Superstition has been a part of baseball from the beginning. From good luck charms to human mascots to ritual statues of Babe Ruth to the curse of Colonel Sanders, there may be almost as many superstitions as players (or fans). Drawing on social science, religious studies and SABRmetrics, this book explores the rich history of supernatural belief in the game and documents a wide variety of rituals, fetishes, taboos and jinxes. Some have changed over time but the preoccupation of coping with uncertainty on the field through magical thinking remains a constant.

In The Tycoon and the Bard, well-known Scots actor and Burns expert John Cairney tells the story of how the richest man in the world was inspired by Scotland’s greatest poet. Cairney concentrates on the life of Scottish American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, arguing that the ideas of the romantic Scottish poet Robert Burns formed a strong influence on Carnegie from his early education to the end of his life. The Tycoon and the Bard shows the connections between these two great Scots, revealing unexpected aspects of each man’s life and drawing out the chain of influence that Burns’ poetry had on Carnegie’s social beliefs about fortune, fate and fairness.

Life is there for the taking. We can choose to take it, or leave it to float by as it will. If we have the confidence, we can reach out and grab it. According to John Cairney, life is divided into four sections: birth, adolescence, maturity and old age. Writing from the final quarter, he looks over each section of his life and draws wisdom from the places he has been and people he has met. With tales of love and courage interspersed with dry Glaswegian humour, this book is a guide to a full living grounded in a simple philosophy spiced by anecdotes related by someone whose life has been well lived. The Importance of Being will make you laugh and ponder the complexities of life, at the same time. This is an unashamed celebration of the too-often ignored moment when breath is drawn in to give life and let out again to allow us to enjoy living. Everything else, no matter how wonderful, uplifting or rewarding, is decoration and extra to this breath-taking fact – that as long as we’re breathing we’re alive.

Is there anything new to say about Robert Burns? John Cairney says it's time to trash Burns the Brand and come on the trail of the real Robert Burns. He is the best of travelling companions on this entertaining journey to the heart of the Burns story. Internationally known as 'the face of Robert Burns', John Cairney believes that the traditional Burns tourist trail urgently needs to find a new direction. In an acting career spanning forty years he has often lived and breathed Robert burns on stage. On the Trail of Robert Burns shows just how well he has got under the skin of Burn's complex character. This fascinating journey around Scotland is a rediscovery of Scotlands national bard as a flesh and blood genius. On the Trail of Robert Burns outlines five tours, mainly in Scotland. Key sites include: Alloway - Burn's birthplace. Tam O' Shanter draws on the Alloway Kirk witch-stories first heard by Burns in his childhood; Mossgiel - Between 1784 and 1786 in a phenomenal burst of creativity Burns wrote some of his most memorable poems including "Holy Willie's Prayer" and "To a Mouse"; Kilmarnock - The famous Kilmarnock edition of "Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" published in 1786; Edinburgh - Fame and Clarinda (among others) embraced him; and Dumfries - Burns died at age 37. The trail ends at the Burns mausoleum in St Michael's churchyard.

The Immortal Memory remains the centrepiece of the traditional Burns Supper and although that rite might be seen by some to have had its day, the 'Immortal Memory' itself still retains its importance and prestige to Burns lovers all over the world. It is an honour to be invited to present this toast and it is to honour this status and to further respect its subject that Dr Cairney's third book on Burns is devoted to his 'Immortal Memory'. The extraordinary thing is that the contributors, while dealing with the same man, all appear to see him so differently, but what they all still have in common is a love and admiration for the man and his work. This is the factor that makes Burns unique, that he has the same appeal for so many different kinds of people.

This is not another complete works collection but a personal selection of sixty favourite poems, songs and other works, chosen by the Man Who Played Burns, as well as an introduction that explores Burns' life and influences, his triumphs and tragedies. The Luath Burns Companion is a unique introduction to the works of one of Scotland's best loved poets by a man with an obvious love and depth of understanding for Burns and his work. This selection reveals the drama, passion, pathos and humour that make Burns' work what it is. He was always a forward thinking man and remains a writer for the future.

Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was the first collection of poetry produced by Robert Burns. Published in Kilmarnock in July 1786 it has become known as The Kilmarnock Edition. The contents include 44 of Burns' best known poems including To a Louse, The Cotter's Saturday Night, To a Mouse, The Twa Dogs and To a Mountain Daisy. Released in 2009 to celebrate Burns' 250th birthday, The Luath Kilmarnock Edition brought this classic of Scottish literature back into print, after being unavailable for many years. New material includes an introduction by 'the man who played Burns' – author, actor and Burns expert – John Cairney, exploring Burns' life and work, especially the origins of The Kilmarnock Edition. Looking to the future of Burns in Scotland and the rest of the world, Clark McGinn, world-renowned Burns Supper speaker, provides an afterword that speaks to Burns' continuing legacy. Illustrated throughout with original line drawings by top political satirist Bob Dewar, The Luath Kilmarnock Edition makes a beautiful gift for any Burns enthusiast.

This publication compiles actor John Cairney's theatrical interpretations of the poet Robert Burns and his life. Since 1959, he has been involved with Burns as actor, director and writer. Over the years, Cairney has taken the opportunity to investigate different aspects of Burns as they relate to performance in the theatre. For the first time he has brought all these working playscripts, which have already been tested before a live audience, together in book form. Others interested in the prismatic attraction that is Scotland's Bard can now see how one Scottish actor-writer has dealt with a national icon theatrically. The scripts, written by Cairney, look at Burns' creative work, his everyday life, and his relationships, to build a full picture of the man so important to Scotland's cultural heritage. The plays are followed by an appendix which features a selection of plays written about Burns' life since his death at the age of 37.

In A Walk in the Park, Cairney shows that he clearly loves the city and he expresses that it is more than it appears to be. Glasgow is not just a city full of tenements and big buildings, it is a beautiful Scottish landmark outfitted with the beautiful parks that he will go on to describe. He takes the reader on a unique walk through the various parks of the town stopping along the way to share brief anecdotes, historical accounts, and detailed images of how the parks look.

Collection of eleven classic films from influential filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. 'The Battle of the River Plate' (1956) tells the true story of the famous 1939 naval battle. Hans Langsdorff (Peter Finch) is captaining the crack German battleship Graf Spee through the South Atlantic, unaware that a small number of lightweight British battle cruisers are hot on his trail. When the British cruisers manage to trap the powerful German ship in the Uruguayan harbour of Montevideo, they attempt to trick Langsdorff into believing that an entire battle fleet is waiting to destroy his vessel at sea. In 'A Canterbury Tale' (1944), a British sergeant, a land girl and a United States Army officer arrive at a Kent village on the same train. The newcomers are brought face to face with the bizarre menace causing bewilderment in the tight-knit community: someone is pouring glue onto the hair of girls who dare to venture out at night with visiting servicemen. Powell and Pressburger offered this 'propaganda' piece as their contribution to the war effort, but the authorities were unsure how its oddball tone would go down with the Allies. In '49th Parallel' (1941), Laurence Olivier and Leslie Howard are among the stars who try to prevent Nazi sailors, from a sunken U-Boat, reaching neutral USA through Canada in this classic war film, which was intended to persuade America to join World War II. Pressburger won an Academy Award for the story and the film was directed by Powell. In 'I Know Where I'm Going!' (1945), a woman (Wendy Hiller) has always known what she wanted in life, and now she is about to marry a millionaire. But when she ends up stranded on a Hebredian island due to a storm, she begins to see things a little differently. 'Ill Met By Moonlight' (1957) was the final film created by Powell and Pressburger together. Set on the island of Crete during the Nazi occupation, the film stars Dirk Bogarde and David Oxley as British officers assigned to kidnap the German commander-in-chief General Kreipe (Marius Goring) and spirit him back to Cairo. If successful, the morale of the Germans would be weakened and the resistance would be stronger. But once he is captured, the British officers have to get him past German patrols at almost every turning. In 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' (1943), stuffy ex-soldier Clive Candy (Roger Livesey) recalls his career which began as a dashing officer in the Boer War. As a young man he lost the woman he loved (Deborah Kerr, who plays three roles) to a Prussian officer (Anton Walbrook), whom he fought in a duel only to become lifelong friends with. Candy cannot help but feel that his notions of honour and chivalry are out of place in modern warfare. The film's title comes from 'Evening Standard' cartoonist David Low's satirical comic creation, Colonel Blimp. In 'The Red Shoes' (1948), ballet impressario Boris Lermontov (Walbrook) hires up-and-coming ballerina Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) and talented young composer Julian Craster (Goring) to work with him on a new ballet, an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story 'The Red Shoes'. The show is a great success and Victoria and Julian fall in love, but Boris is jealous and makes moves to spoil their happiness. 'A Matter of Life and Death' (1946) is a classic wartime propaganda movie, commissioned by the Ministry of Information, but turned into a fantastical allegory by the Archers, aka Powell and Pressburger. David Niven plays an RAF pilot who is ready to be picked up by the angels after bailing out of his plane. But an administrative error in Heaven leads to a temporary reprieve, during which he must prove his right to stay on Earth. A tribunal in heaven ensues to decide the case. In 'They're a Weird Mob' (1966), Nino Culotta (Walter Chiari) is an Italian immigrant who arrives in Australia with the promise of a job as a journalist on his cousin's magazine, only to find that when he gets there the magazine has folded, the cousin has done a runner and the money his cousin sent for the fare was borrowed from the daughter of the boss of a local construction firm. 'The Tales of Hoffman' (1951) is an adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's opera and follows Hoffman's (Robert Rounseville) tales of his love for the doll Olympia, the courtesan Giuletta (Ludmilla Tcherina) and the frail diva Antonia (Anne Ayars), and of how his quest for the eternal woman was always thwarted by evil. Finally, in 'Black Narcissus' (1946), a group of British nuns are sent into the Himalayas to set up a mission in what was once the harem's quarters of an ancient palace. The clear mountain air, the unfamiliar culture and the unbridled sensuality of a young prince (Sabu) and his beggar-girl lover (Jean Simmons) begin to play havoc with the nuns' long-suppressed emotions. Whilst the young Mother Superior, Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), fights a losing battle for order, the jaunty David Farrar falls in love with her, sparking uncontrollable jealousy in another nun, Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron).

The final film created by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (their partnership having previously produced 'A Matter of Life and Death', 'The Red Shoes' and 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'). Set on the island of Crete during the Nazi occupation, the film stars Dirk Bogarde and David Oxley as British officers assigned to kidnap the German commander-in-chief General Kreipe (Marius Goring) and spirit him back to Cairo. If successful, the morale of the Germans would be weakened and the resistance would be stronger. But once he is captured, the British officers have to get him passed German patrols at almost every turning.

Classic documentary drama based on Walter Lord's book about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Told from the perspective of Second Officer Charles Lightoller (Kenneth More), the story follows the supposedly 'unsinkable' ship as she embarks on her maiden voyage and ultimately founders in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship leaves port and soon Captain Smith (Laurence Naismith) is given several ice warnings but decides not to decrease the Titanic's speed. When the ship hits an iceberg late at night on April 14th the situation looks bleak, especially with the realisation that there are not enough lifeboats to carry all on board. The Titanic's distress call is received by the Carpathia but she is four hours away and unlikely to reach the ship before it sinks. Chaos breaks out both above and below deck as the passengers and crew race against time for their survival.

Classic documentary drama based on Walter Lord's book about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Told from the perspective of Second Officer Charles Lightoller (Kenneth More), the story follows the supposedly 'unsinkable' ship as she embarks on her maiden voyage and ultimately founders in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship leaves port and soon Captain Smith (Laurence Naismith) is given several ice warnings but decides not to decrease the Titanic's speed. When the ship hits an iceberg late at night on April 14th the situation looks bleak, especially with the realisation that there are not enough lifeboats to carry all on board. The Titanic's distress call is received by the Carpathia but she is four hours away and unlikely to reach the ship before it sinks. Chaos breaks out both above and below deck as the passengers and crew race against time for their survival.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neuro-developmental disorder that affects one in every twenty children. Children with DCD have problems with motor coordination that make everyday tasks such as active play, writing, eating, and dressing difficult and frustrating. Despite how common this health condition is, DCD is often misunderstood and frequently goes undiagnosed. In Developmental Coordination Disorder and its Consequences, international experts on DCD from several disciplines present the latest evidence on the diagnosis, consequences, and neuropsychological underpinnings of the disorder. With chapters covering consequences related to mental health, social functioning, and physical health and activity, this collection is the most comprehensive volume to cover the health and social consequences of DCD in children. Clearly written, it will be of interest to parents, teachers, and physicians interested in this disorder.