Bear

The country’s ancient emphasis on food presentation has been transformed into a trend for character bento – packed lunches made to look like pandas, teddy bears or even real people.

In the age of the download single, The Antlers had an unlikely hit with their 2009 album Hospice. The storyline is about coming to terms with the death of a friend. But the music isn’t what you’d expect – it’s not morose and spare, it’s big and lush.

Inventor Troy Hurtubise (HURCH-ooh-beez) is designing a suit of armor, inspired by the movie Robocop, that will protect him against grizzly bear attacks. He wants to study the bears up close in the wild, something researchers have been unable to do. Miriam Landman reports.