930-Pound Brown Bear Is Finland’s Hottest New Artist

“Juuso got some paint in his paws and started to make marks with them. We noticed that he liked it,” says one of his keepers. “We just leave paint for him, some plywood and paper … He does all the work in his own time, when he’s alone, sitting and moving his legs on the paper.” (includes video)

Truth As A Commodity Is Problematic

“A technology that might have extended the field of dialogue, that might have brought distant cultures and persons into closer understanding, has contributed unexpectedly to their accelerated fragmentation. Years ago, Benedict Anderson wrote of the newspaper as an important technology of nationalist solidarity. The high politics of the nation, the sports news of the day, the freakish local weather all found places in its columns. A reader’s social imagination was, without any conscious intention, broadened to encompass them all. The very overload of information in our modern environment has helped to produce the opposite effect.”

A Device To Give Humans A Literal Sixth Sense – A Sense Of Direction

A company called Cyborg Nest has invented a one-inch chip called North Sense, to be permanently attached to the body, that vibrates when facing magnetic north. You don’t turn it off any more than you do your eyes or ears; it provides the same constant data stream they do – which is why the Cyborg Nest folks think it will change cognition and perception.

This Play About Roe V. Wade Is Not Opening In The Environment Everyone Involved Had Expected

“Over a year ago, Molly Smith, artistic director of Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage Theater, scheduled a new play, Roe, to open in the nation’s capital in January 2017. The stars, it seemed, would be perfectly aligned. January would mark both the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision legalizing abortion, and a historic presidential inauguration. ‘We thought it would be our first woman president,’ Smith said, ‘I expected the play to open in a celebratory feel.'” Well …

The Great Unbundling Marches On (The Internet Is Comin’ For Ya, TV)

We know all too well how the Internet has upended the business models of The music business and especially the print media. Yet television has come out relatively unscathed so far, argues Ben Thompson, because the Internet hadn’t yet taken over all five of the functions TV serves in people’s lives. But it’s about to.

Cocktails, Snacks, And 17th-Century Songs: Musica Poetica Hits The Bars

“We hope to create a more informal atmosphere more akin to a jazz club,” says the London group’s founder, Oliver-John Ruthven. “Imagine an evening at Ronnie Scott’s, but instead of jazz, it is early music which you would be listening to. The fascinating thing is that much of the music we play was actually intended for just this sort of environment.”

Trump Has Sparked Revival Of Protest Culture In American Arts – Especially On Inauguration Day

Howard Sherman: “While there are those in the visual art community who have called for inauguration day, on January 20, to be met with an art strike, asking that institutions be closed in protest, I’m glad to say I’ve not seen the idea gain much traction in the performing arts community. Indeed, in addition to maintaining their performance schedules, some organizations are throwing open their doors, as places of respite and refuge.”

Simon Rattle Explains Why His Orchestra Needs A New Hall

Rattle was blunt about the limitations of the Barbican. “It is very clear we can do a lot of wonderful work at the Barbican, but it is also clear there is about 20% of the repertoire that we can’t,” he said. “In my wishlist of pieces there is so much which simply would not work there. The stage was beautifully designed for a certain size orchestra. It was not designed for a very large orchestra and it was certainly not made with a chorus in mind.”