The PopCulteer
September 12, 2025

Today’s PopCulteer was supposed to be a special preview of a cool new pop culture item with an exciting launch and a local connection. I had it pre-written, and timed to go live with the offical press conference launch.

Then, twenty minutes before my pre-written post was set to go live, I got a frantic phone call telling me that the project has been delayed at least three months, and to please not run any information or images about it yet.

The timing wasn’t great, but I don’t want to burn a source or unintentionally leak anything early that might screw things up for anybody. So I spiked that post for now.

And that left me without a post for today.  I am not prepared to run an appropriate obituary for Anne Saville, which she most assuradely deserves. That will wait until I have the time to do it right.

I’m also not inclined to cover any third-rail current events that folks might be coming to this blog to avoid.

Luckily, I have a stockpile of stuff to run to in case of such an event as this. So, here are some hastily-assembled photos from my recent travels that I haven’t posted here yet….

I have dozens of photos from the model contest at WonderFest in Louisville  that haven’t seen the light of day yet. Here’s one of them.

It was cool to visit Rotofugi in Chicago again, for what must have been the first time in three or four years, back in June.

While I posted a photo of the giant traditional Big Boy from The American Sign Museum in Cinncinnati, I forgot to share this pic of the slimmer, Frisch’s Big Boy that they also have.

Meanwhile, at an actual Frisch’s in Frankfort, Kentucky, we got this shot of Squidward and Plankton hanging out with the large lad himself.

Speaking of Plankton and Squidward, inspired by Bessie the Travelliing Cow on Spoutible, Mel and I started taking pictures of a plush Squidward (later joined by Plankton) on our travels, mainly for the amusement of our friend, Pixie, in Liverpool, England. Maybe someday I’ll tell you the whole story.

Another angle of this giant cardboard Cobra Vehicle that we saw at The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo in Louisville in July. It extended beyond both sides of an 8 foot banquet table.

Essex Art Studios is an arts incubator in Cinncinnati, and home to the Lucky Cat Museum. We tried to get a picture of the sign painted on the building from our rental car (seen in the photo), but we were too close and it looked like it said “SEX STUDIOS.”

And if you missed our photo essay on the Lucky Cat Museum, scroll down or search for it, because it’s full of cool photos like this one.

Back at The American Sign Museum, this McDonald’s sign is so huge that we could not back up far enough to get a head-on shot of it without running into a wall. I could only shoot it from an angle.

Among the many perks of being married to my wonderful and lovely wife, is that she has a secret identity as “Diamond Mel,” and works wonders with her Hilton Points wizardry to get us first-class treatment and special discounts when we travel. They even acknowledge her on the TV when we check into the room!

And with that hastily-collected batch of photos, this week’s PopCulteer is done. Check back every day for fresh content and all our regular features.