Dr Seán Ketchem
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cskwriter.bsky.social
Dr Seán Ketchem
@cskwriter.bsky.social
1.2K followers 2.2K following 6.7K posts
An American/German in Berlin. Berkeley alum (Go Bears!). Erstwhile Texan. Credo: “There are other forces at work than those of evil. And that is an encouraging thought.”
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cskwriter.bsky.social
Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · Jul 22
If U.S. Brigadier General Frank L. Howley had gotten his way in the summer of 1945, I would never have been born.

I'll explain!
cskwriter.bsky.social Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · Jul 22
Reading "Berlin Command" by Frank L. Howley, the former commandant of the American Sector of West Berlin. He describes how there had been serious consideration to revise the London Protocols to allow the Western Allies to keep Thuringia, Saxony, and eastern Mecklenburg in exchange for their sectors.
In the London Protocol signed on 12 September 1944, the Allies of World War II (then without France) agreed on dividing Germany into three occupation zones after the war. EAC planning of occupation zone borders in Germany, 1944 The first zone protocol was drawn up at the meeting of the European Advisory Commission (EAC) on 12 September 1944 and signed by John Gilbert Winant (USA), William Strang (UK) and Fedor Gusev (USSR) at Lancaster House in London,[2] and described the first notions of the boundary between the zones to be created: Eastern, Northwestern, and Southwestern zones in Germany, and the three parts of the area of Greater Berlin. The basis of the ideas were the borders of Germany from 31 December 1937 and Greater Berlin from 27 April 1920. The north-western and south-western zones in Germany and Greater Berlin had not yet been assigned as British or American sub-areas. The relevant text passages provided for this were only documented with spaces, whereas the eastern zone and the north-eastern zone of Greater Berlin were already marked directly with "USSR". In terms of borders, the western borders of Thuringia, Anhalt and the Prussian province of Saxony were referred to. This meant that the areas east of the Werra and west of the Elbe were not - as was often published - "exchanged for West Berlin", but the areas in the west of the Elbe were already intended to be part of the Eastern Zone.
cskwriter.bsky.social
You know, given how much the political landscape has shifted in the U.S. since those off-year elections three weeks ago, I can almost believe Republicans would let an impeachment and removal happen to eliminate what is now an obvious albatross. All it would take would be a strategic Epstein drop.
simplyskye.bsky.social Skye @simplyskye.bsky.social · 18h
GOP Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of Senate Armed Services committee, opened an investigation into Pete Hegseth’s boat strikes war crime—

Meanwhile it appears #Trump may be on the brink of starting a war with Venezuela — congressional approval be damned
Donald J. Trump @realDonald Trump To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
November 30, 2025 at 12:14 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
RIP Tom Stoppard, one of the greatest masters of the English language. Entirely fitting he was the scriptwriter for Shakespeare in Love.
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/n...
Tom Stoppard, playwright of dazzling wit and playful erudition, dies aged 88
A theatrical sensation since the 1960s, whose dramas included Arcadia, The Real Thing and Leopoldstadt, Stoppard also had huge success as a screenwriter
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:01 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
In an informal cognitive test, 1 out 2 Kitten Katz in the Ketchem household successfully chose the cat treats over the snack mix, despite the similar packaging.

You might say "Well she read the label!" But nope, the Kittenz don't understand German. They never leave the house and only watch Netflix.
November 29, 2025 at 9:56 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
The woman in the picture is the wonderful actress Marianne Sägebrecht, in the iconic role of Frau Holle. My mom looked nearly like her identical twin, which of course nobody in our Texas town was aware of. Watch Out of Rosenheim for a sample performance (or Bagdad Café as it is known in the States).
cskwriter.bsky.social Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 1d
With Advent comes the "fairy tale" movie season in Germany. "Märchenfilme" were produced in copious quantities in postwar West and East Germany in the 1950s (and many of the newer ones are remakes of the 1950s originals), possibly as a way to look back with nostalgia on a less problematic past.
DEFA was the first film studio in the four occupation zones to receive a license after 1945, but did not produce any fairy tale films during the occupation period. DEFA's children's film production initially approached the fairy tale heritage only slowly, partly because the Grimm collection was not without controversy in the Soviet occupation zone. The Grimm brothers' fairy tales seemed, on the one hand, too illusory, romantic, and mystical, and on the other hand, too cruel and bloody. In 1948, Wolff von Gordon suggested to DEFA that they make a film adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff's fairy tale The Cold Heart. It was not until two years after the founding of the GDR that Das kalte Herz, the first fairy tale film and also the first DEFA color film in Agfacolor, was shot under the direction of Paul Verhoeven in the spring and summer of 1950 at the Babelsberg Studios. Thanks to 9,779,526 viewers, it also immediately became one of the most successful DEFA films ever. In 1953, the audience record was broken with DEFA's second fairy tale film, Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck (The Story of Little Muck) by Wolfgang Staudte, with 12.9 million cinema-goers, which can also be attributed to the elaborate production and the special effects that were not yet so common at the time. This makes the Wilhelm Hauff film adaptation the most-watched cinema film in the GDR.
November 29, 2025 at 10:18 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
The name might conjure up some dive wino joint, but "Alkopole" was a little Berlin institution, a cozy pub with an impressive draft beer lineup that was a popular way station for travelers passing through. Grab a pint now though, because it is gone in January.
www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metro...
Schock am Alexanderplatz: Kult-Bierbar vor dem Aus
Am Bahnhof Alexanderplatz beginnt die Grundsanierung. Läden und Gastro müssen raus. Für die Bierbar kommt jede Hilfe zu spät. Berlin verliert ein Stück Kiez.
www.berliner-zeitung.de
November 29, 2025 at 10:05 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
What was still only a year ago the paper of record for American politics is now just another MAGA clickbait outlet posting articles reminding people to go outside before you cut one.
dieworkwear.bsky.social derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 1d
Imagine posing for a photographer friend who sells your image to iStock and a year later, you see this is what The Washington Post has done with the image of you walking on a beautiful fall day
The Washington Post headline reads: "Try a ‘fart walk’ to ease the pressure after that big Thanksgiving meal Whatever you do, resist the urge to lie down. November 24, 2025" Accompanying the article if a black ad white photo of someone walking on what appears to be a cold fall day. The camera is capturing their back as they're walking in a park with leaves on the ground. They are wearing a black coat and black leggings. The Washington Post has added radiating yellow lines from their butt to suggest they're farting. The photo credit says the image is from iStock.
November 29, 2025 at 9:50 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Yikes, my subway line is shut down for days due to a fire at Schloßstraße station on Friday (that I was just at the day before). Luckily nobody was hurt, but the fire damage destroyed multiple signalling systems apparently.

Not great timing for retailers on Berlin's second biggest shopping street.
November 29, 2025 at 9:29 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Like Obama, I enjoy a Five Guys burger from time to time, but the prices here in Germany were insane. Not surprised they are likely exiting the market after booking over 60 million EUR in losses since they opened in 2017. Just not worth it compared to Burgermeister etc.
www.merkur.de/wirtschaft/b...
Burger-Kette droht die Insolvenz – jetzt schließt das erste Restaurant in Deutschland
Weiter rollt eine Insolvenzwelle durch Deutschland. Auch eine Burger-Kette ist in Schieflage. Jetzt schließt die erste Filiale in Deutschland.
www.merkur.de
November 29, 2025 at 9:09 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Here are two people who have awesome and underrated Christmas albums (one you expect, one maybe you don't):

Annie Lennox and Seth MacFarlane. I went to his Christmas concert with the San Francisco Symphony one year and was just amazed. OK maybe with the voicework it could be expected, but I didn't.
November 29, 2025 at 8:58 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Flashback for Nov. 29, 2025

28 points
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Play here:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Flashback: Your Weekly History Quiz, Nov. 29, 2025
Can you sort 8 historical events?
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:34 AM
cskwriter.bsky.social
The Berlin radio call signal Christoph 31, used for a rescue helicopter, is being retired. I know this service well (not because I have been on it!) but because it follows the Teltow Canal as a visual guide. It flew under the US flag from 1987 to 1990, when the area was part of the American sector.
Christoph 31 is the call sign of a rescue helicopter (RTH) operated in Berlin by ADAC Luftrettung, which is used for air rescue by the Berlin Fire Department's rescue service. In recent years, Christoph 31 has flown the most missions of any German rescue helicopter, depending on the alarm system. The number of missions shows a very high false alarm rate compared to the national average. The Berlin station completed a total of 3,838 missions in 2015, while the second-placed station (Christoph Europa 1, Aachen/Würselen) completed only 2,162 missions. According to the ADAC, Christoph 31 was the rescue helicopter with the most air rescue missions per day worldwide in 2017.
November 28, 2025 at 7:07 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
“That last day was kind of surreal. It felt like I was grieving something. I was saying goodbye to childhood, in a way.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/a...
Saying Goodbye to ‘Stranger Things’
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Dr Seán Ketchem
timothysnyder.bsky.social
It’s not a bias. It’s a transaction. Tens of millions of Ukrainian lives and the remnants of American respectability in exchange for an increase in the private fortunes of a few people.
November 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
With Advent comes the "fairy tale" movie season in Germany. "Märchenfilme" were produced in copious quantities in postwar West and East Germany in the 1950s (and many of the newer ones are remakes of the 1950s originals), possibly as a way to look back with nostalgia on a less problematic past.
DEFA was the first film studio in the four occupation zones to receive a license after 1945, but did not produce any fairy tale films during the occupation period. DEFA's children's film production initially approached the fairy tale heritage only slowly, partly because the Grimm collection was not without controversy in the Soviet occupation zone. The Grimm brothers' fairy tales seemed, on the one hand, too illusory, romantic, and mystical, and on the other hand, too cruel and bloody. In 1948, Wolff von Gordon suggested to DEFA that they make a film adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff's fairy tale The Cold Heart. It was not until two years after the founding of the GDR that Das kalte Herz, the first fairy tale film and also the first DEFA color film in Agfacolor, was shot under the direction of Paul Verhoeven in the spring and summer of 1950 at the Babelsberg Studios. Thanks to 9,779,526 viewers, it also immediately became one of the most successful DEFA films ever. In 1953, the audience record was broken with DEFA's second fairy tale film, Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck (The Story of Little Muck) by Wolfgang Staudte, with 12.9 million cinema-goers, which can also be attributed to the elaborate production and the special effects that were not yet so common at the time. This makes the Wilhelm Hauff film adaptation the most-watched cinema film in the GDR.
November 28, 2025 at 5:45 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Major improvements coming to the commuter rail network in Berlin's southwest:
-the S25 will be lengthened as far as Stahnsdorf, restoring S-Bahn service that was lost with the postwar closure of the "Cemetery Railway"
-restoration of the Stammbahn
-a second track between Südende and Lichterfelde-Ost
November 28, 2025 at 5:38 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
What the administration is doing by targeting entire ethnic groups and family members with persecution on the basis of a lone wolf act of violence is basically the Nazi response to the vom Rath shooting. And the Stephen Miller circle would love to be able to launch a Reichskristallnacht out of this.
bgrueskin.bsky.social Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 1d
🎁 link to the WSJ editorial that made Stephen Miller so mad.

"It would be a shame if this single act of betrayal became the excuse for deporting all Afghan refugees...

"Thousands are building new lives here in peace. Collective punishment won’t make America safer."

www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
Opinion | The Ambush on the National Guard
The alleged shooting by an Afghan ‘partner’ shouldn’t condemn all who assisted the U.S. and now live here.
www.wsj.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:29 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Funny that even though Germany does not Thanksgiving (duh) it does have Black Friday, which only makes sense if you know that it was because many people in the US outside of retail and essential jobs have the day off and start their holiday shopping, putting stores "in the black" for the first time.
The term “Black Friday” has for years been synonymous with mayhem at stores, and its origin story has roots in turbulence. Black Friday began in Philadelphia in the 1960s. Tourists would descend on the city on the day between Thanksgiving and the annual Army-Navy football game held on Saturday. Historians say the Philadelphia police took to calling the day Black Friday because officers had to work long hours and deal with terrible traffic, bad weather and other crowd-related miseries. Local retailers wanted to draw in shoppers that day. But they disliked the term because of the connotation of the word “black” in front of a day of the week, which historically has been used to mark unpleasant events. One was Black Tuesday, the day of the stock market crash of 1929, and another, Black Monday, the day in 1987 when the market lost more, on a percentage basis, than on any day in 1929. Retailers tried to rebrand the holiday “Big Friday” but were unsuccessful. Businesses later reclaimed the name Black Friday, saying that the day was when stores’ books went from red ink to black.
November 28, 2025 at 5:13 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
A year ago this guy was the German Finance Minister. And now come January he's a used-car salesman.

www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/c...
Neuer Job für Ex-FDP-Chef: Christian Lindner geht unter die Gebrauchtwagenhändler
Eigentlich gilt der frühere Finanzminister ja als Porsche-affin. Nun wechselt Christian Lindner die Preisklasse: Er steigt in den Vorstand eines Autodiscounters ein.
www.spiegel.de
November 27, 2025 at 11:26 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Eddie Izzard takes on the Thanksgiving story:

"The Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth and landed in--Plymouth! How lucky is that?"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrOg...
Eddie Izzard "The Plymouth Colony" Sketch from Dress to Kill
YouTube video by Eddie Izzard
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
"We honestly couldn’t have asked for better timing. Grandma had just finished making her famous stuffing, which we still get to eat. My sister was delayed by traffic, so no one has to try to explain what bisexuality is to a Catholic octogenarian. Win-win for everybody.”

theonion.com/grandma-than...
Grandma Thankfully Dies Before Sister’s Girlfriend Arrives
KNOXVILLE, TN—In a development her family began referring to as a “stroke of luck,” local 81-year-old Gloria Martin reportedly died Thursday before her granddaughter arrived to Thanksgiving dinner wit...
theonion.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:38 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
A reminder that without the Columbian Exchange, there would be no potatoes in Germany, no chocolate in Belgium, no tomato sauce in Italy, no corn/maize anywhere in Europe, not one cigarette or cigar, and the list goes on. And what did the indigenous populations get in return? Smallpox and malaria!
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemisphere, from the late 15th century on. It is named after the explorer Christopher Columbus and is related to the European colonization and global trade following his 1492 voyage. Some of the exchanges were deliberate while others were unintended. Communicable diseases of Old World origin resulted in an 80 to 95 percent reduction in the Indigenous population of the Americas from the 15th century onwards, and their near extinction in the Caribbean. The cultures of both hemispheres were significantly impacted by the migration of people, both free and enslaved, from the Old World to the New. European colonists and African slaves replaced Indigenous populations across the Americas, to varying degrees. The number of Africans taken to the New World was far greater than the number of Europeans moving there in the first three centuries after Columbus. The new contacts among the global population resulted in the interchange of many species of crops and livestock, which supported increases in food production and population in the Old World. American crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, cassava, sweet potatoes, and chili peppers became important crops around the world. Old World rice, wheat, sugar cane, and livestock, among other crops, became important in the New World. The term was first used in 1972 by the American historian and professor Alfred W. Crosby in his environmental history book The Columbian Exchange. It was rapidly adopted by other historians and by journalists.
November 27, 2025 at 4:13 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Fun facts to know and tell--even though it is now extinct, the Powhatan language encountered by the Virginia colonists remains the single largest source of indigenous word borrowings into the English language. Hickory, muskrat, raccoon, moccasin, tomahawk, persimmon and many more were all loanwords.
cskwriter.bsky.social Dr Seán Ketchem @cskwriter.bsky.social · 2d
For a lot of people it is Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but in the Ketchem household required Thanksgiving viewing is Terrence Malick's masterpiece The New World, the establishment of the first permanent English colony in 1607, some dozen years before the Pilgrims.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFky...
The New World - Vorspiel
YouTube video by tgureckis
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:51 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
Abusing Federal police authorities to settle family scores and lock up her own nephew's mom, just before Thanksgiving no less. What nasty pieces of work these Leavitts are.
November 27, 2025 at 3:12 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
For a lot of people it is Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but in the Ketchem household required Thanksgiving viewing is Terrence Malick's masterpiece The New World, the establishment of the first permanent English colony in 1607, some dozen years before the Pilgrims.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFky...
The New World - Vorspiel
YouTube video by tgureckis
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:07 PM
cskwriter.bsky.social
A Thanksgiving reading! 🍁🍾🦃🥧
They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they can be used (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl, there was a great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to the proportion. Which made many afterward write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports. William Bradford, "Of Plymouth Plantation"
November 27, 2025 at 1:55 PM