David Blaine: Drowned Alive? Part III
Posted By Paul Kotik on 4 May 2006
Keeping it clean
The water in the sphere is held at 96 degrees Fahrenheit, circulated and heated by a massive pumping system in a nearby geodesic dome.
Copyright 2006 Paul Kotik/DeeperBlue.net
David Blaine is spending calories to maintain his core temperature against that mild but non-zero thermal gradient. Extreme fatigue, they said. After losing fifty pounds in four months, fasting for a week before entering the sphere and now subsisting on an enhanced Gatorade regimen, one supposes that extreme fatigue is a somewhat understated description of the physiological carpet bombing David Blaine’s body is undergoing. Martin thought Dr. Ginel planned to draw blood later in the day. I can’t imagine the numbers will be comforting.
An electric guitarist is tuning up, playing licks. A vocalist chimes in, running up and down some blues scales. There’s entertainment every day at 4PM and 6 PM. The singer is a former street musician who’s now signed with a major label, a graduate, like Blaine, of the street school of the performing arts.
The crowd seems to hold at a fairly constant 100-150 outside the barriers, and files up the ramp to touch the sphere and interact with David Blaine. Some are somber, others giggly, others mildly curious. Most take photos or video.
Copyright 2006 Paul Kotik/DeeperBlue.net
Earlier, as I approached Lincoln Center walking along West 63rd Street, I fell in behind a trio of Israeli tourists. Fashion mavens, dressed to the nines, chatting excitedly in Hebrew about boutiqueing, already overburdened with accessories. One caught a glimpse of the sphere as we approached Columbus Avenue. “ Oh! It’s the guy in the aquarium. Let’s go look!" she chirped. "Really, whatever for ?" sneered another. "These Americans ! They have nothing to do so they invent these things." Back to the serious business of trawling for prêt-à-porter. But they all looked anyway as they passed by.
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