Newsletter Leaf Journal CCXXX 〜 Nobody beats the NLJ
Newsletter Leaf Journal 230 falls on the eve of The New Leaf Jounral's fifth birthday. It comes packed with links to five new posts covering everything from NBA playoff history to snack recommendations, 21 links from around the web, and other news and notes from the week that was.
Welcome to the 230th 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 Filco Majestitouch v3 keyboard of the administrator/editor/writer of The New Leaf Journal and its short-form writing sister site, The Emu Café Social, Nicholas A. Ferrell. Now recovered from my sinus issues, I published four new articles last week -- although three of them are on the short side. Below, I present my new articles, links from around the web, and other news and notes.
Leaves from the week that was
My one long article of the week is "Best" NBA Playoff Teams With Losing Records. Inspired by the 2024-25 Miami Heat, I identified every NBA playoff team since 1983-84 which had a losing record but a positive SRS or Net Rating, and I drew some conclusions from the unsurprisingly short list.
I published my photo of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church in Easter Sunday 2025.
I published my second snack recommendation article in Crackers With Peanut Butter and Banana Slices. Photos are of course included. After telling you what to eat, I dug into my video game and electronic store memories to bring you Nobody Beats Kirby's Dream Land at The Wiz. (I am not quite old enough to have Crazy Eddie memories, so The Wiz will have to suffice.)
Over at The Emu Café Social, I published Woodpecker in Brooklyn, the newest in a line of posts about wildlife I saw but failed to photograph.
Leaves from around the web
My new articles are probably not enough to occupy readers for the whole weekend (maybe they are if you happen to have very nice weather). But thanks to my new posts and 21 links from around the web, you should have no shortage of reading material.
Sede Vacante and the Conclave
Sede vacante: What happens now, and who is in charge?
The Pillar. April 21, 2025.
A detailed primer on what follows the death of Pope Francis.
The cardinals’ ‘Becciu Test’
Ed Condon for The Pillar. April 24, 2025.
Seems like a stretch to acknowledge in a lawsuit that you lost your right to participate in the conclave and then claim not long after that you have the right to participate in the conclave.
Life on the run
NY cops wrangle 'on the lam' alpaca at car dealership in bizarre roundup
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon for the New York Post. April 20, 2025.
I wonder what the alpaca was planning to buy at the Land Rover dealership it was headed toward.
Saitama police continue to piece together man’s naked rampage spanning three cities
Master Blaster for SoraNews24. April 23, 2025.
Lest you think the headline is sensational -- let it be said that it greatly understates the rampage.
Chase involving semi-truck ends with arrest at SW Houston gas station bathroom
Tony Kless for KHOU 11. April 19, 2025.
That was a questionable escape strategy.
Lost Baby Seal Found Wandering in Downtown New Haven Has Been Rescued—and Attained Local Fame
Sarah Kuta for Smithsonian Magazine. February 21, 2025.
The baby seal heard that you can always go downtown.
Computing with Nintendo
Relive The 90s Nostalgia Of Windows On Your Game Boy Color
Sebastian Santabarbara for Retro Dodo. April 18, 2025.
It took more than three decades but Game Boy finally has its killer app (Minesweeper).
This blog is hosted on a Nintendo Wii
Alex Haydock. April 21, 2025.
I also submit an archived link for posterity on the off chance the Nintendo Wii webserver goes offline whenever you happen to be reading this newsletter.
The pinnacle of art
German ministry postpones arts award for student on trial for alleged attempted murder
Chris Gattringer for Brussels Signal. April 18, 2025.
I'm undecided whether the kicker here is that she had already been in the custody of the German government for several months before being given this award by the German government or that she was given the award in part for "a doormat weaved out of women's hair."
Burning Mao
Fernanda Eberstadt for Granta. April 24, 2025.
I hope you're sitting down for this. Are you sitting down? Alright. Good. Ready? Are you sure you're ready? Don't say I didn't warn you about this incoming hot take: So I don't think allowing (if not encouraging) a teenage girl to intern for Andy Warhol was a good idea.
Questionable vetting
Disgraced New Mexico Judge, Wife Arrested After Allegedly Harboring Tren de Aragua Gang Members
Bob Price for Breitbart. April 24, 2025.
There are many head-scratchers here. My favorite part: "Investigators found additional firearms in a neighboring home owned by Nancy Cano’s daughter. Ortega-Lopez was seen in possession of several of these firearms."
Convicted Rwandan war criminal hid on Long Island as beekeeper for 20 years after repeatedly lying on immigration papers
Priscilla DeGregory and Kyle Schnitzer for the New York Post. April 24, 2025.
Note he made it 17 years after being convicted in absentia in Rwanda.
Let's check in on TikTok
Chinese TikTokers promising luxury goods directly from factories
Matty Merritt for Morning Brew. April 17, 2025.
So long as TikTok exists (which it shouldn't) it may as well run increasingly creative social experiments on its users.
Destructive 'Kool-Aid Man' TikTok challenge trend revived by NYC teens
Chris Harris for the New York Post. April 19, 2025.
This is what padded rooms are for.
I'm sorry in advance
Saudi Arabia’s Cash Is Reviving Boxing’s Vegas and Don King Era: WBC Executive (archived)
Matthew Martin for Bloomberg. April 21, 2025.
Looks like Saudi Arabia is becoming the Mecca of boxing.
German city of Bonn abandons plan for ‘living-space tax’
Chris Gattringer for Brussels Signal. April 25, 2025.
Germany's complicated relationship with living space continues.
Craftsmen at work
Foster Reeve and the Surprising Elegance of Plaster
Marc Horowitz for Hedges. February 13, 2025.
Good plaster work distinguishes the best homes in brownstone Brooklyn.
The Last Cowboy Boot Masters of El Paso
Ashley Stimpson for Atlas Obscura. January 15, 2025.
The craft lives on.
Rising conclusion
Brain Baking Is Also Baking
Wouter Groeneveld at Brain Baking. January 5, 2024.
A bread-baking anec-dough.
The push to get New Yorkers to conserve wheat by touting “war bread” and wheatless lunch menus
Emphemeral New York. March 3, 2025.
Otherwise known as the golden age for the gluten free crowd before there was a gluten free crowd.
7-Eleven Japan planning to become even more awesome by baking its own bread in-store
Casey Baseel for SoraNews24. March 8, 2025.
Classy. But how good is the bread?
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 XVII (April 19-25) along with their 2025 and historic (going back 2021) weekly ranking statistics.
-
Examining Whether Defense Wins NBA Championships
N.A. Ferrell. July 9, 2024.
Ranking History: 15 appearances and 8 top placements in 2025; 19 appearances and 9 top placements overall. -
Catching 151 Pokémon in Google Search
N.A. Ferrell. April 17, 2025.
Ranking History: First appearance. -
The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei
N.A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021.
Ranking History: 3 appearances in 2025; 156 appearances and 75 top placements overall. -
How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name
N.A. Ferrell. March 11, 2021.
Ranking History: 2 appearances in 2025; 7 appearances overall. -
Misleading ARRIS Modem Login Instructions
N.A. Ferrell. July 12, 2024.
Ranking History: First appearance.
Analysis
There was no drama at the top of the ranking as my look at whether defense wins NBA championships easily claimed the top spot for the second week in a row, but we had some interesting entrants in spots 2-5. My new article on completing a Google Search-Pokémon mini-game made it three consecutive weekly top fives with an article appearing in its first full week online. That probably has not happened since 2021. Also making its first weekly ranking appearance is my July 2024 article on setting up my current internet modem. The modem article is currently the 16th most-visited article of 2025, so it is not surprising to see it make a weekly top five. The middle of the ranking is occupied by two articles that were published three days apart more than four years ago. Our historic ranking king, my 2021 article on the history of the phrase tsuki ga kirei, made its third appearance of the current year and 156th overall, and my piece on the name of the forget-me-not flower continued its strong spring with its second consecutive weekly ranking.
News leaf journal
Tomorrow (April 27, 2025) is The New Leaf Journal's fifth birthday. I have decided on a theme for the fifth birthday article, but I have to sit down and put the whole thing together.
Taking leaf
I have to make preparations for The New Leaf Journal's fifth birthday party and work on some other projects, so I will take my leave here. 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 hope everyone checks in for our birthday article (going up on April 27) and other (I hope) interesting pieces for our birthday week.
Until the trees leaf under the May sky,
Cura ut valeas -- Nicholas A. Ferrell.