What's in a surname?

If Juliet and Romeo ultimately got together at the end of the play, she would've taken her husband's name and become a Montague.  Juliet Montague, that is, which I think sounds better than Juliet Capulet.  Mmh, it's fun that her first and last names have the same number of syllables, same kind of stress (JOO-lee-et CAP-you-let), and both end in "-et".  But I think it sounds kind of boring, and if I were her I'd want to change my last name.  What does "Capulet" even mean? Don't answer that, I don't want to get off topic just yet.

If I ever get married I hope to get a hyphenated last name.  It's not uncommon in this day and age for women to keep their last names and I say good for them.  I don't have anything against them, or against a woman who chooses to adopt her husband's name.  But for me I'd like to have a hyphenated last name to adopt my spouse's name; if I get married I probably will have a kid/kids and would like them to have the same surname as me and my husband.  It has yet to be determined in what order our names would be; if his surname starts with the same letter or sound as the last letter of mine I'd want my name to be first, and vice versa.

I happen to like my last name, but I know people who don't.  I had one professor who was a feminist but took on her husband's name because she didn't like her own.  Her last name meant "salesman" or "peddler" or something like that in her native language, despite the fact that no one in her father's family line had ever had that profession, and she was never really fond of that fact.

Sousa!

Oh, John Philip Sousa, thank you for your many contributions.  Namely:

1. The Washington Post march
2. Stars and Stripes Forever.  So much fun to play, every time I play it, regardless of what instrument I'm playing it on and if I have the melody or tons of offbeats.  Great crowd-pleaser, great way to end a concert.
3. The Sousaphone.  It's so much fun to say, and even more fun to watch in action. You know what a Sousaphone is: it's a tuba that wraps around the musician's body, with the bell part flaring out above his/her head.  It must be heavy and it takes a certain kind of person to have the stamina and musicianship to pull it off.
4. The short story/novel The Fifth String.  Granted, I haven't actually read past the first few pages, but the mere fact that it exists-- that this composer not only wrote music but a work of prose-- really tickles me.  I don't think it's in print because I can only find it in an online/e-book format, and this has really been the main factor in my reluctance to keep reading it.  Someday, I promise, I'll get around to finishing it.  The title itself is fun; it's the equivalent of baseball narrative titled "The Tenth Inning".

Misleading names/titles

1.  The Turtles vs. The Artists
What do you think about when you hear the names Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo?  In the book Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce, the protagonist names his chickens after the middle two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in that list, and a museum curator mistakes the protagonist for an art aficionado upon learning the names of the chickens.  I'm sure that somewhere out there someone has compiled a list of the ways the Turtles reflect the habits and characteristics of their namesakes; since they're all Italian it's safe to assume that their love of pizza has been accurately portrayed in the Turtles' shows and movies, right? (Just kidding).

2. ...what book?
I recently took out a book about librarians for my mother.  The other day she asked me to return this book, it's overdue.  I thought to myself, whaaaaaat?  It can't be overdue, ever since my massive $40 fine I've been very careful to return all library items on time, I could've sworn it wasn't due for at least another week...Well, I was right.  It wasn't overdue, in a manner of speaking.  The book's title is This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, by Marily Johnson.  I had merely misheard my mother, who had simply asked me to return that specific book and therefore told me the title.

3. ...what album?
This happened to my friend. 
Friend: I want that Nirvana album for my birthday
Mother: Okay (goes on with chores or something)
A few days before the birthday...
Mother: What Nirvana album did you want for your birthday, dear?
Friend: "Nevermind"
Mother: Oh, alright
Day of the birthday
Friend: Thanks for the present, but I thought I said I wanted that Nirvana CD for my birthday?
Mother: But I thought you said you changed your mind
Friend: No, "Nevermind".  The name of the album is "Nevermind"
Mother. Oooh.

I'm sure that my friend isn't the only person to whom this mix-up has occurred.

Julian Matthias and I: How he got his name

I've had the same violin since 2000, and together we've been to many rehearsals, audition rooms and concert halls. I named my violin Julian Matthias. I'm not exactly sure how I came to decide to give it a male name, but I can explain the reason for the name(s):

Julian- after my violin teacher's firstborn child, and after the main character from the "Ender's Shadow" book series by Orson Scott Card. This series resonanted with me more strongly than the "Ender's Game" series because of this main character, who's real name is Julian Delphiki but is almost entirely referred to as Bean, which is the name he gives himself. Someday I'll buy myself all four books, but for now I'm content to borrow them from the library and devour them in one day.

Matthias- again, after two people: one literary hero and one real person. Actually, I think the real person was the name-inspiration for the literary hero, who is the protagonist of the first book of the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques. I read the majority of the books in this series while in middle school. I know that Jacques searched the Bible for names for his characters, which is where he got the name "Asmedeus" for the snake; I think it's safe to guess that "Matthias" is also for Christ's eponymous "thirteenth disciple". Jesus had twelve disciples until one, ah, "went rogue" and ultimately took his own life; after that, Matthias was brought on to bring the number of apostles back to twelve.

I'm posting this as a sort of "prologue" to the experiences that Julian Matthias and I have had over the years. I figure if I can't think of anything else to write about, at least I can put up a post on this subject. I'm distantly worried about coming up with material to last me the remaining 51 weeks...