Happy National Hug a Musician Day! Musicians are typically kind of sensitive, prone to depression, and poor — so today they could really use a hug. The exception is rushing up on stage and wrapping your arms around someone who didn't ask for it. Not that we'd know from experience or anything, but that may not work out so well for you.
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This is The Reset Button from Classic Nerd, resetting your day.
Here are five things that happened on November 13th at the intersection of nerd and pop culture.
Birthdays of honor: Charles Bronson (1921), Robert Louis Stevenson (1850), Gerard Butler (1969), Steve Zahn (1967), Whoopi Goldberg (1955), Garry Marshall (1934).
Today in 1987, Sonny & Cher made a surprise appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Singing their iconic hit "I Got You Babe," it would turn out to be the last time the two would ever perform together.
Meeting at a coffee shop in the early '60s, when Cher was just 16 years old, the pair would eventually wed, become successful singers, have two hit TV shows, and sell over 40 million records together. Their marriage couldn't withstand the demands of fame and life's changes, but they're still remembered as one of the greatest musical duos in history.
In 1987, before MTV's The Real World had even hit TV, and way way way before Squid Game, Paul Michael Glaser brought us a dystopian vision of the future where technology allows fake videos to be created and reality TV literally means life or death — that's right, today is when The Running Man hit theaters.
Maybe it's just me, but I really think this movie is criminally underrated. By most accounts, it was met with moderate reviews and moderate success at the box office, and seems like those involved even kind of dismiss the movie. To which I say, "Shut it!"
You've got Richard Dawson basically playing himself; the completely rad set of stalkers, each with their own unique set of skills that matches their cool nickname (including Jesse Ventura as Captain Freedom); dance sequences choreographed by Paula Abdul; over-the-top violence; and peak-80s Arnold Schwarzenegger in a one-piece skintight outfit. The hell else do you want?!
I learned a lot about Pompeii, the city in Italy covered in volcanic ash in the year 79. That was way before I was alive — yet one of the deadliest volcano-related events in history occurred today in 1985, when I was very much alive, and I didn't hear a damn thing about it.
Known as the Armero tragedy, some serious sh*t went down after the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted. The eruption itself wasn't that large, but in essence, it melted the side of the mountain, resulting in what's called a lahar. The lahar sent mud, debris, and anything else in its path down the mountainside, completely covering and destroying the town of Armero. Close to 25,000 deaths have been attributed to the event.
And to make matters worse, geologists had warned the Columbian government to evacuate the area after detecting activity two months prior. In the aftermath, several organizations were founded to prevent another tragedy, but Nevado del Ruiz has erupted several times since 1985 and still poses a threat to nearby populations.
Today in 1988 you were singing along to Bon Jovi any time you were in the car, as "Bad Medicine" was the top song in the country.
