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 apostrophe 's as an allowed personal genitive for shop names and other businesses caused controversy as an English encroachment, but actually has been attested in signage and naming in German-speaking countries for hundreds of years. Duden started saying "nein" in 1901 as an anti-British thing.
November 11, 2025 at 1:55 PM
The apostrophe 's as an allowed personal genitive for shop names and other businesses caused controversy as an English encroachment, but actually has been attested in signage and naming in German-speaking countries for hundreds of years. Duden started saying "nein" in 1901 as an anti-British thing.
Something like 80% of the valuation of the entire US equities market is based on like half a dozen companies. As folks have pointed out, that even exceeds the extreme exposure prior to the dotcom crash. And everyday household debt to asset ratios are getting close to 1929 levels. Double yikes.
November 11, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Something like 80% of the valuation of the entire US equities market is based on like half a dozen companies. As folks have pointed out, that even exceeds the extreme exposure prior to the dotcom crash. And everyday household debt to asset ratios are getting close to 1929 levels. Double yikes.
St. Martin's Day, or Martinmas, is an old medieval revel that traditionally marked the end of Hallowtide, and the start of the dreary dark winter (and looking outside my window today, they got it right). You eat goose, kids do a sort of trick or treating with lanterns, and drinking the harvest wine.
November 11, 2025 at 9:22 AM
St. Martin's Day, or Martinmas, is an old medieval revel that traditionally marked the end of Hallowtide, and the start of the dreary dark winter (and looking outside my window today, they got it right). You eat goose, kids do a sort of trick or treating with lanterns, and drinking the harvest wine.
Hey everybody, today is:
St. Martin's Day
Veterans Day
Jour du Souvenir
Remembrance Day
Armistice Day
Polish Independence Day
Something Really Crappy Happened in Germany Day (like every day huh)
Here is the Berlin Andrews Barracks, where my dad served in the 1960s, and is now the Federal Archive.
St. Martin's Day
Veterans Day
Jour du Souvenir
Remembrance Day
Armistice Day
Polish Independence Day
Something Really Crappy Happened in Germany Day (like every day huh)
Here is the Berlin Andrews Barracks, where my dad served in the 1960s, and is now the Federal Archive.
November 11, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Hey everybody, today is:
St. Martin's Day
Veterans Day
Jour du Souvenir
Remembrance Day
Armistice Day
Polish Independence Day
Something Really Crappy Happened in Germany Day (like every day huh)
Here is the Berlin Andrews Barracks, where my dad served in the 1960s, and is now the Federal Archive.
St. Martin's Day
Veterans Day
Jour du Souvenir
Remembrance Day
Armistice Day
Polish Independence Day
Something Really Crappy Happened in Germany Day (like every day huh)
Here is the Berlin Andrews Barracks, where my dad served in the 1960s, and is now the Federal Archive.
Another giveaway that you are watching an NFL game on German TV is McDonald's running ads for their "Big Rösti Raclette"winter menu special...
November 9, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Another giveaway that you are watching an NFL game on German TV is McDonald's running ads for their "Big Rösti Raclette"winter menu special...
Not sure if you are as big a Falcons fan as a Bulldogs fan, but Atlanta is pretty well represented just down the road aways from you in Berlin today....we are just past the half with a slight Falcons lead.
November 9, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Not sure if you are as big a Falcons fan as a Bulldogs fan, but Atlanta is pretty well represented just down the road aways from you in Berlin today....we are just past the half with a slight Falcons lead.
An unusual programming moment for an American NFL football game, albeit one on Berlin. Very nice.
November 9, 2025 at 2:51 PM
An unusual programming moment for an American NFL football game, albeit one on Berlin. Very nice.
This is trippy. Watching a regular American football game in Berlin on German TV with all the standard NFL trappings, but with German sportscasters as if it were a Hertha or Union game. And instead of monster truck commercials, it is trivago holiday ads.
I am having some cognitive dissonance here!
I am having some cognitive dissonance here!
November 9, 2025 at 2:43 PM
This is trippy. Watching a regular American football game in Berlin on German TV with all the standard NFL trappings, but with German sportscasters as if it were a Hertha or Union game. And instead of monster truck commercials, it is trivago holiday ads.
I am having some cognitive dissonance here!
I am having some cognitive dissonance here!
Good kitties! Soda Pop found a cheese dip that sort of looks like Rotel and Pony Boy is making the Texas Trash (out of muesli so I am skeptical, but we will see).
November 9, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Good kitties! Soda Pop found a cheese dip that sort of looks like Rotel and Pony Boy is making the Texas Trash (out of muesli so I am skeptical, but we will see).
The scenic Rosenkranz Basilica in Berlin-Steglitz.
November 9, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The scenic Rosenkranz Basilica in Berlin-Steglitz.
Plus a cheerleading squad to entertain the folks in the queue!
November 8, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Plus a cheerleading squad to entertain the folks in the queue!
Place was jumping. Queue for the NFL merch shop looped around the mall three times.
November 8, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Place was jumping. Queue for the NFL merch shop looped around the mall three times.
Berliners going bonkers (at least these Berliners, and I didn't hear a lick of English all afternoon) over American football at the NFL Fan Zone today (game tomorrow).
(And before you pull down your pants to pee in their Cheerios, who are we to begrudge them their happiness in this wretched world?)
(And before you pull down your pants to pee in their Cheerios, who are we to begrudge them their happiness in this wretched world?)
November 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Berliners going bonkers (at least these Berliners, and I didn't hear a lick of English all afternoon) over American football at the NFL Fan Zone today (game tomorrow).
(And before you pull down your pants to pee in their Cheerios, who are we to begrudge them their happiness in this wretched world?)
(And before you pull down your pants to pee in their Cheerios, who are we to begrudge them their happiness in this wretched world?)
Another wacky one (courtesy of @lewisbaston.bsky.social) is a local line in Saxony that runs on the Polish side of the border for a bit (because it was all Silesia back in the day) with one stop at a Polish station that serves the German village across the river. It even ran during GDR days.
November 8, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Another wacky one (courtesy of @lewisbaston.bsky.social) is a local line in Saxony that runs on the Polish side of the border for a bit (because it was all Silesia back in the day) with one stop at a Polish station that serves the German village across the river. It even ran during GDR days.
Random fun facts--you can actually travel internationally on the Deutschland ticket (though admittedly not very far). I used it once to go to Swinoujscie/Swinemünde for a beach weekend via the R5 and the Usedomer Bäderbahn (in fairness the end station is only a few hundred meters into Poland).
November 8, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Random fun facts--you can actually travel internationally on the Deutschland ticket (though admittedly not very far). I used it once to go to Swinoujscie/Swinemünde for a beach weekend via the R5 and the Usedomer Bäderbahn (in fairness the end station is only a few hundred meters into Poland).
The Deutsche Bahn winter rail timetables were released online a few weeks ago for travel starting Dec. 14. This is generally the best time to get one of these "Super Saver" fares, as they apparently only load a limited number of them when the new timetable goes live. Berlin to Amsterdam is 5h 44m.
November 7, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The Deutsche Bahn winter rail timetables were released online a few weeks ago for travel starting Dec. 14. This is generally the best time to get one of these "Super Saver" fares, as they apparently only load a limited number of them when the new timetable goes live. Berlin to Amsterdam is 5h 44m.
Real "Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia" vibes watching Fox clips with even their hard news anchors saying "A Democrat winning a New York City mayoral election is a nothingburger. No Republican has ever had a chance there." Fox famously has an older audience, surely they can remember?
November 7, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Real "Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia" vibes watching Fox clips with even their hard news anchors saying "A Democrat winning a New York City mayoral election is a nothingburger. No Republican has ever had a chance there." Fox famously has an older audience, surely they can remember?
"Consider the Monster"! Great David Foster Wallace reference. Looking forward to watching the film on Friday.
November 7, 2025 at 2:14 AM
"Consider the Monster"! Great David Foster Wallace reference. Looking forward to watching the film on Friday.
I love this part: the diamond's authenticity was certified by the Viennese jewelry firm E.W. Köchert, run by Christoph Köchert, who did the examination. E.W. Köchert was the official jeweler to the Habsburgs, and is *still in business* in Vienna with the original files on the cut and specifications.
November 6, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I love this part: the diamond's authenticity was certified by the Viennese jewelry firm E.W. Köchert, run by Christoph Köchert, who did the examination. E.W. Köchert was the official jeweler to the Habsburgs, and is *still in business* in Vienna with the original files on the cut and specifications.
US politics news coming fast and furious today: on the heels of the Democratic blowout win, the Supreme Court in today's public oral arguments seem to be headed to a 6-3, if not even a 7-2, ruling against the Trump tariff regime. Transferring the tax power to the White House seemed a bridge too far.
November 5, 2025 at 6:05 PM
US politics news coming fast and furious today: on the heels of the Democratic blowout win, the Supreme Court in today's public oral arguments seem to be headed to a 6-3, if not even a 7-2, ruling against the Trump tariff regime. Transferring the tax power to the White House seemed a bridge too far.