Magnificent Obsessions

This link to Magnificent Obsessions (ugh, navel lint) on the Daypop Top 40 lead me to another Metafilter link that sounded promising with this title: "The Alternate Reality of the Prettiest Girl." What do you get for being pretty? 75% off food, discounts, gawkers, off-duty taxis, a boyfriend named Ole. What is the effect of beauty on society? You won't find much depth in this NY Times article, but it does have a slideshow! That article lead to another one about "Fei Qian" titled "Ancient Secret System Moves Money Globally." What a title. Ancient. (Chinese) Secret. Money... Ooohh. Intriguing! A couple minutes, a few phone calls and your money is half way around the world, untraceable.