January 1, 2022

The Newsletter Leaf Journal LXIV 〜 New Year Special

Happy New Years! I hope 2022 is finding all of The Newsletter Leaf Journal readers well. The official newsletter of the perennially virid New Leaf Journal, an online writing magazine, returns after a one-week hiatus. As always, this newsletter comes to you from the waterproof keyboard of the editor of The New Leaf Journal, Nicholas A. Ferrell. This issue of the newsletter will come packed with summaries of and links to our articles from the past two weeks, a list of our most-viewed articles from the past two weeks, and an overview of our Newsletter Week rankings from 2021. Because we have two weeks of content to cover, I will forego our around the web and notes sections for this issue, but they will be back next week for the 65th Newsletter Leaf Journal.

Table of Contents

1. Leaves From The Weeks That Were
2. Old Leaf Journal
3. Most-Turned Leaves From The Newsletter Weeks
4. A Recap Of The Newsletter Weeks Of 2021
5. Taking Leaf

1. Leaves From The Weeks That Were

Below, you will find the ten New Leaf Journal articles that were published since we mailed the 63rd Newsletter Leaf Journal on December 19.

"Reviewing 'Calculator the Game' - A FOSS PWA Math Game For Android"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 19, 2021.

Content.

Calculator the Game is a fun little free and open source progressive web app math game. I gradually played through the game's 130 levels over about two months. After seeing everything that the game had to offer, I wrote a positive review. For those of you who may be interested in trying, Calculator the Game can be played in any modern web-browser.

"Lizzie Deas' 'The Christmas Rose'"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 20, 2021.

Content.

I found The Christmas Rose when I was researching Lizzie Deas for an article about Hawkweed, one of her poems. At the time, I thought A Christmas Rose would be fitting for publication around Christmas, so I bookmarked it for later use. My article reprints Deas' 1914 Christmas short story in its entirety (with some nifty formatting). I also included a PDF with the story for those who may want to download it to enjoy on a different device or share with others.

"'Christmas at the Door' - A Children's Poem by Margaret E. Sangster"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 22, 2021.

Content.

We have published a number of children's poems by Sangster here at The New Leaf Journal. Christmas at the Door seemed like a good choice in the days leading up to Christmas. The article includes the original illustration that accompanied Christmas at the Door in Harper's Round Table*.

"Justin and Justina 〜 Merry Christmas. Who checks the mail these days?"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 23, 2021.

Content.

In the lead-up to Christmas 2020, I published a dialogue wherein Justina begged Justin to tell her what he wanted for Christmas. For 2021, the tables are turned as Justin learns that Justina does not believe in checking her mail.

"Christmas Quarantine Session: Arthur McBride"

Victor V. Gurbo. December 24, 2021.

Content.

Victor returned with a new musical article. For Christmas, he covered Arthur McBride, an Irish resistance folk song set on Christmas morning. The article includes a link to Victor's cover of Arthur McBride (performed with fellow-Brooklyn musician Mark Caserta) and Victor's discussion of the song.

"Santa Claus's Delivery Van Seen in Brooklyn"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 24, 2021.

Content.

I already had a Christmas Eve article in the pipeline when Victor sent his Arthur McBride draft, so Christmas Eve turned into a rare article double feature. I confess that my article, which was about an inflatable Santa Claus decoration in Clinton Hill, was a bit less substantive.

"The Inflatable Christmas Dragon of Gowanus"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 26, 2021.

Content.

Although this Christmas decoration article was published one day after Christmas, perhaps that lateness was fitting in light of the fact that I am still a bit confused about dragon Christmas decorations.

"'Uncle Susan is a Wolf' - A Graffiti Photo and Research Project"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 29, 2021.

Content.

I photographed "Uncle Susan is A Wolf" graffiti in Gowanus over the summer. After several months' delay, I finally turned it into an article. But this is no short article with quaint comments on a silly photo. I researched "Uncle Susan" sightings from all over the United States and compiled them in this article. I promise that this is the most detailed look at "Uncle Susan" graffiti that you will find on the internet.

"The Aesthetic Pigeon at Cadman Plaza"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 30, 2021.

Content.

The headline is accurate. You will be hard-pressed to find a more aesthetic pigeon than the one I captured and I posted.

"New Leaf Eve: December 2021 at The New Leaf Journal"

Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 31, 2021.

Content.

This article comes as advertised by the headline. It includes our monthly and quarterly article rankings as well as some news and notes. You can also visit for my photo of a pretty Christmas tree and nativity scene at Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza.

2. The Old Leaf Journal

Let's have a look at our archive...

"The Quarantine Sessions: Covering The Beatles"

Victor V. Gurbo. December 22, 2021.

Content.

Victor published a Quarantine Session article shortly before Christmas in 2020, just as he did for 2021. While his Beatles Quarantine Session was not Christmas-themed, it includes a cover and Victor's discussing different takes on covering The Beatles generally.

3. Most-Turned Leaves From The Newsletter Weeks

For each issue of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, I list our most-visited articles since the previous newsletter. The statistics come from our local privacy-friendly analytics solution, Koko Analytics. Our "newsletter weeks" cover the 7-day period beginning with Saturday and ending with Friday. Because we did not have a newsletter on December 25, I will cover the last two newsletter weeks (and the last two weeks of 2021), Newsletter Weeks 51 (December 18-24) and 52 (December 25-31).

Newsletter Week 51 Ranking (December 18-24)

1. “The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei“
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021.
   Last Week: 1. Weeks in Top Five: 35 (24 in first).

2. "Reviewing the HALOmask and är Mask"
   Victor V. Gurbo. December 2, 2020.
   Last Week: 7. Weeks in Top Five: 36 (10 in first).

3. "Recommended F-Droid FOSS Apps For Android-Based Devices (2021)"
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 27, 2021.
   Last Week: 6. Weeks in Top Five: 3

4. "How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes"
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 19, 2021.
   Last Week: 4. Weeks in Top Five: 19.

5. "Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7"
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021.
   Last Week: 2. Weeks in Top Five: 19

Newsletter Week 52 Ranking (December 25-31)

1. “The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei“
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021.
   Last Week: 1. Weeks in Top Five: 36 (25 in first).

2. "Recommended F-Droid FOSS Apps For Android-Based Devices (2021)"
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 27, 2021.
   Last Week: 3. Weeks in Top Five: 4

3. "Reviewing the HALOmask and är Mask"
   Victor V. Gurbo. December 2, 2020.
   Last Week: 2. Weeks in Top Five: 37 (10 in first).

4. "Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7"
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021.
   Last Week: 5. Weeks in Top Five: 20

5. "How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes"
   Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 19, 2021.
   Last Week: 4. Weeks in Top Five: 20.

Analysis

That the same five articles featured in the ranking for newsletter weeks 51 and 52 made creating the lists for this newsletter quite a bit easier. Thank you, readers.

Tsuki ga Kirei finished first in both weeks, ending 2021 with 17-consecutive weeks at #1. However, newsletter week 52 saw Tsuki ga Kirei's closest call in its current 17-week run. My F-Droid app review led the weekly ranking late into Wednesday and was still within striking distance at the start of Friday.

Victor's 2020 protective mask review has seen a bit of a resurgence. Has something been in the news lately? It had its strongest two-week run outside of August 2021, taking second and third place respectively in the weekly ranks.

My articles on installing Ubuntu Touch and finding Substack RSS feeds have been rock-solid consistent in the second half of 2021. They finished third and second respectively in our Q4-most-read rankings. My Substack RSS post became the third article to notch twenty consecutive weeks in the top five. Victor's mask review began 2021 with 22 consecutive weeks in the top-five and my Tsuki ga Kirei article has been in the top four for 36 weeks in a row and counting.

4. A Recap Of The Newsletter Weeks Of 2021

I have an article going live today (check The New Leaf Journal for a January 1, 2022) post that will recap the most-read articles of 2021. I thought that it would be fun to look at some statistics from our more quaint Newsletter Week ranks from the previous year.

There were 52 newsletter weeks in 2021, beginning with January 2-8 (apologies to January 1, 2021) and ending with December 25-31. Thus, there were 260 spots in our newsletter week rankings in 2021. Throughout the year, 35 articles made at least one newsletter week ranking. Of these, 17 articles made multiple newsletter week rankings. We will honor each article below - and in so doing, you may find some New Leaf Journal articles that you missed. It is worth noting that, with the exception of March, The New Leaf Journal saw many more visitors from July-December than it did from January-June, making the newsletter week ranks more competitive in the second-half of the year.

Below, I will list, in order of appearance, articles that appeared in at least one weekly top five (if two articles debuted in the same week, their ranking will be the tie-breaker). For each article, I will include a link, first appearance (by newsletter week number), number of weeks in the ranking, and number of weeks at number one (seven articles ranked #1 for at least one week). Do note we began publishing the newsletter week ranking in May, so this list will include some articles that were not noted for their performance in the first four months of 2021.

1. Review of the Original Persona 4 Artbook.
   First Appearance: NW1. Weeks in Ranking: 37. Weeks at #1: 6.

2. An Early Review of Pixelfed - Instagram Alternative.
   First Appearance: NW1. Weeks in Ranking: 25. Weeks at #1: 2.

3. Reviewing the HALOmask and är Mask.
   First Appearance: NW1. Weeks in Ranking: 37. Weeks at #1: 10.

4. Why Vintage Guitars Sound Better.
   First Appearance: NW1. Weeks in Ranking: 2. Best Rank: #2.

5. The Last Stand of Constantine XI.
   First Appearance: NW1. Weeks in Ranking: 20. Best Rank: #2.

6. Building an Airline Res-O-Glas Guitar Copy.
   First Appearance: NW2. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #4.

7. Bird in Review 〜 Resplendent Trogon.
   First Appearance: NW2. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

8. Follow The New Leaf Journal Pixelfed Atom Feed.
   First Appearance: NW3. Weeks in Ranking: 2. Best Rank: #2.

9. Usagi Drop 〜 A Complicated Anime Pick.
   First Appearance: NW3. Weeks in Ranking: 2. Best Rank: #5.

10. Interesting Case on Japan’s Dual Citizenship Ban.
    First Appearance: NW4. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

11. Bird in Review 〜 The Golden Pheasant.
    First Appearance: NW6. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #4.

12. Around the Web 〜 Hair Dye in Japanese Schools.
    First Appearance: NW6. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

13. Photographing a Squirrel Kiss in Three Acts.
    First Appearance: NW7. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

14. "Mondrian" - Victor V. Gurbo on his Original Song.
    First Appearance: NW8. Weeks in Ranking: 2. Best Rank: #2.

15. Around the Web 〜 RSS as a Facebook Alternative.
    First Appearance: NW8. Weeks in Ranking: 9. Weeks at #1: 5.

16. ATW 〜 Murakami on Bad Social Media Content.
    First Appearance: NW10. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #4.

17. How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name.
    First Appearance: NW11. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #4.

18. Review of Wutsearch, a Search Engine Launchpad.
    First Appearance: NW12. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #3.

19. An Essay on Productivity, Production, and Productive Leisure.
    First Appearance: NW12. Weeks in Ranking: 5. Best Rank: #2.

20. Around the Web 〜 Alternative Software and Services Resources.
    First Appearance: NW13. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

21. The Awful About Page for Sara Tirschwell’s NYC Mayoral Campaign Site.
    First Appearance: NW16. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

22. The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei.
    First Appearance: NW17. Weeks in Ranking: 36. Weeks at #1: 25.

23. An 1895 Poem on Memorial Day and Piece by Theodore Roosevelt.
    First Appearance: NW22. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #3.

24. Blob Dylan(?) Seen in Bushwick.
    First Appearance: NW23. Weeks in Ranking: 2. Best Rank: #5.

25. A Follow-Up Post on the Meaning of “Blob Dylan”.
    First Appearance: NW24. Weeks in Ranking: 10. Best Rank: #2.

26. A 2021 List of Alternative Search Engines and Search Resources.
    First Appearance: NW25. Weeks in Ranking: 6. Best Rank: #3.

27. A Miniature Article About a Miniature Stop Sign in Brooklyn.
    First Appearance: NW26. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #3.

28. Reviewing Bob Dylan’s “Shadow Kingdom” Stream.
    First Appearance: NW29. Weeks in Ranking: 2. Weeks at #1: 1.

29. Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7 (2013).
    First Appearance: NW29. Weeks in Ranking: 20. Best Rank: #2.

30. Stop Saying Bob Dylan Can’t Sing.
    First Appearance: NW30. Weeks in Ranking: 3. Weeks at #1: 3.

31. Performing Site-Specific Searches With DuckDuckGo.
    First Appearance: NW32. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #3.

32. How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes.
    First Appearance: NW34. Weeks in Ranking: 20. Best Rank: #2.

33. “King Baby” Graffiti on a Truck in Gowanus.
    First Appearance: NW47. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #5.

34. Sending SMS Messages From My Computer With XMPP Through JMP.
    First Appearance: NW48. Weeks in Ranking: 1. Best Rank: #2.

35. Recommended F-Droid FOSS Apps For Android-Based Devices (2021)
    First Appearance: NW48. Weeks in Ranking: 4. Best Rank: #2.

5. Taking Leaf

Thank you for following The Newsletter Leaf Journal throughout 2021. I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to 2022, and I look forward to returning with a more typical newsletter with our recommended articles from around the web and news and notes on January 8.

Until then,
Cura ut valeas.