Friday, August 05, 2005
seeing... orange?
But ORANGE IS A GREAT COLOR!
There are those who will not agree, apparently...
In Israël, to be specific...
Orange, to me though, is a color for all seasons - summer (nothing better than a tall glass of cold o.j. in the morning - hmm?)... autumn (pumpkin pie anyone? As long as there's tons of cinnamon in it - I'm in!)... spring (uh... more o.j. please!)... and winter too (that is when we REALLY NEED THE O.J. in these sorry parts here, north of the 49th parallel!). And, of course, orange is a great color to wear as well - the ladies look great in orange bikinis - I personally like to wear orange polo shirts too! My favorite super-hero wore an orange "shirt" - aquaman! (True - with a name like that, his predestined color was to be... another altogether! But we are talking about the four-color dimension here; aka sequential art; aka comic-books! Nothing is truly logical in those things... but that is, indeed, another story entirely! Still - it is as good a reason as any other to quote from this fine source a friend e-mailed me the other day; "Throw the radio up high / Watch us drown out half the sky ~~ Synaesthesia coloured blue / Aquaman knows what to do"...! How... amusing!). Orange, of course, has replaced the traditional stripes (pinstripes? Damn yanks!) of prisoner uniforms - it makes for less glum days in incarceration for some, I'm sure... AND, orange "has traditionally been the colour of Gush Katif, the major Gaza settlement bloc" - and is thus a very taboo color now in Israël because of that. A friend of mine with a certain sense of fashion has traveled to Israël recently - is, in fact, there right now! I am absolutely sure that her engineer husband has advised her not to bring ANYTHING orange there... Hope she listened to him... she sure never listened to her luminous buddy here - me! But that too is another story...!!!
There are those who will not agree, apparently...
In Israël, to be specific...
Orange, to me though, is a color for all seasons - summer (nothing better than a tall glass of cold o.j. in the morning - hmm?)... autumn (pumpkin pie anyone? As long as there's tons of cinnamon in it - I'm in!)... spring (uh... more o.j. please!)... and winter too (that is when we REALLY NEED THE O.J. in these sorry parts here, north of the 49th parallel!). And, of course, orange is a great color to wear as well - the ladies look great in orange bikinis - I personally like to wear orange polo shirts too! My favorite super-hero wore an orange "shirt" - aquaman! (True - with a name like that, his predestined color was to be... another altogether! But we are talking about the four-color dimension here; aka sequential art; aka comic-books! Nothing is truly logical in those things... but that is, indeed, another story entirely! Still - it is as good a reason as any other to quote from this fine source a friend e-mailed me the other day; "Throw the radio up high / Watch us drown out half the sky ~~ Synaesthesia coloured blue / Aquaman knows what to do"...! How... amusing!). Orange, of course, has replaced the traditional stripes (pinstripes? Damn yanks!) of prisoner uniforms - it makes for less glum days in incarceration for some, I'm sure... AND, orange "has traditionally been the colour of Gush Katif, the major Gaza settlement bloc" - and is thus a very taboo color now in Israël because of that. A friend of mine with a certain sense of fashion has traveled to Israël recently - is, in fact, there right now! I am absolutely sure that her engineer husband has advised her not to bring ANYTHING orange there... Hope she listened to him... she sure never listened to her luminous buddy here - me! But that too is another story...!!!
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Orange may be a hot summer colour, but for some Israelis it's a big faux pas
20/07/2005 2:14:00 PM
JERUSALEM (AP) - Orange may be one of the summer's hot colours, but in Israel it sends such a strong political message - opposition to the Gaza pullout - that for some, wearing it has become a fashion faux pas.
RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
With political statement overtaking fashion statement, major Israeli fashion labels are even considering pulling orange merchandise off the shelves.
"What is happening is that a large majority of . . . customers are not buying orange," said Dorit Abramovitch, spokeswoman for the Comme-il-Faut fashion label. "It is sitting on the shelves and we are considering, at least for the time being, not manufacturing orange."
Jewish settler leaders - who are heading the struggle against the mid-August withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements - say they chose orange to represent their resistance because it has traditionally been the colour of Gush Katif, the major Gaza settlement bloc.
Opponents to the withdrawal tie orange ribbons on their cars, don orange T-shirts and wear orange headscarves.
As the pullout has drawn nearer, sensitivity to the colour has grown more intense.
In May, security guards at Israel's parliament confiscated the orange scarves of a visiting delegation of Indian legislators. One politician's parliamentary assistant was forced to remove the orange hair-dye from his head before entering the Knesset.
Yaron Timor, a marketing lecturer at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre who has researched the effect of colour on consumers, said the settlers chose a good colour. Pastel colours would have sent a warm, accepting message, where as bright colours - such as red, yellow and orange - signal opposition.
And pullout opponents didn't choose just any shade of orange - they chose a bright, almost phosphorescent tone, which sends a clear message of "look, listen and respond to me," Timor said.
Maya Biton, the manager of the Yalduti children's clothing store in a predominantly left-wing Tel Aviv neighbourhood, said about 20 per cent of her customers have refused to buy orange this summer because of its link to the Gaza withdrawal. Others make the association, but she persuades them to buy orange, Biton said.
"Orange is very fashionable, summery, and warm . . . but it has become an issue," she said, noting that people even raise eyebrows at the store's orange packaging.
Royalty, an Israeli watch distributor, has had no problem selling orange Dolce & Gabbana watches, the hit of the summer, said Gadi Gol, the company's deputy director of distribution.
Orit Freilich, an instructor at Shenkar, a top Israeli fashion design school, brushed off the hubbub over the colour, saying orange is "on its way out" in any case.
In the long run, the association between orange and Gaza pullout opposition will die down in Israel, and people will begin buying the colour again, Timor said.
"Fashion designers are certainly suffering. They had to make changes, and change their collections," Timor said. "But I wouldn't tell them to destroy anything, I think this storm will pass."
But for now, even those who don't buy their own clothes are putting politics ahead of fashion, an Israeli newspaper reported Wednesday.
Israeli border police quickly put new fluorescent safety vests into storage when it turned out they were orange, the Maariv daily said.
20/07/2005 2:14:00 PM
JERUSALEM (AP) - Orange may be one of the summer's hot colours, but in Israel it sends such a strong political message - opposition to the Gaza pullout - that for some, wearing it has become a fashion faux pas.
RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
With political statement overtaking fashion statement, major Israeli fashion labels are even considering pulling orange merchandise off the shelves.
"What is happening is that a large majority of . . . customers are not buying orange," said Dorit Abramovitch, spokeswoman for the Comme-il-Faut fashion label. "It is sitting on the shelves and we are considering, at least for the time being, not manufacturing orange."
Jewish settler leaders - who are heading the struggle against the mid-August withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements - say they chose orange to represent their resistance because it has traditionally been the colour of Gush Katif, the major Gaza settlement bloc.
Opponents to the withdrawal tie orange ribbons on their cars, don orange T-shirts and wear orange headscarves.
As the pullout has drawn nearer, sensitivity to the colour has grown more intense.
In May, security guards at Israel's parliament confiscated the orange scarves of a visiting delegation of Indian legislators. One politician's parliamentary assistant was forced to remove the orange hair-dye from his head before entering the Knesset.
Yaron Timor, a marketing lecturer at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre who has researched the effect of colour on consumers, said the settlers chose a good colour. Pastel colours would have sent a warm, accepting message, where as bright colours - such as red, yellow and orange - signal opposition.
And pullout opponents didn't choose just any shade of orange - they chose a bright, almost phosphorescent tone, which sends a clear message of "look, listen and respond to me," Timor said.
Maya Biton, the manager of the Yalduti children's clothing store in a predominantly left-wing Tel Aviv neighbourhood, said about 20 per cent of her customers have refused to buy orange this summer because of its link to the Gaza withdrawal. Others make the association, but she persuades them to buy orange, Biton said.
"Orange is very fashionable, summery, and warm . . . but it has become an issue," she said, noting that people even raise eyebrows at the store's orange packaging.
Royalty, an Israeli watch distributor, has had no problem selling orange Dolce & Gabbana watches, the hit of the summer, said Gadi Gol, the company's deputy director of distribution.
Orit Freilich, an instructor at Shenkar, a top Israeli fashion design school, brushed off the hubbub over the colour, saying orange is "on its way out" in any case.
In the long run, the association between orange and Gaza pullout opposition will die down in Israel, and people will begin buying the colour again, Timor said.
"Fashion designers are certainly suffering. They had to make changes, and change their collections," Timor said. "But I wouldn't tell them to destroy anything, I think this storm will pass."
But for now, even those who don't buy their own clothes are putting politics ahead of fashion, an Israeli newspaper reported Wednesday.
Israeli border police quickly put new fluorescent safety vests into storage when it turned out they were orange, the Maariv daily said.
Protest-wary Israelis see orange over Indian gift - 23, 12:00 PM (ET)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli parliament guards seized orange scarves from visiting Indian lawmakers Sunday, worried they could be used for a pro-settler demonstration.
Orange-clad settlers and their supporters stage almost daily protests outside the parliament against Israel's plan to withdraw settlements from the occupied Gaza Strip in August.
But the scarves were meant as gifts from members of India's largest opposition faction, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- in the party color.
A spokesman for Israel's Knesset said the guards had not understood and were worried when they saw the package.
"We explained (to the visitors) that such a large number of orange scarves could be used to provoke a demonstration," said Giora Pordes. "They were not insulted."
Pordes said the deputies picked up the scarves on their way out.
The settlers' protest color was taken from the emblem of the main Gaza settlement bloc.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli parliament guards seized orange scarves from visiting Indian lawmakers Sunday, worried they could be used for a pro-settler demonstration.
Orange-clad settlers and their supporters stage almost daily protests outside the parliament against Israel's plan to withdraw settlements from the occupied Gaza Strip in August.
But the scarves were meant as gifts from members of India's largest opposition faction, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- in the party color.
A spokesman for Israel's Knesset said the guards had not understood and were worried when they saw the package.
"We explained (to the visitors) that such a large number of orange scarves could be used to provoke a demonstration," said Giora Pordes. "They were not insulted."
Pordes said the deputies picked up the scarves on their way out.
The settlers' protest color was taken from the emblem of the main Gaza settlement bloc.
AND... In OTHER color-related news now... (okay - now and/or then... I've been saving this news item for a weirdness wednesday or something... *lol*... it does the trick here too... there will surely be other weird news forthcoming... surely...).
Eye doctors see red over spooky movie - May 20, 1:18 PM (ET)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian eye doctors have asked a court to ban a movie in which the heroine sees ghosts after a cornea transplant, saying it will scare off donors and patients.
The All India Ophthalmological Society complained to Delhi's high court that the movie "Naina" (Eyes), starring Bollywood bombshell Urmila Matondkar, would reinforce myths about cornea transplants, The Times of India said Friday.
"This movie could create a fear psychosis among cornea recipients and their relatives as well as among potential eye donors," ophthalmologist Navin Sakhuja told Reuters.
Would-be donors could be frightened off, afraid their eyes would "live on after they are dead," said Sakhuja, a member of the society. "We have a huge backlog of people, particularly children, waiting to get new corneas. This movie adds to misconceptions and could hurt efforts to get them those corneas."
Naina's director says the heroine's visions after the transplant following 20 years of blindness are caused by what the donor had seen and experienced in life.
"If such objections are taken into account, no horror film will ever be made," the Times quoted Shripal Morakhia saying.
The court is due to hear the case Wednesday, but the movie was released nationally Friday. India needs 40,000-50,000 corneas a year but only 15,000 are donated.
Hindus believe in reincarnation and that what they do and how they behave in this life affects the next. Doctors say some people fear they will be reborn blind if they give up their eyes.
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Eye doctors see red over spooky movie - May 20, 1:18 PM (ET)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian eye doctors have asked a court to ban a movie in which the heroine sees ghosts after a cornea transplant, saying it will scare off donors and patients.
The All India Ophthalmological Society complained to Delhi's high court that the movie "Naina" (Eyes), starring Bollywood bombshell Urmila Matondkar, would reinforce myths about cornea transplants, The Times of India said Friday.
"This movie could create a fear psychosis among cornea recipients and their relatives as well as among potential eye donors," ophthalmologist Navin Sakhuja told Reuters.
Would-be donors could be frightened off, afraid their eyes would "live on after they are dead," said Sakhuja, a member of the society. "We have a huge backlog of people, particularly children, waiting to get new corneas. This movie adds to misconceptions and could hurt efforts to get them those corneas."
Naina's director says the heroine's visions after the transplant following 20 years of blindness are caused by what the donor had seen and experienced in life.
"If such objections are taken into account, no horror film will ever be made," the Times quoted Shripal Morakhia saying.
The court is due to hear the case Wednesday, but the movie was released nationally Friday. India needs 40,000-50,000 corneas a year but only 15,000 are donated.
Hindus believe in reincarnation and that what they do and how they behave in this life affects the next. Doctors say some people fear they will be reborn blind if they give up their eyes.
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