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New exhibits are the perfect ammo to inspire your own work. Here are a few that caught my eye this week.

The controversial Jill Greenberg's new exhibit New Bears just kicked off at the Clamp Art gallery in New York. Greenberg broke into the industry with her celebrity portraiture and continues to interest audiences with her animal portraits. Capturing individuality amongst her subjects, Greenberg constructed an outdoor studio in Canada and focused her lens on large bears. The exhibit runs from November 5th to December 19th and features a book signing November 13th from 6-8pm.

No longer will you have to travel to Park City, Utah just to be a part of Sundance. A new event has been created by the Sundance Institute called Sundance Film Festival U.S.A. that will enable Sundance filmmakers to come to you - well, at least eight of them, all of whom will travel to eight separate cities on January 28 during the festival's awards weekend.

As rock 'n' roll royalty go, U2 are generally thought of as being among the most thoughtful bands in the world.

Check out tomorrow's photography show opening at Brooklyn's Farmani Gallery, featuring the work of Photo League photographers Fred Stein and Erika Stone. And while you're there, take a look at the many other galleries at 111 Front Street. Happy hopping!

During the PhotoPlus Expo, I had time to catch up with Jeremy Yokota from Lowepro. He gave me the rundown on their newest bags. With hidden pockets full of all weather covers, detachable hard cases, hideaway straps, and ultra-durable pockets, these bags are as useful as they are stylish. With a lifetime guarantee, how can you go wrong?

There were a few bags in particular that caught my eye.

1. Versapack 200 AW

It looks like a stylish backpack, with the normal features to store pens and stray articles of clothing or water bottles. However, the bottom is a compartment made specifically to protect your DSLR and lenses. You can even access them without taking it off.

Don't just take my word for it — here, Jeremy gives us a demonstration.

Avon Barksdale, Detective Jimmy McNulty and everyone's favorite dope fiend, Bubbles will soon be moving from the poverty-stricken streets of inner-city Baltimore to the affluent, ivy-covered walls of Harvard University.  No, HBO hasn't announced plans for a spin-off of The Wire set in Cambridge, Massachusetts (though how awesome would it be to see students of our country's top 1% awkwardly fumble through interactions with Omar Little and his sawed-off or be propositioned for tall tees at the Bubbles push cart market?).  Instead, the arguably best television show in history will soon be taught as a class at Harvard University according to the school's student newspaper, The Crimson.

It's sometimes hard to get away from all the negativity swirling around the music industry these days.

The design community is packed with opportunities for self-promotion and brand expansion. The first annual Faces of Design Awards commence in 2010, as an opportunity for designers to have their work judged by a slew of talented professionals and gain some street cred (or fashion ave. cred?)

Kodak and Photo District News  have a photo contest called Best Friends: The Ultimate Animal Photo Contest. Now doesn't that sound nice? It is both ultimate AND about our animal friends.