Welcome to the syndicated version of Newsletter Leaf Journal 140, the official newsletter of this very New Leaf Journal (see original). I am more than a bit late in syndicating our Saturday newsletter this week (I usually aim for Monday), but better late than never, as they say. See all of our newsletter sign-up options (including RSS following) here.

Leaves from the week that was

Back to index

I published four regular articles since mailing newsletter 139. I also published several short-format posts.

Full leaves

…Without a WordPress plugin.

“States” was an unintentionally good word choice in the headline.

A guide in story form.

Our showcase article of the week was my review of the 2008 translation of Tegami, an understated visual novel about family and coming to terms with one’s past.

Leaflets and Leaf Buds

Leaves from around the web

Back to index

I got around to organizing my around the web articles, so you will find a few newer articles this week.

The Williamsburg Bridge is the best walking bridge of the five major East River bridges with pedestrian paths (I am not counting the Roosevelt Island Walkway here). After reading this article, I understood how people could make it the worst.

I like the sound of Roman subway stations more than New York City subway stations.

I feel as if the Chinese Communist Party engaged in a pattern of anti-human policies that brought it to the present precipice.

Out: Caveman. In: Caveman man cave.

“[L]arge iron staples have been found holding together the cathedral’s stone blocks. In light of this unexpected discovery, scientists say that Notre-Dame is the first known Gothic cathedral to make such extensive use of iron as a construction material.”

An article on the University of Chicago’s 1995 decision to abolish its Department of Education.

Bronze kitty in Scotland.

Interviewing two women who worked as scam artists for shady bars in Tokyo.

I watch with popcorn.

An article on the paintings of Hokusai.

Good thing my Logitech keyboard is waterproof (not on the repair list).

I hope that the restaurant owners are getting a good deal on rent because that is not a great location for easy access, discoverability, or attracting people on an evening stroll…

The Old Leaf Journal

Back to index

Let’s dig into our archives…

The first time I ran into an issue with my host-file blocking solution.

As advertised (pun intended).

My review of one of my (surprise) favorite visual novels from the al|together collection. I made a few technical edits recently.

Referenced briefly in my article on the meaning of “born overseas.”

My 2021 Pokémon battle against NLJ colleague Victor V. Gurbo, on video. My Persian had its moment…

I think the main point of this was so Victor could show off his cool old guitars.

4. Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week

Back to index

I list our most-read articles from the previous newsletter week (Friday to Saturday) in each edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. These statistics come courtesy of Koko Analytics, our local, privacy friendly page-counting solution (see my review). Below, I present the 5 most-visited articles for 2023 newsletter week 24.

  1. The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei (NAF, 3.14.21)
    2023 Appearances: 24
    Top Placements: 7
  2. Heights in “The Dangers in My Heart” Anime (NAF, 4.2.23 )
    2023 Appearances: 3
  3. Peekier Search Engine Review (NAF, 2.26.22)
    2023 Appearances: 17
    Top Placements: 3
  4. Tiki paralogue trick in Fire Emblem Engage (NAF, 2.3.23)
    2023 Appearances: 19
    Top Placements: 11
  5. The Pokémon Special Split in Generation 2 – Statistics and Analysis (NAF, 1.18.22)
    2023 Appearances: 16

Newsletter Week 24’s top five was eerily similar to newsletter week 23. The top four returned in the same order. Once again, my Leaflet on heights in The Dangers in My Heart led going into Friday before being overtaken by my tsuki ga kirei post on the final day. This week saw the return of my Pokémon generations 1 and 2 stats study piece which had been absent from our top five for several weeks.

5. News leaf journal

Back to index

As I noted in a Leaflet, I started a Memos notes server. You can see my profile here and also follow its RSS feed. I added the feed to our feed aggregator along with a few of my GitHub projects.

I received the closest thing to a response to my latest Bing inquiry (still automated, but better automated than before) after I posted my GitHub Bing ban project to Hacker News (where it died with little fanfare). Maybe we are making progress?

6. Notable leaf journal

Back to index

My Nintendo Switch Pro Controller died (doesn’t charge and won’t work while plugged in). I needed to replace it. Having written about how I am a fan of the Dreamcast’s magnetic Hall Effect controller joystick (see article), I decided to put my money where my mouth is and purchase a GuilKit Nintendo Switch controller with a Hall Effect joystick. It came in good packaging and feels nice on first impression. You can expect to read more about it in the near future.

7. Taking leaf

Back to index

Thank you as always for reading The Newsletter Leaf Journal (and, I hope, The New Leaf Journal). If you want to follow the newsletter and are not doing so already, we offer email and RSS options (see options). I also syndicate the newsletter to The New Leaf Journal on Mondays (usually on Mondays…).

I look forward to another good week of articles and additions to The New Leaf Journal family of projects.

Until June 24…

Cura ut valeas.