Skin creams are nothing new. The beauty and skin care industry generates millions of dollars, selling us the perfect anti-aging cream that promises us, mere mortals, how with its use we can turn back the hands of time and go from this to this.

But, over the weekend. I saw this in the news of a Vaseline Skin cream that promises a radical change to your skin.

Don’t think you’re white enough? There’s an App on Facebook for that!  Vaseline has the cure.

Skin lightening cream? As in change the color of my skin? The power to change race in a bottle?

“Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.” George Jean Nathan, periodista

El derecho al voto es uno de los derechos más sagrados que existen. Al usar esta herramienta somos participes activos en nuestro futuro como sociedad. Existen casos en donde el resultado de una elección se puede ver afectado de forma positiva por medio de la abstención o el no votar. Este tipo de acción es un arma de doble filo que en pocos casos tiene el resultado deseado. Se usa para cuestionar la validez de unas elecciones o poner en duda la legitimidad la victoria de un candidato si éste llegó al poder sólo porque el número de votos contados que eran “válidos” fueron a su favor.

Why are some women stupid  (ie lack or ignore common sense or signs of danger)?  Why are women attracted to “bad boys”, the ones we know will hurt us physically and emotionally? What drives a woman to place herself in harm’s way and become another statistic in the climbing numbers of rape, incest and abuse?

It’s an honest question that I wish I had the answer to, and before I get slammed by comments accusing me of misogyny and that I’m saying that women who are victims of these crimes asked for it, I’m not. No woman who is raped, hit, verbally abused asked for it, yet they did not arrive at that situation by sheer chance.

     In last week's article (http://www.laacera.com/posts/krewe-de-becks/2010/05/cost-free-will-persp...), we began to see the more personal aspect and effect of the Supreme Court's decision on abortion. The first interview presented the story of a woman who chose to end her pregnancy and is pleased with her decision.

As any current expat or general explorer of far off places, cultural identity becomes a natural point of focus.  Stereotypes are the primary stage in understanding a way of life that is unlike ones own.  Lately I have been observing the roles women play according to the general norms of their surroundings.  What defines a woman?  Style?  Culture?  Vocation?  Biology?

      Some people often remember certain movies and TV shows when they talk about women cheating, like Sex and the City, The Scarlet Letter, Indecent Proposal, Bridges of Madison County and more.  All too often, the debates on infidelity focus on men cheating. Whereas this may be the more openly known and prevalent situation, it is not the only one. In reality, women are just as prone as men to commit infidelity, although the purpose of the infidelity may be different from the fellow cheaters in Part One.

In all fairness, I have decided to explore the phenomenon just like I did with “Why Do Men Cheat?”  There have been several reasons explained to me for why women choose to engage in an affair/infidelity, presented here, in no particular order:

The fifth and final installment of my conversation with S.E., wherein S.E. gives his porn picks, for those who are interested in that sort of thing. What a long, strange trip it's been! Thanks for reading.

Also check out Conversations with a Porn Star 1, 2, 3, and 4.

S.E.: There’s no chance for porn to be redeemed now. There’s [only] a few people trying to make actual productions.

Al Carbon: What would you recommend? We talked about you doing a porn review, what do you think is quality?

I was recently asked a specific question for a newspaper article featuring 3 prominent women and myself. We were given the "Premio Mujer y Conciencia" award. The award exalts 4 women – for the International Women’s Day - who are doing great works while raising awareness for their particular causes. When I got the call, I felt like Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe it's a bit premature in my life, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I am honored and humbled, don’t get me wrong, but I’m still trying to let it sink in. It's not applauding what I've accomplished so far, but what I've been doing and especially what I want to do in the years to come.

I don’t recall ever being asked this question before, so I answered it the best I could.

Wherein S.E. and I discuss the pros and cons of prostitution in Puerto Rico, and have a great time doing so. (If you missed Part 1, check it out here)

I realize video games aren’t a topic that’s dwelled upon often in these here pages but I had a cool realization while I was playing one the other day that I believe merits mention. The gaming industry is further along in portraying gender equality than most other media.

Some background first.

As I was flipping through a friend's "ladies magazine," I came across a section titled:
"10 Evil Ways to Get Back at an Ex" which caught my attention, not because of the flashy colors and devilesque pictures, but because of the revenge factor. Now, as empathic as I can be to such eventful situation, all my brain could spell at the time was "I-S-S-U-E-S-?!?”

..and the list continues! Now, since Halloween is over, let's move from El Chupacabras on to our next item on "The list".

#2: Machismo: The Modern Puerto Rican Girl's Social Conundrum.