The Newsletter Leaf Journal XLII 〜 The ghost in your inbox
Thank you for opening the 57th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. We had a very eventful end of October and first week of November, publishing nine new articles. Below, we recap our new New Leaf Journal content, highlight some interesting articles from around the web, and go over some notes and anecdotes.
Table of Contents
- New Leaves From the Week that Was
- Leaves From Around the Web
- Old Leaf Journal
- Most-Turned Leaves of the Week
- News Leaf Journal
- Taking Leaf
1. New Leaves From the Week that Was
We had a busy week at The New Leaf Journal with eight articles since I last wrote to you.
"A Trick-Or-Treating Halloween Ghost Among Gourds in Brooklyn Heights"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 31, 2021.
I ushered in Halloween with an article about a charming Halloween display in Brooklyn Heights.
"Halloween Quarantine Session: 'Ghost Woman Blues #2'"
Victor V. Gurbo. October 31, 2021.
Victor returned to New Leaf Journal publishing with a new Quarantine Session post covering his original song, Ghost Woman Blues #2. Like all Quarantine Sessions, the Victor recorded his song with fellow Brooklyn musician Mark Caserta. The article includes a link to the music video on YouTube.
"October 2021 at The New Leaf Journal"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 31, 2021.
My typical month in review post included a special additional section of interest. Victor and I have been working on a small game project that we hoped to release on Halloween. It was not finished in time for Halloween, but I discussed the project and provided updates in the month-in-review post.
"Kevin's Goodbye Salad Days Photos at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Photoville"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 1, 2021.
Every year, Brooklyn Bridge Park hosts a photography exhibition called Photoville. The photos usually do not leave much of an impression on me. This year, however, a series of photos of a hamster named Kevin having a quarter-life crisis caught my attention. I wrote about two of the Kevin canvases being framed in an interesting way by a fence that was unrelated to Photoville.
"Justin and Justina 〜 What, exactly, is your name?"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 2, 2021.
The new week brought a new Justin and Justina dialogue. In addition to introducing a new character and returning guest star Proton Von, Justin discovers that Justina's real name is not actually Justina. She thought she had told him, but she had not. Discovery aside, the name of our dialogue series is unlikely to change.
"A Broken Down Multi-Color Kiddie Horse in Carroll Gardens"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 3, 2021.
The article's content and featured photo is well-represented by the title. It includes additional discussion about a horrifying kiddie kangaroo that preceded the kiddie horse.
"Abraham Lincoln's 1851 Letters on Work to John D. Johnston"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 4, 2021.
A history post on two letters that Abraham Lincoln wrote to his struggling step-brother, John D. Johnston, in 1851.
"T-Mobile Mistakes My Age and Makes an Offer I Must Refuse"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 5, 2021.
I received a mailing from T-Mobile which mistakenly assumed that I am at least 55 years old. I discuss the special 55-plus offer and why I must refuse (besides the fact that I am not, in fact, 55).
2. Leaves From Around the Web
Now for our usual six articles from around the web...
The Verge: "'Sideloading is a cyber criminal's best friend,' according to Apple's software chief"
Chaim Gartenberg. November 3, 2021.
I think I will stick with Android derivatives.
The American Mind: "Against Digital Enslavement"
Josh Hammer. November 2, 2021.
"The imperative to reclaim our most foundational sovereignty—that is, greater direct control of our day-to-day actions, thoughts, interactions, business decisions, and, ultimately, our very shared human destiny—from the machines and their manipulated algorithms is the sine qua non of just and righteous 'tech'-related policymaking in the digital age."
This is an interesting short piece. I hope to see more of a focus on one of my topics of interest - creating one's own space in the digital realm.
New York Post: "Bat named 'Bird of the Year 2021' in controversial decision"
Hannah Sparks. November 1, 2021.
Story from New Zealand. A bat won the bird of the year contest, but some thought that the verdict was a bit batty.
The Times of India: "Secret chamber in National Library"
Jhimli Murkherjee Pandey. November 20, 2020.
"A mysterious room has been discovered in the 250-year old building[,] a room that no one knew about and no one can enter because it seems to have no opening of [any] kind, not even trapdoors."
Chris Xiao: "Yet Another Firefox Hardening Guide"
Chris Xiao. October 19, 2021.
A useful guide for Firefox-users.
Daily Mail: "LA high school principal apologizes for 'poor sportsmanship' after her team THRASHED mis-matched rivals 106-0 and admits they should have toned their gameplay down"
Shannon Thaler and James Gordon. November 5, 2021.
Buried lede: Who scheduled a mismatch like this in the first place? Why should the team winning 106-0 be in this position at all? Who is gaining from this clown show?
3. The Old Leaf Journal
Let us find a fitting article from the archive of The New Leaf Journal.
"The Wicked Car of the Gowanus - Car with Hat"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 7, 2021.
I had meant to publish this article before October 31, 2020, but I forgot the photo until after the 2020 Halloween. I decided that it was still better late than never, so I posted a short article about a green car with a witch's hat in Gowanus on November 7, 2020.
4. Most-Turned Leaves of the Week
I review the most-visited articles of the week (according to our privacy-friendly local analytics soultion). The ranking covers the week between newsletters - beginning with the Saturday I send a newsletter and ending with the next Friday. The previous week was the 44th "Newsletter Week" of 2021. Below, you will find the five most-visited articles of Newsletter Week 44 along with additional information about each article.
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"The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021.
Last Week: 1. Weeks in Top Five: 28 (17 in first). -
"How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 19, 2021.
Last Week: 3. Weeks in Top Five: 12. -
"The Last Stand of Constantine XI"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. May 30, 2020.
Last Week: 2. Weeks in Top Five: 16. -
"Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7 (2013)"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021.
Last Week: 4. Weeks in Top Five: 12. -
"An Early Review of Pixelfed - Instagram Alternative"
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 13, 2020.
Last Week: 7. Weeks in Top Five: 24 (2 in first).
Analysis
My Tsuki ga Kirei was well on its way to leading the ranking for the eighth week in a row before it seems to have been shared on Facebook, which led to a minor bounce in its views and its strongest week yet. My Substack RSS article made its twelfth consecutive appearance in the rankings, tying its best finish of second. My 2020 Constantine XI article followed up its return to the ranking last week with a strong third place finish this week.
We almost had a rare debut-week appearance in Victor's new Quarantine Session post, which was on pace to make the ranking for most of the week.
5. News Leaf Journal
I do not have specific site news this week other than that I am working on several article projects that you may expect to see in the near future.
I will, however, recount a brief story. I was walking along in Brooklyn the other day when I happened to walk by a preschool or daycare where parents and babysitters were picking up children. There was one child in a stroller - I would guess about four years of age - who was crying hysterically. His baby sitter was apologizing to him. For what? She was apologizing because the wi-fi did not work outside.
It hurt to watch and hear.
6. Taking Leaf
Thank you for joining me for another edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. While I can assure you that I won't post eight new articles before the next newsletter, there will be plenty of new content worth your time.
Until next week,
Cura ut valeas.