"Furrow" and Other Sculptures by Ben Butler

Ben Butler sculpts and assembles deliciously shaped wooden sculptures, such as the above cedar piece entitled “Furrow”. He has an exhibit that opens tomorrow at the Zg Gallery in Chicago.

Link, Via: Dude Craft | Gallery Website | Via: Neatorama

The Money Tree

Created by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, whoisamy.com

Filmed in Chicago summer 2010. LINK: Youtube

Chicago’s New 30 Foot Tall “Eye” Sculpture by Tony Tasset

Chicago’s latest public art installation is “Eye”, a 30 foot tall eyeball sculpture by Tony Tasset, modeled after his own eye. It will be on display through October 31st. Chicago Tribune made a video about Tony and his “Eye” sculpture. LINK, Via: Youtube

A Day At The John G. Shedd Aquarium

The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois in the United States that opened on May 30, 1930. The aquarium contains over 25,000 fish, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 US gallons (19,000,000 l) of water. The Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. The aquarium has 2 million annual visitors; it was the most visited aquarium in the U.S. in 2005, and in 2007, it surpassed the Field Museum as the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago. It contains 1500 species including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects. Head here for more info: sheddaquarium.org. LINK

Beer bottles reblown into drinking glasses in the Boing Boing Bazaar

New in the Boing Boing Bazaar:

Glassblower Nick Paul of Chicago drinks beer. (Hopefully, he has some friends who help him out with it, from time to time.) Then he takes the empty bottles and blows out their necks to make flat-sided tumblers. Then, in a stroke of packaging/marketing/recycling genius, he puts them back in their original six-packaging and sells them through his online storefront, Windy City Glass.

Beer bottles reblown into drinking glasses (Via: Make: Online) Via: Boingboing

Cabrini-Green - 660 W. Division Stop Motion Demolition

Stop motion animation of the demolition of 660 W. Division, one of the last remaining buildings within the Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago. Since late 1999, Chicago has been working to replace the old model of isolated low income residences with new, low rise, mixed income communities. LINK: Youtube

Buildings of Historic Chicago

Take a look at seven historic Chicago locations. Some were notorious hangouts of the Prohibition-era gangsters of Chicago. You may have even been to some of them without knowing the colorful background of these placces.

The speakeasy, 1920’s icon. When prohibition began, outlawing the sale of alcohol in the United States paved the way for criminals like Al Capone to come to fruition. And if you think prohibition stopped alcohol, well, then… the word naive comes to mind. Alcohol, if anything, was more rampant in the 1920’s. Want to make something that’s already fun even more popular?? Make it taboo. The “speakeasy” was the slang term for an establishment that illegally sold alcohol during these times. Some were seedy bars, others were extravagant nightclubs filled with the rich and famous. The Green Mill Jazz Club, still open today, was a popular speakeasy back during prohibition and at one point even owned by Jack McGurn, a right hand man of Al Capone.

Link, Via: Neatorama

Raw Video: Beluga Whale Calf Born at Aquarium

A beluga whale at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium gives birth to a calf. Shortly after the birth, the calf took a breath and began swimming with his mother. The calf was born head first, rare among belugas who are normally born tail first. (Dec. 15). LINK: Youtube

Soft mobile morphing robots

iRobot is developing a soft mobile morphing robots, designed to crawl through tiny holes and cracks.

Researchers from iRobot and the University of Chicago discussed their palm-sized soft robot, known as a chemical robot, or chembot, at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems yesterday. It's "the first demonstration of a completely soft, mobile robot using jamming as an enabling technology," they write in a paper presented at the conference.

The concept of "jamming skin enabled locomotion" is explained quite nicely in the video. The polymer used for the bot's stretchy skin is off-the-shelf silicone two-part rubber. LINK, Via: Youtube

iRobot's Shape-Shifting Blob 'Bot Takes Its First Steps.

1948 Tucker

The 1948 Tucker Sedan or Tucker ‘48 Sedan (also nicknamed the Tucker Torpedo) was an advanced automobile conceived by Preston Tucker and briefly produced in Chicago in 1948. Only 51 cars were made before the company folded on March 3, 1949, due to negative publicity initiated by the Big Three. LINK

More pics and story about this one here.

SICK*****! Child Porn Found On Computer Taken In For Repairs

An East Chicago man who took his computer in for repairs has been charged with possession of child pornography.

Bryan S. Johnson, 47, of the 4000 block of Butternut Street, had about 1,000 photos of children having sex and engaging in sexual activity with adults, records state.

Johnson dropped off his computer May 1 at Computer Bay Store in Schererville, Ind. A technician working on the computer discovered a folder called "had sex with a 12-year-old."

Nothing that appeared to be child pornography was inside the folder, but police then confiscated the hard drive as evidence, obtained a search warrant and discovered the questionable files.

The charge is punishable by a maximum three-year sentence. LINK

A three year sentence to me isn't long enough, beware out there parents on what may be crawling the web.

Lifesize Bumblebee Autobot Build

An in-depth look at the five-plus hour process of erecting the 18-foot tall, 3,700 pound replica of the Transformers Autobot Bumblebee by Chevrolet for the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. LINK, Via: Youtube