A note from an old mentor and certified musical mad genius included the following bit, which is too good not to share:

REDACTED had another very successful year developing new toys for the U.S. military using cutting-edge space-age-type technologies.  It’s all hush-hush top-secret kind of stuff; hip sci-fi style survival gear that LOOKS as cool as it sounds.  Supposedly the 5-Box Brass want our enemies to be intimidated by our soldiers’ prêt-à-porter as much as by our swift and absolute destructive power, but you didn’t hear that from me…..  Anyway, there’s truly NO ONE like REDACTED for making hella-cool shit that also actually works.  So throughout the year he received a series of promotions and raises from The Brotherhood of Bosses, and now he’s chompin’ on a fat see-gar, hob-knobbing defense contracts like a big-time baron of business.  (as if…)

Redacted, I gather, is the offspring of my correspondent.