iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

“While prompt in action, it seldom causes vomiting.” That is some stirring copywriting there. 🤮

The box for a bottle of old time “patent medicine.” The medicine is called Glessco, and it is supposedly produced by a Doctor Drake. The box is short on detail, but it promises “One Dose for Results.”

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The pride and joy of Goshen, Indiana! Is your horse getting enough creosote?

An antique cardboard box used as packaging for patent medicine from the early 1900s. This box held a bottle of Spohn’s Compound, which was billed as an expectorant for animals. Listed ingredients include creosote. The box depicts a man, presumably Mr. Spohn, and states that his company is based in Goshen, Indiana.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I understand each of these words individually, but when they are placed together all I can do is stare in uncomprehending horror.

An advertising banner at the Indiana State Fair for a bacon jalapeño burger that uses honey buns (the baked goods) as buns. The horror, the horror!

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

If you see this, we implore you to post a picture from whatever device you’re using without explanation

A fieldstone wall with the title “Tupman Cemetery” on two small metal signs.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I had to see this cursed bust of Columbo, so you do too.

A painted bust of the television character Lieutenant Columbo, with the traditional wild hair and trenchcoat, but also ridiculously heavy stubble and dead eyes.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Detail of an antique glass block window frame.

A three inch by three inch pane of a glass block window. The glass block contains a prism that renders the window translucent rather than transparent. Etched into the pane is the following: Solar Prism Co., Cleveland OH, Patent Nov 7 1899.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Acapulco has many historical delights, including the old Fort of San Diego, now a history museum.

A courtyard in an old fort. It has a flagstone floor, stone walls covered in yellow stucco, and several doors with wooden frames and small windows. Overhead is a blue sky with a few scattered clouds.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

A southwestern Indiana landmark, the Big Peach. Near the village of Emison. From May 2005.

A ten-foot tall, orange concrete peach, festooned with two large green leaves, sits on a green platform next to a twenty-foot tall yellow obelisk. The yellow paint is peeling, but the name “Big Peach” is legible. Behind the platform is a parking lot and the Big Peach Farmstand.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

A statue of singer, songwriter, and Academy Award-winning actor Burl Ives. Located in Newton, Illinois, near his hometown of Hunt City.

A life-sized statute of a balding, bearded man. He is sitting on a bench and holding a guitar in one hand.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Detail of decorative arched doorway at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

An angled photograph of a doorway to cathedral-like freemasonry hall. Normal-sized wooden doors are surmounted by a stone archway thirty feet tall. The archway includes a sculpture of a man standing in a pulpit.

A close-up of the sculpture described in the previous photograph. A bearded man in a robe is standing in a pulpit, visible from the waist up. He wears a cap and is holding some sort of implement while resting one hand on a column.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Never thought I’d see one of these with my own eyes. At the Early Television Museum in Columbus, Ohio.

A large electronic entertainment system from the 1960s. It includes a television screen, stereo, and turntable. The wooden cabinet that contains the components is angular, rising to a point on the right side.

A framed description of the television shown in the other picture. The text reads: “Kuba Komet” The Kuba Corporation manufactured the Komet from 1957 to 1962 in Wolfenburg, Germany. This set stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, it is over 7 feet wide and weighs 289 pounds. The Komet was the complete home entertainment center for its time, with a turntable and AM/SW radio. This model has a 23 inch screen and was made in 1962.

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Reposted by Next-to-the-Last Starfighter

LuUuUuke Knox 👻 @lukeknox.me · 05/04/2026

never forget when the Easter Bunny sent Teddy Roosevelt to the shadow realm

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

@discontinuedfoods.bsky.social Thanks for your lunchbox thread - I think it’s fascinating. I saw this in an Ohio antique mall. It’s got to be a rare item.

A rectangular metal lunchbox from the very short-lived tv show Mr. Merlin. The front of the lunchbox shows a young, long-haired man. An older white-haired man wearing glasses and a baseball cap is standing behind him, grasping his shoulder. The name of the show is in the upper right-hand corner.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

A smol kitty in Polignano a Mare, Italy. December 2025.

A fluffy kitten with a bushy tail sitting on smooth stone steps, next to a small tree. The kitten is looking to the left side of the photo.

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Reposted by Next-to-the-Last Starfighter

Scott Lynch @scottlynch78.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

moby-dick, his eyes enormous: from hell's heart you STAB at moby? for hate's sake you spit your last BREATH at moby? oh! oh! the great shroud of the sea for ahab! the great shroud of the sea rolling on as it rolled five thousand years ago!!!!

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

There’s a Fan Fest in Indianapolis as part of the Final Four. No idea what’s going on in there, but it’s relentlessly and mercilessly branded.

A map on the wall of the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis depicting the Fan Fest taking place from April 3-6. In lieu of event descriptions, the map shows blocks of space reserved for financial services companies, soda makers, and other businesses.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

This is great news! I hope this shift continues.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

A streetcar on display at the Ohio History Center in Columbus.

An electric streetcar from the early 1900s, painted green. There are steps to board the streetcar at the front and back, on both sides of the vehicle, with an enclosed cabin in the middle.

An interior view of the streetcar, with a wooden floor and ceiling. Wooden benches run the length of the compartment on both sides. Leather straps hang from the ceiling at regular intervals, for the use of standees.

A closeup view of the ceiling fixture inside the streetcar. It is over two feet in diameter and consists of a recessed glass dome, with a single lightbulb at the center. The glass is decorated with vertical markings that diffuse the light.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Midcentury concrete design at the Ohio History Center in Columbus.

A large room with red carpeting and a split staircase ascending to the second floor, with a landing midway through the ascent. The second floor is mostly open to the first floor, with concrete ceiling above. The ceiling has a pattern of recesses in the concrete.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

A lovely mural in downtown Indianapolis, by local artist Tasha Beckwith.

A 15 foot by 15 foot mural set in a white stone wall, above a red brick sidewalk. The mural shows a woman in a white yoga-like dress and wearing a garland of pink flowers on her head, facing left and holding up a golden basket full of red, pink, and purple flowers. The woman stands in front of a circle with a grey textured background.

A placard for the mural depicted in the other photo. The placard reads: “Tasha Beckwith, Giver of Flowers, 2025. Digital illustration.” It provides a social media handle for Ms. Beckwith: @tashabeckwithfineart. The placard also says the mural is sponsored by the Indy Arts Council as part of the Sidewalk Galleries Project.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Ruin a book or band name with one letter: Nine Inch Fails

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Reposted by Next-to-the-Last Starfighter

steven @stevenmjboi.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Drop an album that was important to you when you were 19

The album cover for The Cranberries’s album, “Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” The cover is a photograph of the four members of the band, with a black background. Three of them are sitting on a couch, and the fourth is sitting on the floor in front of them.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

A very quiet street in Skradin, Croatia. Located outside a national park. Croatia is working on developing year-round tourism. Most of the hotels and restaurants were closed during my mid-December visit.

A narrow, clean, well-paved street in a Croatian village. The street curves slightly to the left, with colorful two-story buildings on both sides.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

The War Memorial building in Indianapolis, Indiana. Originally built to honor World War I vets, it’s also now a monument to vets of later wars.

A building, approximately eight stories tall, designed in a classical style with columns and a ziggurat-like tiered roof. Other tall buildings stand in the background, and a grassy lawn sits in front.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

I saw this several years back at an Indiana festival. I’m guessing Spielberg did not authorize this.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

What’s for lunch? Popcorn and roasted crickets, courtesy of Owamni Restaurant in Minneapolis.

A view looking down on a white bowl that contains popcorn topped with roasted crickets, each about a half-inch long.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia. Well-decorated on the inside, but still a humble dwelling for someone raised in extreme wealth.

A small white house, with a chimney. A path of inlaid stones leads to the small front porch, and tree sits off to one side of the path. Behind the house. A forest lurks.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

A skyscraper here in downtown Indianapolis is replacing its corporate logo. That’s a large letter!

A photograph of a ten-foot tall letter O, surrounded by a caution tape barrier.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

There are some lovely murals in downtown Indianapolis these days.

A roughly ten foot by ten foot mural of a woman in a white robe, with a crown of pink and orange flowers, holding up with both hands a bowl containing a variety of beautiful flowers.

A placard for the mural, identifying the artist as Tasha Beckwith and the title of the mural as “Giver of Flowers, 2025.” The medium of the mural is digital illustration. The artist can be contacted at @tashabeckwithfineart. The mural is part of a larger project, known as Sidewalk Galleries, organized by the Indianapolis Arts Council.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

If you see this, reskeet with a vampire that is not Dracula.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Dining on a covered bridge in rural Indiana. Blazingly hot weather, but good food.

Looking down an old fashioned wooden covered bridge. A long narrow table has been put in the middle, running the length of the bridge. The table is decorated with a tablecloth and flowers. People are seated at the table, eating a meal.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

A view inside the Swine Barn (aka the Fall Creek Pavilion) at the Indiana State Fair tonight. That’s a lot of pigs.

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Reposted by Next-to-the-Last Starfighter

OBVIOUS SHIRTS. @obviousshirts.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

CUBS.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

A community of birds making beautiful sounds under a motel carport. Wish I could identify the bird species.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

This bas-relief adorns a former auto racing company’s garage in Indianapolis, Indiana. Now home to a brewery.

A bas-relief in stone mounted on a brick wall. The sculpture depicts an old-fashioned auto racer leaning over a steering wheel, hair flowing in the breeze.

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Psst . . . Wanna hear two lifelong Chicago Bears fans (who are also siblings) discuss the new sports documentary that delves into the many, many sins of Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre? Spoiler alert: they don’t like him. www.mixcloud.com/anne-c-laker...

mixcloud.com

UNTOLD: THE FALL OF FAVRE | guest: Kurt Laker | air date 6/7/25 | FLICK FIX | WQRT

Laker sibs Anne and Kurt—Chicago Bears fans since birth—examine the triggers for their multi-layered loathing of the Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers quarterback/misanthrope profiled in the Netflix docu...

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

A pretty mini-postcard of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. It's probably around fifty years old.

An undated but decades-old mini-postcard, two by three inches in size, depicting six people on a small boat on an underground stream in Mammoth Cave. The photo has the following caption: "Echo River, 360 feet underground, in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky"

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Next-to-the-Last Starfighter @jhmerr.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

It’s film noir weekend at the Artcraft Theatre 🎭 n Franklin, Indiana.

An old movie theater at night, with an Art Deco marquee consisting of a neon sign that says “Artcraft” and a lighted listing of classic films being shown for the weekend.

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