Berlin Wall

I'm a bit of a closet GDR nerd. I have a toy Trabant on my desk and everything. On this anniversary of the fall of the Wall, a few links for your ever-expanding knowledge.

Deutsche Welle, Germany's excellent English language broadcaster, has a great selection of GDR bits and pieces. The main reunification page is here, but a few specific pages that I've found particularly interesting:

• Path to Unity. Gallery of pictures that trace Germany's history from 1945 to 1990.
• Demolished Treasures. Selection of architecture from East Germany that has since been demolished.
• Highs and Lows of Reunification.

...and much more besides.

The Stasimuseum is located in the former headquarters of the Stasi, and allows a peek into the workings of the secrective organisation.

Our museum is located in the House 1 in the central complex of the Ministry for State Security in Berlin-Lichtenberg, in which Erich Mielke, last minister for State Security, had his seat. You can visit his offices which are preserved in their original state. Added are a lot of exhibits that sample the activities of the State Security, the different aspects of the political system and the resistance and opposition in the GDR.

As I read it in Stasiland, the offices were abruptly shut as they stood in their everyday working life, then re-opened as a museum within a couple of months. Amazing. I wish I'd known about it when I was in Germany.

DDR Museum:

The DDR Museum is the only museum which concentrates on everyday life in the GDR. We don't only show the crimes of the State Security or the border defences at the Berlin Wall but we display the life of the people in the dictatorship: Maybe you know the spreewald pickles, nudism beaches and the Trabi - the rest of the life in this socialist state is unfamiliar to most of the people in the world.

Archived ABC News broadcast reporting of the fall of the Wall. Probably the broadcast I watched, stunned, with my mouth flapping open. I recall only having half an eye on the news that night, but this caught my attention, to understate it. I obviously hadn't been paying attention to current affairs in the weeks leading up to this, because it was as amazing and shocking to me as if the broadcast had been reporting on the arrival of Martians. I still find it moving today.

Palace of the Republic. The now-demolished headquarters of the GDR. I saw this when I was in Berlin. I had no idea what it was, but it was absolutely arresting, in the sense that it takes a particular brand of genius to make something this ugly. The interior is another matter though, a wonderland of modernist excess. Love it.

1989 - Europe's Revolution, BBC's page on the topic.

Right on Target

When we come together with someone in a romantic partnership it's easy to be lulled into thinking that you've chosen one person, an individual. Of course, mostly they come with their family in tow, one way or another.

Last night I was out shopping with my mother-in-law. Nothing exciting, just off to Target to take advantage of a sale that I hoped might provide a new pair of pants for me for summer.

Since pregnancy I've put on a few kilos. Nothing huge, just enough that a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes aren't an option any longer. Clearly, mother-in-law has noticed. We enter the store and I head for the women's clothes, whereas mother-in-law turns for the "plus size" section. Oh, she says. Aren't you going to look at the large clothing?
No, I say, the regular ones are just fine.
Oh. Meaningful silence. Are you sure?

So — in the regular-sized clothing — I find some pants to try on, and walk over to the fitting room. They're not quite right, so I head out again to look for something better.

No good?
No, I'm going to try a different size.
Well, let's head over to the large section, as if I've finally seen sense.
Actually, those were too big. I'm after the next size down.
Incredulous: Really?!
Ignore.

Decide on a pair after another fitting. Make general complaint about cuts of pants currently on the market. Well, are you sure you don't want to look in the large section? You might have more options over there, you know.
Think to self, Oh for fuck's sake!!

To put it into perspective, the pants I bought were a size 12, so hardly in the realm of a circus tent. Thanks, mother-in-law. You're pure gold.

Movember

Lofty is growing a moustache this year for Movember. He's putting down his razor for one month (November) to help raise awareness and funds for men’s health – specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

What many people don’t appreciate is that close to 3,000 men die of prostate cancer each year in Australia and one in eight men will experience depression in their lifetime - many of whom don’t seek help. Facts like these have convinced Lofty he should get involved and I am hoping that you will support him.



To sponsor his Mo, you can either:

• Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account
• Write a cheque payable to ‘Movember Foundation’, referencing his Registration Number 362156 and mailing it to:

Movember Foundation,
PO Box 292,
Prahran, VIC, 3181

Or get in contact with us and simply hand over a bit of the folding stuff.

Remember, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Movember is now in its sixth year and, to date, has achieved some pretty amazing results by working alongside The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCFA) and beyondblue: the national depression initiative. You can read about some of the great outcomes of Movember here.

If you are interested in following the progress of Lofty's Mo, click here . Also, Movember Australia has heaps of useful information.

Never Mind Your P's and Q's

After a couple of years now of reading baby's and toddler's books, it was nice today to get this in the mail:

C is for The Clash
with a strummer called Joe.
They're playing tonight,

should I stay or should I go?

So refreshing to open a book secure in the knowledge that there are no fluffy bunnies or cute puppies lurking within. And it's about time my kids learned about The Ramones, I think.

One, Two, Three, Four!
I just wanna read some more!
Gabba Gabba Gabba Hey!
Come on kids, it's back to A!

This is one of a series of three books, and I'm mightily tempted to pick up the others, too.

George Symons

Over the years I've meant to photograph various older buildings in the city, ones that are clearly not going to be around much longer. I rarely do, but did manage to capture George Symons "mens suit factory". Obviously, if you were of a mind to get dressed up as a mens George was who you went to.

The recently closed Skinny's Records had an incarnation along this strip of Elizabeth Street, but I can't remember exactly where. I do remember that it had an impressive cast iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling. This was after the Queen's Arcade was bulldozed to make way for the delightful Myer Centre. Skinny's started in a pokey, out-of-the-way corner of Queen's Arcade, as did several other interesting businesses. The Mask is one. It was an odd place, shabby and decorated in spray painted stencils and promotional posters. The rent must have been a bargain. Where do little left-of-centre businesses start up now?

August

I've just realised that I posted nothing at all for August. I was busy in my own head, turning 40. I'm sure you understand. Consider it a period in a cocoon, preparing for my time as a curvier, wrinklier, wiser butterfly.

Breaks Radio Silence

I break this (undramatic) silence to tell you about something beautiful I saw online tonight: Yves Marchand and Romaine Meffre's photographs of Detroit in decay. Oddly enough for someone living on the other side of the globe to Detroit -- in fact, I think you'd be hard pressed to get further away from it, geographically -- I've seen quite a lot about the decay of Motor City recently. Funny how things go in waves like that. I have seen enough, however, to regret not having known about is when I was in that part of the world. Everything I've seen seems poignant, beautiful and heartbreakingly tragic. I really, really want to go there. In the meantime, please enjoy the photos.




From the Time website:

On their website, the photographers write, "Ruins are the visible symbols and landmarks of our societies and their changes...the volatile result of the change of eras and the fall of empires. This fragility leads us to watch them one very last time: to be dismayed, or to admire, it makes us wonder about the permanence of things."

A couple of the "places" I've seen Detroit recently are also worth a mention. Firstly, the always excellent Foreign Correspondent featured Detroit a few weeks ago; Stephen Fry's compelling Stephen Fry in America also paid a visit. Or did he? Now that I look at the website I think I may be mistaken. Either way, his show is wonderful, and you'll be a better person for tuning in. 7:30pm Sundays for the Antipodeans reading.


Time's collection of the Marchand/Meffre Detroit photographs