The Trib reports from Niles, IL that “a go-kart decorated to look like a ‘57 Chevy and driven by an unidentified Medinah Shriner” struck a few spectators before landing in nearby shrubbery with one spectator still on the hood of the vehicle.

Also, “Illinois State Police are blaming a small flock of ducks for a three-car accident that blocked a major highway. The whole highway was shut down for about 15 minutes. The ducks were not injured.”

Finally, from a few days ago: “Fifteen camels, two zebras and several llamas and pot-bellied pigs escaped from a circus visiting Amsterdam early Monday.”

A Boston cooler is typically composed of Vernor’s golden ginger ale and vanilla ice cream. The drink originated in Detroit, when Fred Sanders opened his first fountain counter on Woodward and Gratiot in 1875 and started selling ice cream sodas. Taken at the 11 City Diner in the South Loop.

“Who? Oh, um, I devoured him.”

(Though they have similar looks, Zorak’s not a butterfly, but the Lone Locust of the apocalypse. Think of him when you look to the night sky.)

I sneaked up on this little guy, the first butterfly I’ve seen this season, with my regular lens. He stayed on the flower long enough for me to get inches away, but I should’ve made sure he wasn’t too centered in the first one. I took these in the Art Institute garden on the north side.

This 344-page beauty has 80 interviews with Chicagoans and more than 150 B&W photos. The list price is $35; Amazon has it for $26.60. We were thrilled to get it at Powell’s for $15.

Here’s a photo of Marina City under construction:

I also scored Minghella on Minghella, in like-new condition, for $6, marked down from $15. Stanley Pollack wrote the preface, and there’s a chapter on editing in conversation with Walter Murch. Nice!

And an updated copy of Diners, by John Baeder, with photorealist paintings of more than 100 diners. “The artist’s own captions introduce each diner — many of which no longer exist — and describe their food specialties, their sometimes quirky histories, and their owners, managers, or patrons.”

I recorded this video of a male red-winged blackbird in Grant Park. He was either protecting his territory or calling for a blackbird uprising against humans. After the breeding season ends, their flocks can number in the millions.

Read about obscure museums — e.g., PA’s Mercer Museum, NY’s MTA Transit Museum, Romania’s Zoological Museum - in detail at the wonderful Curious Exhibitions blog.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology has some good recommended items for reading, viewing and listening. You may also want to buy the Mütter Museum 2009 calendar.

The International Cryptozoology Museum needs an intern.

The Chicago History Museum is pairing with Metropolis Coffee Company for a ($45) coffee-themed boat tour on July 20.

Upcoming exhibits at Chicago’s International Museum of Surgical Science include Plastic Surgery: Form and Function (Fall 2008), and two of their new or current exhibits are The Cutting Edge: Advances in Genetics and Surgery (now), as well as Beyond Broken Bones.