Dead Drop: February 7

IT’S A CONSPIRACY, I TELL YA: Noted conspiracy peddler Oliver Stone gave an interview recently in which he declared that ever since 9/11, Hollywood has been censored – and prevented from making movies critical of the (U.S.) military or the CIA. Where did Stone give this interview?  On Putin-powered propaganda outlet RT.  Stone says that movie manipulation isn’t the only problem. American media organizations, he says, don’t give you the views of Iran, China, North Korea or Venezuela. Absent from Stone’s commentary was a list of Russian-made movies critical of Moscow’s actions.

LET ME PAINT YOU A PICTURE: Have we got a job for you.  Well, we DID but the period for applying closed. The Navy was looking for a combat artist – someone with “demonstrated experience planning and creating artworks from personal observation and moving and coordinating in a tactical environment.” The service has had a combat art program going back to 1941 when a small unit of artists was created to accompany sailors into action and document wartime events in oils and water colors. The gig was GS-9 to GS-11 level (about $60K to $90K a year.) We say “WAS” because the job was only open for five days (two of which were on a weekend) from January 30 to February 3. Often when civil service jobs are advertised for such a short period – it means someone already has an inside track and the job advertisement is being done simply to comply with regulations, at least that’s our artistic interpretation.