Thursday, June 11, 2009

Save the Squid

Stuff gets in the way, you know? We can't all be overnight sensations. It's the dream, that's what you've got to keep going -- no matter where you are, what you're doing or whom you're with.

I mention this today because a former colleague has a nephew who just graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Computer Science. Now we all know that Athens is a hotbed for alternative music, a home to REM and spawning grounds for dozens of other great bands. Some of which never quite gurgle to the top.

Well, my friend's nephew, besides studying hard enough to earn a degree, has been in a local band called Doctor Squid. Now do I have your attention?

Doctor Squid's music is described on their MySpace page as "the sound of how wonderful you'd feel if a giant squid successfully performed life-saving surgery on your organs. And then kissed you on the cheek. With his beak.'' Click hear for a taste.

Now obviously the nephew should be pounding the pavement, scouring the web postings and newspaper employment ads (oops -- they don't have those anymore), and earnestly tracking down leads to secure an important and fulfilling job that will set himself and a family up for life.

The other option would be to continue practicing very hard in Doctor Squid, grow the band's fan base and try to get lucky. It would be possible to do this while staying in Athens to earn another degree (something the kid apparently is considering.) Which leads me to my first proposal to President Obama:

A way to help solve the national unemployment crisis would be to provide incentives to graduating seniors to continue their studies, including special stipends for playing in bands. They get more schooling while continuing to chase their dream, and the precious workforce jobs are left to be filled by out-of-work former newspaper journalists. It's a win-win situation.

I have a lot of time to think about stuff like this.

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