How do you tell something great it’s time to say goodbye?

Who, in 1994, would’ve ordered Lassie put down? Who, in 1991, would’ve suggested Magic Johnson retire? Who, in 2008, would’ve urged The Wire  not to come back for a sixth season?

And who, in 2010, is going to tell Blockbuster the ride’s been fun? Because Blockbuster, it’s probably time to say goodbye.

Are you doing more than your fair share at work, but still being ignored? Are you upset watching your boss bullying you and your peers? Are you starting to dread heading into the office each day?

If so, you’re not alone. Talk to occupational health physicians and they’ll tell you that at least half of their caseloads are related directly or indirectly to mental health concerns from those trapped in a toxic workplace.

And there’s no shortage of them. The Mental Health Commission of Canada, for instance, estimates that between 10% and 25% of workplaces are characterized by conditions and environments that are considered “mentally injurious.”

Not unlike malt shops, bellbottoms and the integrity of the Emmy Awards, the notion that a woman needs to sleep with her boss to get ahead should be a thing of the past.

This is, after all, a new professional era; one where, though women may not earn as much as men in the workplace, they sure command the same levels of respect.

So why is it, in 2010, that a staggering percentage of executive women participating in a recent survey admitted to having had an affair with a superior?

What’s all the fuss about retirement planning?

All you have to do is go online to any number of web sites, key in some basic information, and seconds later, there’s your retirement mapped out for you. It’s easier than ordering pizza.

But can you count on those results?

Probably not, according to a recent study from the Society of Actuaries which suggests that most web-based calculators are seriously flawed.

In 2010, cosmetic surgery can do wonders.

Exhibit A. Exhibit B. Exhibit C. (Mmm, maybe not Exhibit C.)

But the moral of the story is, hey, this isn’t a story book world. If you’ve got cash, an issue of self-esteem and the will, you can change almost anything about your physical appearance.

And now, for $50,000, you can get a new set of teeth. In one day.

You can spend as much time as you want denouncing Twilight – and God knows I have – but you’re going to have concede one thing: man, do these movies make money.

Courtesy of MSN’s own James Havers, I happened to stumble across this news out of Hollywood Thursday, highlighting just what impact Twilight  and other vampire-related content is having on the film economy.

The results? Over the past two years, according to estimates from the Hollywood Reporter, vampires have contributed some $7 billion to show business. Seven b-i-l-l-i-o-n. That’s more than two-and-a-half Avatars. Or, for more emphasis, 371 Kazaams.

21% of post-secondary students admit to finding it hard to make ends meet, 36% believe getting through their financial difficulties will be a struggle and 41% of students are spending more money than they save, according to a recent TD Canada survey.

What’s worse, the majority of students anticipate they will be in debt when they graduate; 69% of students predict they will graduate with some debt, while 17% expect their debt will be $25,000 or more.

Good guess. According to the most recent Statistics Canada data, two years after completing school, Canadian students owe an average of $21,000 – although many professionals can lay claim to three or even four times that amount.

If you watch Jersey Shore – and for those not inclined, it’s that guilty pleasure hit reality show on MTV – you know what it’s like to watch one of the series’ stars, Snooki, stumble around.

She’s always a little bit drunk, a lot bit crazy and notoriously has that tiny Coach purse hanging from her wrist. She’s lovable, but she is also a train wreck.

Well, imagine how Coach feels.

Yes, while Snooki has become a bona fide celebrity from her David Hasselhoff-like behaviour, it’s been a regrettable celebrity at that. And in one of the coolest marketing stories I’ve heard this year, it turns out brands don’t want the Snooki Stink.

Pretty much everyone views telemarketers as annoying pests. But do financial advisors fall under the same umbrella?

Seems so, according to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. It's decided that the rules governing unsolicited telemarketing now apply to financial advisors and insurance agents as well, rescinding an exemption for advisors granted back in 2008.

Instead of extending the exclusion to the insurance sector, as industry lobbyists had hoped, the CRTC went the other way, removing the exemption for financial advisors.

In its decision, the CRTC said that while both groups clearly have an obligation to communicate with clients, there’s nothing to say they have to do it by telephone.

Tipping has always been touchy, and the recession and its lingering effects have changed little about the act.

Toward the end of 2009, for example, our first real holiday season when the downturn was in full-swing, tipping was set to slim down in unison with our consumer spending. Not shocking news.

But if there’s to be any return to normalcy in the financial world post-recession, we’re bound to see it in tipping as much as anywhere else. Generosity, after all, often stems from what we can afford to lose.