• Quieting the rumor mill: After months of speculation that their marriage is on the rocks, Madonna takes time for a photo-op following dinner Tuesday night with her for-now husband, Guy Ritchie.
• Dalai Lama drama: Though many countries are reluctant to participate in a full boycott of the Beijing Olympics over Chinese-Tibetan violence, the idea of a mini-boycott of the opening ceremonies is being floated and possibly gaining momentum. Mini anything sells!
• Rap map: Idolator resurrects Spin's 1990 "Hip-Hop Map of America," which was supposed to show where the next big hip-hop movement was going to be born. Our favorite part? The high hopes for the Portland hip-hop scene, which "may be put on the map by U Krew, who perform a kind of MC Hammer, but more funky‚ type of rap." U who?
• March madness: The NCAA men's basketball tournament is expected to cost U.S. employers $1.7 billion dollars in lost productivity. Since everyone else is doing it, why not get in on the action?
• The cornflake mistake: Ebay pulled the auction of a corn flake shaped like the state of Illinois because the auctioners did not describe it as non-edible (the site does not allow for the sale of food on its site). Luckily, it's now back on the block for a starting bid of just $255!
• Up, up, and away: Gas prices are expected to creep upward of $3.75 a gallon through spring until the pesky laws of price-and-demand kick in.