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 .   .   .   .  .   .  .   .  .   .                "David Blain"
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  . . .  .   .   . . .  . . .  . . .               by Schoolboy


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        In England, magicians are traditionally cheesy, wig-wearing, liquid-
 tanned, deeply unattractive characters that normally have some desperate
 escapee of a crack-whorehouse as a "glamorous assistant."  In the US, there
 are those two leotard-wearing tiger humpers (they're obviously taking that
 Bloodhound Gang song too literally) whose names I can't be arsed to remember
 and David Copperfield (no comment). Oh, and David Blain [you knew I was
 going to bring him up, he's in the title].

        David Blain fucks with my head like no other.  I watch his one-off TV
 shows and stare agog at what I'm seeing but then I also find myself hitting
 my head against the back of my seat in sheer intellectual turmoil.  Not so
 much as a fan but as in "should I be a fan or is the whole thing just a
 cinema-verite, scripted scam?"  I just don't KNOW!

        By the way, if you're wondering who the fuck this guy is, he's an
 ultra cool/mumbling young magician who looks like he could be a member of
 Ricky Martin's dance troop.  He wanders around New York, mainly, "stopping
 people in the street and showing them magic."  I use speech marks because
 that's what it LOOKS like he's doing but there are certain signs to suggest
 it's all boloney/bullshit/[here's a new one that'll make you sick:] crusty
 cunt juice.

        Recovered?  OK.  Now I may be an atheist but that does not preclude
 me from believing in shit like telepathy.  After all, if you think of it as
 being some form of unidentified energy then to me it's not scientifically
 impossible.  I wouldn't even go so far as to say likely, just not
 impossible.

        If you think about evolution and the animal kingdom there are animals
 that are either super sensitive using some of the known senses or they use a
 basic sixth sense.  Just look at their foresight and navigational skills.
 Also because of the very slow pace of evolution perhaps it will take several
 hundred thousand years before we truly tap into any sixth sense that might
 be available to us.  I'm talking just intuitive telepathy and stuff not like
 Luke Skywalker.

        That said, I do try to be as cynical about what I see on the TV as
 the next man but I have seen some things that do hint towards some kind of
 sixth sense existing.  For instance, on TV there was a discussion programme
 about the sixth sense on which Yuri Gellar appeared.  I guess he's known
 outside of Britain as he did an opening voice over for David Blain's show.
 He got the presenter, a very upright and, by necessity, neutral news anchor
 to draw a simple picture, put it in an envelope and keep it in his pocket.
 Then, live on air, Uri got a pad and drew the same thing!  A tree.  It was
 even the same height!

        "Bullshit, cheatcheatcheat!" I hear you rasp but I just feel this
 news anchor, who is also a journalist, wouldn't allow cheating so I can't
 think of any provable explanation.  The only thing I can say is I just don't
 KNOW.

        Back to Blain.  He let certain things happen that made me question if
 ANY of what I saw was real.  Firstly, on the first show I saw he did a spot
 of levitation in the middle of the street and completely freaked people out.
 The shots you saw, he was about 2 feet off the ground.  Wow!  Fuck me, how
 the fuck did he do that, is he a ghost?  Fuck me, I don't believe it etc.
 Problem is I found out later, can't remember how, that when people were
 filmed watching he actually rose about 3 inches off the ground with a
 technique I managed to copy first time when I was told, and then they added
 the rigged footage either side the audience reaction.  Ha!

        Secondly, on his last show, he visited some natives in deepest Brazil
 who still wore tribal dress and "still have almost no contact with the
 outside world."  Fine.  But all the children had shirts on!  With Buttons!
 And while David, if that is his real name, was showing some bemused Indians
 his leaf levitation trick, clear as day behind them was a soccer goal!  No
 net, just the posts and cross-bar but still definitely a goal.  Untouched by
 civilisation?  Fucking garbage!

        But so many other tricks were extremely convincing and amazing.  Good
 actors?  I don't KNOW.  But I bet he's a better dancer than Ricky Martin.

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  .           anada 165                  by Schoolboy  (c)2000 anada e'zine .
      
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