I've already directed you to several fun holiday gifts for your neurotic psychologically oriented friends and family members: Freudian Slippers, Freudian Sips Mug, Dr. Freud's Therapy Ball and the Freud Action Figure. The first two come from the Unemployed Philosopher's Guild, which has several other items that I like in its Freudiana section. Just so you know, I combed
Freud, Humor & the Importance of Primary Sources
This seems to be Revisionist Week. Monday I wrote about how my great uncle's kosher butcher shop in Freud's building was not kosher after all: The Butcher Shop in Freud's Building: Kosher or No? Yesterday I followed up a post about wanting villainous ancestors with one that said that it might not be such a good idea if those ancestors were in your recent past:
“Inheritance”: Revisiting the Victim vs. Villain Debate
A few weeks ago I posed the question of whether it's preferable to have villainous or victimized ancestors. I came down clearly on the side of the villains, based on my own family's fit into the victim category. Several people commented about dastardly relatives in their distant past, including my friend Clare, who had an Indian hunter on her family tree. My friend Lydia had
The Butcher Shop in Freud’s Building: Kosher or Not?
My inspiration for starting this blog was the discovery that my great uncle's butcher shop occupied a storefront in 19 Berggasse, the same building where Sigmund Freud lived and practiced. According to my mother, Freud's wife had bought kosher meat from one of my great uncles. I never knew which one, however, until I saw the announcement on the Freud Museum website that a
Was Freud a Schmoozer? Frank Tallis Says Yes
Back to basics. The idea of Funny Freud Friday stemmed in large part from my quest to determine whether Freud was the type of person who would have schmoozed with his butcher, my great uncle. Today I present more evidence that he was from Frank Tallis, a clinical psychologist and the author of a terrific series of mysteries set in early 20th-century Vienna that feature Max
Forests, Bricks Walls & Fish Ponds: A Newbie’s Genealogical Landscape
You can learn a lot about a discipline by examining the metaphors used to discuss it. On that basis, the landscape of genealogy looks rural and rather idyllic. This is how one newbie has been experiencing it. Venturing Into the Forest First and foremost, the terrain is filled with trees, family trees. A mere sapling of a handwritten chart made by my mother led to the
#FunnyFreudFriday: Rock & Roll Edition
What sound track does the name "Sigmund Freud" conjure in your mind? At first, I was thinking a Viennese waltz, but that's a little too calm and, well, schmaltzy for a man who dealt in inner turmoil. Perhaps it's fitting, then, that most of the bands I found that incorporate the name of the father of psychoanalysis are hard-rock oriented; one plays contemporary jazz. None
Fall from Faith: A Veal Parmigiana Epiphany
For some people, straying from the family faith is a gradual process, a long, slow falling away from religious precepts that no longer make sense. For me, it was like being struck by lightning. Or by a young cow and a hunk of Italian cheese. This is the true story of how a timid, more-or-less-kosher eater was transformed into a food rebel in a single meal. What I
#FunnyFreudFriday: The Prognosticator
Spent a stressful Thanksgiving with your family? Worried about having to deplete your bank account buying holiday gifts? I've got just the thing for you today: psychotherapy on the cheap. The odds are good that Dr. Freud's Therapy Ball -- brought to you by the fine folks at Archie McPhee -- can diagnose your problem, or at least give you a good laugh. UPDATE: I'm
Thanksgiving: The Perfect Viennese Holiday
Starting a new blog when you have been accustomed to writing about another subject requires looking at occasions from a different perspective. In September, I wrote Blogging While Jewish: A Rosh Hashanah Reverie, exploring how it feels to focus on my heritage. Now I'm encountering my first Thanksgiving as a people- rather than a pet-oriented blogger. Last year, I could chose to
The Bride Ate Chocolate: A Genealogical Mystery
A couple of weeks ago I alluded to the fact that one of my great uncles had a cafe in Vienna, which will give me an excuse to add Viennese pastry to this blog's meat-oriented menu. I also promised to reveal the family link to Barton's chocolate. A Bit of Background My interest was piqued by an email from one of my new-found relatives, the indefatigable family historian
Freud Friday: Freud’s Last Dog (It’s Not Who You Think)
Talk about shaggy dog stories. I thought my series on Freud & Dogs -- see Part I, A Case of Late Life Puppy Love; Part II, A Dangerous Method (If You Fear Dogs) for background -- was finished. In Part III, I described how Freud escaped to London from Nazi-occupied Vienna with his chow, Lun. It's a sad last chapter of Freud's life. Lun was quarantined for several months and
Call Me Putzi: Would You Prefer Villains or Victims for Ancestors?
I just finished reading Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, the story of William E. Dodd's stint as U.S. Ambassador to Germany during the rise of Hitler (1933-1937). It's a compelling tale, involving the internal workings of the state department and the many missed opportunities to head off Nazism, with deft characterizations of the players in the unfolding global
#FunnyFreudFriday: Freud & Jung’s Excellent Adventure
I first saw the following image of Jung and Freud enjoying a schvitz on Facebook. It was posted by the mysterious Jacques Lacan -- mysterious because, in case you're not familiar with the French philosopher and psychoanalyst, he is dead. And, yet, he is still posting on Facebook. (Do I need to worry that my posthumous status updates will be more interesting than my current
From Meat to Sweets: A Family Occupation — & Preoccupation
I've alluded before to the other Siegmund Kornmehl -- the brother-in-law of Freud's butcher, who had the same name as he did -- but for a long time I didn't have much information on him. Recently it became clear that he had at least part ownership in a cafe in Vienna, the Cafe Victoria. I will write more soon about the specifics but I am too excited about this latest