Jacket from The Birds

The Birds is the fifth collection by Alexander McQueen for his fashion house. It was inspired by ornithology and the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. The collection centred around sharply tailored garments and emphasised female sexuality. The runway show was staged on 9 October 1994 and the venue was a warehouse in the London district of King's Cross. The Birds was styled with imagery of violence and death; some models were covered in tyre tracks and others wore white contact lenses. Reception was generally positive, although the styling drew accusations of misogyny. The show's success allowed McQueen to secure the financial backing to stage his next show, Highland Rape. Garments from The Birds appeared in both stagings of the retrospective exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. Seán McGirr heavily referenced The Birds for Autumn/Winter 2024, his debut collection as creative director for the Alexander McQueen brand. (Full article...)

Farnese Artemis in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

• ... that while the objects on the Farnese Artemis (pictured) had initially been identified as female breasts, the museum housing the statue now claims that they depict bull scrotums?
• ... that in the history of fisheries in the Philippines, the once-dominant local municipal fisheries were supplanted first by commercial fisheries, and then by aquaculture?
• ... that Eliza Legzdina has attributed opinions of her work to the "horrification of the female body"?
• ... that the center squeeze has been blamed for costing Gary Johnson the 2016 US election?
• ... that voice actress Atsuko Tanaka often named pandas?
• ... that seven people died when their helicopter struck supporting wires of a Texas TV station's tower and crashed?
• ... that Michael P. Walsh oversaw the construction of 15 buildings as the president of Boston College?
• ... that Jer Lau, who appeared in the film Over My Dead Body, also performed its theme song because the director felt his role was too minor?
• ... that the search for mammals on Booby Island was a bust?

Shigeru Ishiba

• More than 18 people die in flooding and landslides in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Shigeru Ishiba (pictured) becomes Prime Minister of Japan after winning the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.
• Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Israel invades Lebanon, and Iran launches missiles against Israel.
• Flooding in Nepal leaves more than 250 people dead, including 37 in the nation's capital, Kathmandu.
• In Australian rules football, the Brisbane Lions defeat the Sydney Swans to win the AFL Grand Final.

October 9: Leif Erikson Day in the United States, parts of Canada, and communities in the Nordic countries

• 1813 – War of the Sixth Coalition: Empress Marie-Louise of France issued decrees conscripting tens of thousands of teenagers, who became known as Marie-Louises.
• 1874 – The Universal Postal Union (logo pictured), then known as the General Postal Union, was established with the signing of the Treaty of Bern to unify disparate postal services and regulations so that international mail could be exchanged easily.
• 1912 – Following a reduction in pay, workers at a textile mill in Little Falls, New York, walkout of their workplace, starting a three month strike.
• 1914 – World War I: The civilian authorities of Antwerp surrendered, allowing the German army to capture the city.
• 2019 – Syrian civil war: Turkish forces began an offensive into north-eastern Syria following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region.