Gabriel Werlen Timestamps and Mini-Review
For his Penguin Live Lecture
Topic: Gabriel Werlen Penguin Live Video
Agenda: First I complain about Penguin and Vanishing Inc, then I give you timestamps, and then I finally get around to a review of the magic video.
While I appreciate that Penguin included timestamps for this lecture at the beginning of the video, that should be the second place they live. The first place should be on a PDF that I can download. If I’m watching a video, needing to scrub back to the beginning each time I want to jump somewhere is dorky.
So the following are the timestamps in a format that allows you to copy/paste and even print out, if you like. And if you have a moment, please complain to Penguin and to Vanishing Inc for not including this kind of thing with the videos that we buy.
When they don’t include it, it feels like a “____ you” to the buyer. (You don’t have to be a mind-reader to know many people are now thinking I’m a drama queen. Nope, just old and crotchety.)
0:00:00 - Introduction
0:02:04 - The Green Neck System:
0:02:29 - Know-Way Performance
0:06:04 - Know-Way Explanation
0:19:09 - Setting The Table Performance
0:23:03 - Setting The Table Explanation
0:41:50 - Seeing Performance
0:44:54 - Seeing Explanation
0:52:56 - The Schrödinger Principle:
0:53:17 - Colorful Introduction Performance
0:55:41 - The Loser Wins Performance
1:06:25 - Colorful Introduction Explanation
1:19:15 - The Loser Wins Explanation
1:41:36 - The Loser Wins Variations
1:43:57 - Proof Explanation
1:47:24 - Sync Explanation
1:49:08 - Heritage Performance
1:55:40 - Heritage Explanation
2:16:49 - Heads I Win, Tails You Lose Performance
2:19:59 - Heads I Win, Tails You Lose Explanation
2:31:24 - The Consolation Prize Performance
2:37:13 - The Consolation Prize Explanation
2:55:26 - Magic And Mentalism
3:05:46 - End
The Mini-Review
Okay, in a nutshell, Gabriel Werlen’s mentalism video is well worth the price — and that’s an understatement. I saw his lecture at Magic Live ‘24 and learned how to do Know-Way, but I immediately forgot it (lots of stuff going on). Thanks to this video I’m back to showing it off. It looks like real freaking mind-reading! It doesn’t seem like there’s any other way it could possibly be done.
The second routine, Silverware, is perfect for when you’re out to eat with folks and they ask you to show them something. When you’re not at dinner, this routine is a perfect excuse to keep some change in your pocket. Toss out a penny, nickel, and dime and perform a miracle!
I’ve watched only a third of this video so far, but if the entire rest of it is crap, I’d still say it’s worth the money, just for the first part. (I fully expect the rest of it not to be crap, I’m just making a point.)
There are a ton of 5-star reviews for this on the Penguin site, and then a 2-star review — his main complaint was that he couldn’t understand Gabriel, and I get that, his accent is pretty heavy. The best way to fix that is to start hanging out more with people who aren’t like you. Your ears/brain will get used to accents and you’ll be able to understand easier.
On the other hand, Erik talked through the first three effects (I haven’t watched more than that yet) and if you didn’t understand how to do those then you’re just a whiner. (You may not like the effects, that’s legit, but your complaint about not understanding due to the accent is bogus. Feel free to email me and tell me why I’m wrong. I’ll listen.)
Wait, I went off on a tangent… okay, Gabriel has an accent and The Green Neck System is kind of a weird name (it’s a French pun), but what you can do with it is just very cool, and worth listening harder to understand how to take advantage of it.
Update: I added a presentational idea for the Green Neck System with cards in the Tutorials section: Green Neck Cards - Alternate.