Okay, so maybe money can't buy you love. But, as any moderately successful capitalist in the world can tell you, it sure can rent it!
China's getting the hang of this capitalism thing, and no wonder: they pretty much invented it. Restaurants? Invented them. Money? Yup, invented it, including the paper it was printed on. And throughout much of Asia, when you hear about violence against the prosperous middle class, it's pretty much indistinguishable from violence against the Chinese, who form the bulk of the merchant class throughout the region. Is this racism, or revolution?
Sometimes the protest can be very subtle indeed. This week the dreadfully-named Guardian arts blog Culture Vulture features really very good reporter Jonathan Watts at Beijing's Dashanzi International Art Fair. You won't find any bombastic revolutionary types there; they were rounded up a few weeks ago and, frankly, carted off to the void. But you can still see social criticism of a more restrained nature.
Cash is used for political ends by veteran artist, Huang's Rui, whose "Chairman Mao 10,000rmb" spells out Cultural Revolution slogans with banknotes. The same material is exploited by young artist Wang Sishun, who has cut and folded a giant 100rmb note into the shape of a vagina. "Before you couldn't buy anything in China. Money was useless," he explains. "But now it can buy anything, even sex."
It's charming and, I suppose, heartening that we live in a world where there are people who still find that noteworthy. So to speak.
raincoaster 
We note with pleasure that the Guardian’s blog minders have chosen to honor Tim from the original The Office with the title of their site.
“I don’t know where we’re going tonight. Obviously Finchy’s a sophisticated guy, and Gareth’s a culture vulture, so will it be opera, ballet, I don’t know. I think the RSCs in town, so er… having said that at Chasers it’s hooch for a pound and wonderbras get in free night.” — from Series 1, Episode 5
However, we note with displeasure our baffling choice of using the royal “we”.
Perhaps one of your alter personalities has the answer? Or maybe it’s just the British influence? We can’t picture Chav Willy using it, ourselves.
While we share the trait of anglophile that all Britons must needs be born with, we nonetheless presume that the usage of the royal “we” proceeds directly from the life draining drudgery of our office, and a bet thereintofore herenow initiated hencely.
However, let us not lose track of the point of all this: that’s a nice paper currency vagina if ever we’ve seen one. And we have seen many.
Now there’s a blog entry we’d pay to see!
We do not kiss paper currency vaginas and tell.
“Kiss and tell is better than fuck and publish.”
Dorothy Parker, who knew what she was talking about.
Ah, Dorothy Parker. A wit dear to our hearts.
“Pearls before swine.”
– Said when she and Clare Boothe Luce were entering a room. Clare hung back, saying, “Age before beauty”; Dorothy swept into the room with this retort