Hedge Fund Boss Spies On Her Own Management Team

Hedge funds can be tough, unforgiving environments in which to work. Those who enter the field understand that one may experience difficult conditions, while the financial rewards offer some palliative effect. However, few hedgies anticipate experiencing a covert spying operation, designed to find dirt, from their ultimate employer.

That latter situation is exactly what key employees at Ikos, a European hedge fund, recently encountered. The owner, a very wealthy Greek businesswoman, conducted "'large scale'" surveillance operations against her minions. The information came to light in a UK court case and was reported in today's Financial Times.

It's hard to feel sympathetic toward hedge fund employees. The notoriously secretive industry essentially runs a laissez-faire form of capitalism and feels little, if any, sense of social leadership. Yes, some hedge fund managers would ruin a sovereign nation, a massive multinational firm, or a housing market whose solvency is critical to global economic stability. At some point, deep-pocketed investment firms can't continue to insist the world's financial crisis is someone else's problem.

The image shows a new Minox digitial spy camera. Many years ago, I knew a medical practitioner who went on vacation with a spy camera. He said he used it because the spy cam was light and maneuverable. He didn't say where he purchased the microfilm for it.

Amazon Tribe Lacks Abstract Notion of Time

Today's North American edition of the BBC published a fascinating article about an Amazon tribe that lacks the concept of time. The piece summarized scientific findings first printed in the academic journal Language and Cognition.

Before you dust off your Tarzan books, keep in mind the Amandowa tribe can clearly define or articulate events snared in time. However, they don't have the linguistic structures "that relate time and space," according to the BBC. The Amandowans, though, pick up the more complex ways of relating to time rather quickly once they're exposed to it.

One novelty in the story is the Amandowans themselves. They only met their first humans from beyond the borders of their area in the 1990s. How the scientists found the Amandowans was not discussed in the article.

The illustration shows Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the French philosopher who developed the idea of "natural Man" whom, in some ways, the Amandowans resemble.

Naked Music NYC

When I think of the love of my life, I often associate music with her. The songs are sentimental love tunes, a taste we happen to share. Some time ago, I "discovered" (more like "fell over") Naked Music, a deep house/downtempo label whose recordings under the umbrella "Naked Music NYC" are among my favorites.

I'm hardly an expert in either downtempo or house. From what I understand, the creative brains of Naked Music were producers Jay Denes (right photo) and Dave Boonshoft. I enjoy a number of artists with whom he's worked, such as Gaelle, Lisa Shaw, and Aquanote. You can explore Naked Music at your leisure. Sometimes my friend Phil Dorsey plays Naked Music tunes on theBoCX.com, the "radio" station featured on this blog site.

Enjoy your special day, my love.

Harmon Killebrew RIP

Former home run king Harmon Killebrew, who passed away today, came from a baseball era that seems light years away from today's millionaire jocks, dull video replay, and luxury boxes no one can afford. Killebrew played on some good Minnesota Twins teams that included a great player (Tony Oliva) and a very, very good player (Rod Carew). The Twins had the mixed fortune of having a stingy owner. The players, including Killebrew, were dreadfully underpaid. However, the owner's frugality led him to sign talented Latin ballplayers. It's hard to imagine now, but having Spanish speaking athletes was something certain franchises avoided. The Twins and the Pittsburgh Pirates broke that mold, but for financial reasons and not to advance a social cause.

Killebrew and Minnesota's fans took to one another immediately. He was, as circa 1980s Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek noted, "Paul Bunyan in a uniform." Killebrew was a legit home run hitter in the grand style. He not only hit home runs, he hit majestic shots. His generation included some extraordinary home run hitters, including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Frank Robinson. Killebrew's attendance in All-Star games put him on the same field as Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, and Al Kaline. That's pretty lofty company and Killer was worthy of it.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune obit offers a useful glimpse into Killebrew's life. One interesting anecdote, and one I did not know until today, was how Reggie Jackson loaned Killebrew money when Killer was on the heels of bankruptcy. A lot of people, both inside baseball and just plain folks, thought the world of a man universally cited as decent and giving. He'll be missed.

Damn Yankees

This is the season of the New York Yankees' discontent. The team, which began to look past its prime in last year's playoff struggles, distinctly looks old this season. A number of its marquee players are either washed up or in decline. The good, younger players can't quite carry the full load that comes with being on a Yankee team.

The biggest issue for the Yankees is the team's pitching. Mariano Rivera, the relief closer who is arguably the team's most important player, has barely worked up a sweat this year. The Yanks are relying on two very old, retread starters to give them innings. Ironically, they might be the team's most consistent arms. That's not a good sign, as baseball's season is a long one.

While the Yankees will snap out of their current, dreadful slump (as did their principal AL East competitors), los Yanquis may not have enough gas in their tanks to win more than 90 games. That means the team of Ruth, DiMaggio, and Mantle will be third in the AL East race. That means New York will be out of the playoff money, something of a fate worse than death in demanding Gotham.

The photograph shows the Mickey Mantle monument in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.

Frederic Chaubin's Photographs of 1980s Soviet Architecture

A blog item in today's online edition of the LA Times discussed a book of French photographer Frederic Chaubin's images of 1980s architecture in former Soviet Union republics. One has to see them to believe them. If architecture intends to interpret and manage social imperatives, these structures leaves one puzzled. It's tempting to simply assign "visions of the future" to these edifices and call it a day. I don't think that's the case, as these buildings and monuments were clearly intended for immediate use and contemplation.

It is definitely worth one's time to view the available images from online links. A very good one is avaiable from the ZKM/Museum fur Neue Kunst, a Karlsruhe, Germany institution that had a 2011 exhibit of Chaubin's work. The link includes an engaging, four-minute video of Chaubin discussing his work. Another interesting interview with Chaubin is provided by the now-defunct, Japan-based website PingMag.

While Chaubin's book is a new release, his project is not exactly fresh. The images have taken something of a world tour for at least the past four years. In 2007, The New York Times reviewed a Gotham gallery's show of these photographs. Chaubin's personal website is unfortunately currently under construction.

The Chaubin image in this blog shows The Central Research and Design Institute for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics in St. Petersburg, Russia.

PS. Apologies to those who are literate in French and/or German. I've left out the diacritical marks in certain words, as I'm not confident the Google software can successfully handle them. Anyone who can offer a solution is welcome to post it here.

PBR Moves to LA

Believe it or not, Pabst Blue Ribbon is moving its headquarters from Illinois to La-La Land. To someone who went to college in PBR's original home state, Wisconsin, the beer company's shift to California seems like a bar room gag. Pabst was a cheap beer, a brew one purchased for parties when the opportunities for drinking were expected to be ample. There was never any cachet associated with PBR.

Times have changed. According to the LA Times story about the corporate move, Pabst has made its mark among self-defined "hipsters." This would appear to go hand-in-hand with another "hipster" trend: an interest in "dives." They're not legit dives, but bars that have a staged, calculated look. Ugh. I don't know if Pabst is served in these trendy "dives," or what it costs to enjoy a cold PBR at one. But I'll have a hard time hoisting a Pabst and thinking of Sunset Boulevard.

Koch Donation to Florida State University Comes With Controversial Strings

Earlier this year, the conservative Koch brothers made headlines during the imbroglio over Wisconsin public union employees. The Kansas siblings have returned to the news. The new venue is Florida, where the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation offered Florida State University (FSU) a lucrative donation. In exchange for the money, FSU would establish an economics department initiative "for the study of 'political economy and free enterprise,'" according to a story in today's Miami Herald that originally appeared in the St. Petersburg Times.

Of course, the Koch handout came with strings. Most significantly, the foundation could cease funding the program if "faculty hired with its money were not complying with (Koch's) goals." Academic freedom, which universities have solemnly sworn to uphold, would be at risk in this arrangement.

While it's hard to sympathize with a money-first university, it's nearly impossible to feel simpatico with right-wing funders such as Mr. Koch (see photo). Brother K's idea of free enterprise is to keep things as free as possible for him, and let others provide the sweat equity. In that sense, his willingness to corrupt has found a match in morally (and often financially) bankrupt academia.

Chester Himes Revisited

I’m reading a Chester Himes novel now. I’ve admired his lean, thoughtful writing style since I first read Cotton Comes to Harlem many years ago. His observations of the human condition, tempered by incarceration and his strong mind, ring as true today as they did a half-century ago. When I’m tired, his books wake me up. I find his novels display a zeal for life in all its dimensions. They also effectively communicate the earthy street and tenement life of New York, especially Harlem of the 1960s.

I know little of his life in France, and am quite curious about it.

If anyone wants to comment on Himes’ work, they’re welcome to do that here.