Last year, I called upon The New Leaf Journal’s resident fictional dialogue duo of Justin and Justina to list the 25-most read New Leaf Journal articles of 2020 from The New Leaf Journal’s Emu Café. This year, we will repeat the feat. Justin, Justina, and The Emu Café‘s proprietor emu will go through the most-read New Leaf Journal articles of 2021 with the help of a few special guests.
If you enjoy the dialogue, you can find all of the Justin and Justina dialogues our series archive.
Introduction
Justin: It’s that time of year again!
Justina: New years!
Justin: That’s right, we need to look back at the most-read New Leaf Journal articles.
Justina: Oh right… that. We did that last year, right?
Justin: Indeed. But unlike last year, people actually visited the site in 2021.
Justina: Did they visit our dialogues?
Justin: Well… if we do a good job today, maybe the will in 2022!
Justina: …
Emu: …
Justina: I know I asked this when we came to The Emu Café last year, but what is with this bird?
Justin: Proprietor.
Emu: Indeed.
Justina: It talked!
Justin: Anyway, let me explain the rules for this list.
Justina: There are rules?
The Rules
Justin: We will list the top-25 most-read articles in 2021 in reverse order from 25 to 1. However, before getting to the top-25 most-read articles, we will list several articles that missed the top-25 but satisfied other criteria.
Justina: What are those criteria?
Justin: If the article finished in the top-50 for the year and either made a monthly top-12 or at least two weekly top-5s (we count weeks from Saturday to Friday), we will note it before we get to the top-25.
Justina: Where do these statistics come from? Google?
Justin: Nick uses a privacy-friendly local analytics solution called Koko Analytics, which he discussed in a 2020 article. We do not have perfect statistics, but they should be close enough.
Questions
Justina: Won’t articles that were published in 2020 or earlier in the year have an advantage?
Justin: Don’t start questions with “won’t”! It’s not nice!
Justina: …
Emu: …
Justin: But good question. In theory that is an advantage, but we will include the publication date with each article and how it ranks against articles published in the same month (2021) or year (2020). You can make your own judgment, but it is worth noting that just because a recently published article has more views per day than an older article does not mean that the trend will hold up going forward.
Justina: Is that all?
Justin: We will also note which weeks, if any, the article was among the top-5 most visited, and which months, if any, the article was among the top-10 most-visited.
Justina: This is complicated.
Justin: I know. Let me make sure everything is clear.
Justina: Oh goodie…
Information Legend
Justin: For each article, we will begin with the title, author, and when the article was published.
Justina: You already said that!
Justin: Next I will have either “2021 Rank for [insert month] articles” or “2021 rank for 2020 articles.”
Justina: I’m confused.
Justin: This is how the article ranks against its peers. For example, our first honorable mention article was published in February 2021. Of all the articles that were published in February, it had the 6th most views in 2021. So its ranking here is #6.
Justina: I see.
Justin: Next, we will have monthly top 12s. First, I will note, with a single number, how many times the article placed in a monthly top 12.
Justina: Mhmm.
Justin: Then I will specify the months it placed with its rankings for those months.
Emu: I see.
Justina: …
Justin: Finally, we have Newsletter Week Top Fives.
Justina: Say what?
Justin: They are called “Newsletter Weeks” because Nick lists the top-five most-read articles between newsletters in each newsletter. This covers the period beginning with Saturday and ending with the next Friday. The weeks are numbered. So the first newsletter week was January 2-8 and the last, 52, was December 25-31.
Justina: Ok…
Justin: Nick has more about the newsletter rankings in today’s newsletter. But for our purposes, we will list (by numbered weeks) when an article placed in the top-five, which weeks it was first place, if any, and its best placement.
Justina: Alright…
Justin: It is worth noting that there are a few top-25 articles that do not have monthly or weekly placements.
Emu: …
Justin: I know! But there’s something to be said for consistency.
Justina: This bird…
Emu: This bird…
Justina: …
Emu: …
Honorable Mentions – Selected Articles Ranked 26-50
Justin: We will begin with the honorable mention articles – the ones that missed the top-25 but satisfied the weekly and/or monthly ranking criteria for inclusion.
Justina: I see.
Emu: …
Justina: …
50. “Mondrian” – Victor V. Gurbo on his Original Song
- Author: Victor V. Gurbo
- Published On: February 25, 2021
- 2021 Rank for February Articles: #6
- Monthly Top 12s: February (4)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 2 – Newsletter Weeks: 8, 9 (best rank #2 for NW 8).
Justin: We begin the list with Victor V. Gurbo’s excellent article about his original song, Mondrian.
Justina: The painter?
Justin: Inspired by the painter. He explains how Mondrian and a legendary photographer by the name of Andre Kertész gave him the prompt for the song.
Justina: It has his music video too, but where is the video from?
Justin: LBRY/Odyssee! The first New Leaf Journal video embed from that platform.
Justina: Good music video. It has fancy Mondrian graphics.
Justin: This post did well when Victor shared it with his fans on Facebook. If you haven’t read and listened already, do so now. A fine way to start 2021. Share it with your friends.
Justina: Are you his PR person?
Justin: How much is he offering?
Justina: …
Emu: …
Justin: Nick told me to add that his very different Mondrian article from February also made the top 50, but did not satisfy any special criteria for its own section on this list.
Justina: …
45. Ghostwriter Markdown Editor Review
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: October 7, 2021
- 2021 Rank for October Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: December (11)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: None
Justin: Nick published a review of his favorite markdown editor, Ghostwriter.
Justina: I’d ask what a markdown editor is, but I don’t want to know.
Justin: He uses it to draft all of his New Leaf Journal content.
Justina: I’m interested when he uses it to write about me!
Justin: Oh, Nick just told me he actually writes dialogues straight into the WordPress editor. So our conversations are the only type of article besides poems that he does not draft in markdown.
Justina: …Next!
44. Follow The New Leaf Journal Pixelfed Atom Feed
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: January 18, 2021.
- 2021 Rank for January Articles: #4
- Monthly Top 12s: January (5), February (11)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 2 – Newsletter Weeks 3 and 5 (best rank #2 for NW 3).
Justin: So remember when I told you about Pixelfed?
Justina: Vaguely. I was probably focused on Insta.
Justin: Yes.
Justina: Right.
Justin: What if I told you that you could follow Pixelfed feeds with a feed reader?
Justina: A what? Does that mean I get more likes?
Justin: Sigh.. on to the next.
Emu: (Hopeless…)
Justina: I’ll give you something hopeless, bird.
43. Understanding Hair Color in the Kimi ni Todoke Anime Series
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: August 19, 2021
- 2021 Rank for August Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: December (12)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: None
Justin: Nick wrote an entire article about how to understand hair color in Kimi ni Todoke, a shoujo anime series that aired a decade ago.
Emu: …
Justina: Why?
Justin: Part of a series, keep up. Actually, we may be hearing more from this series later…
Justina: …
Justin: In the scene involved, the main character was considering changing her hair style. Hair dye came up.
Justina: Did she?
Justin: No.
Emu: (Right call.)
Justina: IT TALKED!
41. Bird in Review 〜 The Golden Pheasant
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: January 23, 2021
- 2021 Rank for January Articles: #3
- Monthly Top 12s: February (7)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 1 – Newsletter Week: 6 (best rank #4 for NW 6)
Justin: Nick wrote articles about all 10 birds that appeared in an 1897 bird magazine for children, but only the golden pheasant made our year-end list.
Emu: …
Justin: Don’t worry, your kind wasn’t in the magazine.
Justina: What made this article so special?
Justin: Good of you to ask. This was the very first New Leaf Journal article to be shared on Hacker News, a website where coders argue about stuff on the internet.
Justina: …Weren’t two of the top three articles last year about tech stuff I don’t care about?
Justin: Yeah. Pixelfed review and Great Suspender review.
Justina: So how was this the first article to be shared on Hacker News?
Justin: Beats me. But thank you to the kind gentleman or gentlewoman who shared it!
Emu: …
Justina: I agree with the bird.
37. LoveChoice Review 〜 A Steam Visual Novel
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: February 9, 2021
- 2021 Rank for February Articles: #4
- Monthly Top 12s: September (12)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: N/A
Justin: In February, Nick reviewed a Chinese visual novel called LoveChoice for Thanksgiving. It earned an honorable mention slot by virtue of placing 12th in the September ranking.
Justina: September? What happened in September?
Justin: When Nick reviewed LoveChoice, it was only available for computers. It was ported to Nintendo Switch in the summer. He thinks that caused a general increase in LoveChoice searches.
Justina: I see.
Justin: Valentine’s is around the corner, so the article should be green again!
Justina: …
Justin: Get it? Green. New LEAF Journal?
Emu: …
Justina: We got it…
36. Review of Wusearch, a Search Engine Launchpad
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 22, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #7
- Monthly Top 12s: March (10), April (11)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 1 – Newsletter Week 12 (best rank #3 for NW 12)
Justin: In this article, Nick reviewed an interesting web application called Wutsearch. It allows you to use multiple search engines from a single launch page.
Justina: Let me Google it.
Justin: …
Justina: Oh right! You used this to try to make me use different search engines.
Emu: (Did it work?)
Justina: (No.)
Justin: At least you two are getting along. In any event, the creator of Wutsearch, Mr. Jeff Starr, liked the piece and kindly shared it. So it has turned into a valuable source of quality backlinks as well.
Justina: What?
Emu: (Don’t worry about it.)
35. ATW 〜 Murakami on Bad Social Media Content
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 7, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #6
- Monthly Top 12s: March (7)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 1 – Newsletter Week 10 (best rank #4 for NW 10)
Justin: Nick published an article about Mr. Haruki Murakami’s criticism of social media. It had some… fortuitous timing in when it went live, as I will explain when we reach the most-read article of 2021.
Emu: (Foreshadowing…)
Justina: Hey, this reminds me of that time when I explained to you that the point of social media is to cause existential misery. That’s why I love it!
Justin: I’m sure Nick had at least one back-link to your compelling argument in the Murakimi piece.
Justina: This reminds me that I have a Murakami book.
Justin: Did you like it?
Justina: I said have. Not read.
31. An Essay on Productivity, Production, and Productive Leisure
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 24, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #5
- Monthly Top 12s: March (8), April (6)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 5 – Newsletter Weeks 12-14, 16-17 (best rank #2 for NW 13)
Justin: A long essay that Nick hoped to see shared, the productivity essay was indeed shared on Hacker News, and it flew out of the gate in a blaze of glory.
Justina: What is it about?
Justin: Nick argued that productivity is not a virtue for its own sake.
Justina: As long as he doesn’t take my Insta away.
Justin: It did so well in its first month that it was one of the top-10 all-time most-read articles on our site’s one-year anniversary, coming in just ahead of his article on the meaning of Tsuki ga Kirei... which we may hear from again much later.
Emu: (Foreshadowing…)
Justina: What happened then? Why is it so low now? It sounds more appealing to the masses than tsuki ga whatever.
Justin: No clue. Seems like people only read it for a month. Cautionary tale? Flew too close to the Sun?
Justina: Strange.
Justin: Here’s its chance for a revival! It concludes with some good Epictetus analysis.
Justina: Ah, now I understand what happened.
30. The Awful About Page for Sara Tirschwell’s NYC Mayoral Campaign Site
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 26, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #4
- Monthly Top 12s: April (8)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 1 – Newsletter Week 16 (best rank #5 for NW 16)
Justin: Behold, Nick wrote an article about the worst campaign website candidate introduction he ever saw.
Justina: What made it so bad?
Justin: Tried to make people vote for the candidate out of pity.
Justina: Did they?
Justin: Heavens no. She ended up failing to make the primary ballot and was out of the race shortly after the article was published, well before the primary.
Justina: So… why did people read this?
Justin: Nick was a bit surprised that it did decently well under the circumstances. He figures there was just not much content about Ms. Tirschwell online, so some people looked her up after seeing her name noted somewhere.
Justina: I see.
Justin: You know what’s wild?
Justina: What?
Justin: It jumped a bunch of spots in the top-50 with a strangely decent December.
Justina: …
Emu: (I don’t know either.)
Justina: IT TALKED AGAIN!
28. Building an Airline Res-O-Glas Guitar Copy
- Author: Victor V. Gurbo
- Published On: August 26, 2020
- 2021 Rank for Articles Published in 2020: #7
- Monthly Top 12s: January (11)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: 1 – Newsletter Week 2 (best rank #4 for NW 2)
Justin: The king of August 2020!
Justina: Wait, this wasn’t even on our top-25 list last year.
Justin: Indeed. Late-bloomer? In this article, Victor discussed his very first guitar build and detailed the history of the Res-O-Glas guitar. It earned an honorable mention by placing in the January top-12, and picked up views throughout the year.
Justina: Interesting.
Justin: You know what’s wild?
Justina: What?
Justin: It would have easily been the most-read article of 2020 with its 2021 view count.
Emu: (Progress…)
Justina: …
27. The Enigmatic Life and Death of Emperor Otho
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: April 18, 2021
- 2021 Rank for April Articles: #3
- Monthly Top 12s: April (7)
- Newsletter Week Top Fives: None
Justin: Behold, the longest article in New Leaf Journal history. Our old estimated reading time calculator had it at 69 minutes.
Justina: That’s ridiculous.
Justin: Maybe Nick got carried away.
Justina: He did! That’s way too long!
Justin: In this article, Nick discussed the views of four ancient Roman historians on the strange life and arguably noble death of Otho, a man who went from Nero’s confidant to Emperor for three months.
Justina: …
Justin: It’s actually a fascinating subject, but you may want to bookmark the post for multiple readings or print it like they did in the old days.
Justina: People read this?
Justin: It had a strange view arc. Was strong in April, but that accounted for more than one-third of its views. Kind of like Otho himself, quick rise, quick fall.
Justina: People saw how long it was!
Justin: Nevertheless, Nick holds out hope that Otho, like some of his other history articles, will find its footing down the line.
Emu: (Foreshadowing…)
26. Kaori Orimoto’s Hair is Blacker than I Expected
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 5, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #3
- Monthly Top 12s: April (10), May (11)
- Weekly Top 5s: None
Justin: Our second anime hair color article on the list!
Emu: …
Justina: Again!?
Justin: This time, Nick covered Oregairu’s Kaori Orimoto. See, in the anime she is portrayed as having brown hair. But in the novels…
Justina: …What?
Justin: Are you ready for this?
Justina: Just tell me.
Justin: Her hair is black.
Justina: …
Justin: You know, it’s funny we’re reaching this article before its predecessor.
Justina: Wait… there’s another?
Emu: (Foreshadowing…)
Justin: Well, no comment for now.
Justina: I’ll have a comment for you.
The 25 Most-Read New Leaf Journal Articles of 2021
Justin: We have finished the appetizers, now it’s time for the main course. The 25 most-read articles of 2021.
Justina: Are there more silly rules?
Justin: No silly rules this time. If you are in the top-25 for most views in 2021, you’re on the list. We do have a couple of top-25 articles that did not have monthly or weekly placements but made our list through consistency.
Justina: I see. That’s a relief.
Justin: As usual, we’ll go in reverse order.
Emu: (Let’s go!)
Justina: It is showing emotions!
25. Anime Recommendations of the Decade (2011-20)
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: December 26, 2020
- 2021 Rank for 2020 Articles: #6
- Monthly Top 12s: None
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: None
Justin: Our 2021 top-25 begins right around where 2020 (literally) ended. Nick’s anime recommendations from the 2011-2020 decade.
Justina: You guys and weird decades.
Justin: Nick chose a selection of anime that aired between 2011 and 2020 that he thought may appeal to a broad audience, including those who don’t watch anime.
Justina: On my to-do list, I swear.
Emu: …
Justina: If you have something to say, bird, say it.
Justin: You two run hot and cold.
Emu: …
Justin: While Nick had hopes for this article in search engines, there was perhaps a bit too much competition in the anime list field. But it performed solidly throughout the year, and snuck into the top-25.
Justina: It would have been a footnote if it was 26th.
Justin: Indeed.
Emu: …
24. Playing Through Cancer in Silence: Shawn Respert’s NBA Story
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: April 15, 2021
- 2021 Rank for April Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: None
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: None
Justin: Nick found the story of Shawn Respert, a former college basketball star who had a brief NBA career in the late 1990s. Mr. Respert revealed after his playing days were done that he had been diagnosed with cancer while playing, but he kept it secret.
Justina: Why?
Proton Von: No excuses man. That guy didn’t want anyone thinking that he was a success or fail based on anything but his play.
Justin: Proton Von!
Justina: Von! You’re joining us?
Proton Von: Justin invited me. Arrived just in time to tip my hat to an athlete with the heart of a champion. Don’t mind me though, I’ll only chime in when a clutch play is needed. You guys are the stars.
Justin: One can wonder whether Mr. Respert hurt his chances of a long NBA career by keeping his condition secret, but you have to respect why he did it. All’s well that ends well in any event, it sounds like he’s healthy and doing well as a coach and scout.
Justina: That’s good.
Proton Von: Indeed.
Justin: While this article did not post any monthly top 12s or weekly top 5s, it has been a solid performer since it was published, giving it a well-deserved spot in our 2021 top 25.
23. Iroha Isshiki’s Hair is Brown, as Expected?
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: February 12, 2021
- 2021 Rank for February Articles: #3
- Monthly Top 12s: September (10)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: None
Justin: We profile our third anime hair color article… Nick’s first. Iroha Isshiki’s hair was naturally brown?
Justina: …There really was another.
Justin: So Iroha is also from Oregairu, right? She’s portrayed as having brown hair in the anime.
Justina: Right.
Justin: You’re not going to guess the twist.
Justina: Her hair is actually brown?
Justin: How did you know!? We learn that in the novels.
Justina: …
Justin: To be fair, Nick had recently published an article about the real struggles of a Japanese girl with naturally brown hair.
Justina: I don’t want to be fair.
Justin: The Orimoto article really followed from this one. See, Iroha is a major character in the second half of Oregairu. Orimoto is a bit-character from the main character’s past.
Justina: Wait… the first article was about a minor character’s hair color?
Proton Von: Yo Justin. Does this anime have baseball too? I read Cross Game after you recommended it. Was tearing up.
Justin: Cross Game… a classic that missed out on last year’s anime recommendation piece because Nick was principled and began the decade with 2011 instead of 2010. But no, no baseball here. Iroha is actually the no-show manager of the soccer club.
Proton Von: Probably not for me.
Justina: Wait, it was published in February. Why did it only make the top 10 in September?
Justin: Good question. This article had actually been dramatically out-performed by Orimoto for a while. Nick thinks someone shared an image he used in the article on a site called Archive of Our Own, which gave it a kick in September.
Justina: Does that really explain it?
Justin: Who knows.
Proton Von: Looking for more baseball manga…
22. How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 11, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: None
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 1 – Newsletter Week 11 (best rank #4 for NW 11)
Justin: Nick told the story of a flower. The forget-me-not flower.
Justina: Was it romantic?
Marie: It was German.
Justin: That says it all.
Justina: Marie!
Marie: Arantxa!
Justin: I can’t deal with this name stuff again… but you can see the previous link to learn about Marie, Justina’s high school classmate, and Justina’s real name.
Emu: (Fourth wall…)
Proton Von: Justin invited you too?
Marie: He did. He said something about a dialogue reunion. I’ll just have a coffee and watch until they’re done and we can all eat.
Proton Von: Me too!
Justin: Anyhow, the forget-me-not piece is another solid performer. It earned its place on the ranking by generating consistent views throughout the year.
Justina: I’m reading about the flower.
Justin: Forget it not.
21. The Nice Boat 〜 A Look Back at the School Days Anime
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: May 6, 2021
- 2021 Rank for May Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: October (12)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: None
Justin: On May 6, 2020, Victor wrote an article on Love Henry, a folk song about love and madness that ranked fourth on our most-read list for 2020. In it, he referenced an anime called School Days. Nick wrote a detailed summary of the show along with an explanation of the “nice boat” meme.
Justina: The what boat?
Marie: School Days? Awful.
Justin: Nick agreed.
Marie: Thank goodness.
Justin: Why did you watch School Days?
Marie: Was in college. Had time to kill.
Justin: I understand.
Justina: How do you understand?
Proton Von: No baseball again? Not interested.
Marie: None.
Justin: In any event, School Days is a glorious, melodramatic train-wreck. Nick watched it so you don’t have to, and he even addressed some takes that he has heard that it is good.
Justina: I don’t have to watch. Now I’ll watch out of spite.
Marie: Let’s watch together. I want to see you watch School Days. That’s the only way I could watch it again.
Emu: (Nick only skimmed it to refresh his memory.)
Justina: THE BIRD!
20. The End of the Western Roman Empire
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: September 4, 2020
- 2021 Rank for Articles Published in 2020: #5
- Monthly Top 12s: None
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: None
Justin: After leaving no impression in the 2020 ranking, Nick’s September 2020 article on the end of the Western Roman Empire came in at #20 in 2021.
Justina: More history…
Justin: It came close to a few monthly top 12s and newsletter week top 5s, but in the end, it was its steady performance throughout the year that put this history of the fall of Rome into the top-20.
Marie: Did it cover Majorian?
Justin: Of course.
Justina: What are you talking about?
Marie: Don’t worry about it.
Justin: A great man, tragically thwarted by fate.
Emu: (If only he stopped Ricimir’s scheme.)
Proton Von: Did the bird talk?
Justina: I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE!
19. Usagi Drop 〜 A Complicated Anime Pick
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: January 19, 2021
- 2021 For January Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: April (12), May (8), June (11)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 2 – Newsletter Weeks 3, 18 (best rank: #5 NW 2 and 5)
Justin: In January, Nick covered an anime that was too complicated to include in his anime recommendation list from December 2020.
Marie: Don’t tell me.
Justin: You’ll get it.
Marie: Bunny Drop?
Justin: Yes.
Justina: But it says Usagi.
Justin: Japanese title.
Justina: Why is it complicated?
Justin: You didn’t read?
Justina: Of course not.
Marie: Well the anime itself is fine…
Justin: But..
Proton Von: But?
Marie: In the underlying manga… you guys look confused. The comic, in that, the author decided to have the guy who raised a girl from when she was in kindergarten accept her marriage proposal.
Proton Von: Dude… What’s happening in Japan?
Justina: That’s weird.
Justin: So of course, the anime just covers the first half of the manga, where everyone thinks that the guy is raising his aunt (grandfather’s child) – a touching story of sacrifice and single parenthood in modern Japan.
Justina: And that’s where it ends. But the manga had a second half after a time skip.
Justin: Where whoa they’re not blood relatives.
Marie: As if that made it ok.
Justina: …You guys are weird.
Emu: …
Justina: Hey!
Justin: So anyway, that’s the gist. Take as you will. If you can’t separate the manga from the anime, Nick also recommended Sweetness and Lighting.
Marie: Good call.
Proton Von: Baseball!?
Marie: No.
Proton Von: Not clutch.
18. Blob Dylan(?) Seen in Bushwick
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: February 5, 2021
- 2021 Rank for February Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: February (10), May (9), June (9)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 2 – Newsletter Weeks 23-24 (best rank: #5 NW 23 and 24)
Justin: Nick took a picture of “Blob Dylan” graffiti in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he found himself for only the second time in his life. He didn’t think much would come of it, but here it is at 18.
Justina: Hey… you were talking about “Blob Dylan” in one of our dialogues before this article.
Justin: Emu?
Emu: (Foreshadowing…)
Justina: …
Justin: For one glorious Newsletter Week 24, we had two Blob Dylan articles in the top-5.
Justina: Two? There’s another?
Justin: Emu?
Emu: (Foreshadowing…)
Justina: Stop communicating with it!
Emu: …
Justina: Yeah you. Stop communicating with Justin.
Justin: I’m an it!?
Proton Von: Cold…
Emu: …
17. “King Baby” Graffiti on a Truck in Gowanus
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: June 11, 2021.
- 2021 Rank for June Articles: #3.
- Monthly Top 12s: June (12), July (11), August (12), November (9)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 1 – Newsletter Week 47 (best rank #5 for NW 47)
Justin: It’s an article about “King Baby” graffiti.
Justina: That graffiti isn’t hip.
Proton Von: I’ve seen that before… what does it mean?
Marie: Did Nick find an answer.
Justin: No.
Justina: So…
Justin: I don’t know. Apparently people look this stuff up.
Justina: …
Justin: There’s a follow-up article too. It came in December.
Justina: I have nothing.
16. Sending SMS Messages From My Computer With XMPP Through JMP
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: September 5, 2021.
- 2021 Rank for September Articles: #1.
- Monthly Top 12s: November (6), December (8)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 1 – Newsletter Week 48 (best rank #2 for NW 48)
Justin: This is Nick’s review of a service that allows you to send SMS messages through an XMPP account.
Justina: A what?
Justin: Err… how do I put this in a way you’ll understand. It’s like sending SMS messages from Element, but XMPP is a different protocol.
Justina: Oh right, that thing you made me download and use.
Marie: Sounds interesting, I’m looking it up.
Proton Von: Eh. I’m not one for texting anyway.
Justin: It is a great service, so give the article a read if it sounds like something you may want to try. Nick renewed his subscription in December – so he stands by the review.
15. Performing Site-Specific Searches With DuckDuckGo
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: August 8, 2021
- 2021 Rank for August Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: August (4), September (11), October (10)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 1 – Newsletter Week 32 (best rank #3 for NW 32)
Justin: Have you ever wondered how to search a specific domain on DuckDuckGo?
Justina: No.
Justin: Well you’re in luck! Nick explained how to do it and how he uses this feature to search Project Gutenberg for New Leaf Journal content. You could even use it to search Baseball Reference.
Proton Von: Now you’re speaking my language.
Justin: This article had a very strong first week… Nick thinks on DuckDuckGo itself. That week accounted for about one-quarter of its views, but it performed solidly in general to earn its rank.
Justina: Boring!
14. Recommended F-Droid FOSS Apps For Android-Based Devices (2021)
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: November 27, 2021
- 2021 Rank for November Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: November (8), December (2)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 4 – Newsletter Weeks 48-49, 51-52 (best rank #2 for NW 52)
Justin: The newest article in our top 50 comes in at 14. Nick’s rundown of F-Droid apps.
Justina: F-what?
Justin: Language!
Justina: I’ll give you language.
Emu: (This is a family website.)
Justina: …
Justin: F-Droid is a free and open source application repository for Android.
Justina: I have an iPhone, but even if I didn’t I still wouldn’t care.
Marie: I think I heard of it.
Justin: It has good recommendations, that’s why so many people are reading it.
13. Why Vintage Guitars Sound Better
- Author: Victor V. Gurbo
- Published On: January 4, 2021
- 2021 Rank for January Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: January (6), February (8), March (4), April (9), May (10)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 2 – Newsletter Weeks 1 and 10 (best rank #2 for NW 10)
Justin: Victor kicked off 2021 with a piece arguing for the superiority of vintage guitars.
Justina: I like vintage!
Justin: Fun fact… Victor noted his article was inspired by one of your comments in our review of the most-visited articles of 2020.
Justina: …That rings a bell.
Justin: The guitars have cool wood and stuff.
Justina: I mean I guess I could hang one up.
Proton Von: Nothing like the sound of a baseball bat not making contact with the baseball… I’m a pitcher, remember.
Justin: Anyway… this was our second article to be shared on Hacker News. That gave this piece a very strong March and enough momentum to coast to a 13th-place ranking for 2021.
Justina: I’m starting to wonder what Hacker News is really for.
Marie: Me too…
Emu: …
12. A 2021 List of Alternative Search Engines and Search Resources
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: June 13, 2021
- 2021 Rank for June Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: June (3), July (8), August (8), September (7), October (11), November (12)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 6 – Newsletter Weeks 25-28, 31, 41 (best rank #3 for NW 25)
Justin: Nick had high hopes for this search engine review.
Justina: Wait… you totally used this as a dialogue prompt.
Justin: Maybe.
Marie: Interesting, I’ll bookmark this.
Justin: Nick shared this on Minds where it did pretty well, and a few bloggers shared the list for some nice quality back-links.
Justina: I see.
Justin: But it ended up being outdone but a couple of tech articles published right after it.
Emu: …
Justina: Foreshadowing?
Emu: (Yes.)
11. A Follow-Up Post on the Meaning of “Blob Dylan”
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: April 12, 2021
- 2021 Rank for April Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: May (12), June (6), July (7), August (7), September (6), October (8), November (10), December (10)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 10 – Newsletter Weeks 24-25, 27-28, 31, 33, 37-38, 41-42 (best rank #2 for NW 28)
Justin: Blob is back!
Justina: …
Justin: Nick’s follow-up post did much better than the original Blob Dylan post, making our monthly top-12 eight months in a row, and the top-10 for the last seven of those months.
Justina: Why?
Justin: Nick took a stab at figuring out the meaning of “Blob Dylan.” Victor created an artistic rendering of the Blob photograph.
Justina: Did he get it?
Justin: No, but he published a Blob Dylan investigation later on that no one has read yet.
Justina: Of course.
Justin: Nick suspects the second Blob Dylan cannibalized the first, but we’ll never know.
Emu: (…Brutal.)
10. Reviewing Bob Dylan’s “Shadow Kingdom” Stream
- Author: Victor V. Gurbo
- Published On: July 19, 2021
- 2021 Rank for July Articles: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: July (1)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 2- Newsletter Weeks 29-30 (best rank #1 for NW 29)
Justin: Blob Dylan? How about Bob Dylan!?
Marie: That would have worked better the other way around.
Justin: That’s what makes it so great.
Justina: You’re a Blob.
Justin: Why thank you. Victor reviewed Bob Dylan’s digital music show, Shadow Kingdom. Some Bob Dylan super-fans at Expecting Rain picked it up and sent a ton of visitors to The New Leaf Journal.
Justina: I don’t like rain.
Justin: Victor offers some deeper analysis of Mr. Dylan and his work in the post, so it’s worth reading even though the actual show happened in July.
Justina: You’re still a blob.
9. Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7 (2013)
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: July 5, 2021
- 2021 Rank for July Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: July (6), August (9), September (4), October (3), November (3), December (3)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 20 – Newsletter Weeks 29-31, 34-37, 39-40, 42-52 (best rank #2 for NW 37, 40, 42, 47, and 50)
Justin: Spots 7-9 on our ranking were separated by 5 views… out of a good number. Close contest.
Proton Von: This one drew the short straw?
Justin: Indeed. But Nick did not expect his article about installing Ubuntu Touch on a 2013 Nexus 7 to do so well.
Justina: 2013? Why not just get a new tablet?
Justin: Nick bought the tablet in 2021 for this purpose.
Justina: …
Marie: Is it good?
Justin: Nick is still working on the review, but his early impressions are favorable. However, he read Ubports may drop support for the Nexus 7, so maybe you should try on a newer device…
Marie: Interesting.
Justina: No, not interesting!
8. The Last Stand of Constantine XI
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: May 30, 2020
- 2021 Rank for Articles Published in 2020: #4
- Monthly Top 12s: January (4), February (5), March (6), April (5), May (4), June (5), July (10), August (11), September (8), October (5), November (5), December (6)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 20 – Newsletter Weeks 1, 4-5, 7, 9, 11, 15-16, 19-23, 25, 43-46, 49-50 (best rank #2 for NW 21-23, 43, and 49)
Justin: Long live Constantine XI.
Justina: This history again.
Justin: For those of us who were not with us last year, this was the second most-read article of 2020. It returns with a splendid ranking of 8 in 2021, and having been published on May 30, 2020, it is the oldest article in our top-50.
Justina: Fitting. Only old people would read this.
Proton Von: No way man. I’m reading now. This is moving. His sacrifice.
Marie: I’m not crying, I have something in my eye.
Justina: …
Emu: (…Blubber.)
Justin: The reviews are in.
Justina: Sigh…
Justin: Constantine XI had a strange narrative arc. Its best month in terms of views was actually December 2021. It ebbed and flowed, but generally gained strength late in the year. Will it be back in 2022?
Justina: Too much history!
7. How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: June 19, 2021
- 2021 Rank for June Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: July (12), August (6), September (5), October (2), November (2), December (5)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 19 – Newsletter Weeks 34-52 (best rank #2 for NW 41, 44-46)
Justin: Do you get too many newsletters?
Justina: No.
Justin: Have you ever wondered why you can’t sign up to newsletters via RSS?
Justina: No.
Justin: Well then this article is for you! Nick shows you how you can sign up to Substack newsletters via RSS. Remember you can sign up to The Newsletter Leaf Journal via RSS.
Justina: I’m trying to forget.
Marie: This is handy!
Proton Von: Justin, show me how to set this up so I can follow my favorite newsletters via RSS.
Justin: See Justina?
Justina: Sigh…
Justin: Nick did publish this article with an eye toward search engines, but it exceeded his expectations. He thanks Substack for making its built-in RSS a bit hidden.
Justina: I’d like to hide you.
6. An Early Review of Pixelfed – Instagram Alternative
- Author: Nicholas Ferrell
- Published On: November 13, 2020
- 2021 Rank for Articles Published in 2020: #3
- Monthly Top 12s: January (1), February (3), March (5), April (4), May (5), June (4), July (9), August (10), September (9), October (6), November (11), December (9)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 25 – Newsletter Weeks 1-10, 14-15, 17-24, 26-27, 41, 44, 50 (best rank #1 for NW 2-3; 2 times)
Justin: The most-read article of 2020 didn’t repeat its feat in 2021, but number-six isn’t bad!
Justina: I’m still not convinced…
Justin: Nick had planned to follow-up his review of the decentralized Instagram alternative in 2021, but decided he did not have enough to say about it. But they just released a new UI, so maybe he’ll review it again in 2022.
Justina: Maybe I’ll consider it then. Maybe.
Justin: In the meantime, you can visit his Pixelfed from the comfort of The New Leaf Journal!
5. Stop Saying Bob Dylan Can’t Sing
- Author: Victor V. Gurbo
- Published On: July 23, 2021
- 2021 Rank for July Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: July (4), August (1)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 3 – Newsletter Weeks 30, 32-33 (best rank #1 for NW 30, 32-33; 3 times)
Justin: Victor’s self-described “clickbait” in the top-five!
Justina: Is it clickbait?
Justin: I don’t think so. I think of clickbait as articles with misleading headlines. The headline accurately describes the content. Victor thinks it’s clickbait because he wrote it to rile up his fellow Dylan fans.
Justina: Did it work?
Justin: They shared it on Expecting Rain and it did even better than the Shadow Kingdom post.
Marie: It sounds like Victor is stooping to the level of Dylan critics by arguing against their premise.
Justin: Nick agreed!
Emu: (…Indeed.)
Justina: I’ll give you something to indeed, bird.
Proton Von: That doesn’t make sense…
4. Persona 4 Golden Digital Artbook Review (Steam)
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: November 15, 2020
- 2021 Rank for Articles Published in 2020: #2
- Monthly Top 12s: January (3), February (2), March (3), April (3), May (2), June (2), July (3), August (5), September (2), October (4), November (4), December (7)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 37 – Newsletter Weeks 1-9, 11-15, 17-19, 21, 23-29, 32-36, 38-40, 43, 45-47 (best rank #1 for NW 1, 6, 17-18, and 26-27; 6 times)
Justin: Nick’s Persona 4 Golden Digital Artbook review ended 2020 with a head of steam, and it kept it going throughout 2021.
Justina: I remember this one from last year…
Justin: Nick knows Persona 4 Golden is on sale on Steam when this article starts getting a large number of hits.
Proton Von: Is that helpful?
Justin: Nah, he already has it.
Emu: (…He still needs to play it again on Steam.)
Justina: …
3. Reviewing the HALOmask and är Mask
- Author: Victor V. Gurbo
- Published On: December 2, 2020
- 2021 Rank for Articles Published in 2020: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: January (2), February (1), March (2), April (1), May (3), June (7), July (5), August (2), September (3), October (7), November (7), December (4)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 37 – Newsletter Weeks 1-22, 28, 30-40, 42, 51-52 (best rank #1 for NW 4-5, 7-9, 15-16, 31, 34-35; 10 times)
Justin: The highest ranked returning article from our 2020 ranking – Victor’s mask review at number-two.
Justina: I suppose it’s fitting…
Justin: The mask review article had its ups and downs, posting its best month in August and second and third best months – in terms of views – in February and December.
Marie: Too much mask content…
Proton Von: Kind of hard to work out in a mask…
Justin: I suppose it’s on the upswing now… still green, perhaps.
Justina: I wish they came in better colors…
2. The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: March 14, 2021
- 2021 Rank for March Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: April (6), May (1), June (1), July (2), August (3), September (1), October (1), November (1), December (1)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 36 – Newsletter Weeks 17-52 (best rank #1 for NW 19-25, 28, 36-52; 25 times)
Justin: In second place, we have the dominant article of 2021 – Nick’s piece on the meaning of tsuki ga kirei desu ne?
Justina: What does it mean?
Justin: “The Moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”
Justina: Um.
Justin: Supposed to be a love confession.
Justina: …How?
Justin: You have to read the long investigation to find out.
Justina: It’s too long!
Justin: Nick was surprised to see how much interest there was in tsuki ga kirei. It was the strongest article on Google by a wide margin, and is currently the most-read article for 25-consecutive weeks.
Marie: Good anime too. No baseball though.
Proton Von: Alas.
Marie: Some track though.
Proton Von: I’ll consider it.
Justina: Wait, if it has been the most-read article for half of the year, how is it not ranked first?
Justin: Well…
1. Around the Web 〜 RSS as a Facebook Alternative
- Author: Nicholas A. Ferrell
- Published On: February 21, 2021
- 2021 Rank for February Articles: #1
- Monthly Top 12s: February (6), March (1), April (2), May (6), June (10), October (9)
- Newsletter Week Top 5s: 9 – Newsletter Weeks 8, 10-16, 20 (best rank #1 for NW 10-14; 5 times)
Justin: Some articles perform consistently throughout the year. Other articles shine so brightly that they don’t need longevity.
Proton Von: Like Sandy Koufax?
Justin: Exactly. Except Nick’s post on RSS as a Facebook alternative didn’t have injury problems. Rose and fell on its own.
Justina: How?
Justin: Well, when this article was shared on Hacker News, it put the 2021 crown out of reach in a few days.
Justina: This seems cheap…
Emu: …
Proton Von: Maybe the Moon article is the MVP?
Marie: This does feel off…
Justin: Look, I don’t count the views. Do you see that bold March up there? That’s the ball game.
Proton Von: You win if you win one game by a wide margin?
Justin: So it seems. But rankings aside, this was one of Nick’s more substantive articles.
Justina: Too long!
Clean Top-50 List
Justin: Here is our clean list of top-50 most-read articles in 2021 without any additional commentary.
- Around the Web 〜 RSS as a Facebook Alternative.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. February 21, 2021. - The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021. - Reviewing the HALOmask and är Mask.
Victor V. Gurbo. December 2, 2020. - Persona 4 Golden Digital Artbook Review (Steam).
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 15, 2020. - Stop Saying Bob Dylan Can’t Sing.
Victor V. Gurbo. July 23, 2021. - An Early Review of Pixelfed – Instagram Alternative.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 13, 2020. - How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 19, 2021. - The Last Stand of Constantine XI.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. May 30, 2020. - Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7 (2013).
Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021. - Reviewing Bob Dylan’s “Shadow Kingdom” Stream.
Victor V. Gurbo. July 19, 2021. - A Follow-Up Post on the Meaning of “Blob Dylan”.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 12, 2021. - A 2021 List of Alternative Search Engines and Search Resources.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 13, 2021. - Why Vintage Guitars Sound Better.
Victor V. Gurbo. January 4, 2021. - Recommended F-Droid FOSS Apps For Android-Based Devices (2021).
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 27, 2021. - Performing Site-Specific Searches With DuckDuckGo.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. August 8, 2021. - “King Baby” Graffiti on a Truck in Gowanus.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 11, 2021. - Sending SMS Messages From My Computer With XMPP Through JMP.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. September 5, 2021. - Blob Dylan(?) Seen in Bushwick.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. February 5, 2021. - Usagi Drop 〜 A Complicated Anime Pick.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. January 18, 2021. - The End of the Western Roman Empire.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. September 4, 2020. - The Nice Boat 〜 A Look Back at the School Days Anime.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. May 6, 2021. - How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 11, 2021. - Iroha Isshiki’s Hair is Brown, as Expected?.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. February 12, 2021. - Playing Through Cancer in Silence: Shawn Respert’s NBA Story.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 15, 2021. - Anime Recommendations of the Decade (2011-20).
Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 26, 2020. - Kaori Orimoto’s Hair is Blacker than I Expected.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 5, 2021. - The Enigmatic Life and Death of Emperor Otho.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 18, 2021. - Building an Airline Res-O-Glas Guitar Copy.
Victor V. Gurbo. August 26, 2021. - Kaga no Chiyo Autumn Haiku on Unrequited Love.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. December 14, 2020. - The Awful About Page for Sara Tirschwell’s NYC Mayoral Campaign Site.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 26, 2021. - An Essay on Productivity, Production, and Productive Leisure.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 24, 2021. - Nintendo Power’s 1999 Yoshi in Pokémon April Fools Prank.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 1, 2021. - Reviewing Three Boutique Guitar Strings.
Victor V. Gurbo. June 25, 2020. - The al|together and Insani Visual Novel Translations.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 11, 2021. - ATW 〜 Murakami on Bad Social Media Content.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 7, 2021. - Review of Wutsearch, a Search Engine Launchpad.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 22, 2021. - LoveChoice Review 〜 A Steam Visual Novel.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. February 9, 2021. - Reviewing the Mondrian Theme for KDE Plasma.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. February 26, 2021. - The Japanese Citizenship Requirement for Sumo Stablemasters.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. April 25, 2021. - Farming Gold Roses for Money in Animal Crossing.
Victor V. Gurbo. October 13, 2020. - Bird in Review 〜 The Golden Pheasant.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. January 23, 2021. - Classic Pokémon Strategy Guides from Nintendo Power and Japan.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. May 23, 2021. - Follow The New Leaf Journal Pixelfed Atom Feed.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. January 18, 2021. - Understanding Hair Color in the Kimi ni Todoke Anime Series.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. August 19, 2021. - Ghostwriter Markdown Editor Review.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 7, 2021. - Constantine and the Last Vespers at Hagia Sophia.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 14, 2021. - Visual Novel Review: Bad End.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 31, 2020. - Reverend Warneford’s 1890s Miniature Model Railroad System in Windsor.
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 5, 2021. - Installing LineageOS on a 2013 Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi).
Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 28, 2021. - “Mondrian” – Victor V. Gurbo on his Original Song.
Victor V. Gurbo. February 25, 2021.
Conclusion
Justin: That wraps up our top-50 articles of 2021.
Justina: I’m offended we didn’t make it.
Justin: 2022 will be our year!
Marie: I will say that the articles are… varied.
Justin: Let no one say The New Leaf Journal restricts itself to a single topic.
Justina: Yeah. Even I found some stuff I liked.
Proton Von: Could use some more baseball content.
Justin: Nick did write about Casey at Bat.
Proton Von: Now we’re talking!
Justin: We’re going to enjoy our New Year lunch now. I hope you and your friends and family are having a great new year.
Justina: You better read us this year.
Emu: And visit my establishment.
Justina: Can we have a talk about the talking bird next year?
Emu: …
Justin: Thank you for reading everyone! We look forward to seeing all the new New Leaf Journal content in 2022.
