Top 10 Jerx Videos
/Today I thought I’d go through 10 of my favorite videos from the first five years of this site. I know sometimes people are watching at work and they have to skip the videos. So I figured I’d make this post so you can bookmark it and check out my favorites when it’s convenient to you.
One thing that’s been a bit of a bummer in regards to operating this site in the past couple years is that I no longer live near my friend Andrew whose hands and voice you would see and hear in most anything audio/visual on this site. We still see each other a few times a year (including an extended visit when we do the book mailing in January), and he still does most of the A/V stuff, but churning out any video that requires us to shoot some footage (rather than just edit other existing footage) is not as simple, since we’re not in a room together all that often.
But we have plans to remedy that situation post-covid, so you may see more videos coming in the future.
#10 - Bad Equivoque and Shitty Fishing
This is actually three videos that were posted at different times. Now, I genuinely don’t really like making fun of other magicians. And that’s not really what I’m doing here. These magicians are all using the technique in the way that many magicians are. The issue is that most magicians have become blind to the fact that this shit doesn’t fool people like they imagine it does.
Apologies to Chris Ramsay who does a lot of things well, but this technique isn't one of them. Think of it this way: If at the end of the selection procedure the spectator is holding one card, there is another "floating in the air," and then it turns out the "selection" is the one the magician is left with... that ain't good equivoque, baby-boo
Because nothing says "choosing" one of two objects quite like touching the other object.
[Here is Devin Knight trying to use the, “You’re not thinking of a ____, are you?” fishing technique] in his recent Penguin Live lecture. You'll notice the spectator doesn't react as if he has provided information, she reacts as if she's giving him information, because she is. And what does the audience do? They laugh, because it such a shitty, obvious gambit that they assume he must have meant it as a joke.
#9 L&L Music
This video was based on my hypothesis that the reason we used to think those old L&L videos were so good was because of the jazzy soundtrack. To prove that, I put the same music under video clips that weren’t so great to see if we still had a generally positive feeling about the video.
#8 - Better With The Jerx
Some of these videos I probably appreciate more than the average reader. Seeing this compilation of things people accomplished during the Better With The Jerx contest is one such video.
#7 - The Magician’s Response to Tragedy Library
After watching magicians come out with corny, tone-deaf videos after natural disasters and acts of terrorism, I proposed the idea of a subscription service that would create videos in response to terrible situations which had yet to occur. Then, when something terrible did happen, you could just add your own branding to the video and post it up on your social media. That way you’d be prepared for any situation that arose and you could be the first one to capitalize on the tragedy.
#6 Double Date
In order to see how a layperson turns over and replaces the top card in a deck, I spent a couple of years recording people doing just that. This, again, is probably a video I would appreciate more than anyone else, because it gives me a chance to see friends and acquaintances from that time period. Many that I don’t get to see too often these days.
#5 Yeah Alright Woo
The pre-lecture ejaculations of Dan Harlan. This video is a bit repetitive, but that’s kind of the point. And the punchline in the last two seconds still makes me laugh.
#4 - How to Do an Elmsley Count
To this day, about every couple of weeks, I’ll get an email from someone thanking me for this video. And occasionally someone cursing me for it. Because once you see the issue with the way a lot of people do their Elmsley Counts (including people famous for their card handling ability) it will start to annoy you. The Elmsley Count should look like you counted the cards from one hand into the other. It shouldn’t look like you removed all the cards under the top card as a perfectly squared block, and then counted those cards back onto the top card. But that’s how a lot (maybe most) magicians do it.
#3 - My Reveal
Derren Brown and Mac King coming out as the people behind this site are, of course, modern classics in the magic blog video genre.
#2 - Boss Ass Bish
To really appreciate this one, you probably have to go back to the mid-2000s and my old blog and a magician named Glenn Bishop who hated my guts. Here’s my recutting of Glenn Bishop’s promo video to make it appeal to a younger demographic.
#1 - mysextutor.com
And a sentimental favorite as it was the first real post on this site.
There’s a lot of stupidity in these videos that I really appreciate. As well as a card reveal and reveals for the 37 force, the 1089 force, the circle/triangle force, and the grey elephant in Denmark force.
You’ll have to go this site to watch them.
(Sometimes that site gets jacked up if you’re viewing it in Chrome. I don’t really know why. If it’s messed up, you can watch the individual videos here and here. Maybe I should upload them to Pornhub.)