MS walk 2006.

A quick plea for money….
Every year I have made it a personal goal to participate and donate to my local Multiple Sclerosis Walk. One of my good friends was diagnosed three years ago, and I would like to do everything I can to find a cure or more effective treatment for this insidious disease. Stella and I (and maybe Jen) will be walking this Saturday, April 22.

If you have a little extra cash that you don't know what to do with, please sponsor me (or better yet, look into walking for your local chapter). To donate on my team's behalf, please go to my page on my team's site, or call (800) 667-7131 (payment is safe and secure). Or call your local chapter, register and walk or donate.

Find your chapter here. Just enter your zip.

Thanks, y’all!

Katrina Pt. 1/Letter to Deb Pryce

I wanted to share a letter that I have just sent off to my representative, Deborah Pryce (R-OH-15). I've been corresponding with both her and my two senators a lot lately... Mostly to no avail. What really got me on this kick (ie. writing to congress-people) was the Katrina disaster and the horror that pervaded one of my favorite cities in the world. In my writing, I expressed outrage at our government’s apparent lack of ability to help (or in the least, lack of sympathy) those people in our own friggin’ country who needed help most.

The images and the words of those people as the events unfolded in those first few days affected me in a way I can't even describe. I mean, from those several thousand who died needlessly, Jen and I might have bought water, coffee or beignets from, or a couple of beers on Canal street as we watched the krewes roll on Mardi Gras. Or shook hands with, or asked diretions from or.... well you get the idea... I know I have been in quite a few buildings that were destroyed... Hell, I know for a FACT that we lived in one for a year and a half!

I had friends there... Are they alive? I (and probably never will) have no idea... (alas, another reason for this site)

Representative Pryce and Mike DeWine (junior senator) have both replied back to me with very snarky and condescending responses, and George Voinovich has not replied at all (I hold a little hope for him though... He's not completely insane....yet)

My Letter to Deborah Pryce:

To the the Honorable Deborah Pryce, (Ohio, District 15)
I once again am compelled to write to you about recent alarming events taking place within our executive branch. Recently, Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. has revealed to a grand jury that both Vice President Richard Cheney and President George W. Bush had authorized the leak of classified information which led to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. I know that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and many others in this administration believe this action to be both lawful and ethical, but I’m afraid that this just isn’t good enough for a growing majority of our citizenry.
I wrote you several months ago regarding my concerns over President Bush’s dubious wire tapping program(not so much for the tapping, but for the lack of court orders, what I believe to be a direct violation of the fourth amendment). In your response, you stated an unclear and fairly partisan response to what I feel was a direct expression of my position (though I have not expressed my party affiliation) . Let me make this perfectly clear; I do not care what any former president , including Bill Clinton, has done in the scope of this letter. The issue I refer to is at hand, not in the past.
The subject of impeachment is an incredibly touchy one; emotionally charged and divisive. However, I believe that the act of (or the initiation thereof) impeachment simply is a call for accountability when all other means have been exhausted. Impeachment was never a means for partisan attack; it is what our law demands.
Clearly, The president has at best been misleading in his ;
1), promise to “bring honor and integrity to the white House”,
2), the initial statement that “if there's a leak out of the administration, I want to know who it is. And if a person has violated law, the person will be taken care of.”
3) (though there are countless more examples), his persistent statements that he had no idea who was leaking this information.
At the very least, Mr. Libby’s revelations demand the sworn in testimony of both Mr. Cheney, Mr. Rove and President Bush, and an independent, non-partisan, and thorough investigation on any overt or implied involvement. If Mr. Bush, Mr. Rove, and Mr. Cheney are cleared of any wrongdoing, wonderful! We as a country can proceed to other matters. If, however, this investigation shows criminal actions, you are bound by your oath to proceed accordingly, including but not limited to your endorsement to articles of impeachment against those responsible. I intend to hold you to this and will vote and campaign accordingly.

Sincerely,
Matthew Millikin
Columbus, Ohio

If you are so moved, please feel free to copy and paste to your hearts content (just change the names to your respective reps). If you want to write your reps and Senators, I hope this either makes it easier to do so, or inspires you to.
Thanks a bunch, y'all

going fishing...

Today I'll be castin' the net for googling landlubbers. Here I start to fulfill the homing-beacon part of my goals for this blog by making a long list of unrelated words that one might associate with me or my activities, either now or in the past.

Avast me mateys; here there be non-sequiturs : Arrg.

1971 Dodge Dart, spice rack, Gibson Les Paul, hat, mullet, pig-headed, musician, tenor, tenor buddy, San Diego, Zappa, sound guy, techie, Leatherman tool, Del Mar Fair, UNO, Jen & Matt, More Than Words, Little Shop Of Horrors, Tommy, Chamber Singers, Main Attraction, Main Distraction, upside down Fender logo, Telecaster, Bonita Vista, obsessive, brooding, sad, sullen, depressed, MacGyver, guitarist, singer, audio guy, light guy, Baby, aircraft, airplanes, aviation, Navy, military, Margo, Deborah Stein, Logan Luft, Julio, chief, Luimil Negron, Stretch, New Orleans, Bucktown, wireless mics, Papageorge, vw bus, vw camper, NTC Great Lakes, Lake Forrest, Carmel High School, Southwestern College, Pam, Cindy, Sue, Pet Kingdom, Ocean Beach, North Chicago, Youth group, Methodist Church, J street marina, Mattspew, Just Java, Fourply, Rhoades, pit band, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughn, recital hall, accompanist, audio gods, feedback, transcription, Bienville Hall, the quarter, hand grenades, Daiquiris, Opera scenes, and so on...

If none of these words mean anything to you, I release you from my net and cast thee away (I hope you find what you're looking for). If you were looking for me, here I am. Shoot me an email!

Photos

This would be Stella, and as you can see, she is indeed a Land Monster. She is a three year old Lephard-shab (Shephard/Lab mix), a breed also known as the "North American Kitty-Sniffer:"

another shot:


This is me with a very famous western Ohio celebrity.


This blog will not be particularly photo-intensive, but I may be posting several more, as I dont have a photo blog as of yet.

Musical explorations from Spinal Tap, mark II

By Derek Smalls... he wrote this.

Due to (concurrently) my re-entry into a larger consciousness of musical reality and a realization of my current retarded musical horizons, I've decided to seriously abuse my library privileges and pillage the collections of the vast Columbus urban and suburban library systems.

My current Musical obsessions:
-Fess (That's Professor Longhair, to y'all who don't know, and aren't down with that n'awlins gris-gris)

- They Might be Giants
I finaly got a copy of "Flood" after a two month waiting period. I immediately sat down and transcribed Birdhouse, and am now trying to get the harmonies in Dead into my vocal chords.

I also have obtained a copy of The Magnetic Fields "69 Love Songs," after seeing many references to them in The Bone, so I figured I'd give 'em a shot.

One more thing. I have also decided to try and get back into writing and performing music again. I have however, encountered a setback. Late last summer, one of my cats had urinated into the keyboard of my digital piano, frying several diodes and rendering it relatively useless (and pretty stinky). Cat pee is suprisingly destructive... My goal this month is to replace and/or repair the affected components, and I figured it would be neat if I could post the results of my efforts. More to come on that.