Today is I Want You To Be Happy Day.

And I can think of nothing else that will make you more happy than for you to continue reading, or perhaps sending me small, unmarked bills in a red envelope.



I know that would make me very happy.


It's the 13th lunar day of the year and all of the festival food should probably be done. Most people just want to eat something simple on this day. Some people eat vegetarian foods to cleanse their digestive system (remember yesterday was Diarrhea day.) This day is dedicated to the General Guan Yu.

Guan Yu was born in the Three Kingdom period, (211-263 AD), after late Han Dynasty and is considered the greatest general in Chinese history. He represents loyalty, strength, truth, and justice. According to history, he was tricked by the enemy and was beheaded on this date. Some people will visit the temple of General Guan to pray for safety and money luck. Some treat General Guan as a God of Wealth. This is because General Guan won hundreds of battles and business people want to won the battle on the business deals.


March 3, 1923 -
The first issue of Time magazine, created by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce (the first weekly news magazine in the United States), was published on this date. It featured on its cover, Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

It has been suggested that TIME is an acronym, for The International Magazine of Events.


March 3, 1933 -
W.C. Fields classic short, The Fatal Glass of Beer, premiered on this date.



In Fields' first sound film, The Golf Specialist (1930) there is a wanted poster of Fields which shows him in his "Fatal Glass of Beer" costume. It evidently was taken from an earlier stage presentation of the classic Fields sketch.


Today in History -
March 3, 1863 -
The National Conscription Act was signed on this date, forcing all men between 20 and 45 years of age into the draft lotteries. Except for rich bastards, who could buy their way out for $300, or hire another man to serve in his place.



The inevitable result is the week long New York Draft Riots.


March 3, 1875 -
George Bizet's world-famous opera Carmen, had its premiere in Paris on this day, despite intense controversy surrounding its opening.



The story was considered too salacious for the general public, and Bizet had trouble getting even one actress to agree to play the title role.


March 3, 1887 -
Anne Mansfield Sullivan arrived at the Alabama home of Capt. and Mrs. Arthur H. Keller to become the teacher of Helen, their blind and deaf 6 year old daughter on this date.



Anne Sullivan was legally blind and Helen Keller was blind and deaf. They accomplished more in their lives than most able bodied people.


March 3, 1931 -
An English beer drinking song became the National Anthem of the United States on this date. The lyrics to said drink song are -

To Anacreon in heaven where he sat in full glee,
A few sons of harmony sent a petition,
That he their inspirer and patron would be,
When this answer arrived from the jolly old Grecian:
Voice, fiddle aud flute, no longer be mute,
I'll lend you my name and inspire you to boot!
And besides I'll instruct you like me to entwine
The myrtle of Venus and Bacchus's vine.

I believe drinking heavily is the key here.



Perhaps we can hand out laminated cards before each game.


March 3, 1931 -
...Why, you can get a phonograph record of Minnie the Moocher for 75 cents. And for a buck and a quarter, you can get Minnie....

On the same day President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act adopting The Star-Spangled Banner, as the national anthem, Cab Calloway recorded the classic Minnie The Moocher.



It became the first million-selling jazz album.


March 3, 1934 -
John Dillinger escapes from an escapeproof jail in Crown Point Indiana, using a wooden pistol he carved himself. It's his second escape.



Remember, J. Edger is just months away from slicing up the corpse of Dillinger for his own personal collection.


March 3, 1938 -
Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia on this date.  Before the discovery of oil, the country was relatively unknown in world affairs, but quickly transformed and became a major player in the world petroleum industry.



By the beginning of the 21st century, about 75 percent of the country's budget came from oil.


March 3, 1959 -
An embittered and confused Lou Costello roused himself from his hospital bed to mutter, Fuck you Abbott, Who's on first now, coughs up bloody phlegm and died on this date.



Bud Abbott, ten years older than Lou, smiled to himself, lit a cigars and lived another 15 years to spite his former partner.


March 3, 1991 -
Los Angeles Police officers are filmed beating black motorist Rodney King with nightsticks. Television news stations repeatedly air the film nationwide.



The four white officers are charged with the beating on March 15, and when they are found not guilty, Los Angeles erupts in riot.



And so it goes.