David Blaine Appears at College

Students at Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pennsylvania were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of street magician David Blaine during a lecture hosted by his friend William Kalush on Wednesday. Kalush, the author of the 2006 book "The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero," was present at the school to deliver a lecture on his, and Blaine's favorite topic, Harry Houdini. The lecture was part of  a program presented by Dr. Lawrence Haas entitled ''Theory and Art of Magic 2008." Blaine has often been compared to Houdini for his ability for self promotion and stated during his appearance that Houdini had been a lifelong role model. Several articles from the Allentown Morning Call presented details on the lecture and quote Blaine as saying, "Houdini's stunts verged on believability" and that they influenced the nature of his own undertakings, which he summarized as ''being able to survive on nothing in an age of excess.''   Kalush calls Houdini ''an absolute master of publicity'' and pointed out that he ''manipulated and created'' the challenges that made him famous. That's why his name will be in our language for hundreds of years. According to the Morning Call, "Blaine said he probably would try to surpass the record for staying awake -- more than 11 days -- in mid-September. He added the Guinness Book of Records stopped listing the mark because of concerns the effort carries the risk of permanent brain damage."

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