New eBook available

Hi folks

A new eBook compiled, edited and published by Peter Duffie has been released. "Miraculous Minds: Scotland Goes Mental" is a collection of 34 Mental Magic and Mentalism effects and 2 essays from 22 Scottish magicians. The full list of contributors is:-

George McBride, David Forrest, Jim Cuthbert, Peter Duffie, Jackie McClements, Peter McLanachan, Alan Innes, Scotty Johnston, Ian Kendall, Euan Bingham, David Lees, Roy Walton, Paul Lesso, Drew McAdam, Peter Arcane, David Walsh, Max Gordon, Gary Middleton, Dave Robertson, Alan Rorrison, Gavin Ross, Val Le-Val

This eBook is available from me for the princely sum of £10 by clicking on the picture below. You will then be taken to a webpage with full details of who contributed what as well as how to order.

You can also find details of, and order, the previous Scottish eBook, "Scotland Up Close", and my own Lecture Notes entitled "A Force Much Greater Than Luck", both also costing £10 each, by clicking the images below.

I've also set up a couple of Special Offers if you want to buy either 2 or all 3 of these products at bargain prices.

For security purposes, all payments are made via PayPal.

For full details of everything go to my Lecture Notes and E-Books Pages. I hope to see you there soon.

Best wishes

The Cardman :-)

The Soundtrack of My Life

I've posted this on my "networking" sites - MySpace and Bebo - and it is a very interesting wee excercise to do. What happens is you put your ipod on shuffle and then answer the questions by writing down the tracks in the order they come up on. Some of these are really spooky!!!!!

Opening credits:
Tombstone by Crowded House

Waking Up:
Billy Davey's Daughter by Stereophonics

Monday:
Pilgrimage by REM

Fight Song:
The Scientist by Coldplay

Breaking up:
A Day In The Life by The Beatles

Prom:
Going Out by Supergrass

Life:
Everybody Hurts by REM

Mental Breakdown:
Why Go by Pearl Jam

Driving:
Friend Of A Friend (Skin And Bones version) by Foo Fighters

Flashback:
Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel

Getting Back Together:
The Rising by Bruce Sprinsteen

Wedding:
Sinner by Neil Finn

Birth of Child:
Live And Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings

Final Battle:
Low (MTV Unplugged version) by REM

Death Scene:
Stab In The Back by Terrorvision

Funeral Song:
Night Life by Jools Holland And His Rythmn And Blues Orchestra

End Credits:
The One I Love (acoustic version) by REM

My thanks to Jackie for passing this on to me. Now, what about you guys? What do you get?

Speak soon.

The Cardman :-)

Derren Brown at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

I wanted to wait until Derren Brown's tour, "Mind Reader - An Evening of Wonders", was over before blogging this, just in case anyone reading this was going to the show. This was my 3rd time seeing Derren live in Glasgow and it was, once again, an excellent show. This time, I went with my friends Kate, Nicola and Bea. It's not every day that I get to go out to dinner and then to a show with 3 beautiful ladies!

Kate, Nicola and Bea after getting their stuff signed by Derren Brown

I must admit that I didn't think it was as good as his last tour, "Something Wicked This Way Comes", but it was an excellent show nevertheless. There was, however, one thing in the show that fooled the hell out of me. Here's what happened...

Derren asked for a member of the audience who knew they could phone a man that would probably be able to answer the phone there and then. Kate had her hand up like a rocket - well, she's always had a soft spot for Mr Brown - knowing she could phone Ray. A few other hands went up around the auditorium and DB threw out 3 frisbees - one of which landed next to our Kate. That was her, she was off like a shot on her way to the stage. When she got there, DB wrote a 3 digit number - 734 - up on a board saying that was what he was going to try to get Ray to say these numbers, in any order, via Kate. If he was wrong, Derren would give Kate £10. Kate dialled Ray's number and was fed a series of questions by DB then asked to give a 3 digit number. Ray, being the adventurous sort, said 123. A groan from the audience. A few more questions and another 3 digit number was given. This time 386. Well, that didn't work. DB spoke to Ray for a moment, then hung up and gave Kate her £10 prize.

But that wasn't the end of it. Near the stairs to the stage, DB called Kate back and under the ever watchful eye of the camera, slowly opened up the £10 note that he had given her a moment ago. There, written in thick black marker pen was "I WILL MAKE HIM SAY THIS NUMBER" with an arrow pointing to the serial number - 123368!!!

The tenner in question!

Now, this fooled me really badly, but it got worse when Kate got back to her seat and I got hold of the tenner. There it was! The 6 numbers that Ray had just called out! This freaked me out so badly it hurt. I couldn't wait for the intermission so I could talk to some others about it. Fortunately, I got some information that allowed me to sleep that night, but that really did nail me badly. Probably more so because it was Kate that was involved in the routine.

As I said, an enjoyable show and this was my personal highlight.

Speak soon.

The Cardman :-)

Dad - A year already!

They say (whoever “they” are) that time goes quicker when you’re having fun. Well, it’s not exactly been a great year, not always fun, but it has been amazingly quick. Where the last 12 months have gone is a bit of a mystery to me.

It’s a year to the day since my Dad died. It hardly feels like any time at all since we were making regular trips to and from Crosshouse Hospital to sit with him – and giving him updates on what was going on at the World Cup in Germany. One thing I remember was watching the end of the Italy-Germany World Cup semi final match. I had gone from being with Dad to the family room located outside the Intensive Care Unit and switched on the TV to see that the game was still going on. Then, as some Italian player scored a wondergoal in the last few minutes that knocked Germany out of the World Cup, I forgot where I was for a moment and reacted verbally with a shout of “F***!” as the ball hit the back of the net. I suddenly remembered where I was and had a quick look out in the corridor to see if anyone had heard me. There was nobody about – to this day, I still don’t know if I was heard! I think I got away with it – I hope!

Dad, we miss you everyday as much as we did a year ago. Every time I hear som

eone whistling in the street, I’m still looking around for you! I suppose having heard it for 30-odd years, it becomes an automatic reaction. Whatever you’re up to, Dad, take care.

A family picture from a few years ago - Mum, me, Mhairi and Dad

To everyone else, remember to tell those that you care about EXACTLY how you feel about them before it’s too late.

Take care

The Cardman :-(