to the local station level. There, most markets are measured by Nielsen only during the periodic sweeps weeks.
Ideally, as long as networks--and local stations--continue to run promotions, specials, better programs and movies, to hype their ratings during those periods, planners and buyers should run this kind of analysis to correct the data.
Do they?
A buyer for one major ad shop confirms Poltrack's charge that they rarely make the effort.
"If you're in a big shop that operates in 200 markets, and you have lots of buyers, the reality is that you just buy on the numbers," she says.
"It's a matter of what you can get away with. Of course if a client insists that you adjust for the hype, you do it, but if you had to do that same thing for every client in every market, you'd go out of business."
The irony is that some 75 percent of the spot business is in the major local markets, which are metered year round. This means at least some of the Nielsen ratings data could be obtained outside sweeps times, when figures would be accurate. But this buyer says it's still the rare case where the unadjusted sweeps figures aren't used as gospel.

Now there's a few things there I might correct/update.
It isn't so much that the sweeps numbers are always "used as gospel" IMO as it is that they're used as "apples to apples".

A media buy is usually planned to a particular target point level -- for example, 300 gross rating points in the target demo over a month's time. The actual delivery outside of sweeps might be, just to pick a number, 275 GRP's.
But if the campaign achieves its intended purpose, then the reality is that it matters little whether it worked at 275 adjusted GRP's or 300 sweeps-based GRP's.

The reality behind why things still lean toward sweeps is a combination of factors. Laziness on the part of the media buyer, ignorance on the part of the media buyer/planner (you might be very surprised to find out how much money is handled by people under the age of 25 who simply haven't been around the business very long), a sore lack of adequate training of both media buyers/planners and media sellers (a lot of the younger station sales reps don't really understand what we're talking about here either), and certainly there's elements of both ignorance and laziness on the part of the clients who ultimately approve the spending of ad budgets. The other thing that still causes a lot of buys to be determined by sweeps ratings is a matter of time management. As the quote in the article mentioned, the busier a planner/buyer is, the less likely they are to go the long way around. And with the consolidation of several hundred ad agencies a decade ago down to less than 20 mega-agencies today, there's fewer people to do more & more work, which means the time crunch is as bad or worse than ever.

[BrianD]

Here's what I don't get - why do advertisers really care about "sweeps?"

I mean, if I'm buying ad time, I want to look at the normal, average ratings - not the artificially inflated ratings that networks try to bust out during sweeps...

I have no real answer to this, but I would assume that the math would be easier if you can have all of the programs showing new episodes at the same time. If there is no sweeps and reruns are mixed in all over the place, figuring out which shows are more popular might be tougher. I'm guessing it is just simple expedience.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm guessing it is just simple expedience.

Spot on, and in a whole lot fewer words than it took me in my attempt ;)

[Suburban Rhythm]

I'm not a big fan of his, nor do I really dislike him. I didn't watch his special due to 24 conflict. But seriously, how does 7 minutes of no oxygen not cause brain damage?

There is no brain?

[MizzouRah]

.. and to think I watched the Cardinals get blown out and missed this...

[jbmagic]

Taking that woman front teeth had to be fake. She had to be part of his trick.

No way he can remove her teeth and blowing in her mouth to put them back.

[Schmidty]

Taking that woman front teeth had to be fake. She had to be part of his trick.

No way he can remove her teeth and blowing in her mouth to put them back.

Ya think, Sherlock?

[illinifan999]

Taking that woman front teeth had to be fake. She had to be part of his trick.

No way he can remove her teeth and blowing in her mouth to put them back.

He can with magic.

[CraigSca]

Taking that woman front teeth had to be fake. She had to be part of his trick.

No way he can remove her teeth and blowing in her mouth to put them back.

Yeah, that was the one fake thing that night. The rest of the stuff was real.

[Pumpy Tudors]

What's this about some woman taking her teeth out, blowing David Blaine, and then putting the teeth back? This was on ABC?

[rkmsuf]

Taking that woman front teeth had to be fake. She had to be part of his trick.

No way he can remove her teeth and blowing in her mouth to put them back.


nothing gets by you

[korme]

I can't believe people cheered for him. Boo his ass for going bout 7 minutes. ABC blew like millions of dollars to hype this up and he didn't even come close.

The cool trick he did was pullin that chicks teeth out though

[rkmsuf]

The cool trick he did was pullin that chicks teeth out though

Outside of just pure actors invovled, I'd love for the masked magician to explain that one.

[jbmagic]

Outside of just pure actors invovled, I'd love for the masked magician to explain that one.

All his tricks has actors/helpers.

[rkmsuf]

All his tricks has actors/helpers.

they has? are you sure?

[KWhit]

I can't believe people cheered for him. Boo his ass for going bout 7 minutes. ABC blew like millions of dollars to hype this up and he didn't even come close.

It was an illusion (the holding his breath part). He couldn't go the whole 9 minutes because it wouldn't be certified by Guiness and his trick would be revealed to be fake.

Of course, I didn't watch it. I'd rather watch a test pattern than to see David Blaine hold his breath in a tub of water. So I may be wrong, but still....

[Blade6119]

What's this about some woman taking her teeth out, blowing David Blaine, and then putting the teeth back? This was on ABC?
:p

[Crim]

All his tricks has actors/helpers.

All your post are belong to me.

[cthomer5000]

I can't believe people cheered for him. Boo his ass for going bout 7 minutes. ABC blew like millions of dollars to hype this up and he didn't even come close.

The cool trick he did was pullin that chicks teeth out though

You do understand the point of the stunt was TV ratings? ABC couldn't care less about him not succeeding.

Yes, the teeth trick was damn cool.

[IwasHere]

Outside of just pure actors invovled, I'd love for the masked magician to explain that one.
Judging by the rating of this show, I fear the Masked Magician will be making a return very soon.