Tweed is the “new black”

The New York Times covers growing infusion of 1890s textures and styles into men’s fashion, home decor, and other parts of the culture.

Why Japanese homes often lack central heat and insulation

Wide Island View explains, via Japundit.

State of the Blogosphere 2009

Results of the annual Technorati survey.

There be zombies…

A diverting weekend read from Men’s Journal…

Interview with Jimmy Wales

Silicon.com talks with the Wikipedia founder about what’s coming next.

Current event Halloween costumes

Billy Mays, Balloon Boy, Octomom, etc.

JR East Japan using blue lights as suicide prevention measure

This report in GlobalPost describes the effort, which involves installing blue LED lights on station platforms. The theory is that the calming effect of the blue light might change the frame of mind of those intending to jump off the platform in front of an oncoming train.

They give a figure of 68 train platform suicides in 2008, though it isn’t clear whether that is nationwide or just on JR East (which includes the Tokyo and the rest of the Kanto region).

Via Japundit.

Google making us smarter?

As explained in this short piece and the embedded video, brain research is uncovering evidence that using tech may increase cognitive functioning.

There has been a debate over whether the Internet is making us stupid, that I blogged about a year or so ago.

Americans aren’t moving around

From Newsweek a couple weeks back, a report on the surprising settledness of American society, and the implications.

Medical marijuana dispensing in CA

The New York Times looks at issues surrounding medical marijuana dispensaries in California, focusing on the situation in Los Angeles, where city officials are looking at implementing and enforcing new regulations. I wasn’t aware of how much autonomy local governments have in regulating the ostensibly non-profit dispensaries.