Lehman Brothers' Japan office is under scrutiny for making a little mistake: it lost a $350 million investment in a fraud. They thought the project they were investing in was backed by a reputable Japanese trading house, but it really wasn't. How did the scammers pull off their master plan? With fake stationery and business cards. Yes: somebody showed them some documents with an "official" company seal, handed over that genuine-looking business card, and next thing you know, $350 million! When things like this—or, say, a low-level trader at Societe General losing $7 billion by himself— happen at some of the world's top financial institutions, the impulse is to call those involved idiots or crooks. And sometimes they are. But guess what: getting scammed can be way easier than you think. And that especially goes for journalists!

It's fun to imagine Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter personally typing up the VF blog for his restaurant Waverly Inn. Launched by an anonymous author in January, the journal does have an air of middle-aged confidence about it, as in this bit about restaurant manager Emil Varda turning on a dime to face a demanding celebrity: "Old habits die hard; a former occupant of a Polish prison camp for political dissenters, Emil has mastered the protective, cat-quick pivot." Alas, we hear the author of the blog is not Carter, but rather someone close to him:

The picture of the grandes dames of New York publishing, fighting for places aboard the internet lifeboats, is a source of endless amusement-not least because they bring their feuds with them.

Brandon Holley, former EIC of Jane magazine, used to be "so Jane," in the magazine's words, because she rode horsies and played the drums. But now she has a new job: as EIC of Yahoo's just-launched web portal for women, Shine. Our take on the site? If Jezebel really had been bought by Conde Nast, as they joked about yesterday, this would be the result.

Vanity Fair editor and Waverly Inn overlord Graydon Carter may be one of the most powerful forces in the magazine industry, but he'll have you know that he's not above starring in a funny little online video. Carter's self-mocking appearance in this clip promoting VF's Green Issue, in which he barks orders at a lowly minion, is hopefully not a sign of a trend of chief executives trying their hand at comedy. But at least his effort is much more bearable than NBC boss Jeff Zucker's recent grating appearance online. Click the video to see Graydon's acting skills in action.

Today, we learned from the Times of London that Felix Dennis, Britain's eccentric billionaire entrepreneur and the vice-engaging publisher of Maxim, may have already killed a man. But besides the events of one dark night at the edge of a cliff 25 years ago, did you know that he's also an accomplished poet? Here's one of them, titled, "Polite Notice — To All Health and Safety Facists."

Pop singer and old curmudgeon Madonna is gracing yet another magazine cover. You'd think she was promoting a new album and her directorial film debut or something. This time it's the May issue of Nina Garcia's little 'zine Elle, both the US and UK editions. And the covers are different! The US version (left) is a modestly suggestive fashion pose, while the UK version features a scantily clad Madge using a rope like a stripper pole. The US headline says "Madonna Opens Up," while the UK edition promises an interview that is "intimate" and "outrageous." What does this say about our two nations? Do the Brits simply have a higher tolerance for 50-year-old lady bits? Are we just prudes? Larger image after the jump. [US image via Elle, UK via Stylefrizz]

Maxim publisher and very rich man Felix Dennis is an eccentric throwback to the old-school journalism of yore: he also writes poetry and is trying to recreate an ancient forest in England. In an interview with the Times of London, he talks about his old crack habit and how he spent three years trying to "save a young prostitute." Then, a couple of bottles of wine into the evening, he confesses to killing a man, 25 years ago:

Be forwarned, youngsters: the magazine industry has no room for you any more. Also, it can't find you! You're all out there working on the blogs and not learning how to do real journalism. Which makes you suck! "These people don't leave their fucking laptops," says elderly writer Gay Talese. "It used to be, you would go outside." My, how things change for the Gay. The Observer's attempt to capture the magazine freelancing zeitgeist in article form is written by former Gawker blogger Doree Shafrir, a fact which does not seem to register with the irony-proof older generation quoted therein. So the aspirational young magazine crowd either succeeds quickly or withers away into bitterness at the closed doors of the industry, while old veterans of top-tier magazines grow increasingly out of touch and bemoan every little change since their golden days. Isn't this how things have always been?

Yeah, yeah, magazine features are shorter than they were. This Old House may be shut down. The lead times for printing and distribution are increasingly absurd in an age of instant online publishing. But do magazine writers have to be quite so depressed and depressing?

Today's Observer contains a smart, if depressing, package of stories on the fading glories of the magazine industry, but the weekly saved its cruelest cut for the front page, where appeared the parody at left of Vogue's infamous LeBron James cover (click for larger version). The message: if anyone deserves to be compared to a crazed monster it is the notoriously demanding Wintour, with her ostensible boss Si Newhouse along for the ride. The illustration, by Victor Juhasz, capped a rough few months for Wintour, who was publicly dissed by fashion's priesthood during a recent trip to Europe, then faced uproar over her recent weight-loss outreach to two female designers and is now grappling with fallout from the James cover. After the jump, a large version of the parody cover, and the object of said parody.

Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore gave an internal presentation indicating the company might be looking to "trim" some of its magazine titles. Weak advertising performers recently include This Old House, Cottage Living, and Coastal Living. This could signal a coming crisis—will someone please think of the needs of the old coastal cottage dwellers? [Ad Age]

The Harvard Lampoon's soon-to-be-released April parody issue (click to enlarge) features none other than Harvard Lampoon Woman of the Year Paris Hilton! Not as good as the 1972 Cosmo parody, but still decent. When will those overeducated scamps stop with the humor and get down to business? [Faded Youth Blog]

Are you being bullied at work? Who cares, as long as a media outlet can make a good listicle out of it! Forbes assembled an illustrated list of the "10 Signs You're Being Bullied At Work." It features a bunch of stock photos of people striking typical poses in typical office work environments (pictured). "We can condense and improve on that crap!" we thought, immediately sensing the opportunity to simultaneously rip off Forbes' idea and mock it in a shady philosophical tightrope act. Below, our photo-illustrated guide to the top five ways to know if you're being bullied at work. Because these days, the most bullied people don't work in offices, anyhow.

I had thought this was a fuss about nothing. But when you look at the images side-by-side, it's pretty obvious that Vogue's latest cover featuring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen is indeed a sly homage by Annie Leibovitz to King Kong. In fact, the references by photographer Annie Leibowitz to one image in particular, identified earlier this week by a tipster to Jezebel, are unmistakeable. This First World War army recruitment poster-urging loyal Americans to destroy a "mad brute"-features a Kong-like gorilla with a right arm holding a weapon and a left gripping a virginal white beauty. It's much like the position basketball star LeBron assumes on the Vogue cover.

One could easily argue that Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair editor and 59-year-old, has faded into irrelevance, his salad days at Spy a distant memory. I mean, there have been lots of olds on VF covers lately! This month air-brushy Madonna, and before her Bruce Willis awkwardly straddling a motorcycle, Julia Roberts glimmering dimly with a rose in her teeth, even Jack and Jackie smiling beatifically, reminding us of simpler times. Things are getting a bit dusty over there, huh? But, actually, it makes perfect sense. Carter and his friends are aging, along with his surprisingly middle-brow readership. These people don't want to be confused by some young upstart (unless they're posed carefully by Annie Leibovitz), they want dependable movie stars and the like; the familiar folks who still polish up nicely, who are accessible and classy. Rather than trying to buck the demographic with edgier fare, Carter is just trudging along after the comfort-seekers. Hey, it worked for CBS. We're not quite sure, however, how the whole Shia LaBeouf thing fits into all of this.

Respectable publication Maxim has a list of the ten sexiest vegetarians, with predictable picks like Joss Stone, Pamela Anderson, and Natalie Portman. Missing from the list: famous vegetarian George Bernard Shaw. Who could be sexier than George Bernard Shaw? [Maxim]

Moby, the bald purveyor of computer music who is Amy Winehouse's anti-drug, will not stop speaking out on or against any and all things. Now, he is reassuring the gay community that, although he didn't have the luck to be born gay, he does hope that his kids will be [Advocate]. What does the hairless downtown master of background tunes like so much about the gays? "They have nice homes, bars, and restaurants." Ok then!

World Wrestling Entertainment, home to violent superstars like Hornswoggle, Jimmy Wang Yang, and The Undertaker, as well as a bevy of busty bikini-clad "Divas," is launching a children's magazine in April called WWE Kids. Great, sex and violence, just what kids want. No, really: the combination of cartoonish fighting and Barbie-like female sex symbols is quite appealing to young boys. The magazine should be a successful business venture. Good show. [ProWrestling.com]

Can't be right: "Atlantic owner David Bradley has nabbed Wired Publisher Jay Lauf as publisher of the culture and politics magazine... 'In the second half of 2007, we increased our ad prices by 390 percent,' said Atlantic President Justin Smith. 'I felt our ad pages were underpriced compared to some of our competitors.' So far this year, the Atlantic has slipped 12 percent in ad pages." [Post]