With funeral costs at an all-time high, companies are finding cheaper, alternative and sometimes unusual ways for loved ones to honor their family members using cremated ashes. Pets are welcome, too.

Since 2005, at least seven companies, all with the word “Southern” in their names, have emerged to offer a classic alternative to what has, until recently, been a Northern monopoly on the preppy look. First came Southern Proper, then Southern Tide; next were Southern Marsh and Southern Point Co. In the past 18 months, Southern Frattire, Southern Dignity, and Southern Ties has each begun peddling its own Dixie-inspired apparel. The image has enjoyed a welcome worthy of the term “Southern Hospitality.”

Frostbite sailors are a hearty bunch, congregated mostly in coastal locales in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. With water temperatures in those spots ranging from the mid-30s to low-40s in December and January, it’s not uncommon to see icicles hanging off the sides of boats. Unless you really love to sail, you probably aren’t cut out to be a frostbiter.

Bruises and broken bones aren’t out of the ordinary for the women who skate — roller derby, the full-contact sport that is growing rapidly all over the U.S., can be pretty brutal. But athletes with names like Sexy Slaydie or Leslie Crusher aren’t scared off by the occasional hematoma or broken thumb. They cherish them, along with everything else the sport has to offer.

A decade ago, Europe was the place to go for American college students studying abroad. But now more and more are flocking to countries in Asia and Africa. The experience can be as challenging as it is exhilarating.

In another way the Internet has changed the way we live, many couples are going digital for their wedding invitations. Some go digital to save money, others to reduce their carbon footprint or more efficiently reach friends scattered around the world. But old traditions die hard. It is not widely considered proper etiquette to send out email invitations when many people are accustomed to fancy paper invites, wrapped in tissue paper and delivered by a human being.

Some TV junkies are opting to postpone watching their favorite shows, or recommended ones, for months at a time. One result is epic television marathons — like 53 hours of streaming in four days — that give viewers desirable instant gratification, but challenge the sustainability of the shows they love.

Many women swear by men’s skincare products. The fact that the men’s skincare industry has a narrow, but loyal bracket of women customers is a long-kept secret.

H&H Bagels, the symbol of New York for four decades, is gone. Where can New Yorkers (and the rest of us) get a real bagel these days?

Graduate school. To some, an intellectual paradise. To others, a haven from the stresses of the real world. But some people take both of those aspects to an extreme. Welcome to perpetual grad school, where the lazy and disorganized meet the overeducated and aimless.