So, David Blaine ended the bats in the belfry (sorry, hanging upside down) Central Park stunt successfully last night, and also did the bullet catch. I tuned in at the beginning of the two-hour special, but it wore me out and I wandered off before the end. Patrick was watching though--he seemed to indicate it was good, especially the landing. Patrick is very concerned about landings. He thinks landings and takeoffs should be be equivalent in number, if not in grace (though he aims for grace, of course).
Patrick, looking concerned about something landing, possibly on Wall Street.
The BBC covered the controversy over Mr. Blaine's "60 hours upside down," repeating some of the criticism reported by CNN's Anderson Cooper. Among the objections: the magician's bathroom breaks, pauses to drink liquids upright, and checks by health professionals. While I understand why people would say these cut into the "60 hours," why would one question the need for checkups by a physician to make certain Mr. Blaine is all right? I do understand why he's being criticized for not making clear that he would take breaks to drink liquids (and to sit up while doing so) and to go to the bathroom. He should have explained that, even though people should have realized over a three day period he would have to take such breaks. He isn't a "magical being" and he has the same needs the rest of us do. The BBC page also has video of Mr. Blaine's "dive", and links to the beginning of the stunt and to a discussion of the health risks of hanging upside down, if you're indeed not a bat, imitating a bat, or completely batty.
Here's hoping no children or young persons (or older persons) try to imitate, reproduce, reverse engineer or otherwise replicate Mr. Blaine's stunts without the proper training and knowledge. While he would almost certainly not be liable for any injuries (for various legal reasons, most importantly because he's not inciting anybody to try what he does), he would probably still feel very bad about unfortunate outcomes.
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