Tuesday, May 09, 2006

David Blaine

A couple of weeks ago D and I were at a hotel and saw David Blaine doing street magic. It was really fun to watch. But we don't have tv and so I haven't been following the David Blaine submersion too much; just noticing what I've seen mentioned on the web.

What I appreciate about him so much is how much people connect to him. From the comments I've read, people are buoyed by a sense of wonder. More than I would have guessed, people deeply appreciate that he does extreme things just to push himself and humankind. This is so interesting to me. People seem to feel a real sense of connection to him, to his creativity and mental feats, and to his commitment-- even while acknowledging that they themselves are not that committed, that they could not accomplish the same things. There are far fewer cynics and naysayers than I would have thought. I really like that!

It's like he relates to the world as an artist does *and* as an athlete does. That's fascinating to me.