Born on this day – Joseph Haydn:

Joseph Haydn

Composer

March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809

Joseph Haydn portrait by Thomas Hardy (1791).

Born on this day – Johann Sebastian Bach:

Johann Sebastian Bach

Composer

March 31, 1685 – July 28, 1750

Johann Sebastian Bach portrait by Elias Gottlob Haussmann (1748).

Recommended reading - The Harder They Fall, by Budd Schulberg (1947):

The Harder They Fall

By Budd Schulberg.

First published 1947.

Published by Ivan R. Dee.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1566631076

ISBN-13: 978-1566631075

Description:

Brilliant, witty, and amusing...the best book on fighting that I have read. – Gene Tunney.

The book will stand not only as the novel about boxing but also as a book that indirectly tells more about civilization than do most books about civilization itself. – Arthur Miller.

The quintessential novel of boxing and corruption. – USA Today.

Budd Schulberg's celebrated novel of the prize ring has lost none of its power since its first publication almost fifty years ago. Crowded with unforgettable characters, it is a relentless expose of the fight racket. A modern Samson in the form of a simple Argentine peasant is ballyhooed by an unscrupulous fight promoter and his press agent - and then betrayed and destroyed by connivers. Mr. Schulberg creates a wonderfully authentic atmosphere for this book that many critics hailed as even better than What Makes Sammy Run? The wrongs of the boxing business that the book illuminates are still with us.

Harlan Ellison, on writing:

People on the outside think there's something magical about writing,

that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn't like that.

You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that's all there is to it.

- Harlan Ellison.

On this day in television history - Justified (2011):

Justified

Season 2. Episode 8.

Episode entitled: The Spoil.

Released March 30, 2011.

Directed by Michael Watkins.

Written by Graham Yost, Elmore Leonard, Dave Andron, Benjamin Cavell and VJ Boyd.

Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.

Music by Steve Porcaro.

Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Walton Goggins, Rebecca Creskoff, Margo Martindale, Jeremy Davies, Tara Buck, Kaitlyn Dever, Linda Gehringer, Brad William Henke, Peter Murnik, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Raymond J. Barry, Rolando Boyce, Timothy Brennen, Allen Cutler, William Gregory Lee, Penny L. Moore, Darin Toonder, Trevor Trout, Tim Scanlon.

On this day in television history - Justified (2010):

Justified

Season 1. Episode 3.

Episode entitled: Fixer.

Released March 30, 2010.

Directed by Fred Keller.

Written by Graham Yost, Benjamin Cavell and Wendy Calhoun.

Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.

Music by Steve Porcaro.

Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, David Eigenberg, Greg Cromer, Page Kennedy, Erin Cardillo, Jessica Camacho, Kiersten Lyons, Todd Cattell, Sam Ayers, Trey Carter, Shannon Garnett, David Hill.

On this day in movie history - The Lookout (2007):

The Lookout

directed and written by Scott Frank,

was released in the United States on March 30, 2007.
Music by James Newton Howard.

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino, Bruce McGill, Alberta Watson, Alex Borstein, Sergio Di Zio, David Huband, Laura Vandervoort, Greg Dunham, Morgan Kelly, Aaron Berg, Tinsel Korey, Suzanne Kelly, Brian Edward Roach, Martin Roach, Ofield Williams, Julie Pederson, Stephen Eric McIntyre, Janaya Stephens, Marc Devigne, Courtney-Jane White, Thanya Romero, Paul Christie, Tracy Beemer, Gordie Farrell, Toni Reimer, Ted Felbel, Charles Crossin, Chuck Robinson, Kalyn Bomback, John Bluethner, Leslie Bais, Harry Nelken, Andrew Degryse, Shailee Ferguson, Kevin Michayluk.