The Newsletter Leaf Journal XXVIII 〜 A Short Newsletter

This newsletter comes to you courtesy of Nicholas A. Ferrell, editor of The New Leaf Journal. If the newsletter is in your inbox, you are receiving it because you subscribed. If you are reading it through other means, consider subscribing via email or RSS feed.

Today’s edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal will be a short one. Why will it be short? Because I am finishing the longest article ever published at The New Leaf Journal as I draft this very newsletter. How long is the newsletter? More than double the length of our previous longest article. There should be enough content in there to last for a week or two.

I want to read now.

For that reason, I ask that you forgive my truncated newsletter this week.

Content From the Week That Was

Below, I will briefly describe the content from the week that was while providing links.

Our Longest Article on the Short Rule of Otho

Link to Content.

I had promised a Roman history-themed Around the Web post on the subject of the short-lived Roman Emperor, Otho. Otho ruled Rome for three months in 69 AD after violently deposing the previous Emperor in a conspiracy. The ancient historians are all in accord that Otho, who had been a close confidant of Nero, had been a morally questionable character for the majority of his life. For that reason, they struggled to reconcile Otho’s life with his decision to commit suicide in order to spare Rome from further civil war after his troops lost a significant battle to the armies of another claimant to the throne, Vitellius.

Why is the article so long?

I kept studying the detailed accounts by Suetonius, Tacitus, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio.

It just kept growing longer.

I hope everyone reads, saves, and enjoys the content.

A Political Comeback Story

Link to Content.

What happens when a woman runs for mayor after having served four years in prison after being convicted in federal court for public corruption during her prior stint as mayor? Another candidate sues to keep her off the ballot, arguing that her federal felony conviction renders her ineligible. What happens when she counter-sues, arguing that his state felony conviction renders him ineligible? All I promise is that this farce has a winner and a loser.

“The Songs the Raindrops Sing”

Link to Content.

In this short post, I reprinted a charming spring poem from an 1899 magazine.

Gritting Through Cancer

Link to Content.

In the second half of the 1990s, a young NBA player was diagnosed with stomach cancer. It is remarkable that he played through is radiation treatment, not even missing exhibition games in the summer. It is more remarkable that he insisted upon secrecy about his condition. In this post, I tell the story of Shawn Respert’s brief NBA career that one cannot help but respect.

A 2D Girl Hair Anecdote

Link to Content.

A short anecdote on watching an anime episode with a friend in college. My friend mistakenly thought that a main character who had changed her hair was a new character. Falling back on my undergraduate philosophy background, I put the story in the context of the classic Ship of Theseus metaphysics problem.

A Blob Dylan Follow-Up

Link to Content.

I reported on seeing “Blob Dylan” graffiti in Brooklyn back in February. I subsequently came across new information about the meaning of “Blob Dylan,” which I discuss in this follow-up article. Do note the “artsy” edits to my Blob Dylan photograph, courtesy of my colleague, Victor V. Gurbo.

Other News

I will conclude this newsletter with some brief notes.

• My aforementioned colleague, Victor V. Gurbo, has submitted a draft of his newest article. I understand that the subject of this article is Hank Williams. You can expect to read it on Tuesday.
• I will reorganize the category structure of The New Leaf Journal as we approach our one-year anniversary next week. Our current categories will remain, but I plan to add topic-specific categories to make it easier for readers to find the content that they are most interested in.
• I have created a separate personal blog that I will tie into The New Leaf Journal. The URL is nafmusings.xyz. I am currently working on configuring HTTPS headers for this second site. Once that is completed, I will offer ore information about the project at The New Leaf Journal.

Thank you, as always, for reading and following The New Leaf Journal. I look forward to reporting back to you last week after not having written nearly 20,000 words about a Roman Emperor.

Until then,

Cura ut valeas.