The title could as well be black milk. I told a friend the other day, „Bei Weihnachtssachen hört bei mir der Minimalismus auf.“ / „Minimalism stops for me at Christmas things.“ She answered, „Ha, na da bin ich ja beruhigt.“ / „Good, that’s reassuring.“ But I think that depends on the perspective. After the last…
Category: Eastern Bloc
I Fell in Love with Erika
It all started while listening to the podcast Dead Eyes. In his podcast, the actor Connor Ratliff is trying to cope with losing a role in Band of Brothers years ago, because Tom Hanks thought he had dead eyes. Supposedly. Last week I listened to episode 12 of the second season, and Connor ends it…
Analog Nostalgia
I recently spoke with a friend, who told me that she is very nostalgic. I was so excited to hear this, I didn’t even let her finish the sentence, and exclaimed right away: „Me too!“ I have actually been thinking about nostalgia for quite some time. This avalanche was caused by the book Identitti by…
My Grandma the Minimalist
„Was willst du dieses Jahr zu Weihnachten?“ / „What do you want for Christmas this year?“, I would often ask my grandma, and every time she would reply: „Ich brauch’ nichts, ich hab doch schon alles.“ / „I don’t need anything, I already have everything.“ My mother often complained that my grandmother, her mother, would…
Minimalistic Colors? – Materialism in the Eastern Bloc, Part 3
When you search for #minimalism on social media, your screen will be flooded with monochrome images, mostly in whites or beiges. At the beginning of my minimalist journey, I just didn’t understand. Why can’t the few things that you possess be of strong, vibrant colors? Why do kids’ rooms have to be deprived of them…
Blissful Unawareness? – Materialism in the Eastern Bloc, Part 2
I believe the biggest problem when it comes to materialism in the Eastern Bloc is that we all were able to watch West German TV and advertisements. Except for “the valley of the clueless“, Dresden and the northeast, where not even the best antennas could receive West German public TV signals. It might be a…
Where We Come From – Materialism in the Eastern Bloc, Part 1
Andrea and I grew up in the 80s during the Cold War on the communistic side of the divide. Looking back now, I, Grit, realize how our lives were dictated by materialism. Due to the scarcity of materials and lack of access to them, not abundance. And not just merchandise, actual material, building material, and…