is this fella still going??? :o

 

fuckwit :lol:

yep ! :o

Day 16 -02 Hours-29 mins

 

Short-term side effects are likely to include faintness, dizziness and confusion. David has already reported feeling giddy when he stands.

David Blaine is now beginning his third week in the box without food, and believes that his body is entering starvation mode. Increasingly weak and unsteady, the magician has talked of a sweet taste in his mouth, like that of pear drops, which is a sign of starvation.

 

"I have entered starvation mode, low energy ... really low energy and a freak taste in my mouth," Blaine said. "I believe this is starvation."

 

Blaine is also increasingly lethargic, sitting or lying down most of the time, and sleeping for numerous short stretches throughout the day. When he does stand, he looks shaky and has complained of dizziness. It is thought that his low energy has been compounded by high salt loss, brought on through sweating in the unexpected warm weather.

 

But while Blaine languishes inside his temporary home, outside his support has increased markedly. An estimated 20,000 people came to see Blaine during the weekend, with revelers chanting the magician's name and cheering wildly when he did manage to stand or wave.

 

Banners - many of them with religious overtones – have been pinned to the fence surrounding the area. "Keep the faith David" is a typical slogan.

 

David's support team has reported that he remains cheerful, despite the physical strain he experiences. It is thought that the large, supportive crowds and bright sunshine have combined to keep the magician positive and focused on his goal.

After two weeks of mild temperatures and bright sunshine which saw Blaine hang up his blanket as a shield from the sun, the English weather has finally caught up with the illusionist.

 

Blaine spent several minutes using precious toilet roll to plug a pool of water gathering in one corner of the box as torrential rain hit London this afternoon.

 

"We’ve got some leakage here," said Blaine, down on his hands and knees as he stuffed wads of tissue into the corner.

 

Undeterred by the bad weather, the press snapped away as David laid down again, still waving and giving the thumbs up despite the box swinging wildly in the building wind. He also managed a few giggles for a group of girls who came out in the rain to shout their support up to him.

 

Wearing a hooded jumper and wrapped in his blanket, it seems the temperature has also dropped in the box following last week's surprise heat wave, when temperatures hit a record high for the time of year.

:stunned: this guys crazy!!!

he really is!!!

his security want to stop it!!! :rolleyes: because all the abuse he's getting!!! :/

I hope he takes care of himself! I wish they would show more on tv in the states!

Day 19 - Blaine touched by British

 

An estimated two thousand spectators gathered yesterday to see David Blaine continue his endurance feat. But Blaine was most touched by the presence of a jazz band near his temporary transparent home.

 

Upon hearing the music, Blaine was moved to comment on the high quality of performers near his transparent home. Blaine feels they exemplify the artistic tendencies of the British and that the UK populace is uniquely qualified to appreciate his own brand of performance art.

 

"I'd anticipated that London was the best place to do this", he said, "because [the British] have a better understanding of art... given their history and everything."

 

The response of spectators remained positive throughout the day, with continued chants of the illusionist's name and one woman releasing a bunch of brightly coloured balloons, prompting smiles from the magician.

 

One visitor that got unexpectedly close to the box was Blaine's friend, the film director Harmony Korine. Korine ascended on a 'cherry picker' crane to get close-up shots of the magician for the documentary film he is making about the feat.

Wanna Call Mr Blaine - his number is .........

80 - 80 - 80

Eat nothing - Eat nothing - Eat nothing :D

 

HTTT :sneaky:

I think someone should play frisbee at him next :)

.. the magician has talked of a sweet taste in his mouth, like that of pear drops, which is a sign of starvation.

 

"I have entered starvation mode, low energy ... really low energy and a freak taste in my mouth," Blaine said. "I believe this is starvation."

 

now that's scary!

blaine's really driven!

:o

I think someone should play frisbee at him next :)

 

 

 

:lol:

 

*arms herself with frisbees*

Day 20 - Medical update

 

The risk of chronic salt deprivation has subsided for David Blaine following the change in the weather. Last week the illusionist was sweating more than predicted as temperatures inside the box soared to an estimated 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The attendant salt loss brought about side effects including dizziness and confusion, and posed serious health risks in the longer-term, including damage to Blaine's internal organs.

 

Though the cooler weather has prompted complaints from Blaine that he is now cold, especially at night, the risks of hypothermia are currently minimal compared with those posed by chronic sodium deficiency. Forecasters expect the weather to remain bright this week, before turning colder and wetter during Friday and the weekend.

 

Blaine has also complained that he is urinating more than usual as his endurance feat continues. Nutrition expert Dr Adam Carey believes this may be explained by changes in the body when it starves. Like other internal organs, the bowel tends to suffer damage during starvation which may cause it to absorb water faster than at other times. This would explain the increased frequency of urination that Blaine has mentioned.

 

Some observers have also commented that David is looking fatter – despite the fact that he is losing weight steadily. Dr Carey offers several possible explanations for this. Firstly, muscles are likely to look flabbier and more deflated as the body burns off the water-rich carbohydrate that normally surrounds them. Secondly, as the body begins to burn muscle to create vital blood sugar for the brain, the ratio of fat to muscle may increase, which again may lead to a person looking flabbier. Finally, lack of food often causes the stomach to distend or swell, creating the illusion of fatness.

 

Dr Carey believes that Blaine will have lost roughly 28lb by the end of this week.

Day 20 - Medical update

Secondly, as the body begins to burn muscle to create vital blood sugar for the brain

 

I'm no health expert - is it possible that he may have brain damage because of the stunt?

 

:stunned:

^ I think his brain is already damaged :lol:

hear hear :rolleyes:

or the other explanation is he's just an idiot :)

Day 20 - Blaine responds to critics

 

David Blaine last night responded to a member of the crowd who criticised him for not taking account of people starving in other countries.

 

At around 18:00 hours on Wednesday a man shouted, "thousands of Africans are starving... think about it". Other spectators who disagreed with the man's stance tried to drown Blaine's critic out, but he continued his tirade, saying, "Think of all the starving people".

 

Eventually Blaine was moved to respond, speaking directly to the camera in his box:

 

"He's so concerned with people that are starving – and I think it is a concern – then he should go work and send all his money to feed people, or go feed them himself. Instead of using his anger to come yell and scream negativity, he should go do something positive".

 

Despite the criticism Blaine continues to be in good spirits this week, and has drawn support from the large, supportive crowds that have been gathering. The illusionist has been occupying himself by writing in his journal, performing gentle exercises and occasionally posing logic challenges to viewers.

Day 21 - Box hit by paint bomb

Blaine was last night woken when a man began firing paint bombs at his Perspex box.

 

At 3am this morning the man, located in a nearby derelict building, used a catapult to launch several missiles, one of which hit the rear wall of the box, spraying pink paint on its exterior.

 

Blaine looked startled by the loud bang that the missile caused, but quickly laughed the incident off. Later this morning the illusionist said that the surprise had done him good. "I always feel better after stress", he said.

 

Though the man responsible was some distance away from the box, Blaine's security team managed to detain him and he was subsequently arrested by police.

 

A 28-year-old man, Henry Cookson of Fulham, was later charged with criminal damage in relation to the attack.

 

In a separate development, another man appeared in court this week charged with criminal damage. 38-year-old Stephen Charles Field, a cleaner from Surrey, had allegedly tried to cut the water pipe that supplies Blaine's Perspex box.

Blaine is gonna get the £100,000 bill the police are charging for protecting him lol...according to the sun anyway...cos he didn't run the stunt by them, and they weren't ready for the criminal behaviour thats happened since he's been up there....better him than us taxpayers having to pay for it, im sure he can afford it :)

Day 22: Now even 3 day old Tesco Value spaghetti left out on the hob at my house looks appealing to Dave :lol:

day 23

Nice 1 Ian :D

 

HTTT :sneaky:

Day 24 - Weekend update

David Blaine has had a busy few days. An estimated 15,000 people thronged his enclosure during the weekend in which he passed the half-way mark of his challenge.

 

Buskers created the soundtrack to the action for much of the weekend, with jazz bands and singers rendering classics like 'I've Got You Under My Skin', and the tribute to Blaine's birthplace, 'New York, New York'.

 

On Saturday David responded to requests from the crowd to reveal the contents of his rucksack by removing its items one by one. The crowd cheered as the illusionist worked through his show-and-tell. The bag contained wet wipes, a 'space blanket', lip balm, anti-bacterial pads, two pencils, burn gel in case of sunburn, all-purpose soap, which Blaine said "I haven’t used", chess pieces, a towel and a thermometer, which he said, "I have no use for".

 

Blaine was hopeful that his demonstration would change the minds of sceptics who believe he has secret supplies. "I guess their opinions will have to change", he said once he'd emptied the bag.

 

Blaine has also been reading from his journal, which has been his closest companion since entering the box. Late last night he read a section explaining that deprivation had caused him to reevaluate his attitude to material things. "The best things in life are free", he said. "I will enjoy the simple things in life so much more after this and take nothing God has given us for granted... I will take a shower and brush my teeth and floss".

 

In another extract, Blaine has been reading a harrowing account of his youth, in which his mother died of cancer and his father died of a drug overdose.

 

Responding to a questioner who asked if he was bored, Blaine replied that he is "never bored" because he "always has something to think about... [it] doesn't matter if you're locked away, the mind is still active".

 

One means of occupying his mind has been pondering and posing logic puzzles and riddles. Blaine has asked in which direction the steam from a northbound electric train would travel. The answer: electric trains don't produce steam. He also worked out the answer to a puzzle posed by friends before he entered the box: what sort of game is it when the winner goes backwards and the loser goes forwards? Answer: a tug-of-war.

 

Blaine appeared to be greatly amused late last night when a reveler ended up in the Thames, the second such incident since he began life behind Perspex. "Nights here are never boring, that's for sure!" he exclaimed, laughing heartily.

 

Despite his clear good spirits, signs of his physical deterioration continue to appear. During the last few days, Blaine has begun to complain of shooting pains in his muscles when he moves.

Day 25 - Blaine passes urine test

It's official: Blaine is starving. After weeks of speculation in the media that David Blaine is secretly consuming vitamin and glucose supplements, journalists have watched tests that prove he is consuming only water.

During the weekend representatives from the News of the World and Independent newspapers took a nutrition expert from a London hospital to sample the water that Blaine is drinking. Catherine Collins, chief dietician at St George's Hospital concluded that Blaine's water is free of electrolytes and glucose.

 

The journalists then observed the member of Blaine's support team charged with sampling his urine to check for medical problems. They saw Alex Angeloudes remove Blaine's collected urine from its repository before traveling with it to the Southampton hospital where it was tested.

 

Professor Marinos Elia of the Institute of Human Nutrition at Southampton General Hospital is the country's leading nutritionist. Though he is not part of Blaine's team, Professor Elia has been testing the illusionist's urine regularly since Blaine entered the box.

 

The results of the test showed that the sodium chloride levels in the sample were ten times lower than those of a normal person. During starvation the kidneys reabsorb any salt in the urine to prevent its depletion from the body.

 

In contrast, ketone levels in Blaine's blood were extremely high. Ketones are produced when the body begins to break down its muscle and fat tissue in order to sustain itself.

 

The conclusion: Blaine is genuinely starving.

:cry: What will they do if something happens?