@Cosme is Japan’s most popular “kuchikomi” (word of mouth) cosmetics information and ranking website. On March 10th the website released a cosmetics guidebook called “1,200,000 Nin ga Eranda Cosme,” or “The Cosmetics Chosen by 1,200,000 People.” As the title suggests, the book showcases the top products as selected by the site’s 1,200,000 users.

“The Cosmetics Chosen by 1,200,000 People” is a “mook,” the curious Japanese word for a cross-between a book and magazine.

Like other crowd-sourced products and self-publishing “keitai novel” sites that have proved hits lately, this does a nice job of making users of the site feel like they are really part of something greater—ensuring that a good number of them will feel vested enough in the creation process to purchase the book not only for the information but also as a “souvenir.”

4am and the Shibuya McDonalds clientele is split evenly between clubbers killing time before the first train and long term homeless trying to get some sleep. For many people McDonalds is already the default public restroom of choice. 120 Yen (0.8 Euro) buys a small premium roast coffee, a place to rest your head and a ringside view of sub-cultures gently chaffing.

Is the train-loving population really this influential with their pocketbooks? The last year has seen an explosion in train-themed goods in Japan, from alarm clocks to banks to watches and everything in-between. Trains hold a special place in modern Japanese life, many of whom utilize the system every day.

Mokku, a maker of toys and novelty FMCG, has recently begun selling a series of green tea modeled after the famed Yamanote Line in Tokyo. Doing a full loop around the downtown area, the Yamanote is a key connector and an iconic line.

"his interactive poster (which just won a Cannes Silver Lion this week) was erected at a bus stop in Hamburg (no, Berlin), Germany. An eye tracking camera was installed in the board, so that when you looked directly at the domestic violence, after a delay, the scene morphed into spousal harmony. "It happens when nobody is watching." Pretty clever and pretty useless, since this lone installation was built for Amnesty International by agency Jung von Matt primarily to win ad awards."

From London, to New York’s L-Train, to Hollywood Boulevard and Times Square, fans gathered dressed in short pants and single gloves for dance vigils and reenactments of Mr. Jackson’s groundbreaking “Thriller” dance, some spontaneous, and some planned via social networking sites.