Newsletter Leaf Jouranl CCXXV 〜 Verily vernal
The 225th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal features links to six new NLJ and ECS posts, including a meta-article on the crafting of the weekly newsletter. Readers will also find links from around the web and other NLJ news and notes.
Welcome to the 225th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal and the first vernal newsletter of 2025. This is the official newsletter of The New Leaf Journal, your favorite (I hope) perennially virid online writing magazine. The newsletter comes to you as always from the administrator, editor, and main writer of The New Leaf Journal and The Emu Café Social, Nicholas A. Ferrell. I published a decent number of new articles to bid winter farewell and welcome in spring. Below, I present my new articles along with links from around the web and other news and notes.
Leaves from the week that was
I published five new articles since mailing Newsletter 224.
- Pokémon and Pokémon Go in Saudi Arabia: I reviewed the strange history of Pokémon in Saudi Arabia from a 2001 anti-Pokémon fatwa to Pokémon Go being purchased by a Saudi Arabian company (backed by the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund) for $3.5 billion.
- Dubious School Paper Service Referral: I noticed a referral from a site I had never heard of in our logs. When I visited the site, I saw that it offered school papers for a fee. This inspired me to test out my firewall.
- Dirty Grubhub Delivery Bags in Brooklyn: I have long noticed that Grubhub delivery bags wielded by e-bike riding delivery men tend to be filthy. A lost bag on the sidewalk inspired me to take a photo and finally publish my thoughts on the matter.
- Budding Trees on Red Hook’s Coffey Street: I did not have time to write a full welcome to spring essay this year, so an aesthetic photo of a newly budding tree in Red Hook will have to suffice.
I said I published five new articles. But here I only provided four. Where is the fifth. I leave that for the next section...
Leaves from around the web
Regular newsletter readers will know that I share 21 links from around the web in each newsletter. But do regular readers know how I collect all these exciting links from around the web? On March 19, I published My Newsletter Link Saving Workflow. In this article, I explain how I find interesting articles to share and all the steps from my reading the article to presenting it with my commentary for your reading enjoyment. Below, I present this week's collection of links and commentary.
Spring is springing
Japanese ‘mini-forest’ coming to Williamsburg this spring – set to revamp ‘dilapidated’ waterfront section
Nicole Rosenthal and Dorian Geiger for the New York Post. March 19, 2025.
Sensing a mini forest review series in the future.
A Springtime Reader
Nicholas A. Ferrell at The New Leaf Journal. March 21, 2021.
No one said I can't call my own number. I'm on the web too! (I changed the title of this article because the original title was bad.)
Consider growing up
It’s With Love, Meghan – not just a TV show but a landmark piece of art. And not in a good way
Marina Hyde for The Guardian. March 4, 2025.
It sounds like it is long past time for Netflix to put the Meghan Markle project on the bench.
Forever 21 files for bankruptcy
Molly Liebergall for Morning Brew. March 18, 2025.
If you think Forever 21 was bad with money now, just wait until you see its student loan debt.
Facts, feelings, etc.
Convinced you always have BO? You could have rare condition
Diana Bruk for the New York Post. March 4, 2025.
Take-away: Either actually have BO or you're imagining it. Thank you, science.
France tells all schools to teach empathy in age of isolation
Adam Sage for The Times of London. August 28, 2024.
This story made me feel empathy for Nicole Belloubet.
Get a helmet
Break dancers are getting weird lumps from ‘extensive headspinning’ — but NYC pioneers say newbies are just doing it wrong
Natalie O'Neill for the New York Post. October 11, 2024.
Real breakdancing hasn't been tried.
'Toughest position on the field:' Edgerrin James on his rise to Canton and the State of the NFL Running Back
Tyler Dunne at Go Long. February 28, 2025.
A fun interview with one of the best NFL running backs of the late 90s and 2000s. I wish the interviewer pushed for details on some of the stories Mr. James referenced.
Fun with photography
What Is It Like to Be a Bass? Fish-Eye View Photography (1919–22)
Thea Applebaum Licht for The Public Domain Review. February 18, 2025.
Few have the imagination to ask what is it like to be a bass. Fewer still have the courage and motivation to investigate.
Photography Sim Games are now a Thing too
Danie van der Merwe at GadgeteerZA. March 19, 2025.
Problem and solution
Sakurai Says Japanese Developers Should Avoid Trying To Appeal To Western Tastes
Ollie Reynolds for Nintendo Life. March 18, 2025.
I largely agree but Sega may beg to differ regarding Sonic the Hedgehog. (Sonic was originally designed to appeal to U.S. audiences and was much more successful in the United States than Japan.)
Sega avoided gacha and pay-to-win mechanics in Sonic Rumble because they know overseas players don’t like them
Amber V for Automnation West. October 8, 2024.
This has nothing to do with why I referenced Sonic in my comment on the previous link, but it has been sitting in my to-use list for months, so let's go! It would have been better if Sega had left out the pay-to-win mechanics because pay-to-win mechanics are trash, but whatever achieves the correct result.
How Bad is School Truancy in Japan?
Jerome Mazandarani for Anime News Network. March 3, 2025.
I suspect no worse than New York City (with a few technical differences) -- but much better represented in anime, light novels, and manga.
Turtles all the way down
Sea Turtle With 'Bubble Butt Syndrome' Gets Another Chance at Floating Straight, Thanks to a 3D-Printed Harness
Elizabeth Gamillo for Smithsonian Magazine. December 24, 2024.
"That was the fate of Charlotte, a male green sea turtle who was named before the aquarium team confirmed his gender."
Traveler caught concealing live turtle in his pants at Newark Airport
Alex Oliveira for the New York Post. March 11, 2025.
He would have gotten away with it but for the fact he forgot to empty his pockets.
Let's think about this in a different way
SNES Consoles Appear To Be Getting Faster As They Age
Damien McFerran for Time Extension. March 10, 2025.
Stay with me but what if we're just getting slower?
Why Baathism was doomed
Robin Yassin-Kassab for UnHerd. February 27, 2025.
Yes, the Baathist regimes in Iraq and Syria fell in the 21st century. But stop for a moment and think about all the friends they made along the way.
Happily ever after
Child marriage remains a “persistent challenge” in Eurasia
Eurasianet. February 18, 2025.
Uzbekistan is really driving those (official) numbers down, however.
Sweden: Government Proposes Ban on Marriage Between Cousins to Stem “Honor Oppression”
Ella Hofverberg for Global Legal Monitor. November 8, 2024.
Sweden pulls the breaks on a cultural import.
These articles have been on my list for a long time so let's use them
NYC mega-casino plan pits hard hats vs. High Line ‘elite’ — as poll reveals what voters think
Carl Campanile for the New York Post. October 21, 2024.
The "High Line elite" are correct, less because of the High Line (I like the High Line, for whatever it is worth) and more because all of the NYC casino proposals are terrible. But if there is no stopping the casinos... Hudson Yards would seem to be one of the least offensive location candidates.
From Roosevelt to Resolute, the Secrets of All 6 Oval Office Desks - Atlas Obscura
Eric Gundhauser for Atlas Obscura. April 7, 2016.
They don't have many secrets left after this article.
Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week
I use a privacy-friendly and entirely local tool called Koko Analytics (see my 2022 review) to track page hits. In each issue of the newsletter, I list our five most-visited articles, according to Koko Analytics, for the one-week period beginning with Saturday and ending with Friday. Below, you will find the most-visited articles of 2025 Newsletter Week XII (March 15-21) along with their 2025 and historic (going back 2021) weekly ranking statistics.
(1.) Examining Whether Defense Wins NBA Championships
N.A. Ferrell. July 9, 2024.
2025: 10 appearances and 6 top placements.
Historic: 14 appearances and 7 top placements.
(2.) Calvin Coolidge Describes His Mother, Victoria
N.A. Ferrell. March 13, 2021.
2025: 5 appearances and 1 top placement.
Historic: 7 appearances and 1 top placement.
(3.) Broken Optical Audio Cable Door "Fix"
N.A. Ferrell. September 16, 2023.
2025: 4 appearances.
Historic: 18 appearances.
(4.) Planning and Angel Next Door Season 2
N.A. Ferrell. November 5, 2023.
2025: 4 appearances.
Historic: 32 appearances and 11 top placements.
(5.)A Sign of Affection - Anime Review
N.A. Ferrell. March 28, 2024.
2025: First appearance.
Historic: 8 appearances.
Analysis
Much like the previous week, I had a mysterious surge in page views recorded on Wednesday morning but without any obvious source or single article showing unusual traffic. Unlike last week, I determined the likely source and wrote about it in SBInstitutionsBot Visits Picked Up as Visitors. I used my firewall to resolve the issue. While the bot did warp my total visits, it most likely did not alter the final article (it probably added one visit to most articles and pages on site).
My essay on Calvin Coolidge's mother led the ranking for most of the week and looked slated to repeat its top finish, but it largely took Friday off, which opened the door for my NBA statistics essay to claim is sixth top-finish in seven weeks. Speaking of the number seven, January 2025 Look at Pixelfed Social missed the weekly ranking after making it for its first seven weeks online. Week 12 was almost certainly our weakest week of 2025 (albeit still very good by 2024 standards), likely due in part to softening performance by our top articles for the year thus far (a sign I need to publish some new hits), which helped allow my review of last year's A Sign of Affection anime to make its first appearance in a 2025 weekly ranking.
Taking leaf
It looks like nice weather outside, and I have some other work (including some New Leaf Journal work) to do today, so let us skip ahead to the parting shots. Thank you as always for reading, and if you have not done so already, you can follow this newsletter by signing up for our weekly email, adding our RSS feed to your favorite feed reader, or checking in on our archive page.
I am continuing to work on several projects, so I will try to have some interesting new articles before March goes out like a lamb.
Until March 29,
Cura ut valeas -- Nicholas A. Ferrell.