Monday, August 28, 2006

Urban entertainment machine





























Load power generators and PA systems onto
big trucks, add DJ equipment and party people.
Let them cĂ­rcle around some big avenues,
in first gear on a summer day.
Draws crowds from all over the country
and beyond. Loveparade in Berlin.
Started from private initiative in 1989.
Now part of the city's entertainment machine.
(Nevertheless a nice one)

Monday, August 14, 2006

Food retailing in pre-war Berlin













(click to enlarge)
My Aunt's food mart in the 1930's. Small store,
no self-service. Not much floor space needed for
Dairy products, canned food and bottled beer.
Kids carried milk cans home every day.
Customers as well as food stores didn't own a fridge,
so using ice blocks for that purpose was common.
"Colonial goods" made the luxury department:
sugar, coffee and tea from overseas - not from
German colonies, those were gone after WWI.
(I was surprised to learn that Australia was among
the countries that took them over).
I doubt that my aunt sold much of those goods.
Poor people everywhere in the 30's.
During war she run the store a one-woman-business.
When food became scarce, government regulated the
distribution of food by handing out food stamps to
the people. Not enough to keep the hunger away.
Many jumped on trains to travel out of town to farmers.
Exchanging whatever they still owned for food.
A watch for a bag of potatoes.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Small Biz in Big Town

Chicago West Town:
get milk, cigarettes, soda and much else
at the local Convenience Store.
Independent businesses, family operated.
No fruits or vegetables. Spoil too fast.
And not so easy to sell a beer. $2,200 a year
to get a license from the city - if neighbors agree.















- click to enlarge -