09/15/09 … Sigh

Posted: September 8th, 2009 | Filed under: Media | 29 Comments »

Well, I give in. After all this time of pushing 09/09/09 … it appears that unless you happen to see it in a bookstore a bit earlier (a possibility, I guess, if you are the type to check bookstores on a daily basis), The Machine will actually release on 09/15/09. Six days later. Sigh.

Sept. 15 is when The Machine will be sent off by Amazon and Barnes & Noble and be available for download on Amazon Kindle. I have made the appropriate adjustments to the countdown calendar there in the side panel. I guess the Morrow people didn’t want to take on The Beatles … I should have known 09.09.09 was too cool a date.

September 15th, though, is the birthdate of some very famous people such as:

– Marco Polo, inventor of that game where kids play tag in swimming pools while closing their eyes,.

– William Howard Taft, a famous Cincinnatian whose most memorable achievement was probably becoming the first president to throw out the first pitch at a big league baseball game. There is also a story that Taft (being a heavy guy) grew uncomfortable in his chair in the the seventh inning, stood up, and this created the seventh-inning stretch. The story is probably apocryphal, though the part about Taft being a heavy guy is true.

– Fay Wray, actress famous for being the love interest of King Kong. There is no mention if Kong later sent her a giftwrapped box with a dead rat in it.

– Nipsey Russell, poet laureate of the gameshows.

– Oliver Stone and Tommy Lee Jones. Born on the same day in 1946. Coincidence? I think not.

– Pete Carroll, blah NFL coach turned brilliant college coach. Is this like going from the American League to the National League?

– Dan Marino, NFL quarterback, threw for lots of yards, once yelled at me on a golf course, was born one year before Dina Lohan, mother of Lindsay Lohan.

Sept. 15 was also the day the Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, the day Gary Bettman locked out the NHL players and the day the Confederate Army captured Harpers Ferry. No, not a lot to work with there. On the other hand, it’s also the day English bowler Tich Freeman became the only bowler to take 300 wickets in a season. So, you know, there is that.

29 Comments on “09/15/09 … Sigh”

  1. 1: Jerry-NJ said at 8:06 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Manhattan College insists that one of its early leaders, Brother Jasper, created the seventh inning stretch before Taft.

    http://www.manhattan.edu/athletics_mc/what_is_a_jasper.shtml

    But I went to Fordham, so I generally dismiss anything Manhattan claims ;)

  2. 2: Tracy said at 8:32 am on September 8th, 2009:

    I’m surprised Joe didn’t mention that Luke Hochevar’s birthday is on the 15th.

    Okay, maybe not.

  3. 3: nightfly said at 8:35 am on September 8th, 2009:

    I believe the WB folks covered President Taft in “Histeria” -

    Who’s the Chief Executive who weighed more than one-seventh of a ton?
    TAFT!
    Darn right…

    The whole song was genius. Probably Youtube-able, though I lack that capacity at the office.

  4. 4: Tangent said at 8:39 am on September 8th, 2009:

    9 is Bill Plummer’s number. 15 is George Foster’s number. 9+15 is 24, which is Tony Perez. 9+15+9 is 33, which was how many steals Dave Concepcion had in 1975.

    I’m tryin’ here…

  5. 5: ST said at 8:42 am on September 8th, 2009:

    What about Gaylord Perry, Hall of Fame level cheater? And of course me, a guy who reads your blog regularly. September 15 is in my top 1 of dates.

  6. 6: Ron said at 8:45 am on September 8th, 2009:

    9/15 also marks the release of the new Zune HD. Folks will be visiting Borders and Best Buy that day!

  7. 7: marco said at 8:54 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Can you not change the countdown headline on the panel from 09.09.09 to something different?

    “Something Different”

  8. 8: Adam said at 9:02 am on September 8th, 2009:

    As a WV resident, I thought you were initially referencing John Brown’s raid. I had to reread my history to see the Confederate’s capturing Harpers Ferry. I learned something new today.

  9. 9: Mikey said at 9:07 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Well that sucks.

    Maybe somebody here works in publishing and can explain the reasoning behind this delay. What’s the point?

  10. 10: goodday, mate said at 9:09 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Prince Harry of Wales turns 25 on the 15th…I’ll bet that guy gets the chance at more tail (we like to call ‘em “Sheilas”) in the UK than just about anyone.
    Well, maybe the futbol guys do pretty well in that category also….Harry has a bit more to offer to that perfect wife down the road when he’s ready to settle down. Hope he learns from his old man’s mistakes. What a louse.

  11. 11: KJ said at 9:38 am on September 8th, 2009:

    To add insult to injury, the NY Times didn’t include your book in the list of highly-anticipated books coming out this week.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/books/08brown.html?hp

  12. 12: Tangent said at 9:51 am on September 8th, 2009:

    @KJ

    This would seem the appropriate response.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFELNIpeTjY

  13. 13: Maneesh said at 10:10 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Circle me, William Jennings Bryan.

    Let’s not forget maybe the GREATEST achievement for which Marco Polo can take credit: introducing noodles to the Italians. Mmmmm…spaghetti carbonara…..

  14. 14: Jonas said at 10:16 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Can’t wait for the book Joe. It’s been a pleasure reading your articles.

    http://meoutsidethebox.wordpress.com/

  15. 15: JohnA said at 10:35 am on September 8th, 2009:

    What a tease! Give us the rest of the Dan Marino story!

    “LACES OUT, DAN”

  16. 16: ian said at 10:36 am on September 8th, 2009:

    but why did marino yell at you? did you use your isotoner gloves to clean your ball?

  17. 17: D12: Billy Butler’s emergence gives Royals another bright spot | Sports News Images and Videos said at 10:40 am on September 8th, 2009:

    [...] people look like geniuses. BallStar2. The Machine was apparently no match for Beatles Rock Band. Joe Posnanski3. Some Cubs fans think luring La Russa to Chicago would fix things, but most don’t. Hire Jim [...]

  18. 18: Steve said at 11:08 am on September 8th, 2009:

    This is the mono version of the book, right? When will the stereo mix come out?

  19. 19: Corey S. said at 11:13 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Can we get the Dan Marino story sometime?

  20. 20: Brent said at 11:48 am on September 8th, 2009:

    Poor President Taft. As the only person to ever serve our country at the highest executive, legislative and judicial levels (he was a Senator before he was President and Supreme Court Justice afterward), I am sure he would have thought he would be remembered for something other than the fact that he was “slightly” (ahem) overweight.

  21. 21: D12: Billy Butler’s emergence gives Royals another bright spot | Newstion.com said at 12:09 pm on September 8th, 2009:

    [...] people look like geniuses. BallStar2. The Machine was apparently no match for Beatles Rock Band. Joe Posnanski3. Some Cubs fans think luring La Russa to Chicago would fix things, but most don’t. Hire Jim [...]

  22. 22: Jim K. said at 2:05 pm on September 8th, 2009:

    Looking for the Dan Marino story? Read the Archives :) . Or use the little “Search” box at the top of the page. It’s out there.

  23. 23: JR said at 3:31 pm on September 8th, 2009:

    Didn’t Taft also get stuck in a bathtub? That’s a pretty notable achievement, don’t you think?

  24. 24: shay said at 8:24 pm on September 8th, 2009:

    I will go to the bookstore to pick up my copy and enjoy the book on my birthday. You knew some schmo reader had to have the 15th as a birthday.

  25. 25: Shay said at 8:29 pm on September 8th, 2009:

    I can look forward to Joe’s book as a birthday present on the 15th. You knew some schmo reader of this blog had to have it a birthday. Can’t wait.

  26. 26: Joe R said at 6:39 am on September 9th, 2009:

    So Gaylord Perry and Pete Carroll are 9/15 births?

    Looks like 9/15 is a great day to be born for habitual rule breakers.

  27. 27: Darin said at 7:26 am on September 9th, 2009:

    On the other hand, this isn’t very helpful for those of us born on the 14th. Looks like my most anticipated present will be late…

  28. 28: Jeff said at 2:14 pm on September 9th, 2009:

    Dan Marino story:

    http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/01/20/live-and-in-living-color/

  29. 29: Jacob said at 2:57 pm on September 9th, 2009:

    Look at it this way… now you can laugh when “The Machine” outsells Dan Brown’s book.

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