Today is naked day at 24 Lush cosmetics stores across the U.S. today (except for, maybe, the Somerset Collection Lush store in Troy, Michigan, whose mall managers said no to the protest). Employees are being encouraged to show up to work in nothing but their aprons as a protest against unneccessary packaging. Does this make it the ultimate green product? Or is there something a little cheeky in its promotion?

Note: These photos contain partial nudity.

I'm not exactly sure about the definition of a moral compass but I was surprised to read a a college woman trading 2 weeks of sex for a guided jungle tour down in Brazil. It's an adventure she has no qualms about since in her mind all of the involved parties benefited. In trading her feminine charms for a service she wasn't alone, a recent survey of students at the University of Michigan found that 27% of men and 14% of women had offered services or items in exchange for sex.

While I found these numbers to be high I wondered where the line was drawn. When you are in college and not in a committed relationship, aren't 75% of your actions revolving around sex? Does it count if you help that cute coed with her psychology homework or treat her to a Dave Matthews Band concert and get lucky later that night? I thought most people considered that a successful date rather than a transaction of goods for "goodies"!

A friend is planning her wedding, and here in Portland with our DIY culture, we're not headed to the nearest Hallmark store for cards, preferring to make our own. And besides, Hallmark doesn't make cards to celebrate gay marriage, right?

As of this summer, wrong. Lots of my friends are driving down to California to take advantage of the availability of same-sex marriage licenses this season, and they'll be able to come back home to mailboxes flooded with Hallmark cards appropriate to the occasion -- after all, it's not just the "quirky" locals who need to congratulate the happy couples, but extended family and relatives living all over the country.

Is the standardization of congratulation cause for celebration in the gay community? Does having a Hallmark card for something legitimize it as worthy of taking its place in our culture's Roster of Emotionally Significant Events? I think the answer to these questions is yes, and of course, silly though it may be.

One thing though. Independent card maker Rob Fortier told the AP: "A lot of people think a gay greeting card needs a rainbow on it. I don't want that." An informal survey of a half-dozen gay friends, some of whom are soon to be married, agreed. Noted: no rainbows.

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According to new research reported in USA Today, women start out as happy young adults but are much sadder than their male counterparts by middle age. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England analyzed decades of national data on 47,000 men and women to create a statistical model that shows women's happiness decreases, while men's increases, exceeding women's by age 48. According to the lead author, Anke Plagnol, women are more likely than men to fulfill their aspirations for material goods and family life, but later, they may be divorced or separated and less financially secure. Meanwhile, men's finances and family life improve.

This study comes as no surprise to this blogger. For single women, who usually make less than their male counterparts, midlife review of finances can be very discouraging. They have been unable to take advantage of the economies of scale that marriage can provide. For single parents, the financial results are even more dramatic. Midlife is the timeframe where kids are going to college with costs that can drain anyone's bank account.

For women who are separated or divorced, the financial reality is even more dramatic. After divorce, wives' standards of living drop 27 percent, while men's standards of living increased by about 10 percent.

I frequently advise women to be cautious about bailing from a marriage at midlife. They may be better off financially by simply separating but staying married. After all, it is likely they will out live their husbands anyway.

Barbara Bartlein is the People Pro. A relationship expert, she is the author of Why Did I Marry You Anyway? Overcoming the Myths That Hinder a Happy Marriage. For more tips and tools to build your relationships, please visit: Marriage Tips. For Barb's Free e-mail newsletter, log on to The People Pro

Just a month after Geoff Williams reported that the economic stimulus package was stimulating more than just checking accounts, it turns out that the adult entertainment industry isn't able to keep it up. Wired reports that the porn industry is feeling the effects of increased oil prices as well as restricted consumer spending. These factors are further exaggerated by an onslaught of piracy and free amateur content. The economy is affecting everyone in the industry, from the producers to the front line retailers who are experiencing rental drops of up to 15% and DVD sales falling as well.

I think I've exhausted the number of play on words I can include in one article so I'll take a break to examine what limp porn sales mean for the economy (seriously I'm done now). While it can be argued that the industry is simply coming to grips with the same factors that have been affecting the music industry over the past 5 years that answer is simply the low hanging fruit. It's not like free and pirated porn has grown so much over the past year that the industry is tanking just because Joe Schmo is sharing pics of his ex girlfriend. Porn is actually a lagging indicator of the economy, much the way that online advertising is considered a lagging indicator.

Women sexually harassing men? What's next? Husbands screaming at their wives for not putting down the toilet seat?

A grocery store worker was awarded $18 million (quickly reduced and still on appeal) after his female boss harassed him. The rise of female-on-male sexual harassment is a reflection of increased equality. As more and more men find themselves in positions subordinate to women, female-on-male sexual harassment becomes more of an issue. Check out this video from The Today Show below:

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has written about one industry that is actually being greatly stimulated from the government's economic stimulus plan: The online porn industry.

According to Adult Internet Market Research Co., a research firm in New York that keeps tabs on what adults are doing online, more customers than usual were purchasing accounts at adult entertainment web sites shortly after the first wave of checks went out in mid-May. The market research firm polled 800 pay-site members and 4,000 affiliate sites, learning that 20-30% of the people who replied were inspired to log on after receiving their stimulus checks.

Many of these online porn sites are about $50 a month to join (er, I know from reading the article, and not my own research), and so a $600 stimulus check could pay for a year's worth of adult online porn. (insert your own joke or limerick here...)

Well, we were encouraged by the government to shop. Apparently, some people decided that they wanted to use the United States' economic package to, uh, see someone else's package.

That said, we'll add a postscript to this post. After this post originally ran, an alert WalletPop reader directed us to this story put out by Silicon Alley Insider, which reported on a blogger, Tom Johansmeyer, who did some digging on the press release that was initially put out by the Adult Internet Market Research Company. He wrote two posts -- this and this -- about the research that this company did, and he sincerely doubts the accuracy of the original press release that went out. Johansmeyer says that he's been studying the porn market for his doctoral dissertation, and he and Silicon Alley Insider conclude that this porn study surge was really just designed so that journalists and editors would have an excuse to create eye-catching headlines.

Well -- it worked, didn't it?

When sociologists compile the reasons that people turn to prostitution, the usual suspects are drug addiction, poverty, and abuse. However, as gas prices continue to steadily rise, it's looks like a new reason for turning tricks may edge its way into the top three...

Last Wednesday, police arrested Angela Eversole for prostitution, as well as "doing business without an occupational license." According to Eversole's boyfriend, she is not a professional sex worker; however, when she wandered into a police sting operation in a Day's Inn in Fort Wright, Kentucky, she was performing sexual acts in return for economic remuneration. According to reports, Eversole's customer, Kenneth Nowak, paid her with a $100 gas card and "assorted gifts."

Even the authorities seem to recognize that Eversole may have had non-traditional reasons for drifting into the seedy world of sex for money. As Kenton County prosecutor Ken Easterling noted, "It's sad when people are selling their bodies for gas." What's sadder is that the the police are letting Eversole take full responsibility for the crime, without even a thought for her pimp. Is it really that hard to fill out an arrest warrant for OPEC?

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He tried to prostitute himself for Tic-Tacs, but the lady at the convenience store just doubled the price.

Food and transportation prices have been rising enough in the past few months to give anyone a heart attack. In fact the high prices of everything from cab rides and dinner at Applebee's to an evening out at the strip clubs have been causing heart attacks for Robert P. Farnum a resident of Milwaukee who has been using it as an excuse to skip out on several bills over the past month. With this many heart attacks in the span of a month, you might be worried about Mr. Farnum but as it turns out, the only thing Robert is suffering from is being a 'Fakey McFakerton"!

This isn't Farnum's first brush with the law, in fact he is on probation which includes a restriction against visiting several restaurants in his area, including Applebee's He was turned in by a doctor at the hospital who became fed up with his shenanigans especially after Farnum used it to elude payment for services rendered at an exotic club. The good news is that Farnum won several awards for his acting, including one for restaurant fraud and another for habitual criminality, which include complementary gift bags including up to 2 years and nine months in Jail.

I'm hoping they televise the trial later this month as I can't wait to see Farnum try and pull a fake heart attack in front of the judge to get out of hard time. Hopefully it doesn't become a modern day case of the boy who cried wolf, suffering a myocardial infarction as he comes to grips with the gravity of his acting. Be sure to check out the one and only Mr. Farnum's mug shot to complete this tale of woe.

I like money, particularly bills. I like their weight, their smell, the pretty colors that they have, and the cool pieces of colored lint that the manufacturers put in the paper.

What I don't like, however, are the pictures. Not to insult Messrs. Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and Franklin, but these guys were revered for their intelligence, statesmanlike qualities, and dedication to the country, not their looks. I give partial passes to Jefferson, Hamilton, and Jackson, as they at least had good hair, but even they would be hard pressed to get a spot on a regional nightly news show, much less the coveted national anchor spot. And don't even get me started on McKinley, Cleveland, Madison, Wilson, and Salmon P. Chase; let's just say that I'm glad that they're stuck on the really large denominations.

Every so often, I've though about what America's currency would look like if the country had been established by attractive people. Luckily, thanks to Freaking News, I need wonder no longer. The site, which regularly features photoshop contests and strange news, has identified a recent trend in the United Kingdom: apparently, people with money, images of celebrities, and way too much time on their hands have begun combining the monetary portraits and the paparazzi pictures. In the process, they have created art that ranges somewhere between the monstrous, the amusing, and the deeply inspiring.

Excited by the potential of this process, Freaking News has conducted Photoshop money contests of its own. Check them out; the results are sure to give you a smile...particularly if you've ever wondered how Brad Pitt would look on a $50!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. If, for some reason, he ever ends up on currency, he hopes that the designers will use common sense and hire a stand-in. Perhaps Bruce Willis?

A really great way for really rich people to become 50% less rich is to get divorced. It looks like Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez may be going down that path. The New York Daily News (so take it for what it's worth) reported earlier that, less than 3 months after the birth of the couple's second daughter, the pair have split. The Associated Press has also picked up the story.

And rumors has it that Cynthia Rodriguez is now of on a romantic getaway with Lenny Kravitz but, in a statement, he says that's not the case: "Cynthia is a friend and is here with the godfather of her baby, who is also Alex's trainer, his wife and their baby girl. She came here to escape from everything happening in New York City. I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer."

A divorce could have a potentially devastating impact on Rodriguez's finances. He signed a 10-year, $252 million deal at the end of the 2000 season, and then opted out to sign a 10-year $275 million contract after the 2007 season. No details about any pre-nup are available, but Rodriguez wouldn't be the first baseball player to see his wealth decimated by divorce. The self-proclaimed "Godfather of Steroids", Jose Canseco, recently lost his home to foreclosure, and blamed two $8 million divorces for his woes.

Incidentally, Canseco hates A-Rod because he thinks he tried to get with his wife. The beat goes on.

Late last week, I wrote a post about Craigslist's recent emergence as a prostitution clearinghouse. I thought that one post should do it; after all, how much can be said about the online purchasing site and its forays into the sex trade?

Apparently, more than I thought.

According to the New York Daily News, Craigslist has begun featuring posts that halve the distance between rental listings and prostitution solicitations.

Generally, the advertisements offer rental spaces in highly-desirable, pricey areas like the Upper West Side and the Financial district. The prices are ridiculously low, sometimes even free, as long as the roommate is willing to model, bestow "benefits" at least once a week, or otherwise barter for the rent. My favorite listing was offered by an amateur photographer who "would be willing to let the right girl live there for FREE in exchange for her being "...at my call to be my model. [She] must be attractive and sexy, like a 9 out of 10 [and] very thin, size 0 or 2." Excuse me while I have a flashback to Breakfast at Tiffany's!

Anyway...given our increasing reliance on the internet as a means of buying, selling, marketing, and socializing, I guess this shouldn't be surprising. After all, we're talking about a city where women are willing to date in return for a free meal; can rent really be all that far behind? While the whole thing strikes me as a little skeevy, the same could easily be said of most of the New York real estate market!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He acknowledges that some of his irritation may be sour grapes; after all, it's been years since he could fit into a size 2!

A 'john' is a term for a prostitute's customer, so who do you suppose is the unwitting star of johntv.com? Let's hope it's not someone you know.

One sign that your house value is in peril is when hookers set up shop on your street corner. The ancillary crimes that spin off of the prostitution trade can send your house value plummeting quick as a Louisiana hurricane.

Brian Bates, an Oklahoma City AIDS/HIV counselor, grew fed up with the plague of illicit sex in his neighborhood and decided to confront it in a very 21st century way. Picking up his still and video cameras, he began to record the hookups, documenting the faces (and other physical attributes) of the 'johns' who buy the prostitute's services.

He then uses the Internet to share this traffic with the world. 72 of his videos have been posted to Youtube.com and on his own site, johntv.com. He also posts a rogue's gallery of mug shots and news stories on his site.

Bates has been threatened at gunpoint, and the threat of violence is certainly a reason I would strongly recommend against following his example. However, with the latest video surveillance cameras, almost impossible to spot if craftily placed, one should be able to carry out such surveillance undetected.

Certainly, the threat of public humiliation is a strong motivator, and Bates has shown how effective the uses of Internet tools can be in fighting this scourge.

And to think that, as I child, I dreamt of appearing on TV.

Warning: this video is intended for mature audiences

A few months ago, I went to a friend's birthday party, where I found myself in a fairly uncomfortable position: I was buttonholed by a gamer. You know how it goes; you're talking to a lot of people, making friends and enjoying the friends that you have when some guy notices that you're polite and engaging. Eager to pair off in the flow of conversation, he corners you and begins to tell you endless details about his life.

As I mentioned, this guy was a gamer, so his monologue went into the games that he plays, how he feels when he wins, how he plays for sixteen hours a day, how he's involved in game development, how many Jolt colas he drinks, how he wears a diaper during Halo tournaments...

Okay, I made that last one up. The scary thing is, the rest are true.

Anyway, as I watched this guy rattle on and nodded at (relatively) appropriate points, I began to wonder how he was planning to reproduce. Spending hours locked away at home eating junk food and drinking caffeinated sodas, it's not like he could easily meet women.

Perhaps the answer will come from Sega, the Japanese game manufacturer, whihch has developed a first-generation robotic girlfriend. Named EMA, short for "Eternal, Maiden Actualization," the doll stands just over fifteen inches high, has a vaguely feminine form, and is painted to look like the unholy love-child of R2D2 and Speed Racer. It walks and talks like a woman, blows kisses, dances, and will even neck with its users when it is in "love mode." While the idea of making out with a little robot seems somewhat freaky to me, I imagine that this is just the first generation in what will undoubtedly be a long series of personal-services robots. In the meantime, EMA's $175 price tag is going to make a lot of lonely young men very happy!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. When he looks at gamers, he sometimes feels a little twinge of fear as he realizes that, there but for the grace of God goes he...