August 2009 Archives
From the website:
Keeping in view of the objectives of poverty alleviation and the need to accelerate the pace of our nation's development efforts, Grameen Check has been a leader in helping the poor by creating innovative business models. Grameen check has become well known all around the world for pioneering a unique kind of fabric called Grameen Check. Most of the fabrics of Grameen Check comes directly from the village based traditional weavers. These fabrics are then processed into ready made garments and offered in national and many international markets.
While it may seem odd now for someone to be protesting support for a hospital, historically hospitals in the U.S. served a similar intended function as proposed national health care plans: to make health care broadly accessible by reducing costs through aggregation. The countervailing norm was private healthcare, such as personal care in the home or at a doctor's office. For a useful representation of earlier attitudes privileging home over group care, check out week two of this season of Mad Men, in which Betty Draper sees putting her father in a health care facility as a sign of failure.
The tension over social vs. private health care intensified in the late-1940s and early 1950s with Truman's proposal for mandatory national health care. In this regard panel three of the original PSA is particularly interesting in its depiction of government funding as an extension of nongovernmental cooperation. For an equally interesting blast from the past, check out this Kiplinger Changing Times article on the debate over socialized healthcare . . . in 1949.
Also, here's an interesting historic connection between Superman and real-world charity: Jack Liebowitz, DC executive and Jerry Siegel bete noire, used a good chunk of his personal profits from Superman and other comic characters to fund the creation of the Long Island Jewish Hospital.
Click the pics below for larger versions. Thanks Eric!
An interesting diversion on Flickr--folks posting things they find at charity shops. There are several related photo pools, including Charity Shop Chic, Nifty Thrift, Charity Shop Treasures and Thrift Score.
Of course, not everything at charity stories is as stylish as the photo above! For the best of the worst, check out Thrift Shop Horrors.
My latest over on JustMeans. I used to be a Pogo obsessive back in the day--in fact, I look forward to reading the complete strip soon--and writing the last paragraph naturally brought the above classic image to mind.
From a 1927 ad for the Coyne Electrical School.
I'm immersed in other writing, so my sites are admittedly a bit slow right now, but over at Newsarama there's a brief update on the Siegel-Superman/Superboy litigation. A lot more could be said about the nature of justice relative to the administration of a case, but we'll leave that for another time.
(More on the subjunctive here!)
I've said it before and will say it again: if you're into charity, sustainable design, microenterprise or eco-fashion, WWD is an essential part of a nutritious lifestyle. For various reasons do-gooding is interwoven in fashion's DNA, and the creative arts biz--well, that's the whole magilla, innit?
Here's a sample recent article:
Exhibitors at Ecollection, the green sector of WWDMAGIC that made its debut a year ago, will spotlight innovative and recycled textiles that spice up sustainable fashion with pattern, texture and flair. Among the newest fabrics are prints made with plant dyes on organic wovens and knits, stretch satin woven from bamboo, organic cotton crepe and a knit blend crafted with corn fiber.
“As more people get into green, you need to have something to differentiate yourself,” said Jim Martin, owner of Green 3, which will exhibit quirky women’s totes made of vintage men’s suits and colorful patchwork scarves sewn from recycled T-shirts.
He feels eco-conscious vendors might attract more attention at the show. “Now, people who had not been as interested in green product or made-in-the-U.S. suddenly find that appealing, because it might give them an opportunity to tell a story that will help them hold their prices,” said Martin.
Jonano, which develops organic and sustainable fabrics for streamlined sportswear and dresses, will introduce a stretch knit of corn, bamboo and spandex, plus an artistic printing technique on bamboo and spandex jersey.
“I discovered a watercolor dye technique in Istanbul where the dyes go on almost free-form, and they blend like a watercolor painting. Each piece will look different,” said Bonnie Siefers, owner and designer.
The corn blend in black or a flecked neutral will be featured in Jonano’s first pieces of lingerie — a camisole, boyshorts, pants and kimono for immediate delivery. Wholesale prices start at $12 for organic bamboo T-shirts printed with “Love” or “Dream,” and top out at $79 for a long zip jacket in a nubby slate silk lined with silk charmeuse. The textured, linenlike outer fabric is woven from fibers extracted from silk cocoons without destroying the worms, a more labor-intensive process than the customary practice of boiling the cocoons, she noted.
Ethos Paris will highlight its Botanical Impressions line of organic cotton knits and wovens colored with plant-based dyes, said Leslie Leroux, chief executive officer of the French firm’s North American division. First shipped this year and expanded for spring, Botanical Impressions mixes the fabrics in dresses and tops wholesaling from $20 to $29. “We came up with a lot of interesting prints and colors,” she added. “It was our best line for spring because it is so unusual and we have very good prices, especially for an organic cotton line.”
The reaction to the latest Siegel case news has been interesting, to say the least. Perhaps the most intriguing reaction has been one site's decision to censor its own publisher's response to a news item expressing sympathy with the Siegels' effort to regain the Superman copyright.
The original response appears to be available on Google cache. For the sake of the historical record, here's the offending post, after the jump:
OR NOT!
Earlier today, I re-posted a censored critique of the Siegels' attempt to reclaim the Superman copyright. I've just received a request from the author to withdraw it on the grounds that he holds the copyright in that material. Of course, I am happy to honor that request . . .
but not without a brief reflection.
The censored post was a lengthy screed about an alleged attempt to use power to smash the author's opinion that creative endeavors should be "the property of the commons." As far as I'm concerned the author should be free to voice that opinion--may a thousand flowers bloom and all that. Yet now that very author cites copyright to deny the public access to a writing that he himself has created.
The author no doubt feels there are legitimate, even necessary reasons for doing so, and again, I respect that. But I hope he and others of the same opinion can recognize that those who belong to "the cult of the creator" have equally legitimate reasons for supporting creators & heirs in attempts to secure an interest in work in which they have a legally viable stake.
Organized by Spike Lee & the Borough of Brooklyn, this block party celebrates Jackson's role as an inspirational icon. Personal and civic identity resonate in this contemporary version of the saint's day festival:
Anybody and everybody is invited to attend Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday party on Saturday, August 29, from noon to 5 p.m., at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, New York. DJ Spinna will be spinning all things Jackson, from the Jackson 5 to the Jacksons to Michael Jackson. The Brooklyn borough president will be on hand to declare Aug. 29 “Michael Jackson Day.”
“At the end, we’ll all sing Happy Birthday to Michael,” Lee says. “We’re going to make sure he hears us, too. All over the world, people are going to be celebrating his birthday. But he’s going to hear Brooklyn; Brooklyn is going to be in the house. Deep.”
Via WWD:
Hermès is reissuing a special version of its “Perspective” silk-twill scarf to support the International Federation of Human Rights on the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention for the rights of women. Priced at 215 euros, or $305.40 at current exchange, the scarf will be sold exclusively on the federation’s Web site, fidh.org, early next month. The original copy of the scarf has been signed by actress and singer Jane Birkin, who is also an ambassador for the organization. It will be exhibited from Nov. 1 in the Paris bookshop of French auction house Artcurial and sold through silent auction on Nov. 6. All proceeds from this sale will be donated to the federation.
From the photographer:
Personification of Charity & Mercy. Charity is rather unusually shown as male in this window, perhaps inspired by the Good Samaritan parable. Mercy is female and is shown clothing the poor.
Windows designed by Burne Jones and made by Morris & Co. of the pre-Raphaelite school, were installed in the then-Unitarian chapel of Manchester College, Oxford. A stunning ruby glass is used throughout and the designs are striking with beautiful faces.
Kate Collins offers another interesting follow-up, closing with this note:
Fan groups worldwide are disgusted, disappointed and irate. And
non-profit minded souls who want to do tribute charity work still need
a place to connect online.
How about here?
Fine with me! I'm in the middle of tight writing deadlines so I'm not as active here as I'd like, but feel free to use the comments to connect! If there is any other way the site can be helpful, let me know & I'll see what I can do to make it work.
Commenter Kate Collins offers this important update on my earlier post questioning the legitimacy of the alleged Michael Jackson charity. The CBS article linked within basically follows up the info in my post (um, nice "exclusive," CBS--and hi!*) with the estate's assertion that there is indeed no connection between the Heal the World Foundation and the Michael Jackson estate.
It's an issue because the HTWF has reportedly asked the court for permission to use the Michael Jackson trademark to sell branded merchandise.
*Kids, if you're going to mine a blog post for its research & legal analysis, at least be smart enough not to paraphrase the title.
A 1950 PSA teaches children to eat right and exercise. The fourth panel, in which the boy encounters breakfast cereal for the first time, is a snapshot from cereal's postwar transition from an adult health food to a nutrition delivery vehicle for children.
Diva, "the UK's leading lesbian lifestyle magazine," takes Superwoman out of the closet with this recent S-shield cover.
A dadaistic image of animal experimentation in 1939.
