Robert Birming, an independent blogger, invited bloggers from around the web to participate in community blogging events in June and July. In June he hosted Junited, which encouraged bloggers to share blog posts they enjoy from around the web. July brought JulyReply, which encouraged bloggers to reply to posts they enjoyed around the web. I participated in both, publishing a combined 37 blog posts between Junited (19) and July Reply (18). If you are only familiar with my work here on The New Leaf Journal, it would have missed these projects, for I conducted both on my short-form writing website, The Emu Café Social. But I was loath to leave The New Leaf Journal out of the fun, so below, you will find my full recap of Junited and JulyReply 2026 on The Emu Café Social.
Junited 2026
I published 19 Junited 2026 posts in a special category I created for the event on The Emu Café Social. Below, I present my articles, and the articles I respoted to, in a table.
| ECS Junited Article | Date Published | Shared Article | Brief Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Publishers Move to Avoid GTA 6 (Rob Fahey) | 06-07-26 | September becomes a pile-up as publishers swerve to avoid GTA 6 | This was a hybrid blogroll introduction post. |
| Self-Hosting Adventures (Kenneth Reitz) | 06-07-26 | Self-Hosting Adventures | A good post by Kenneth Reitz on the benefits of self-hosting |
| On Personal Search Engines | 06-07-26 | Personal Search Engines | Sharing Jason J. Gullickson’s post on personal search engines. I like the idea. |
| No Grand Slam Winners in 2026 French Open Men’s R16 | 06-08-26 | The calm before the storm | Learning a fun fact from this year’s French Open (tennis) from Neil Paine |
| Shooting Successfully With Any Footwork in Basketball | 06-08-26 | Angel Reese, Habits, and Shooting Practice | A great post from Brian McCormick on being able to shoot effectively with “any footwork” in basketball |
| The History Blog and Japanese Saws | 06-09-26 | Oldest iron saw in Japan identified | A fun archaeology story from History Blog, |
| Giving Defunct Blogs Proper Burials | 06-09-26 | Where do blogs go when they die? | Junited would hardly be complete without sharing a post by the organizer, Robert Birming. |
| A Moka Pot Pen | 06-10-26 | Check it out, a weird little pen that looks like a coffee pot | Sharing a post which shared a cool, coffee-themed pen. |
| Static Site Webmentions | 06-11-26 | My site now supports webmentions | Sending a webmention to a post about setting up webmentions. |
| Turning a Blog Into a Book | 06-11-26 | The Archivist In Me Turned This Blog Into a Book | I may just have to steal this idea from Wouter Groeneveld. |
| New Features in ActivityPub For WordPress 9.0 | 06-12-26 | 9.0.0 — Growing Up | Commenting on updates to a WordPress Plugin I use on ECS. |
| AI Slop About Medieval London | 06-13-26 | AI review: Time Witnessed | Fake History Hunter’s report on “history” on TikTok did not move me from my position that TikTok must be banned. |
| How I’ll Take My Coffee | 06-15-26 | ☕If you want to buy me a coffee | There was IndieWeb engagement bait floating around. I joined blogger Simon in ignoring the bait and respnding literally. |
| The Case Against Share Buttons | 06-18-26 | Nobody clicks your share buttons | Concurring with Derek Hanson’s reasoned take against share buttons. |
| Ambient Irony on Amodei vs Altman | 06-18-26 | Daily News Stuff 18 June 2026 | I shared Pixy Misa’s humrous Altman over Amodei take because it made me laugh. |
| Tatakiage Recruits in Sumo | 06-27-26 | Nagoya 2026: Shin-Makushita (新幕下) | On learning about middle school-to-pro recruits in sumo from the excellent Tachiai blog. |
| Cabbage Sorter’s Review of Shiki (Anime) | 06-27-26 | Shiki (Anime Review) | I shared Cabbage Sorter’s review of Shiki in part because, like Cabbage Sorter, I watched it years after it was released. |
| Cal Newport on Big AI “Doom Trolling” | 06-28-26 | Dear AI Companies: Stop the “Doom Trolling” | I much appreciated Cal Newport’s strong take on AI “doom trolling,” an issue I have commented on from a similar-but-different angle. |
| Turley on “White Time” “Scholarship” | 06-28-26 | “White Time”: Dutch Professor Argues that Time Itself is Racist | I concluded my Junited 2026 with Jonathan Turley on some academia absurdity. |
As you can see, I had a nine-day gap in my Junited posting (caused in large part by being busy with work), but I dare say that in light of the fact that I started late on June 7, 19 posts was a strong effort.
July Reply 2026
I started JulyReply in early July and ultimately published 18 reply posts in my ECS JulyReply category. I had been aiming for 31, but illness and work caused me to settle for covering just over half of July’s 31 days.
| ECS JulyReply Article | Date Published | In Response To | Brief Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| On Markdown Editors and Fluff | 07-01-26 | Short Post by Rodrigo Ghedin | I concurred in part with a take that plain text editors work well for markdown, but opined some QOL features are welcome. |
| Joining Robert Birming’s JulyReply 2026 | 07-02-26 | JulyReply 2026, a blog connecting month | What better way to join JulyReply than replying to the project introduction post? |
| Settings in “No AI” DuckDuckGo | 06-02-26 | You Don’t Need the DuckDuckGo noai Subdomain | Noting that while Chris Wiegman is right that AI can be disabled in regular DuckDuckGo, all regular settings toggles are available in No-AI DuckDuckGo. |
| Google Hardware Complaints Remind Me of BlackBerry Classic | 07-02-26 | I Do Not Recommend Google Hardware | Marius’ post about his struggles with Google Pixel hardware reminded me of issues I had with my BlackBerry Classic. |
| Nagoya Basho Predictions | 07-11-26 | 2026 Nagoya basho predictions! The Isegahama takeover begins | I replied to Tim Edwards’ Nagoya Basho predictions with my own (his picks were unsurprisingly better than mine). |
| The Sinking of Victory Chimes | 07-12-26 | Second Ship Sinks in Red Hook | Replying to Nick Bello’s report on the unexplained sinking of a ship I published a research article about back in 2024. |
| Favorite Summer Songs | 07-12-26 | Journal Prompt July | I replied to Laura Cameron’s summer journal prompt with three summer songs. |
| DRM-Free Ebook Sources | 07-13-26 | Using the Xteink X4, a minimalist e-reader | I replied to a post listing DRM-free ebook resources with additional resources. |
| Fortunate NBA Champions (2001-2016) | 07-14-26 | An Opinionated Guide to Ranking Ethical NBA Championships in the 21st Century | In response to Russell Samora’s study, I listed six NBA champions from 2001-16 that benefited from the misfortune of others. |
| Using AIM Until the Bitter End | 07-15-26 | AIM-ing For a More Open Platform Than Discord | In response to Tyler August of Hackaday, I shared the story of how I used AIM right up until its demise. |
| Cup Noodle (Cold Edition) in Japan | 07-16-26 | Cup Noodle unveils first-ever cold-water instant ramen in Japan | I am intrigued by these cold Cup Noodles shared by Oona McGee at SoraNews24. |
| Light Phone Continues to Fail QWERTY Test | 07-22-26 | Light Flip is a flip phone with minimalist design and features (plus a keypad and T9 predictive text) | In response to Brad Linder’s report on the new Light Phone, I question why they do not implement a QWERTY keyboard. |
| Were AI Blog Post Images Ever Cool? | 07-22-26 | AI-generated blog post images are not cool any more | Everyone will be stunned at the answer I came up with in response to Panagiotis Vryonis’ headline (note I enjoyed his post). |
| Tadej Pogacar Shatters Pantani’s 1995 Alpe d’Huez Record by 1:15 | 07-24-26 | Tadej Pogacar explodes the historic Alpe d’Huez record! | I had to comment on Tadej Pogacar blowing up what may have been Marco Pantani’s most famous climbing record |
| On Tactics to Hit the Hacker News Front Page | 07-25-26 | 5 tactics for hitting the Hacker News front page | Wherein I do not entirely agree with some of the premises which informed Herbert Lui’s advice for seeking Hacker News glory. |
| Responding to Nagoya Basho Grades | 07-31-26 | Some Highly Subjective Grades for Nagoya 2026 | I reply to a Tachiai post grading the sumo wrestlers at the Nagoya Basho with some praise for up-and-coming star Kotoeiho. |
| Tell Everyone About Your Hero[in]ism | 07-31-26 | I Am a Heroin User. I Do Not Have a Drug Problem | I could not resist responding to high-brow social media bait seen in Nautilus. |
| Letter to the Editor Backlink in Chicago Sun Times | 07-31-26 | Celebrating the nation’s strengths, beauty for the big 2-5-0 | Sharing a backlink to one of my research articles which appeared in a Chicago Sun Times letter to the editor. |
Let no one say I did not finish JulyReply 2026 in a blaze of replying glory.
Conclusion
I launched The Emu Café Social in 2023 in part because I wanted a short-form writing site for posts that do not quite fit here on The New Leaf Journal. When I saw Robert Birming’s Junited, followed by JulyReply, I saw both of those concepts as being perfectly in line with my project on ECS. While I had hoped to publish a few more, I dare say I did fairly well for my first Junited and JulyReply adventures without any time to prepare. I look forward to participating againt next year (perhaps I will make it a joint ECS–NLJ project in 2027).
