| TheEbonyFelony |
09-17-2003 06:54 PM |
david blaine still going!
LONDON (Sept. 17) - Police arrested a man Tuesday who allegedly tried to cut the water line sustaining an American magician trying to live without food for 44 days in a box dangling near Tower Bridge.
The magician, New Yorker David Blaine, reportedly was awakened by the suspect but was not injured. Police said they received a report at 4:45 a.m. that a man had climbed on to the water tower near Blaine's box and tried to cut through water and cable lines connected to the tower, but without success.
Stephen Charles Field, 38, was charged with using threatening behavior and causing criminal damage. He was released on bail and will appear in court Sept. 30.
Since he entered the box Sept. 5, Blaine has been jeered, pelted with eggs, taunted with food and awakened by drummers - though other Londoners have expressed support for his stunt.
Meanwhile, Britons are beginning to have doubts that Blaine can last the course.
Bookmakers William Hill said Wednesday they had been forced to shorten the odds on Blaine managing to go 44 days without food after a rush of new bets.
It is now offering odds on him succeeding of 4/9, having started taking bets at 2/9. ''Almost all the money we are taking is for Blaine to fail,'' said spokesman Graham Sharpe.
''Despite the fact that he has achieved every other target he has set himself, people seem to think that this may just be one stunt too far,'' he added. ''His chances are getting slimmer, like him.''
This is Blaine's first major stunt outside the United States. The street-magician-turned-endurance performer has already spent 35 hours standing on top of a 100-foot-high pole, and three days encased in ice - both stunts in New York.
Blaine has said that the latest stunt will give him the chance to search for his "truths."
"This is worth it for my art, even if I drop dead," he said.
The New Yorker insists he won't eat, and said he has fattened himself up to over 205 pounds so he can survive on his own body fat. Blaine has said he expects to lose at least 45 pounds.
|
