Newsletter Leaf Journal CLXXXI 〜 Delivered by pigeon
Welcome to the 181st edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. This newsletter comes to you as always from the waterproof keyboard editor of The New Leaf Journal, Nicholas A. Ferrell. The calendar turned from March to April and I published several new articles since mailing newsletter 180. Without further ado, let us get to our regularly scheduled newsletter content.
Leaves from the week that was
I published four new articles since the previous newsletter.
March 2024 at The New Leaf Journal
N.A. Ferrell. April 3.
As advertised. Note the A Sign of Affection hair color duo going 1-2 in the monthly ranking after a 1-3 finish in February.
NYC Board of Elections Pigeon Mailer
N.A. Ferrell April 1.
I appreciated the pigeon aesthetic from the New York City Board of Elections.
Palworld Article Feed Reader Filter Evasion
N.A. Ferrell. April 4.
I thought that this year would end my three year run of publishing a video game-related April Fools article. Events intervened.
Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki – S2 Review
N.A. Ferrell. April 5.
These anime season reviews are exhausting. Speaking of which, there is one more coming for the spring season. Those of you who followed my December 2023 articles closely should have an idea of what it will be.
Leaves from around the web
Let's check in on what is happening (or was happening) around the world wide web.
Articles related to my articles
A Photo Guide to the Real-Life Locations in Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki
Ken Iikura-Gross for Anime News Network. February 2, 2024.
While I described Tomozaki's animation as middling, it is neat to see how true to life some of the backdrops are.
SPOILER FREE FINAL THOUGHTS: WINTER 2024
Takafumi at Plsnohate. March 30, 2024.
Well, not spoiler free if you don't want to know the full love triangle and outcome thereof in Tomozaki S2. However, this is an interesting run down in part because Takafumi and I mostly watched different 2024 series.
You ask, I answer
Random: Did You Know About This Obscure Mario Bowling Game?
Jack Yarwood for Time Extension. February 13, 2024.
No, but I guessed what it was from the headline.
Would You Eat This Purple Tomato?
Diana Hubbell for Atlas Obscura. March 27, 2024.
Only if being purple does something to fix the unpleasant texture.
Future article previews
It's Time to Retire Your Unsupported Things
Will Dormann for Software Engineering Institute. October 23, 2019.
Don't tell me what to do.
NYC’s first-ever ‘mini forest’ coming to Roosevelt Island this spring
Patrick Reilly for the New York Post. March 12, 2024.
Future on-the-ground reporting topic?
Buried lede
Wynn Resorts unveil renderings of massive $12B NYC casino complex
Carl Campanile and Josh Kosman for the New York Post. March 13, 2024.
My favorite part is that they're promising to build a school in a casino complex.
Nagoya elementary students caught defrauding classmate for nearly 1 million yen
Master Blaster for SoraNews24. March 6, 2024.
While entrepreneurial thinking in kids can be good, we probably do not want to see it combined with bullying.
Little things
The World's Smallest Vertebrate Is a Tiny Brazilian Frog, Study Finds
Will Sullivan for Smithsonian Magazine. February 28, 2024.
Being small doesn't stop you from having big adventures.
Legendary shojo manga classics get reprints as miniature capsule toys with full-volume contents
Casey Baeel for SoraNews24. March 7, 2024.
"Everything is the fine print" sized.
An issue of timing
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew hopes for ‘unified date’ for Easter in East and West
Tyler Arnold for Catholic News Agency. April 4, 2024.
Resolving the clash of the Gregorian and Julian calendars.
Kazakhstan: Time zone change meets resistance
Almaz Kumenov for Eurasianet. March 1, 2024.
"At its widest points from west to east, Kazakhstan spans some 3,000 kilometers – very roughly the distance from Lisbon to Warsaw, which are separated by one time zone. Urumqi, the capital of China’s westernmost region, Xinjiang, which borders Kazakhstan, is three time zones away from Astana."
I can't disagree
To Save Sun Bears, Scientists First Have to Find Them
Alex Fox for Smithsonian Magazine. March 28, 2024.
Who needs an article when the headline more or less says it all?
Alliances Were Key to the Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan
Antonio Giustozzi for New Lines Institute. September 9, 2021.
Supposed experts from world and regional powers tried to take the Taliban seriously but not literally, notwithstanding overwhelming evidence that the Taliban actually means what it says.
Questionable choices
Construction worker who sucker-punched disabled NYC man inside elevator blames attack on diabetes — and could skirt jail time
Kyle Schnitzer for the New York Post. April 2, 2024.
I know everyone has to earn a living but there are more dignified options out there than offering this plea deal on behalf of the current Manhattan District Attorney's office. Consider becoming one of those "VTubers" or something.
Chase Bank Gets into the Ad Game
Isobel Asher Hamilton for The Daily Upside. April 3, 2024.
Will they use the ad money to keep their ATM locations from becoming camp sites?
First-hand accounts
A Day in the Life of a Fossil Preparator
Catlin Donahue Wylie for The MIT Press Reader. December 7, 2023.
An inside look at the life of the fossil guy.
The Imaginary Operagoer: A Memoir
Dana Gioia for The Hudson Review. Winter 2024 Issue.
One man's story of having been the only opera fan in school.
The headline is the headline
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Grammarphobia. February 12, 2024.
Or so they tell us before they launch into researching where the phrase came from.
Japan’s oldest man passes away, thought to have been last male born in the Meiji period
Casey Baseel for SoraNews24. April 5, 2024.
Slightly ambiguous headline.
Very timely history
When Brooklyn Shook in 1935
Susan De Vires for Brownstoner. April 5, 2024.
I'm actually drafting this newsletter from rubble.
The Old Leaf Journal
Let's check in on our article archives...
- Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki S1 Anime Review (NAF. 12/29/23): It is not very "old" but it is a prerequisite to my most-recent article so I decided to shift the usual Old Leaf Journal paradigm.
- One Man, One Vote, Two “I Voted!” Stickers (NAF. 6/28/22): I only received one sticker on Tuesday. Let down.
- An 1882 Poem on Apple Blossoms (NAF. 5/23/22): The trees are starting to blossom. I would know from my sinuses even if I did not see it.
- Uzbek President Mirziyoyev’s War and Peace of the Union (NAF. May 8, 2020): This is one of my earliest articles and personal favorites. It had a few visitors last week so I will try to make something happen with this newsletter.
- Justin & Justina: The Existential Angst of the Yappy Dog (NAF. May 18, 2021): There was some next-door yapping yesterday.
- Wallabag Custom Search Engine Shortcuts (NAF. October 6, 2022): I don't use Wallabag at the moment but the tips remain evergreen.
What if I told you that we would have some more Old Leaf Journal style links in the next section?
Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week
I list our most-read articles from the previous newsletter week (Friday to Saturday) in each edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. These statistics come courtesy of Koko Analytics, our local, privacy friendly page-hit counting solution (see my review).
Below, you will find the five most-visited articles of 2024 newsletter week 14 (March 30-April 5) along with their 2024 statistics and all-time statistics, which go back to the first week of 2021.
[1] Yuki's Hair Color in A Sign of Affection
N.A. Ferrell. February 2, 2024.
2024: 9 appearances and 5 top placements.
[2] Heights in “The Dangers in My Heart” Anime
N.A. Ferrell. April 2, 2023.
2024: 9 appearances and 1 top placement.
History: 16 appearances and 1 top placement.
[3] Organizing RSS and ATOM Feed Sources
N.A. Ferrell. February 1, 2024.
2024: NEW
[4] An In-Depth Look at Norton Safe Search
N.A. Ferrell. October 18, 2022.
2024: 7 appearances.
History: 19 appearances and 5 top placements.
[5] The Dangers in My Heart S1 Anime Review
N.A. Ferrell. December 28, 2023.
2024: NEW
Analysis
We had another mediocre week last week with four fairly strong days mixed with three week ones (the general decline is tied to a minor-but-meaningful decrease in search engine traffic since the end of February). Many articles outside the top five had solid weeks but the top of the ranking was soft.
There were two notable events. Firstly, my article on Yuki's hair color in A Sign of Affection became the sixth article since 2021 to top the newsletter charts for five consecutive weeks:
- RSS as a Facebook Alternative (2021 Weeks 10-14)
- The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei (2021 Weeks 19-25)
- Cross-posting from Mastodon to Twitter (2022 Weeks 44-48)
- Tiki paralogue trick in Fire Emblem Engage (2023 weeks 7-17)
- An In-Depth Look at Norton Safe Search (2023 weeks 45-49)
- Yuki's Hair Color in A Sign of Affection (2024 weeks: 10-14)
With the exception of the tsuki ga kirei article, which had multiple runs of at least five weeks atop the ranking including at least one in each of the last three years, the above articles had only a single streak of at least five first place finishes. Yuki finds itself in good company, although it benefited from a low a threshold for taking the top spot in three of the five weeks. The Yuki streak is more interesting when we consider that my second article on hair color in the same anime had led for three straight weeks before Yuki's run -- thus making it eight in a row for hair color in A Sign of Affection. Now that the anime is finished -- I expect the streak to end this upcoming week (or not long after), but it proved to be an unexpectedly popular topic. In the long run, I hope to see my actual review of the series take over as the leading A Sign of Affection article.
While the top of our weekly top-five was steady, we saw two articles make debut appearances. My essay on organizing RSS feeds made its first top five (it was close on one occasion in February) thanks largely to Yukinu's response post at Yukinu Blog briefly appearing on page one of Hacker News. Consider this the first example of our weekly ranking being affected by someone else appearing on Hacker News page one. The top five was rounded out by my review of the first season of The Dangers in My Heart anime, which came in 10th on the overall March ranking. I hope to one-up the season one review in the near future (spoiler alert?).
Notable Leaf Journal
I have no news to report so we will skip ahead to the Notable Leaf Journal. I have been working on turning devices running very old versions of Android into retro gaming machines. You can expect to read some ideas and tips soon. Wait a second... I suppose that was kind of news-y.
Taking leaf
Thank you as always for reading and following The Newsletter Leaf Journal. If you enjoyed the newsletter and have not done so already, you can subscribe to our weekly email, add our newsletter's RSS feed to your favorite feed reader, or simply visit the newsletter's archive page at your leisure (see options). I have a backlog of nearly-completed article drafts, so I look forward to having some fun new pieces to share in next week's newsletter.
Until Saturday the 13th -- Cura ut valeas,
Nicholas A. Ferrell