In an interview on this morning’s Heart Radio from the UK, Magician David Blaine talks about secrets – and how well he keeps them.
Even though that is what a magician does best – keeping secrets – his pals remind him to “not tell anyone” before letting him in on some confidential information.
He is in the United Kingdom for a tour – the first time he has ever toured with a live show. He was suspended in a Plexiglas (“Perspex” in metric, we think) box near the Tower Bridge back in 2003. But he didn’t tour in the box. It remained in one place and was not dragged around the nation for people to peer at him trying to avoid motion sickness. For that we and he are grateful.
His new show is called “Real or Magic.” The title is somewhat similar to our tour of the tri-county area, “Really, it’s Magic.” We had to adopt that title because we were ill-prepared and hardly able to perform the new effects we had inherited just five days before we started the tour of two towns in three counties. (One of the towns was on the border so it still counts as a “Tri-County Tour” according to the official rules. See, “Tri-County” entry in the 2nd edition of Black’s Law Dictionary).
The write-up on the Heart Radio page dispels an image of David that is apparently going around in the UK world.
Mr. Blaine, according to the article, has a “reputation for being somewhat of a ‘weirdo’, but in person he’s surprisingly friendly – and normal.”
Phewf! In our book, being called a ‘weirdo’ is right up there with being called a ‘magician.’ At least that was our experience our whole life up until the typing of this article on our Underwood Portable TypeWriter; being watched by our covey of doves and two rabbits (both female – we think) over by the bed in our studio apartment near the train tracks for which we haven’t paid rent but for which we do little shows performing tricks a/k/a babysit for the building superintendent’s kids while he is out looking for a “better job than living in this dump by the tracks.”
Back to Mr. Blaine.
He loves being a father to his eight-year-old. “Being a dad is the greatest feeling and the greatest joy and greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my lifetime and I can’t imagine anything ever equaling it.”
David Blaine spent 44 days suspended in a perspex box above the Thames in 2003. Picture: Getty
He told Heart: “When I was young I used to do that, but one of the things I think that helped me become a magician was that I rarely did magic to to other kids as that’s the toughest audience.
“Most of my friends are magicians and we share all our secrets. I do get annoyed when a friend comes to me and says ‘don’t tell anyone’. They KNOW I don’t tell anyone, that’s my MO [modus operandi]!”
One of the effects he will be performing on his tour involves drinking a gallon of water, and then a pint of kerosene so he can start fires at will and extinguish them.
We don’t know who Will is but we would not want to be him even if we knew Mr. Blaine had a belly full of water to extinguish the fire he just started on our person.
The trick takes sacrifice. “Doing that trick means that I can’t eat for a day and a half before each show. I’ve been doing it for the last three months to prep for this show.”
To be honest, we couldn’t drink a gallon of water in one gulp or even a couple of gulps. We certainly couldn’t swallow kerosene in any amount. And we have not gone without food for a day and a half since our last examination that many people over 50 have to endure. Nope. Our hat is off to Mr. Blaine. He is no ‘weirdo’ in our book but one heck of a talented magician with nerves of a very hard metal.
He will be appearing throughout the UK this summer so if you are in or near a site where he may be, get a ticket and be prepared to be amazed and thoroughly entertained.
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