I'm sorry this comes too late for Halloween; it would have been perfect. But I wasn't aware of its existence -- or that of illustrator Brian Gubicza -- until alert reader Kathyfr (as she asked to be identified) sent me the link. There are so many wonderful things about this item it's hard to know where to start. The subtle splatters of blood, including one on the left pants
The Far-Flung Kornmehl Family
I've alluded to the fact that I've gone from thinking I had no living relatives on my mother's side besides my immediate family to the realization that I have a very large -- and, as it turns out, far flung -- family. Not all of them have the name Kornmehl, of course. And there are probably still more Kornmehl relatives to be tracked down. But Jill Leibman, an avid family
Freud & Dogs, IV: The Mystery of the Chows on the Balcony
I didn't think I would have much more to say about Freud's dogs; I've already devoted a three-part series to them on this blog. But I recently encountered an intriguing mystery. It all started when David C. Farmer, who played Freud in "Freud's Last Session" in Honolulu, posted in his Facebook page, asking about the identity of the dogs. That's the question I've been
#FunnyFreudFriday: The Ballad of Sigmund Freud
As far as I can tell, the only time this song by the Chad Mitchell Trio was recorded was for a live album of Harry Belafonte performing at Carnegie Hall in 1994; I can't find it listed on any of the albums or DVDs on the trio's website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7O5no7W6k What do you think?
Hipster Hottie Butchers
I've been preoccupied lately with the role of butchers in society, for obvious reasons. Many members of my mother's family -- including Siegmund Kornmehl, Freud's butcher -- were in the meat-buying, -cutting and -selling business in Vienna and I've been exploring their lives. In several instances, I've encountered a distinctive lack of respect for the trade. B'nai B'rith
#FunnyFreudFriday, Unemployed Philosophers Edition
I'm keeping it simple this week with a single -- but superlative -- funny Freud item: Freudian Slippers. This comfy footwear, brought to you by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, is perfect for people who spend a lot of time around the house: agoraphobes, say, unemployed philosophers...or freelance writers. Part of the description: As an extra feature, each slipper has
Sex & the Single Genealogist
Single, no children... married, no children... The land of genealogical research is fraught for people without progeny, especially those of the female persuasion. I can't tell you how many times I've read or been told by others that they are exploring their family roots for the sake of future generations, for the children and grandchildren. And if you don't have any? Please
A Tale of Two Siggies
This much I know: For more than four decades, Sigmund Freud and my great uncle, Siegmund Kornmehl, rented space in the same building in Vienna, 19 Berggasse. Siegmund Kornmehl had a storefront butcher business, while Sigmund Freud lived and practiced psychoanalysis upstairs. Beyond that, things get fuzzier. Was Martha Freud Really Affronted? I haven't yet found records to
#FunnyFreudFriday: Sigmund Freud, Man of Action
As promised, Funny Freud Friday will become a regular feature of this blog. I welcome any suggestions for things to be featured, from comical Freud products and Freud comics to amusing things that Freud said. Freud, the Action Figure I was alerted to the existence of Freud action figures by my friend Lydia, who has guest posted here; she noticed one in the window of a
Butcher Power! The Vienna Meat Clique
I've been trying to imagine what the life of a butcher was like in Vienna in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when my mother's uncles, the Kornmehl brothers, were in the meat business. On the one hand, it seems that being a butcher was not a respectable enough profession to allow a Jewish member of the trade into the Vienna lodge of the B'nai B'rith. But here's another
Introducing: #FunnyFreudFriday
When you have a blog that covers three different topics, albeit all related to my family's history, it's not always easy to use prompts that alert other bloggers in the same niche that you share their interests. For example, Geneabloggers, an extremely helpful site that brings together more than 2,800 (!) genealogy bloggers, offers a series of daily blogging prompts that
Five Genealogy Lessons I Learned From B’nai B’rith (Once I Stopped Sulking)
I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members. -- Groucho Marx* As I wrote the other day, two of my top ten family research questions concern the relationship between Sigmund Freud and his butcher, my great uncle. My mother's claim that her first cousin had been sent to see Dr. Freud suggested to me that there might have been closer family ties than
What’s in a Name? Kornmehl
As I mentioned last week, one of the ten genealogical questions I want answers to -- #2 to be precise -- was researched by a good friend, who became very interested in the history of my mother's family, the Kornmehls. The result was this wonderfully rich guest post. Blame -- or thank -- me for the illustrations. I came across this classic ad as I was searching for a picture
Freud to Gestapo: Drop Dead!
Almost everything Sigmund Freud did has been analyzed endlessly -- and why wouldn't the Analyzer-in-Chief be subjected to such scrutiny? But the diverging opinions on Freud's behavior say as much about the analyzer as they do about analysand. I was particularly intrigued by the different responses to one incident: Freud's metaphorical finger to the Gestapo upon his departure
10 Things I Want to Know About My Family & Freud
Focus, focus, focus. That's been my mantra ever since I realized my genealogical research was meandering in all directions. So I came up with a couple of goals: To flesh out the lives of my mother's immediate family members -- both to understand my mother better and to make the acquaintance of relatives I never met -- and to figure out the family's place in history. The