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Quoted Trackback Spam on Iroha Isshiki Hair Color Study · The New Leaf Journal by Nicholas A. Ferrell (thenewleafjournal.com)
As you can see, a spam website linked to my February 12, 2021 article Iroha Isshiki’s Hair is Brown, as Expected?, and my site received the trackback on September 28, 2026. How do I know this is a spam website and not a legitimate website sharing my anime/light novel 2D girl hair color research? Well, the fact that the link text was “free russian porn” ... Failing to capitalize a country name was the obvious tell. There may be other tells, but I think capitalization is the big one.

I receive remarkable amounts of comment spam on The New Leaf Journal’s Guestbook page, but I seldom receive pingback/trackback spam. For that reason, I took note when my first 2D Japanese girl hair color study from back in 2021 received not one, but two spam trackback links. While I could have simply sent them to spam and thought nothing more of it, I decided to examine whether the trackback spam, which had an unsavory character, was trying to tell me something about my research.

See: Trackback Spam on Iroha Isshiki Hair Color Study.

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On October 1, 2026, I (being N.A. Ferrell) published a new article on The New Leaf Journal titled 86 Days Until Christmas: Seen in Carroll Gardens. On September 29, I had come across an inflatable Christmas countdown clock on the Carroll Gardens side of Degraw Street (Degraw is the border between Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens). The clock correctly indicated that there were 86 days until Christmas. As I photographed it, I recalled that I had published an “early” Christmas countdown clock article in the past. Only when I got home and checked did I realize that (A) I had published the article I was thinking of in 2025 and (B) I took the photos for the 2025 article exactly one year prior (September 29, 2025) and almost certainly at the same residence. Fortunately, the 2026 clock is different than the 2025 clock, so I had material for a new story. Photos are of course included in the articles.

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Quoted March 2026 at The New Leaf Journal by Nicholas A. Ferrell (The New Leaf Journal)
Three 2021 articles posted their best-ever months in terms of rank and page visits in March 2026. How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name tied its best-ever month ranking of fourth but easily posted its best-ever months in terms of page-views. Usagi Drop: A Complicated Anime Pick about doubled its previous record for most page-views in a month while posting its best-ever ranking of 6th. Finally, Futaba Igarashi’s Hair Is Naturally Green? narrowly posted its best month in terms of visits and its best ranking of 8th (previous best was 9th).

Over on The New Leaf Journal, I published my review of the month that was on NLJ, this humble publication, our newsletter, and my Pixelfed account. In the article, I shared our top-24 most-visited NLJ articles of March 2026 (along with their 2026 overall rankings through the first quarter). As I note in the quote above, three 2021 articles, How the Forget-Me-Not Flower Found Its Name, Usagi Drop: A Complicated Anime Pick, and Futaba Igarashi’s Hair Is Naturally Green? made our top-10 (4th, 6th, and 8th respectively) with their best-ever months in terms of ranking and page views. The latter two are notable since those articles are about anime series that aired in 2011 and 2021 respectively. But more surprising than several 2021 articles having their best months in 2026 was our 12th most-visited article, Citizenship Rules for Running for President of Egypt (published in October 2023), which had to the best of my knowledge never previously attractived meaningful numbers of visitors. I will have readers know that I wrote all four of those articles. Let no one say I do not deliver variety.

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Quoted Unexpired :o 〜 Newsletter Leaf Journal CCLXXIV by N.A. Ferrell (The Newsletter Leaf Journal)
Issue 274 of The New Leaf Journal features links to three new NLJ leaves and 15 ECS posts, 24 links from around the web (concluding with an Easter flavor), a link to a rubbery Mondrian game, and other news and notes from the week that was.

I mailed issue 274 of The Newsletter Leaf Journal yesterday. Fun fact: I originally mailed the newsletter on Sundays. One reason I switched to Saturday was to avoid Sunday holidays, notably Easter. Pook-Emu Bee link fans should enjoy the 24 links from around the web in this issue. I share below my personal favorite:

What lazy, sex-obsessed Western pop could learn from wholesome K-pop
Ed Power for The Telegraph. September 4, 2025.

I sent this to my good friend, visual novel collaborator, sometimes-New Leaf Journal author, and Brooklyn band front-man, Victor V. Gurbo. TBD whether he follows recommendations 1 (try rapping or some other nonsense) or 8 (“[t]one down the sex”). We’ll be watching.

Good stuff, good stuff. If that doesn’t motivate you to read, I know not what would.

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Quoted Inflatable Easter Bunny in Columbia Street Waterfront District (2026) by Nicholas A. Ferrell (The New Leaf Journal)
I went on the hunt for a new inflatable Easter decoration to share. I found one in neighboring Columbia Street Waterfront District, this one being about a one minute walk from the foot of the Summit Street Bridge.

We are just about one hour away (EST) from Easter Sunday (as I write this). For a pre-Easter article, I shared a photo I took of an inflatable Easter Bunny in Brooklyn’s Columbia Street Waterfront District.  There is not much of a story behind the photo, but readers will find my patented(?) inflatable dectoration analysis. For inflatable Easter decorations from prior years, see Inflatable Carrot and Easter Bunnies in Brooklyn and Inflatable colorful Easter egg bunny thing (the Easter egg bunny thing is up again in 2026 in the same location).

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Quoted Toothpaste Expiration Dates by Nicholas A. Ferrell (The New Leaf Journal)
How am I going to eat all this toothpaste before it expires?

This is the 59th entry in Nicholas A. Ferrell’s long-running Justin and Justina dialogue series. Inspired by a true story (N.A. Ferrell, who is me writing in the third person, bought things at Lot Less), Justin and Justina discuss toothpaste expiration dates. Very exciting stuff.