The Queen of daytime talk shows has announced she is calling it quits after 2010. Oprah says, "ending the show feels right in my bones." She goes on to further explain how next season, the 25th, will be bigger and better than ever as she says goodbye to her fans.

What Oprah has "right to the bone" is an entrepreneurial talent to know how to maximize the bucks. She is able to get tons of publicity and interest by announcing the end of the show, thus guaranteeing good ratings and exposure for the Oprah brand. Oprah has amassed a large fortune with her company Harpo Productions, (Oprah spelled backwards), and is one of the richest people in the world, with a rating of 234 on Forbes Billionaire List.

Oprah took a fledgling local show and launched The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. Her show is now seen in 144 countries and brings in 44 million US viewers each week. Her production company, Harpo produces Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and is adding a show hosted by frequent guest Dr. Oz. She partnered the Oprah Winfrey Network with Discovery with a launch set for late 2009 or early 2010. And Harpo Films just inked a cable deal with HBO after 15 years at ABC.

So here I am, writing this from off the coast of Florida as part of the first two-day preview cruise of the magnificent Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has launched the largest cruise ship in the world, a towering dagwood of action-packed decks and over-the top superlatives: longest cruise ship, widest cruise ship, tallest cruise ship, heaviest cruise ship.

And as of today, the coolest cruise ship. Rihanna was on here yesterday, and I'm told Richard Branson has come and gone, too. By now, most of America has seen the particulars of this gargantuan, billion-dollar chunk of devil-be-damned engineering. Here on board, one of the stateroom TV channels plays, on a loop, the segments of yesterday's Good Morning America in which Sam Champion and his crew romped around the Aqua Theatre, the Solarium, the cocktail bar that rises and falls between three decks (pictured above), the huge Central Park and Boardwalk atriums (atria?) that carve an airy middle into the ship.



The ship is, simply put, astounding. I have never seen anything like it in my years of cruising. It took me about six hours to explore fully from Deck 3 (the Studio B ice rink) to Deck 17 (the stunning, and ridiculously expensive, duplex loft suites with two-story sea views). There's nearly no way to take in the enormity of the endeavor. If you could pack a small shopping mall together with a 2,400-room resort and send it off to sea, you might start coming close (one cynic described it as "a hotel on a barge," which omits the considerable frills and dazzle), but you'd still have trouble wrapping your head around it all.

It is so big as to be humbling, and sometimes, that makes it a little frightening. As we left Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, a police boat rushed a smaller craft that was approaching us and warned its captain to back off, as it was entering "restricted waters." Something this big and this audacious would be an obvious target, and local police are clearly taking no chances.

Royal Caribbean, ever adept at cleverly harnessing social media (remember that unfortunate recent case in which it was nabbed giving freebies to people likely to populate user-review boards with praise?), has invited large numbers of journalists, travel agents, and VIPs to take part on two, back-to-back, two-night cruises. Attending for WalletPop, I'm on the first one. For this run only, alcohol is free.



There were some early reports this week that the line would be, in effect, bribing the press for good stories by plying them with booze and by giving them stuff that will actually cost passengers on "real" sailings. Although alcohol is free, I can't say I've seen this accusation to be the case, and the crowd is a lot less drunk than it was for a paid sailing on the Carnival Dream a week ago. Not everything is handed out: I've had to pay for things such as a $2.50 coffee on the Royal Promenade or $2.50 for a hyper-sweet cupcake from its on-board cupcake shop. Whenever anything is offered to us, I ask what the price will be for paying customers.

Again and again, the answer I get tells me that many of the things we're getting are included in the fare anyway. That includes midnight pizza at Sorrento's, afternoon burgers at Johnny Rocket's, and twilight doughnuts on the Boardwalk (where there's a working carousel), and even rides on one of the twin FlowRider sheet wave machines, provided you can score a time slot. So although Royal Caribbean is pioneering obnoxious fees such as surcharges for late-night room service and hefty upcharges for the privilege of eating better food than its main dining regularly serves, I can't say it's using the launch of the Oasis to foist a lot of new ones on us.

There are some issues, of course. The first is lines. Royal Caribbean was wise enough to only pack this ship about half-full, which means we're all likely to get into the shows we want to see and we won't write reviews complaining about crowds. When it's full of paying guests, though, you'll have to make many of your reservations online or in a queue, adding another layer of hassle to what's supposed to be your break from it all. I also suspect the main pool area, on Deck 15, will not be able accommodate everyone who wants to swim. On balance, though, this is a pretty dazzling achievement, and diversion is around every corner.

When I see a ship as marvelously bloated as this one, I have to separate my sense of travel snobbery from my admiration for what Royal Caribbean has done here. I can't deny that passengers who immerse themselves in this floating circus might as well not be at sea at all. It's less a ship than a floating resort, and most of the passengers seem to be hanging out below decks than enjoying the sun and the sea.

Today, while I was having lunch in the Windjammer Marketplace buffet on Deck 16, I looked down at the smooth blue water to see dolphins playing alongside the ship. While I was admiring that sight, the couple behind me was engaged in a lively debate about the quality of this buffet compared to those on other ships. They were oblivious to their surroundings. It's typical of the attitude on board the Oasis, which is so loathe to share any glory with the oceans than most of its vantage points over the seas are sheathed in glass.

That's all right. This ship is a product, and whether you're a theatre reviewer or a travel writer, you have to remember the audience for whom you're reviewing the product. This audience is agog. I myself can't help but be impressed. For the next year or so, until its sister ship the Allure of the Seas matches her feats, this will be the ship to book, and rates are likely to be at around $150 a night or more (I wrote about upcoming deals to be had that were even better). I can't say that if I paid that price, high for the industry right now, that I would ever find that I was feeling ripped off.



Now that I've seen this ship, though, I might consider any other vessel that dared to charge me so much would be a rip. In this way alone, the Oasis may have changed the industry: It will be difficult for less exuberant ships to charge the same price, and if they do, they'll have to find some other hook, be it a boast about smaller crowds, better food (Royal Caribbean's food is not widely considered its strong point), Mickey Mouse appearances, or larger cabins. The sheer magnitude of the Oasis, its biggest selling point, will also be the very thing that convinces some customers to choose a sailing with more modesty.

And more importantly, remember that traveling is not always the same thing as vacationing. Not everyone wants to engage with other cultures; for many people, the floating fishtank of a cruise ship is all the exploration they need. The Oasis is a fabulous vacation machine, but it's about the universe it has created for itself, not about its place in the outside world. In that, it's a home run.

What a difference a year makes. Or 34 years. Take your pick. Either way, it's a loss for Detroit and the surrounding area.

The Pontiac Silverdome was sold this week at auction for $583,000, or about 1% of the $55.7 million it took to build it in 1975, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

The sale was halted Wednesday when a judge ordered an injunction to stop it after a complaint was filed by developer H. Wallace Parker, who claims he had an agreement with the city to buy it, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

In the world of advertising, the Tropicana disaster of 2008-09 is already legendary.

The orange juice container redesign by controversial brand guru Peter Arnell eliminated the familiar straw-in-an-orange image in favor of a photo of a glass of OJ. This killed the brand recognition developed over many years, resulting in a 20% drop in sales and the loss of millions of dollars within two months. Tropicana beat a hasty retreat to the old design.

Now, according to Advertising Age, Coca-Cola is taking a similar risky step, re-branding its Minute Maid line of juices. The company wants to eventually harmonize the images surrounding the brand and the others it owns, including Del Valle, Andina and Cappy.

The new orange juice design features whole oranges, slices, and leaves to suggest the groves from which it comes. As you'll see from the pictures above, the new packaging has more green, and the blue is gone. I like it.

Looking back at my childhood during the 1990s, I now realize that the Internet and I have a pretty good relationship – we grew up together.

As trite as this may sound, the Internet targeted everyone, but more specifically generation Y. I remember rushing home from school to plug the modem into the phone jack, creating a dead line that blocked all incoming phone calls, all to get connected to the Internet.

I lived for that free flow of information and connectivity to the world outside of my enclosed bedroom. That AOL voice that said 'Welcome' opened the doors to a central nucleus in which I was granted access to everyone from around the world at my fingertips.

The good thing was that it was all free. Even as a child, I understood that these "free" Web sites made money from those pop-up and banner ads that appeared everywhere. I knew that I was being targeted by outside companies, but I understood the value of the Internet, and continued to log on and participate.

The Federal Reserve this week proposed rules that would protect gift-card users from exorbitant fees and other restrictions. A move aimed at protecting the 95% of Americans the Fed says use them.

"Concerns have been raised regarding the amount of fees associated with gift cards, the expiration dates of gift cards and the adequacy of disclosures," the Fed said. "Consumers who do not use the value of the card within a short period of time may be surprised to find that the card has expired or that dormancy or service fees have reduced the value of the card."

We've heard of sticky advertising campaigns before -- those that try to get you to stay transfixed on an ad for just a little longer -- but Coca-Cola has taken the concept to a whole new level. To generate buzz for its new "grip bottle" packaging, the soft drink giant has unveiled giant posters made of Velcro in bus stations throughout Paris.

Designed to create an interactive experience with consumers, the Velcro ads are instead like a spider's web awaiting unsuspecting commuters.

Dodgeball: perhaps no grade school sport is infused with more cringing memories and dark humor.

And the story of 12-year-old Shane Reese surely has both elements, along with a little "what were they thinking?" and could spell doom for the activity's future in New York schools.

The boy's been offered $20,000 by the Bronx school district thanks to an accidental ball in the teeth. A judge will decide if that's enough.

Let's take you back to Dec. 22, 2008, at Intermediate School 219 in the Bronx, N.Y. It was a rainy day and really close to Christmas -- the Bronx school district doesn't let out for winter break until Dec. 24 -- so many teachers had already taken off for the holiday. What to do with 100 students cooped up and buzzing over the upcoming holidays? A friendly game of dodgeball, of course!

Off to the school gym they went, where it was extremely crowded and none of the traditional soft rubber balls were to be found. No matter: plenty of soccer balls were rolling around the equipment room. Those will work, right? (Ouch.)

When I rent movies, do I devour the DVD extras? Sure, lots of times the audio commentary is just a track of actors and directors waxing important and mostly ignoring the images on the screen, but they can still be dishy and insidery, and for my favorite movies, they can almost make purchasing the DVD worth the money.

Disney DVD knows there are lots of fans like me. For years, it has released its biggest titles in a variety of volumes. There's often a simple one-disc version for people who just want to see the movie without any extras, and maybe a two-disc version loaded up with more outtakes and mini-documentaries.

Travel may be down in this economy, but there's one area where business is booming: discount booking sites. With travel providers desperate to unload unused rooms and tickets, it seems like the only sectors of the travel industry that are exploding are the ones previously seen as a last resort by the industry.

Priceline.com reported that bookings through its site, which offers steep discounts on hotel rooms and other travel products, are at their best levels in nine years. Hotwire.com, which is owned by Expedia, reports a similar boost in revenue. The Hotwire Group's sales over 12 months have exceeded $250 million for the first time, and reps told WalletPop that compared to last year, hotel bookings in the biggest markets (meaning the most popular travelers' cities) are up between 20% and 30%.

These days it take a lot lot of business savvy to get noticed in the music world. But of course, ultimately you want to be able to focus on the craft of making music. In our ongoing look at how to make it in the music business today, WalletPop sat down with up-and-coming star Vicky Emerson to discuss how she created her own music business, and how important it is to balance creating music with managing your business.

Frustrated at the hardships indie artists face recording and promoting their own music, Emerson decided to try a different route. After being bombarded with fan e-mails and sometimes even letters offering financial assistance, the young Americana singer set up a series of CD Sponsorship Events around the country, raising $10,000 in four weeks to record and self-release her new album Long Ride. She continues to raise funds to promote her album through the intimate sponsorship parties. Emerson represents a growing trend in American music. If the desire for your product is strong enough, there's always a way to feed the public, especially if you're willing to take the jump.

In an October 2009 blog post, David Roodman, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development, had no idea he'd set a chain of events in motion that would rock the world of person-to-person lending. But that's exactly what happened when Roodman questioned how the popular non-profit charity, Kiva.org operates.

In the past, celebrities like Oprah Winfrey had extolled Kiva's virtues. But with one seemingly simple blog post, Roodman got donors and interested bystanders asking "where's all that money really going?"

When it comes to holidays, Veterans' Day really gets the short end of the stick. Wedged between the sugar shock of Halloween and the tryptophan coma of Thanksgiving, celebration of the eleventh day of the eleventh month usually involves department store sales and the occasional wreath at the local soldiers' monument. Needless to say, this is poor recompense for the men who, in the words of Allan Massie, "[make] it possible for civilized folk to despise war."

This year, however, Maid Brigade, an Atlanta-based cleaning company, decided to show its appreciation for America's fighting men with the Veterans Franchise Giveaway, a contest that is designed to help soldiers make the transition from military life to the civilian world. The program, which I reported on in August, rewards its grand prize winner with a full Maid Brigade cleaning franchise, valued at $45,000. Second and third prize winners get similar packages, worth $27,500 and $17,000. Additionally, Maid Brigade waived its franchise fee for any qualified veterans who were interested in going into business with the company.

If you're a fan of the purse-leasing site Bag, Borrow or Steal (now called Avelle), you'll be thrilled to hear that two Harvard business school grads have just launched a company that extends high-end renting to your wardrobe, according to the New York Times. The service, called Rent the Runway, offers red-carpet brands like Catherine Malandrino and Lela Rose -- for fees that are as low as 1/10 of the retail price.

If the idea sounds fabulous to you, don't get too excited yet. The best you can do right now is join RTR's membership waiting list. Until you're accepted, you can't even browse the inventory -- and membership is far from guaranteed. RTR is working with a limited inventory and probably won't be able to accommodate, say, 10,000 members right off the bat -- especially hundreds of them are likely to clamor over the same latest Alexander Wang frock or Peter Som cardigan.