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Pink frock coat from the collection

Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims is the first collection by British designer Alexander McQueen, produced for his master's degree in fashion at Central Saint Martins. Inspired by the victims of Jack the Ripper, and by Victorian-era fashion, erotica, and prostitution practices, the collection was presented on the runway at London Fashion Week on 16 March 1992. Editor Isabella Blow was fascinated by the runway show and insisted on purchasing the entire collection, and became McQueen's friend and muse. Jack the Ripper remains an object of critical analysis for its violent concept and styling. McQueen continued the narrative and aesthetic tendencies from Jack the Ripper, producing collections inspired by macabre aspects of history, art, and his own life. Items from Jack the Ripper, most notably a pink frock coat with a thorn print (pictured), have appeared in Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (2011 and 2015) and Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! (2013). (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Anchorage White Raven

... that a raven in Anchorage, Alaska (pictured), ate tater tots and toast, fought over ice cream, and disassembled a streetlamp?
... that Wang Hanlun used proceeds from her company's only film to finalize her divorce?
... that Benjamin Britten wanted the score of his An American Overture destroyed after it was rediscovered?
... that Dr Disrespect's first videos featured a bombastic "champion" trash-talking game-play footage?
... that Cordova, Alabama, was hit by two tornadoes on the same day, the second of which was on the ground for more than two hours?
... that Arthur France founded the Leeds West Indian Carnival, the first Caribbean carnival in Europe, in 1967?
... that Spectrum HoloByte published Tetris without permission from the Soviet Union?
... that a World War II aircraft carrier had been used as a hotel during the 7th National Eucharistic Congress in 1935?
... that John Moore's mother, after learning that UCLA's student-body president was Black, said "this is where he's going to school"?

In the news

Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh Dommaraju (pictured) defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.
Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.

On this day

December 13: Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day in China (1937)

The Sherman Fairchild Sciences complex at Dartmouth College

1643 – First English Civil War: Roundhead forces under Sir William Waller led a successful surprise attack in Hampshire on a winter garrison of Cavalier infantry and cavalry.
1769 – Dartmouth College (campus pictured) was established by royal charter in present-day Hanover, New Hampshire.
1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces, capturing the Chinese city of Nanjing, began committing numerous atrocities over the next several weeks, including looting, rape and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians.
1989 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army engaged in a fierce firefight with the King's Own Scottish Borderers at a vehicle checkpoint complex in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
2011 – A man threw grenades and fired a rifle at crowds in Liège, Belgium, causing 6 deaths and injuring more than 120 others, before killing himself.

Pope Callixtus II (d. 1124)
Ana Néri (b. 1814)
Taylor Swift (b. 1989)
Jill Craigie (d. 1999)

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John Williams

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a 2015 American epic space opera film directed by J. J. Abrams, won 40 awards from 104 nominations, with particular recognition for its visual effects, musical score, and sound effects. It garnered two nominations at the 88th Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects. At the 69th British Academy Film Awards, the film was nominated for Best Original Music, Best Sound, and Best Production Design; and won Best Special Visual Effects. The film received a nomination for Best Picture at the 21st Critics' Choice Awards. In 2016, composer John Williams (pictured) won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards' 59th ceremony. It won eight of fifteen nominations at the 42nd Saturn Awards. In addition, the American Film Institute selected The Force Awakens as one of the top ten films of the year. (Full list...)

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Stuben am Arlberg is a winter sports resort in the town of Klösterle in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg. It is located at an altitude of 1,410 metres (4,630 ft) and had 90 inhabitants in 2019. The settlement of Klösterle probably originated in the 9th century, at a time of silver mining in the Klostertal valley and the neighbouring Montafon valley, with the first known mention of Stuben occurring in a 1330 document describing it as a post station and the "Kaiser's highest living room". In the late 19th century, Stuben became a popular skiing and tourist resort and is now part of Ski Arlberg, Austria's largest skiing area. In the summer months the area is popular with hikers and mountain bikers. This aerial view from the north-west shows Stuben am Arlberg and the winding Arlbergstrasse, which passes through the resort.

Photograph credit: Herbert Heim

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