Marilyn Monroe died back in 1962 with eight milligrams of chloral hydrate and 4.5 milligrams of Nembutal floating around in her system. The 36-year-old former foster child’s death was listed as a “probable suicide” by the L.A. County coroner.

While Monroe’s final years weren’t her best, she had already seared her image onto the collective American culture with her work in such classic films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven-Year Itch and Some Like It Hot, not to mention her sultry birthday serenade to President John F. Kennedy, who also happens to be the last person she called on the phone.

Like Monroe’s original name of Norma Jean Baker, most folks have pretty much forgotten about Monroe’s bad times and her image has become a symbol of sex and glamour. That’s been a lucky gift for Anna Strasburg, the wife of deceased father of method acting Lee Strasburg, the recipient of all Monroe's worldly goods.

Strasberg spent years taking various entities to court so she would clearly have the rights to Monroe’s image when it comes to commercial items. She cashed in and sold the rights to Jamie Salter’s Authentic Brands Group LLC and media company Neca LLC, according to Bloomberg. Salter, meanwhile, is already raking in cash every time any Bob Marley-related item causes a cash register to ring.

Don’t worry about the septuagenarian Strasberg. She stayed on as a minority partner in the company that planned to sell Monroe-branded makeup, lingerie and other products. The latest deal for the company has Macy’s launching a new line of Monroe-inspired clothing on March 15th, following the opening of the first Marilyn Monroe cafe (in Oakville, Canada) in November.Continue reading...

When Steve Jobs announced in 2011 that Apple would be using 175 acres of land in Cupertino, Calif. to build a 2.8 million-square-foot office complex, the expectation was that it would be completed in 2015.

It's looking like a mid-2016 opening is more likely. But as plans for a groundbreaking move forward, the company has recently submitted a revised plan to city officials, offering more detailed (and pastoral — see above) glimpses of the futuristic facility for the Apple-obsessed.

Meanwhile, Apple is moving forward with plans for new offices — if however more conventionally designed — in Austin, Texas.Continue reading...

Aston-Martin sells stake to Italian private-equity firm.

Citigroup sees CMO depart for Gilt.

YouTube relaunches site to feature original channels.

Coca-Cola relaunches Glaceau Vitimanwater in the UK.

Daily Beast considers charging for web content as Washington Post also plans paywall.

Delta faces California suit over app.

Ford finds opportunities in "social shifting."

Google to rein in free Google Apps.Continue reading...

With all the Olympic-themed ads that have been running during the London Summer Games, some might see the "Apple Genius" ads that debuted the first weekend of the games as a breath of fresh air. They featured a youthful employee who's been let loose from an Apple store's genius bar — still wearing his blue t-shirt and, whether it be on a plane, above, a street corner, or an apartment building, heroically ready to solve consumers' computer problems in the name of touting the brand's Mac line.

More often than not (under the watchful eye of an intensely involved Steve Jobs), Apple ads have always been considered a cut above the ordinary if not positively in a league of their own. Apple has always found a way to advertise a product with a good dose of humanity and a touch of humor. Witness the lauded "I'm a Mac" series from several years ago that brilliantly personified the differences between a Mac and a PC, and the current Siri campaign for the iPhone that feature celebrities including Zooey Deschanel, Samuel L. Jackson, John Malkovich and Martin Scorsese having intensely personal conversations with their iPhones.Continue reading...

In his address at the International AIDS Conference that wrapped in Washington, D.C., on July 27th, Sir Elton John told the audience that "I should be dead" for having not taken precautions against HIV in the past.

AIDS 2012, as it's better known, was the most attended global HIV/AIDS conference to date. It made headlines this year not only for its return to the U.S. for the first time in 22 years, but for companies including Levi Strauss and MAC who continue to support the fight against the disease and prejudice that surrounds it.

The MAC AIDS Fund (MAF), the philanthropic arm of MAC Cosmetics, announced two major initiatives at AIDS 2012, continuing its leadership position as the largest corporate non-pharmaceutical funder in the HIV/AIDS arena.Continue reading...

Apple launches Mountain Lion OS and fires pre-trial salvo including $2.5 billion damage claim at Samsung while reporting cooling iPhone sales soft earnings report.

New York Yankees look to leverage Ichiro Suzuki's personal brand.

Skype founders break up as eavesdropping concerns arise.

American Airlines ready to evaluate merger possibilities.

Ann Taylor brings back Kate Hudson for fall campaign.

Canon cuts full-year outlook.

Caterpillar begins to wear down some unionists in strike.Continue reading...

MAC, the Canadian-born global brand of cosmetics that built its name and credibility with makeup artists, is known for its limited-edition lines inspired by celebrities such as Lady Gaga, the latest celebrity endorser of its Viva Glam line. Now, it's embracing lesser-known fashion icons whose style is no less eccentric, even if their names are better known by fashion insiders.

Take 90-year-old Iris Apfel’s MAC makeup line coming in January, which is described as "a color collection inspired by a rare bird who has always been ahead of her time," says MAC's official release. The 20-piece collection is “full of bombastically bright lipsticks, attention-grabbing nail lacquers and unambiguous hues of eye-shadow,” writes The Daily Mail, and an “impeccable brow pencil." 

The ever-chic Apfel is delivering her signature eccentricity, an inspiration for decades in jewelry, fashion and museum exhibitions, to make-up. “The range proves, yet again, that the wonderfully outspoken nonagenarian is beyond compartmentalising — falling far outside the usual fashions associated with those old enough to be great grand-mothers,” writes the Mail.Continue reading...

Apple’s new product releases demonstrate a seemingly unstoppable drive to dominate the computing industry.

This morning, the company launched a new operating system with OS X Lion, updated its MacBook Air and Mac Mini lines, and announced the integration of Intel's Thunderbolt I/O technology, the world's first. These announcements come in the wake of the iPad and iPhone’s success, evident in the new product’s design and functionality. Here’s a first look.Continue reading...