Dr Seán Ketchem
@cskwriter.bsky.social
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.”
The hazardous icy conditions in Berlin have led the city libraries to grant an automatic 2-week extension to all previously checked-out books and media. I just checked my library account and it is true!
February 1, 2026 at 11:07 AM
The hazardous icy conditions in Berlin have led the city libraries to grant an automatic 2-week extension to all previously checked-out books and media. I just checked my library account and it is true!
TIL that Paris was not in fact the capital of France during the 1870s. After the French defeat at the hands of the Prussians in January 1871 and the deadly May weeks of the Paris Commune, the seat of government was officially relocated to Versailles, and it legally remained so throughout the decade.
January 31, 2026 at 2:13 PM
TIL that Paris was not in fact the capital of France during the 1870s. After the French defeat at the hands of the Prussians in January 1871 and the deadly May weeks of the Paris Commune, the seat of government was officially relocated to Versailles, and it legally remained so throughout the decade.
Kittenz and I are ready for the coming arctic blast weekend. Students got their grades in first period, so I just sent my classes home with an easy writing assignment. Then I stocked up at the store and when I came home there was a snappy fresh edition of the New York Review of Books in my mailbox!
January 30, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Kittenz and I are ready for the coming arctic blast weekend. Students got their grades in first period, so I just sent my classes home with an easy writing assignment. Then I stocked up at the store and when I came home there was a snappy fresh edition of the New York Review of Books in my mailbox!
Digging the fact Netflix has somehow snagged the entire 007 film library.
Now time for ultra-cheeseball A View to a Kill, which not only is set in San Francisco, but a runaway fire truck chase scene goes right past my old workplace on Battery Street, with the very window I sat next to in the shot.
Now time for ultra-cheeseball A View to a Kill, which not only is set in San Francisco, but a runaway fire truck chase scene goes right past my old workplace on Battery Street, with the very window I sat next to in the shot.
January 29, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Digging the fact Netflix has somehow snagged the entire 007 film library.
Now time for ultra-cheeseball A View to a Kill, which not only is set in San Francisco, but a runaway fire truck chase scene goes right past my old workplace on Battery Street, with the very window I sat next to in the shot.
Now time for ultra-cheeseball A View to a Kill, which not only is set in San Francisco, but a runaway fire truck chase scene goes right past my old workplace on Battery Street, with the very window I sat next to in the shot.
That's about a good inch of solid black ice on my station platform. Sidewalks all over town over the same. Slippery AF, your shoes can't get a grip on the surface.
Tomorrow is the last day of the first semester and the students already have their grades, so we will just keep it light. But brrr...
Tomorrow is the last day of the first semester and the students already have their grades, so we will just keep it light. But brrr...
January 29, 2026 at 2:05 PM
That's about a good inch of solid black ice on my station platform. Sidewalks all over town over the same. Slippery AF, your shoes can't get a grip on the surface.
Tomorrow is the last day of the first semester and the students already have their grades, so we will just keep it light. But brrr...
Tomorrow is the last day of the first semester and the students already have their grades, so we will just keep it light. But brrr...
On top of the horrific scenes of state-sponsored violence and terror coming from the US every week, on top of how backwards the country is (medical bankruptcy anyone?), I don't think I could move back again purely for aesthetic reasons. I mean so much of the US just looks *grim*.
I prefer A over B.
I prefer A over B.
January 28, 2026 at 12:15 PM
On top of the horrific scenes of state-sponsored violence and terror coming from the US every week, on top of how backwards the country is (medical bankruptcy anyone?), I don't think I could move back again purely for aesthetic reasons. I mean so much of the US just looks *grim*.
I prefer A over B.
I prefer A over B.
On this day of remembrance, how a nation descended into violence must continue to be understood
![The Wannsee Conference (German: Wannseekonferenz, German pronunciation: [ˈvanzeːkɔnfeˌʁɛnt͡s]) was a meeting of senior government officials of Nazi Germany and Schutzstaffel (SS) leaders, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference, called by the director of the Reich Security Main Office SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, was to ensure the co-operation of administrative leaders of various government departments in the implementation of the Final Solution to the Jewish Question, whereby most of the Jews of German-occupied Europe would be deported to occupied Poland and murdered. Conference participants included representatives from several government ministries, including state secretaries from the Foreign Office, the justice, interior, and state ministries, and representatives from the SS. In the course of the meeting, Heydrich outlined how European Jews would be rounded up and sent to extermination camps in the General Government (the occupied part of Poland), where they would be murdered.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ndxd4h47nhylsdfke4x4arlk/bafkreidjlgulrmyd6vk6ygns7gd6rrnw5swu5oqxl36mgd335xrcdfaisq@jpeg)
January 27, 2026 at 6:41 PM
On this day of remembrance, how a nation descended into violence must continue to be understood
Spot the real American patriot in this photo.
January 27, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Spot the real American patriot in this photo.
It is sad that what is finally causing rightwing media to turn against the regime is that this time the victim was a white guy with a gun, but I will take what I can get. It will make Pretti's murder be remembered long after this is all over.
January 26, 2026 at 8:12 PM
It is sad that what is finally causing rightwing media to turn against the regime is that this time the victim was a white guy with a gun, but I will take what I can get. It will make Pretti's murder be remembered long after this is all over.
The word is out that CBP Oberscharführer Heinrich Bovino will pull his Einsatzgruppen out of Minneapolis in the next week or so to launch their next attack on--the citizens of Philadelphia. Good luck with that. Sure that is gonna go super, super well for them.
January 26, 2026 at 8:03 PM
The word is out that CBP Oberscharführer Heinrich Bovino will pull his Einsatzgruppen out of Minneapolis in the next week or so to launch their next attack on--the citizens of Philadelphia. Good luck with that. Sure that is gonna go super, super well for them.
Shocking confession: as a kid visiting family in Germany in the summers I developed a taste for Mirácoli, as it was something my mom would sometimes whip up as a quick affordable lunch, and I nearly went to the picket lines when Mars eliminated the faux-parmesan packet (but didn't change the price).
January 26, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Shocking confession: as a kid visiting family in Germany in the summers I developed a taste for Mirácoli, as it was something my mom would sometimes whip up as a quick affordable lunch, and I nearly went to the picket lines when Mars eliminated the faux-parmesan packet (but didn't change the price).
In my mind I see the last hours of the Trump administration like the final scenes of Downfall, with Frau Miller begging to see the Leader one more time before he bites down on his Filet O' Fish and ICE officers frantically pouring gasoline on the all the files.
January 25, 2026 at 5:24 PM
In my mind I see the last hours of the Trump administration like the final scenes of Downfall, with Frau Miller begging to see the Leader one more time before he bites down on his Filet O' Fish and ICE officers frantically pouring gasoline on the all the files.
After a sabotage burned out the switching systems early in December, my neighborhood subway line is finally running along its full length again as of Monday.
January 24, 2026 at 5:57 PM
After a sabotage burned out the switching systems early in December, my neighborhood subway line is finally running along its full length again as of Monday.
And just like that, the supposed historic realignment of the 2024 election (the one red states based their new gerrymanders on) is gone. The GOP is even further in the whole with young people and nonwhites than it was in the ramp.up to 2020. The GOP has the support of less than 30% of those voters.
January 22, 2026 at 2:30 PM
And just like that, the supposed historic realignment of the 2024 election (the one red states based their new gerrymanders on) is gone. The GOP is even further in the whole with young people and nonwhites than it was in the ramp.up to 2020. The GOP has the support of less than 30% of those voters.
Twice a day I navigate one of the most decrepit stations in all of Berlin: the transfer from the S2 rail line to the U7 subway. The pedestrian bridge is a provisional solution from 1985 (!) still in heavy daily use. And the daunting number of stairs makes it a no-go for anyone with mobility issues.
January 22, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Twice a day I navigate one of the most decrepit stations in all of Berlin: the transfer from the S2 rail line to the U7 subway. The pedestrian bridge is a provisional solution from 1985 (!) still in heavy daily use. And the daunting number of stairs makes it a no-go for anyone with mobility issues.
Forgot what a great movie "Glory" is. MLK Day viewing in the Ketchem household. And I still remember the Robert Gould Shaw monument at the Massachusetts State House from my Boston days.
January 19, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Forgot what a great movie "Glory" is. MLK Day viewing in the Ketchem household. And I still remember the Robert Gould Shaw monument at the Massachusetts State House from my Boston days.
Believe it or not, MLK once delivered a sermon in East Berlin's Sophienkirche. The church still has a small exhibit about it.
January 19, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Believe it or not, MLK once delivered a sermon in East Berlin's Sophienkirche. The church still has a small exhibit about it.
Just watched "Night Train to Munich", fun little Carol Reed action pic with heavy overlap with Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" (same screenwriting team, same female lead, comic relief by Charters & Caldicott, and of course, international intrigue on a train with WWII looming on the horizon.
January 18, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Just watched "Night Train to Munich", fun little Carol Reed action pic with heavy overlap with Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" (same screenwriting team, same female lead, comic relief by Charters & Caldicott, and of course, international intrigue on a train with WWII looming on the horizon.
While the political map of Germany has obviously changed dramatically in the last 200 years, you can still discern borders going back to the Holy Roman Empire in both Protestant and Catholic ecclesiastical districts to this day. The polities vanished, but the parish borders continued to follow them.
January 17, 2026 at 2:33 PM
While the political map of Germany has obviously changed dramatically in the last 200 years, you can still discern borders going back to the Holy Roman Empire in both Protestant and Catholic ecclesiastical districts to this day. The polities vanished, but the parish borders continued to follow them.
Heaven is the film archive at Berlin's America Memorial Library.
The trick is they are grouped by director, then alpha by title. So the frothy comedies of Ernst Lubitsch are followed by the space operas of George Lucas, and then whatever category Baz Luhrmann is.
The trick is they are grouped by director, then alpha by title. So the frothy comedies of Ernst Lubitsch are followed by the space operas of George Lucas, and then whatever category Baz Luhrmann is.
January 17, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Heaven is the film archive at Berlin's America Memorial Library.
The trick is they are grouped by director, then alpha by title. So the frothy comedies of Ernst Lubitsch are followed by the space operas of George Lucas, and then whatever category Baz Luhrmann is.
The trick is they are grouped by director, then alpha by title. So the frothy comedies of Ernst Lubitsch are followed by the space operas of George Lucas, and then whatever category Baz Luhrmann is.
If you go to Berlin's Luisenstadt cemetery you can find a grave marker for the 12 members of a hiking club that died in one of Berlin's worst rail disasters: the Steglitz crash of 1883, when dozens of Sunday excursionists stampeded the (then ground-level) tracks and were hit by a train to Magdeburg.
January 17, 2026 at 3:52 AM
If you go to Berlin's Luisenstadt cemetery you can find a grave marker for the 12 members of a hiking club that died in one of Berlin's worst rail disasters: the Steglitz crash of 1883, when dozens of Sunday excursionists stampeded the (then ground-level) tracks and were hit by a train to Magdeburg.
So this is my "subway" station I get off at every morning since the new year started (it's actually a Chicago-style elevated railway). The station still pretty much looks exactly like this, the staff uniforms and trains have changed somewhat (photo is from 1913, facing east before a westbound train)
January 16, 2026 at 6:54 PM
So this is my "subway" station I get off at every morning since the new year started (it's actually a Chicago-style elevated railway). The station still pretty much looks exactly like this, the staff uniforms and trains have changed somewhat (photo is from 1913, facing east before a westbound train)
Winter programming in the Ketchem household.
January 15, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Winter programming in the Ketchem household.
Didn't soak the lentils overnight, but no biggie as you just simmer them a bit longer. I chop up the bacon and cook it right in the soup pot (do NOT drain the bacon fat, you hippies!), add 3 parts water to 1 part lentils, throw in a tub of chicken broth concentrate, some bay leaves, and simmer away.
January 14, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Didn't soak the lentils overnight, but no biggie as you just simmer them a bit longer. I chop up the bacon and cook it right in the soup pot (do NOT drain the bacon fat, you hippies!), add 3 parts water to 1 part lentils, throw in a tub of chicken broth concentrate, some bay leaves, and simmer away.