Welcome to the 277th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal ("NLJ") and its short-form writing sister publication, The Emu Café Social ("ECS"). This newsletter comes to you as always from the administrator, editor, and writer of both publications, Nicholas A. Ferrell.

It is a rainy day here in Brooklyn, New York City. But even when it is raining, I will deliver your (e)mail. Without further ado, I present our pre-NLJ birthday (April 27) Newsletter Leaf Journal.

Leaves from the week that was

I published five new NLJ articles since mailing Newsletter 276.

First, I published on-the-ground reporting with "Stick Library" in Brooklyn Heights. Someone in the Heights set up a "stick library" for dogs, inspired by the "Little Free Library" boxes. I share a photo along with some local geography notes.

I have a big NLJ birthday article planned for Monday. For that article, I want to reference back to prior NLJ posts. *But I cannot reference non-existent posts. Thus, on consecutive days, I published Staying the Course in Writing in the LLM Moment and Attending to Surroundings and Thoughts on Walks ("thoughts" is doing "double-duty" in that headline). In the former article, I encouraged writers who, like me, do not rely on AI, to not adjust their personal styles to avoid being accused of using AI. In the latter article, I encouraged people to walk without listening to podcasts or focusing on other distractions.

I wrapped up the week at NLJ with two anecdote posts. Inspired by a link back to one of my NBA surveys, I wrote about My One-Game Stint as a Baseball Coach. I was once a baseball coach, and by "once" I mean "one game in high school." Next, I published Proctoring a High School Exam While in High School. To think I accomplished all of that before graduating!

I published 12 new posts on ECS. I present them in bullet-point format.

• Pook-Emu Bee Daily Links: 04-19, 04-20, 04-21, 04-22, 04-23, and 04-24.

• I learned about Installing Android and Linux on Switch and the Development of the Anglerfish Lure.

• I offered my opinion on the Second Best NBA Team of the 2000s.

• Looking forward to: Framework Designs Wireless TouchPad Keyboard.

• Memories: Remembering My Clamshell Landline Phone,

• Not great, not the best: Bad IP Watch.

Finally, I shared my photo of Jackie Harris' Fruitmobile to Pixelfed (see related article).

Leaves from around the web

If you did not already have enough to read, you are in luck. I present 21 links from around the world wide web.

Not to be a downer, but there are dark forces in the world

Studies Find Viral Chinese 'Labubu' Toys Use Cotton from Uyghur Slave Region
Frances Martel for Breitbart. April 24, 2026.

I have articulated some not-entirely-positive sentiments about the "Labubu" in past newsletters and posts. As detailed on NLJ last month, I have respectfully critiqued the abominations by suggesting that they should be thrown into a burn pit, that they were a harbinger of the end-times, and that I would support demon hunters eliminating them from this world with extreme prejudice. I did not call for a ban like I have with certain social media platforms from their homeland. I am a bit disappointed in myself in hindsight. While I did not previously know that they were made from slave cotton, had you asked me if they were made from slave cotton, I likely would have said "probably." But now it has been confirmed! Oh no! I guess we have no choice but to ban the little atrocities.

The Marijuana Backlash Is Here
Kevin Sabet for Compact. April 20, 2026.

Please. It's been at The New Leaf Journal (not that kind of leaf) for years.

Roblox releases agentic AI tools for creators, promising ability to "build a game with a single prompt"
Jon Hicks for Games Industry.biz. April 17, 2026.

I'd normally focus on their stupid use of AI but considering their CEO recently deflected a question about child predators by talking about "great opportunities" (see Newsletter 257 link), I guess the news could be worse. In any event, I hereby advise parents to not let their children near this nonsense.

I referenced TikTok so I could use some links...

Is TikTok making you stupid-erer?
A I Lawal. January 27, 2023.

I have a secret trick for not having my brain fried by TikTok. It's super secret. I don't want to reveal the forbidden knowledge. But if you insist...

More evidence short form video is rotting your brain (HT Espresso Shots)
Adam Singer for Hot Takes. April 7, 2026.

I don't watch short videos.

That was a rough start. Let's reset.

Messy-Faced Screech Owl
Red Wolf Sanctuary (via Owls in Towels). Originally posted May 31, 2025.

Click above if you want to see a very pitiful looking owl.

Week of Butterflies
Esther Weidauer at Self Aware Soup. April 18, 2026.

No lies detected in the headline.

Former NBA All-Star Vin Baker’s Journey to Sobriety
Vin Baker for Kearns Group. January 7, 2019.

Vin Baker played in the NBA for 13 seasons from 1993-94 through 2005-06. He made four consecutive NBA All Star appearances from 94-95 through 97-98. As he explains in the above article, his career, and life, were dragged down by severe alcoholism (the 2002-03 Boston Celtics, which I covered on NLJ, acquired a very diminished Vin Baker to some fanfare.) Fortunately, as he explains in his inspiring essay, he managed to get his life and health back on track.

Let's check in on college athletics

Toledo offered Leroy Blyden more money than their coach makes — but Kansas ruined the Cinderella story with transfer win [HT Mike Klinzing]
Billy Heyen for Sporting News. April 22, 2026.

Yes. Kansas offered more than 3X what Toledo's coach makes.

Michigan just won the title ... so why doesn't it feel like it? Why portal pressures spoil the shining moments [HT Mike Klinzing]
Matt Norlander for CBS Sports. April 16, 2026.

"Also: Portal Zooms at 2 a.m. is sicko stuff. Should never be a thing."

That was a little off but maybe the prediction markets are good?

Weather prediction markets are booming
Mary Hui, Eroc Roston, and Joel Wertz for Bloomberg (via Moneyweb). April 12, 2026.

It starts with betting on the Superbowl. It ends with betting on the temperature in Tahiti.

U.S. Soldier Charged With Using Classified Information To Profit From Prediction Market Bets
United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. April 23, 2026.

Or trading on classified information about U.S. military operations. You know maybe the weather isn't that bad.

On the bright side

AI assets are an unconscionable risk for premium-priced games
Rob Fahrey for Games Industry.biz. November 21, 2025.

I agree but I don't buy "premium-priced games."

I Write With AI. Deal With It.
The Republic of Letters interviewing Chad Rye. February 20, 2026.

We can at least rest assured that Mr. Rye does not use AI when interviewed: "If I was an editor that would suck" (emphasis added).

Budgeting

Comparison of $4,000 boutique audio cable to $7 Amazon Basics cable shows audiophiles waste a lot of money — scientific audio equipment analysis with analyzer shows no difference in quality
Mark Tyson for Tom's Hardware. March 29, 2026.

Has he considered why being able to brag to your friends about having spent $4,000 on your "boutique" audio cable may be worth the extra $3,993?

Ranking All the Ways New Blazers Owner Tom Dundon Is Reportedly Trying to Save Money During Playoff Run [HT Mike Klinzing]
Liam McKeone for Sports Illustrated. April 22, 2026.

Some sports owners are fabulously successful in the real world and then abandon all business sense running their sports operations. Mr. Dundon is not that man. Now will an NBA team work as well with a nickle-and-diming owner as his NHL team? That, my readers, is TBD.

Judgmental headlines

Voters Crown the 'World's Ugliest Animal' as New Zealand's Fish of the Year
Sarah Kuta for Smithsonian Magazine. March 20, 2025.

Judging a deep sea fish based on what it looks like on land is simply unfair.

Japan's EC-2 Electronic Warfare Jet, Arguably The World's Ugliest Aircraft, Just Flew For The First Time
Thomas Newdick for The War Zone. March 17, 2026.

"In a world of increasingly homogeneous-looking military aircraft designs, the platypus-like Kawasaki EC-2 is a radical outlier."

"The Worst Console Of All Time" Turned 20 In 2025 – Is Gizmondo Worth A Look?
Damien McFerran for Time Extension. January 1, 2026.

The headline answers the question.

Guys did you hear a birthday is coming up?

The Lincoln Tunnel’s 88th birthday is almost here—and it’s time to celebrate this engineering wonder
Ephemeral New York. November 24, 2025.

No, not that one. But I'll celebrate when they add a pedestrian path.

The Art of Knowing When to Quit
Jim Nielsen. January 17, 2023.

Fortunately the editor of The New Leaf Journal does not possess this knowledge.

Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week

I use a privacy-friendly and entirely local tool called Koko Analytics (see my 2025 article) to track page visits. 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 our most-visited articles for the week of April 18-24 with notes on their cumulative ranking statistics going back to 2021.

1. Catching 151 Pokémon in Google Search
   N.A. Ferrell. April 17, 2025.
   This Year: 17 appearances and 15 top placements.
   Cumulative: 44 appearances and 36 top placements.

2. Adding noai.duckduckgo.com as Custom Search Engine
   N.A. Ferrell. January 21, 2026.
   14 appearances and 2 top placements.

3. Amazon “Cargo Bikes” in Brooklyn
   N.A. Ferrell. April 9, 2025.
   This Year: 9 appearances.
   Cumulative: 44 appearances and 8 top placements.

4. “Stick Library” in Brooklyn Heights
   N.A. Ferrell. April 18, 2026.

5. How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name
   N.A. Ferrell. March 11, 2021.
   This Year: 8 appearances.
   Cumulative: 18 appearances.

Analysis

The only notable in this week's top-five is my new "Stick Library" reportage, which was carried into the ranking by hits from the Newsbreak App (which has benefited several "local" posts beginning with last July). Catching 151 Pokémon in Google Search and Adding noai.duckduckgo.com as Custom Search Engine occupied the top-two positions for the 14th consecutive week and third and fifth place in this week's ranking are the third- and fifth-most visited articles of 2026 to date.

News Leaf Journal

I made The New Leaf Journal available to the public on April 27, 2020. Thus, April 27, 2026, will be our site's sixth birthday. With the exception of 2024, I have published a commemorative birthday post each year.

• 2021: The New Leaf Journal Celebrates Its First Birthday
  A contemporaneous look-back at major events and popular posts from the first year of The New Leaf Journal. This article is a good way to find some of our early posts, few of which feature in our most-visited posts these days. However, I will note that last week's fifth most-visited article, How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name, makes an appearance.

• 2022: Justin, Justina, and the Eraser’s Birthday
  I turned a personal anecdote from 1996 into a Justin and Justina birthday-themed dialogue. Undoubtedly the most unconventional birthday post to date.

• 2023: New Leaf Journal Third Birthday Reader
  I listed what were, as of April 27, 2023, the 36 most-visited articles in NLJ history, and noted "related" articles not in the top-36 that may be of interest to readers. I may do another one of these in the future, although it would be a bit of a hassle since my statistics are now spread among different places.

• 2024: I shamefully failed to publish a fourth birthday article. However, on May 24, 2024, I published 999: The Dialogue, which commemorated 999 articles at The New Leaf Journal.

• 2025: 50 Things I Learned in Five Years of NLJ Articles
  At the end of 2024, I published my first ever year-end "things I learned" article. With that project fresh in mind, I commemorated our fifth birthday by listing 50 things I learned in New Leaf Journal articles. That was a one-off birthday article since I will be publishing year-end things I learned posts going forward (see 2025).

This year's birthday article will be an essay, but I will not spoil it here (assuming you are reading this after April 27, 2026, the article should be live on The New Leaf Journal). I still have work to do on that article, however. So...

Taking leaf

Thank you as always for reading The Newsletter Leaf Journal. If you enjoyed this issue and 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.

We have a busy NLJ week ahead with the upcoming birthday essay and the launch of a new page highlighting links to NLJ articles. Next week's newsletter will fall on May 2, which is also a historic day in New Leaf History: The day I first published an article under my name.

Until the trees leaf in May,
Cura ut valeas -- Nicholas A. Ferrell.