For those of you who guessed that my closest neighbor on the Bluesky user map would be the unofficial mirror account for the National Weather Service in Columbia, SC, I'm impressed but I do have a lot of questions...

Normally I do updates every two weeks to the spreadsheet of Catholic Bishops at docs.google.com/spreadsheets... , but this was an important week: -Congratulations to Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York on his installation, and happy retirement to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

As a Louisiana Republican might (but probably won't) say of this result, "Où le yikes!"

Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work. "What's your computer number?"

Portlanders, cancel any plans you have for Wednesday, February 11th, because the Clinton Street Theater @cstpdx.bsky.social is showing DEFA's "The Singing, Ringing Tree" (1957) at 7pm that evening! Come for the Grimm Brothers story, stay for a lot of weirdness! (Plus Christel Bodenstein!)

Definitely worth seeing when it shows on PBS on Monday the 9th! Come for the inspiring librarians, stay to learn more about Patriot Mobile (the ones who lost the Texas state senate race last week) than you wanted to know. (You can stream the Olympic luge events afterwards.)

Here's the latest bi-weekly update to the spreadsheet of US Catholic bishops at docs.google.com/spreadsheets... : -Congratulations to Bishop Mario Avilés on his installation as Bishop of Corpus Christi, and happy retirement to Bishop Emeritus William Mulvey of Corpus Christi.

Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college: Urban Geography Television and Religion 16mm Filmmaking Introduction to Chemistry American Politics (Yes, I ended up with an individually designed major in Demography, Political Analysis, and Film; my parents still wince.)

It looks like a two-week cycle works best for updates to the spreadsheet of US Catholic Bishops at docs.google.com/spreadsheets... . -Congratulations to Auxiliary Bishop John S. Bonnici on his appointment as Bishop of Rochester, NY. Once new bishops are installed, predecessors will be removed.

Introduce yourself with 5 facts. 1) Open the door, you find a secret 2) To find the answer is to keep it 3) You'll believe it when you find 4) Something screaming 'cross your mind 5) Green Slime!

Updates for the last two weeks to the spreadsheet of US Catholic bishops at docs.google.com/spreadsheets... : -Congratulations to Bishop-designate James Misko of Tucson. With his appointment, four US dioceses are sede vacante: Belleville, IL; Joliet, IL; Metuchen, NJ; and Steubenville, OH.

#DEFAcember will return in the spring, though I'm not sure of the topic yet; it could be based around @deafcrocodile.bsky.social 's planned Märchenfilme set coming out this year, but I've got another idea in mind as well; if I do that, it'll be in April. Etwas Später Frohes Neues Jahr!

#DEFAcember and the 11th Plenum: I decided to watch this series of films not only for the 60th anniversary of the 11th Plenum, but also because of a statement in Jim Morton's @popvoid.bsky.social "Movies Behind the Wall" that the 11th Plenum seems like the point at which the soul of the GDR died.

#MST3K and Joel Hodgson, call your lawyers! You clearly came up with the concept first back in 1993! youtu.be/dUh85A4M4Ds?...

Merriam-Webster is a great provider of dictionaries and other reference books, but I could not pull this word off if my life depended on it. (I do have droopy eyelids, but I don't look sultry, I just look asleep on conference calls.)

Finding your Christmas films have too many reindeer and snowmen and not enough stolen washing machines? Then check out the fun "Der Weihnachtsmann heißt Willi" (1969), which also features the beloved Clown Ferdinand, interesting Leipzig scenery, and Fred Delmare. No subtitles, but you'll get by.

#DEFAcember 43: There can't be many films that were banned even before being completed, but the 11th Plenum managed to do so with "Miss Butterfly" (1965). It was filmed during the fall of 1965, with filming completed just days before the 11th Plenum started, and it was banned based on a rough cut.

No updates last week, but this week's updates to the spreadsheet of US Catholic bishops at docs.google.com/spreadsheets... made up for it. -Congratulations to Bishop Ramon Bejarano for his appointment as the new bishop of Monterey, CA. He was previously an auxiliary bishop in San Diego.

#DEFAcember 42: Karla (1965) is another film banned by the 11th Plenum that never got a release until 1990 when cinematographer Günter Ost spearheaded its restoration. Jutta Hoffman stars as Karla Blum, a newly graduated teacher who heads from Berlin to a small town to start her teaching career.

#DEFAcember 41: unlike the previous films banned by the 11th Plenum discussed this week, "Born in '45" (1966) has no political figures, or unethical people, or even political discussion. Instead, it's about a young couple who have decided to get a divorce after two years, but it's not clear why.

#DEFAcember 40: "Just Don't Think I'll Cry" is one of a few DEFA films rooted in the New Youth Program from the Socialist Unity Party in 1963, which encouraged young people to participate in the educational process and promised to allow young people more freedom in choosing their own lifestyles.

#DEFAcember 39: While the banned films of the 11th Plenum are often called "Rabbit Films" after "The Rabbit is Me", "Spring Takes Time" (1965) came out in theaters just before the 11th Plenum, and directly criticized aspects of East Germany's economic system, especially their quota system.

#DEFAcember continues: It was supposed to be a meeting about economic policy. Instead, the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, which took place 60 years ago this month, ended up being one of the most consequential events in DEFA and East German history.

This week's updates to the spreadsheet of US Catholic bishops at docs.google.com/spreadsheets... : -Congratulations to Bishop Mark O'Connell on his installation as Bishop of Albany, and to Bishop Emeritus Edward Scharfenberger on his retirement.

I'm a bit late on this, but I'm not at all surprised that (a) my most common words include film(s), bishops, and DEFA, and (b) my average alt-text length exceeds the maximum for a post on BlueSky. anisota.net/harvest

Only one change in the USCCB spreadsheet since their meeting: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... . Happy 75th birthday to Bishop Lawrence Persico of Erie, who will submit his retirement letter to the Pope. There are now 26 bishops at the retirement age of 75, including two with designated successors.

Might as well give @profanity.accountant an easy one...

Post something random or you'll have an awful December.

After racking up decisive wins across the country last week, how can Democrats keep up the momentum at the ballot box next year, when Congress will be on the line? An exclusive poll for The Downballot offers an answer.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) starts their annual meeting tomorrow, and as they do every three years, this will include a vote on a new President of the Conference, with Archbishop Timothy Broglio's term ending and the Vice President ineligible to move up due to age.

A movie you've seen more than 7 times with a GIF. (What, no GIF for "Revenge of the Cheerleaders" (1976)? Okay, I'll have to go with something a bit classier...)

If you see this, quote with a vampire that isn't Dracula.

#DEFAcember Konrad Wolf series conclusions: having planned a five-film series of Konrad Wolf films and ending up with seven over a month due to a cold and timely short-term streaming availability, what did I learn? Well, I'm still 0 for 38 on bad DEFA films. (Are the bad ones not brought over?)

What's the best one liner in movie history?

If you see this, quote post with your favorite Pokémon. (Wrong answers only.)

#DEFAcember 38: "I Was Nineteen" (1968) is Konrad Wolf's most personal film, and no wonder: it's based on his diaries from when he was serving with the Soviet army at the end of World War II. He's German, but left when he was young and now is with a winning army but from the losing country.

#DEFAcember 37 (another bonus!): "Recovery" (1955) was the second film Konrad Wolf directed, and it feels a lot more like his later films than "Once Doesn't Count" did. Its main character is Walter Friedel (Wolfgang Kieling), who has been found out by officials as not being the doctor he claims.

#DEFAcember 36 (bonus!): rarely does getting a lengthy cold pay off, but this is the exception as the DEFA Film Library has released three of Konrad Wolf's early films online for a short time. Among them is his first as director, "Einmal ist Keinmal" ("Once Doesn't Count") (1955).

Gift 🎁 link

If you see this, quote the energy you bring to BlueSky.

#DEFAcember delay: I've come down with a cold that's left me stuffed up and somewhat unfocused, and my last Konrad Wolf film for this series definitely requires full focus and attention, so no #DEFAcember post today. Perhaps tomorrow, more likely Sunday. Thanks for your patience.

#DEFAcember 35: How many people have played both a princess and a prince in a movie? It can't be a long list, but one person on it is Christa Bodenstein, who played the title role in Konrad Wolf's film of "The Little Prince" (1966). She and Wolf were also married from 1960 to 1978.

#DEFAcember 34: based on the novel by Christa Wolf (no relation to Konrad) who also co-wrote the screenplay, Divided Heaven (1964) came with high expectations and managed to exceed them. It's one of the most interesting films I've seen in a long time and the best DEFA film I've seen so far.

#DEFAcember 33: For Konrad Wolf, the play Professor Mamlock (1934) that his film (1961) was based on was quite familiar; his father Frederich had written the play, one of the first to deal with the Nazis and antisemitism. Both a Communist and a Jew, Frederich knew what he was up against early on.

"I'll miss Dark Corners." @darkcorners3.bsky.social

#DEFAcember 32: Lissy (1957) is the third film Konrad Wolf directed, but it's regarded by many as his first really good one and the start of a run of great films for him. The title character is played by Sonja Sutter, who we previously saw in "Destinies of Women" (1952). bsky.app/profile/nopl...

#DEFAcember Returns: stretching the concept of #DEFAcember to the breaking point, I'll be looking at series of DEFA films at various times, not just during December, usually for a week and focusing on a single theme. This week it's the films of Konrad Wolf, who was born 100 years ago next month.

HUGE FLIP: Democrat Catelin Drey wins deep-red state Senate seat in Iowa, breaking the GOP's supermajority. Drey won by 11 points in a district Donald Trump carried by 11 points last year. It's another massive overperformance. The Iowa GOP should be very worried for the midterms. Our full writeup:

If you're into election coverage that gets into races you may have never thought about but that are important, The Downballot is a valuable resource worth subscribing to. Plus, you get Discord access and get to see comments from me that will make you scratch your head in confusion!

Today's deep thought: what would it be like to hear the late Brother Theodore read an insurance policy? (For those who don't know him, he was a performer/comedian/monologuist who had a...distinctive style of speaking and performing. He narrates the attached trailer.) youtu.be/MhlfoZPtuvE?...