rainy flatiron building – no souls taken

IMG00203.JPG

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

coming into work today, in a cab because i’m lazy and it’s rainy and i’ve accepted the indulgence on the weekend.

have been taking loads of pictures lately — with happy results.

i like the convenience and random casualness, as well as the lo-fi quality of my cell phone.

the camera on the phone doesn’t provide great resolution but these pictures came out with nice color and greater amounts of foreground and background focus than expected — actually quite shockingly good considering it’s my Sidekick 2008 gekko i’m using.

this is the iconic Flatiron Building at 23rd and Fifth Avenue.

the rain was on the taxicab window, which i was shooting through.

i have realized recently that i manage to take so many pictures of new york city that are empty of people. i tend to crop the people out, or shoot up a bit. i think some of it is self-protective, trying not to piss people off by taking their pictures without permission. and also i don’t want to intrude on their daily lives. take their souls via photograph.

project to be continued

we had purple carpet!

img376.jpg

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

claud (pictured) just pointed out that we had purple carpet in our living room at the house on 53rd street in omaha. sort of freakish.

these are scans of slides — wish they were cropped better.

claudia is so freaking cute here!

Milwaukee moment

DSC_3206

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

One of my favorite moments from the Kuzons Klub Reunion (taken August 16, 2008).

(left to right)
Bonnie KAMMER (nee STEIN), David HERZOG, Selma MECHANIC (nee HOROWITZ)

In this photo: Bonnie KAMMER (nee STEIN), David HERZOG, Selma MECHANIC (nee HOROWITZ)

i’ve finally started a Facebook Group for the family — i hope it is a lot of fun. the interface is so much better than yahoo, i’m thinking maybe the yahoogroup isn’t the way to go…

1925 Segall Benjamin passport application page 2

1925 Segall Benjamin passport application page 2

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

this is the same picture as the one below.

i think this was when ben went back to poland (pre-WWII) to bring back Grandma Segall, aka Buba (Sarah Segall — Rywka Sura SYGAL).

uncle buddy talked about going to visit Buba at the Jewish Home, bringing her onions and booze. maybe it’s a bit heretical to repeat stuff like this about your elders, but for some reason stories like that make me smile.

ben segall

segall

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

i think barbara kolb gave me this picture of great grandpa ben segall that was among the pictures from max’s baby book.

in person, the picture shimmers. and it’s the same picture as his passport application so i think he had it taken around 1925. so since ben was born abt 15 Mar 1883, that means he was around 42 years old when this picture was taken.

i keep looking at his eyes, at his mouth. wondering if i have some of the “segall” (actually lopatka) features.

this picture makes me wish i knew great grandpa ben. da says he was really quiet, but i have seen pictures of ben with his brothers charlie and bernard where he’s pretty lively.

Apple JPEG file 25.

Apple JPEG file 25.

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

ah, the joys of data recovery, getting used to the digital single lens reflex (“DSLR”) camera, and learning what not to do when your data card is full….

i’ve spent about 2 hours this morning when i should be sleeping — after a terrible, rough night at work — doing this.

the upside is that so far i’ve been able to recover files off a mini SD that i accidentally deleted in my frenzy of trying to take pictures of the 4th of july.

it was a bit expensive (over $100) but i’m glad that i have the pictures. a lesson well learned. i think also it is far overdue time i read at least my user manual of the camera — if not a good book on shooting with DSLR and night.

i’d say there’s maybe 10 good photos out of the ones i took. oh well.

197X XX Erin Erika Jonas.jpg

197X XX Erin Erika Jonas.jpg

Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

i love this picture. me and err had so much fun that summer.

we were on some sort of ride or boat or something.

i miss the unicorn at the bottom of the pool on belfast drive….

1990 Nasielsk Poland Connie Newman article

1990 Nasielsk Poland Connie Newman article
Originally uploaded by Erika_Herzog

this is a picture of an article written by Connie Newman, a descendant of the Rothkop family, a family who are from Omaha.

from a story told to David Herzog by Rose Rothkop, the Rothkop family gave Grandma Rayla and Ben their wedding in Poland because they were neighbors and good family friends. Grandma Rayla’s family was very poor and couldn’t afford the wedding so the Rothkops “gave” Rayla her wedding.

Connie Newman went back to Nasielsk — our family’s shtetl from this side of the family — and heard this incredible and heartbreaking story about two people who i believe are our descendants. even though there is no further or more concrete information, it’s almost certain that anyone named Sygal/Segall/Seagal from Nasielsk is a relation, some how or another, to either Sarah SEGALL (nee [__________]) or her daughter, Rayla SEGALL (nee SEGALL – because Ben LOPATKA and his almost all of his brothers took the SEGALL name).

the name in Poland was spelled SYGAL. which is what is on Rayla’s mom’s passport.

a picture of Sarah’s (Rywka Sura) – Rayla’s mom – passport is here:

this is a picture of Sarah Segall (nee Rywka Sura SYGAL nee [__________]). she was Rayla’s mom.

this is a picture of Rayla SEGALL — the daughter of Sarah / Rywka Sura — and Ben SEGALL (nee LOPATKA)

thanks to Judy and Cookie, who let me scan the pictures when i visited in november.

please let me know if you have any questions or need clarification. some of this is a little confusing.

also fyi, i have volunteered to be in charge of the shtetl page for Nasielsk (as well as the Segall/Lopatka/Mondral/Saferstein/Stein shtetl of Radzanow, Poland) so i’ll be uploading as much of this type of information as possible.
shtetlinks

** i’m unsure of the spelling of Rayla — Raila? if anyone has further guidance i’d be grateful.

James McAvoy in STATE OF PLAY

Am rewatching State of Play again and it’s freaking brilliant. Almost better but in some ways worse the second go round. Plottier. Am appreciating the visuals and the acting much more.

Had the lightbulb moment — after being blown away by the look of one of the scenes — that i could probably use Skitch to grab screen captures.

Et voila!

GORGEOUS!

CA Trip in Progress

 

CA Trip in Progress
Originally uploaded by agilitynut

my friend and fellow flickr-er, debra jane, is doing this amazing six week road trip with her four dogs where she is driving all over the country and taking pictures of roadside architecture.

 

debra’s passion is inspiring the heck out of me. it is almost untranslatable how much it helps to see someone else focusing on a project, a hobby, that they obviously love, that is a labor of passion where there isn’t the focus on monetary gain or needing to compromise the principal or the efforts in order to have it to support you.

i’ve been watching this map as she goes, checking out her awesome blog and website, and wishing i was out on the interstate driving around.