Nov

Before you read this blog, please waste three minutes of your life reading this: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/11/05/o.change.name.after.marriage/index.html

I am concerned that the author of this article is so incensed about 80% of women in America choosing to change their surname after marriage. Does she not have more important or interesting things to harp on about, in the realms of feminism? Haven’t we moved on to more important things, ladies? Perhaps the breaking of glass ceilings? Who would have thought that anyone gave a damn, in 2009, about wasting time worrying about what names we choose to give ourselves. Isn’t that what feminism is about; providing women with the equal opportunity to make choices?

Any one of those famous people she used as examples would be no less talented and no less who they are, had they changed their surnames, they just wouldn’t be a “brand” anymore. That’s right, these women are all brands and their names are marketing tools. Isn’t that counterproductive to the feminist cause? Do you not think there were multiple meetings with agents, public relations representatives, and management firms about each and every one of those marriages and how the name would need to stay the same so that the dollar value could be protected with the familiarity of the name? Those women no longer own their names and those names are not who they are – they are the labels for products or services or talents they provide.

My strongest connection to my former surname was my grandfather and he passed away in 2006. My own family is disjointed and scattered to the winds – so why continue to use a surname with which I no longer feel a bond? I am proud to be my husband’s wife and thus, changed my surname after marriage. I did not do that for my first marriage, because it was not a man or family to which I felt especially connected. Short of selecting a new surname for the both of us, one that was not connected to my former surname or to Muzquiz, I felt much more comfortable becoming a Muzquiz than keeping my former surname. I am not a brand. Changing my name does not erase my past, nor does it negate the talents I have or remove the things I have to offer the world. I am still ME. So, yes, it is about personal identity. I just happen to choose to identify as being proud to be Mrs. Muzquiz.

Faith Salie, before you go parading your idealistic and misguided blathering to the rest of the world about how we should live our lives exactly like you, perhaps you should take a closer look at WHY 80% of us do CHOOSE to take on our husband’s surname. We all have our individual reasons and have made a choice to take on a new name for ourselves.

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title.

Aug

Eighty percent of my life revolves around zombies from late March until the end of December. I’m not sure how it evolved into this situation, but it has. Sponsorships from upcoming movie releases, meetings with community representatives, advising people on media pieces, makeup and costuming for video and photo shoots… how did I get here? This is by no means a complaint, but I am well and truly baffled.

Currently, I’m putting together the walks in LA and San Diego for October. Different dates, different crowds, and far different purposes. The San Diego walk is a full event, collecting donations for San Diego Food Bank, getting the local community involved. LA’s walk usually seems to just be for fun, but I’m going to try to turn it into something more this year. We’ll see how that pans out.

I still need to get photos from the Comic-Con walk up on the ZombieWalk:SanDiego site… but there are thousands to sort through. Time-consuming!

Jul

That was me hanging out at the Humerus booth (#933 represent!) this afternoon. It’s a pic I tweeted from the phone, as part of the “Come find me and I’ll give you free Zombieland stuff!” Twitter-hunt I did. Gave away some VIP line passes for the makeup stuff, some shirts, and hand-sanitizer (don’t understand that last one? watch the movie trailer.)… so yeah.

The LA Times called my zombiewalk one of the “Ten essential Comic-Con must-sees” – talk about pressure, eh?

Jun

Watching CNN, lately, has been bordering on intense. I’m glued to the television this morning, waiting to hear more news on the “illegal” Iranian protests scheduled for today. I almost wish I lived there, so that I could join and show my support for those who want their right to a voice in how their country is run. The determination of the masses, despite being threatened with violence from police and military presence, is nothing short of admirable and dare I say… heroic.

I remember watching almost this exact same situation unfold, nine years ago, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslav. At the time, I was living in Europe, so it was receiving around-the-clock news coverage. From a beaten-up recliner in my tiny living room, I spent countless hours watching a revolution unfold. It started out as passionate protesting, with large groups making their way through Belgrade toward federal buildings. Eventually, due to police and military involvement, things turned violent. Windows were smashed, cars were set on fire, punches were thrown, everyday objects became projectiles.

One of the key turning points of the afternoon was a police station being breached by the crowds. At that point, the news reporters went from all business to joining their audience as intrigued observers, who could just sit back and watch as a revolution became emboldened enough to oust a corrupt government, who gained position through fraud and oppression. We watched as something, which had been building for years, finally boiled over and spilled into the streets. And we watched as the world changed, during the course of an afternoon.

Due to a nearly 100% media blackout from within Tehran, imposed by the Iranian government, the information is sparse and the media coverage is very much unlike the situation in Belgrade. What little information that IS getting out is purely citizen journalism, thanks to the power of social media and mobile technology. Pictures on Twitter, messages on Facebook, narratives in 130 characters via SMS. Uncensored, unfiltered, and as it happens.

Having been part of the social networking/media movement for more than a decade and having worked in the mobile technology sector – directly related to social networking – it makes me so proud to be part of something so important. Even though I have only played a minuscule role, in the development and usage of social media, it makes my heart do backflips to see the way in which it’s being used. So many people dismissed social networking as kids’ stuff and mindless vanity, but here it is… at the forefront of showcasing a rapidly changing world and providing the sole clear window into a situation which our grandchildren will be reading about in history books.

So, while I may not have that beaten-up recliner in that tiny living room or live video from a country’s capitol as an enormous show of dissent takes place… I am still glued to the television and am able to hear reports from the scene, not just from those observing, but from those who are directly involved and determined to have a voice, no matter what the obstacles or price may be.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Jun

Thanks to a nifty app on my iPhone, I can now post from anywhere, at any time. This is being used as a test post to see if the app even works… but if it does, that means I will more than likely start actually using this blog. What a concept!

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