Newsletter Leaf Journal CLXXXIX 〜 Full spectrum email
The short 189th New Leaf Journal features links to our three new articles, including two about a new internet modem, and 21 links from around the world wide web (with clever commentary).
Welcome to the 189th 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 washable keyboard of the editor of The New Leaf Journal, Nicholas A. Ferrell. Today's newsletter will be a quick one with only the meat and potatoes because I have some work to take care of this weekend. Without further ado, let's get to it.
Leaves from the week that was
I published three new articles since mailing Newsletter 188.
- A Positive Experience With Spectrum: I describe my experience with my ISP, Spectrum, in setting up a modem I purchased to receive internet.
- Acquiring Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life in 2004: What does a 2004 GameCube game have to do with the 2004 NBA Finals? If your answer is "nothing" -- you are correct in most cases. But in this case, I use the Finals to pin down exactly when I received said farming game.
- Misleading ARRIS Modem Login Instructions: The default log-in credentials for my new modem (discussed in the top link in this section) were not what I expected.
Leaves from around the web
Let's check in on the world wide web...
2D people from Japan and elsewhere
Anime Studio Gainax Files for Bankruptcy
Crystalyn Hodgkins for Anime News Network. June 7, 2024.
They produced my single favorite anime back in 2000 (FLCL).
Dahlia in Bloom Anime to Redo Scenes Suspected to Be Animated in N. Korea
Alex Mateo for Anime News Network. June 7, 2024.
There goes my plan for a North Korea anime ranking.
Finding what you're looking for (or not)
Lost metal detectorist finds Bronze Age rapier
The History Blog. June 3, 2024.
Here's someone who found what he was looking for.
Farmer in Norway finds rare Viking sword
The History Blog. June 2, 2024.
Would have been more helpful to find a Viking hoe or shovel.
The world of music
Persona 3 Reload OST storms up the charts in both Japan and the US
Verity Townsend for Automation West. April 26, 2024.
Persona 3 has a good soundtrack but the best track from the PlayStation 2 releases, Heartful Cry in The Answer, which is almost certainly not included in this collection (maybe the next collection).
All Bad Music Will Eventually Disappear
Ted Gioia at Honest Broker. May 7, 2024.
I'll tell myself that next time I walk into Lot Less.
My thoughts on education
What’s the Difference Between Rubies and Pink Sapphires?
International Gem Society.
Few topics could spark a fierce discussion in both a geology and philosophy seminar.
NYS plans to nix Regents exam requirements for students
Barba Russo-Lennon for amny. June 11, 2024.
They're pretending that the Regents are difficult exams.
More public colleges admit high schoolers who haven't applied to bolster minority enrollment
Sean Salai for The Washington Times. June 13, 2024.
Colleges are now the credit card companies sending out unsolicited pre-approval notices.
Military history
Wild horses return to Kazakhstan steppes after absence of two centuries
Sophie Kevany for The Guardian. June 10, 2024.
Good thing no one ever rides horses out of the Central Asian steppes.
Japan’s war on China and the weaponisation of Confucianism
Sam Dresser for Aeon. May 30, 2024.
Reimagining a war of conquest as filial piety.
U.S. Navy faces most intense combat since World War II against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels
Jon Grambrell for the Associated Press. June 14, 2024.
I see more differences than similarities.
But let's talk about me
Tom Gauld on the ghost who refuses to leave the earthly realm
Tom Gauld for The Guardian. May 18, 2024.
A comic take on backlogs to complement my more verbose article on the subject.
You can be on this beautiful Japanese island in less than two hours from downtown Tokyo
SoraNews24. June 9, 2024.
But I would first have to get to Downtown Tokyo.
OFFICIAL Denver Museum of Nature & Science : Three Kids Find Rare Juvenile T. Rex Fossil
Denver Museum of Nature & Science. June 4, 2024.
Yes, but I found a shiny Drowzee in Pokémon Gold when I was a kid.
Quibbling with the headline
Medieval game pieces found in lost German castle
The History Blog. June 4, 2024.
The castle is lost but the game pieces are found.
The global orange juice crisis is caused by disease and bad weather – here’s how to keep it on the breakfast table
Jas Kaira for The Conversation. June 7, 2024.
I would recommend keeping it in the fridge.
International terrorism
Al Qaeda leader calls foreign fighters to Afghanistan
Bill Roggio and Caleb Weiss for Long War Journal. June 8, 2024.
Talk about an unprecedented development.
Islamic State operatives arrested after illegally crossing the US border
Janatan Sayeh for Long War Journal. June 12, 2024.
I'm not sure that it is a good look for the agency that was created from the ashes of 9/11 to let Islamic State operatives wander over the border.
A life lived well
Jerry West Was Basketball’s Greatest Lifer
Neil Paine. June 12, 2024.
Few people had a hand in as many historic NBA happenings as Jerry West.
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. Below, you will find the most-visited articles of Newsletter Week 24 (June 8-14) along with stats for 2024 and going back to the first week of 2021.
- #1. Planning and Angel Next Door Season 2 (N.A.F. November 5, 2023)
2024 & History: 5 appearances and 1 top placement.
- #2. Recommended F-Droid FOSS Apps For Android-Based Devices (2021) (N.A.F. November 28, 2021)
2024: 17 appearances and 1 top placement.
History: 74 appearances and 9 top placements.
- #3. An In-Depth Look at Norton Safe Search (N.A.F. October 18, 2022)
2024: 13 appearances and 2 top placements.
History: 25 appearances and 7 top placements.
- #4. Installing Ubuntu Touch on a Google Nexus 7 (2013) (N.A.F. July 5, 2021)
2024: 10 appearances and 2 top placements.
History: 87 appearances and 4 top placements.
- #5. Installing LineageOS on a 2013 Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi) (N.A.F. July 28, 2021)
2024: 8 appearances.
History: 9 appearances.
Analysis
The site did a bit better last week than in the last few weeks, but the top five was soft beyond a solid week for the top finisher for the second week in a row, my article on having good foresight in reviewing the first season of a 2023 anime. Spots 2-5 were taken by recent usual suspects, and the only change in terms of the articles that made up the top five was the return of my Norton Safe Search survey in lieu of my history of the phrase tsuki ga kirei.
Despite winning the weekly ranking fairly easily, my article on reviewing first anime seasons that have the potential to receive second seasons did better in the first half of the week than the second, so we may see a change atop the ranking for Newsletter Week 25, but Planning and Angel Next Door Season 2 enters as the favorite.
Taking leaf
I conclude this week's newsletter here since I have some work-work to do and I would also like to get a couple of New Leaf Journal articles that I drafted up on the site. I hope to come back with a more substantive newsletter next week. If you enjoyed the newsletter and are not already a regular reader, you can sign up for our weekly email, add our newsletter's RSS feed to your favorite feed reader, or simply check the newsletter archive page at your leisure. See our options here.
Until June 21,
Cura ut valeas -- Nicholas A. Ferrell.