• Liver, Chianti, fava beans and Volkswagen (above).

• Juiceopolis!

• The creepiest Ivory soap ads ever.Continue reading...

Japan assesses damage from the quake and tsunami as officials battle the continued threat from destruction at nuclear plants, US. nuclear-energy interests ponder the ramifications for America, the Nikkei falls and the central bank of Japan promises liquidity to help the economy, and Japanese auto plants remain closed.

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt also vows help for Japanese dealing with reactor woes, as GE designed 23 U.S. nuclear reactors similar to the troubled ones in Japan.

Amazon is pressured by states wanting it to collect sales taxes.

Apple chalks up strong sales for iPad 2, seeing 70% first-time buyers.

Bank of America is the latest WikiLeaks target.

BP dispute over Russian JV intensifies.Continue reading...

Burger King CMO is stepping down in merger of marketing and operations.

Charlie Sheen's publicist quits as embattled actor gives series of bizarre interviews and threatens to sue CBS after demanding increase of $1M per episode.

China is shifting to no-logo luxury, says Chloe CEO.

Dior suspends Galliano for alleged anti-Semitism.

FAA approves iPad usage for pilots' flight charts.Continue reading...

Academy Awards command pricier ad market.

Apple’s Steve Jobs is still calling the shots from home, as news leaks of cheaper and more versatile iPhones.

Blockbuster is heading towards a sale.

Coca-Cola reports 4th quarter and fully-year 2010 results.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo grapple with negative research on diet soda and strokes.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is called on the carpet with Italian Prime Minister.Continue reading...

AP settles copyright suit against Obama "Hope" poster artist Shepard Fairey.

Apple shares hit all-time high.

Burger King tests first stuffed hamburger.

Chrysler reports global sales increase.

Conan O'Brien says he's happy with life, ratings post-NBC.

Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav shakes up US network execs, promoting Eileen O'Neill to run TLC and Discovery Channel.Continue reading...

Alcoa shines as aluminum prices rise.

AMD ousts CEO Dirk Meyer.

American Airlines strikes back at Sabre.

Apple snaps up more patents than rivals.

AT&T prepares wireless plan in the event Verizon announces deal for iPhone today.

Bloomberg poaches Forbes list-maker to start rival annual tally of world's richest.Continue reading...

There is a lot to be said about the latest film version of Gulliver's Travels due out this week.

Critics could certainly point to the disconnect evident in how an essentially subversive piece of literature has been plundered for its most identifiable charters (Lilliputians) and then turned into a conventional work of Hollywood. 

A similar incongruity exists in the product placement and tie-in marketing for Gulliver's Travels. The film at once acknowledges that product placement is something actors have to be "sneaked into," while at the same time providing Apple with a million dollars or so worth of exposure.Continue reading...

Microsoft's highly-anticipated Kinect for Xbox 360 finally goes on sale in North America today, attracting a crowd to its official launch event in New York's Times Square at midnight, where Ne-Yo performed and dancers took over the area last night in front of Toys R Us, which stayed open late to accommodate eager buyers who'd been lining up since Monday.

Microsoft hopes to reposition its Xbox 360 (with an Xbox Live subscription) as a lifestyle and entertainment system with Kinect.

It's confident that the device will connect with consumers, building buzz with a reported $500 million global marketing budget and promotional tie-ins including Toys R Us, Burger King and Best Buy, which also stayed opened past midnight last night for U.S. shoppers eager to try out the Kinect's motion control, facial and voice recognition features.Continue reading...