Lmst

A vintage Dunkin' DONUTS napkin from before Dunkin' Donuts went soft and dropped the donuts. I took this photo in 2025 but I probably obtained the napkin in 2017 or 18.
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Article: https://thenewleafjournal.com/dunkin-donuts-are-not-all-the-same/
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Tags: #DunkinDonuts #Dunkin #Napkin #Counter #GooglePixel6a #GrapheneOS #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Seen on Cambridge Place in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn (New York City)... a zebra... on a home. I will hold off on asking about asking about the disco ball until we get to the bottom of the zebra situation. I took this photo with the GrapheneOS camera app on my Google Pixel 6a on March 27, 2025.
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Article: https://thenewleafjournal.com/portico-zebra-on-cambridge-place-in-clinton-hill/
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Tags: #NYC #Brooklyn #ClintonHill #House #Zebra #DiscoBall #GooglePixel6a #GrapheneOS #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Photograph of a powder blue slat home with a columned portico in Clinton Hill. On the portico is a zebra figure, about three feet long, in the center of the image.

I was walking in the Brooklyn NYC neighborhood of Carroll Gardens on January 11, 2025. Something from across the street caught my attention. I approached and saw that it was a courageous, slightly past-its-prime decorative pumpkin in an orange knit hat sitting atop a definitely past-its-prime pumpkin, standing athwart the winter elements.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/brave-pumpkin-in-a-hat/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #CarrollGardens #Brownstones #Yard #Ivy #Pumpkins #KnitHat #Hats #Pixel6a #GooglePixel #GrapheneOS #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Photograph of the front yard to a brownstone, somewhat overgrown with green ivy. The photo is taken through three cast iron fence bars, all painted black. Between the second and third bars is a slightly wilted orange decorative pumpkin in an orange knit hat. The pumpkin is sitting on top of a flattening decorative pumpkin.

It is not uncommon to see free stuff left out for the taking on sidewalks in Brooklyn, New York. For example, I came across enough desks over the summer to write a whole article. What is admittedly uncommon however is to come across a "free hardly used" toilet. At least whoever left it took the time to wash it and load it onto an also-free dolly for convenience.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/free-hardly-used-toilet-seen-in-brooklyn/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #CarrollGardens #Toilet #Dolly #Sidewalk #FreeStuff #Car #GooglePixel #Pixel6a #GrapheneOS #TheNewLeafJournal #NewLeafJournal

A toilet on a dolly outside on the curb in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. There is a piece of paper taped to the tank with typed sans serif font. It reads, from top to bottom: "FREE / Hardly Used / (Keep the dolly and roll it away) / (Washed)"

I published my review of the year that was on my website (The New Leaf Journal) in 2024. In so doing, I put together a list of our 81 most-visited articles (according to our entirely local page-view counter). In 6th place was my 2021 article about installing Ubuntu Touch on a 2013 Google Nexus 7 (UT no longer supports the device). 10th place was my 2021 article about installing LineageOS on the same device (no longer officially supported, although there is a ROM available). 30 and 37 were two 2021 articles about my Murena Teracube 2e phone running /e/ OS (phone no longer sold but /e/ does still push updates, so that's nice). 46th place was my 2023 article on DecSync, a neat syncting utility which has not seen an update in several years. What do all these articles have in common? They are OUTDATED, or more charitably, legacy posts about things I did or used at a time certain. But these articles continue to be big parts of The New Leaf Journal, so I wanted to reassure readers that all of the devices are still alive. (I may have some articles in store about some of them in 2025.) Note the keyboard is a Logitech K310, which I used until last spring and has been out of production for several years -- that article came in at 31st.

Link:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/01-02-24-the-81-most-visited-articles-of-2024/

Section Link:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/01-02-24-the-81-most-visited-articles-of-2024/#intermission-v

Tags:
#Tablets #GoogleNexus7 #AsusNexus7 #UbuntuTouch #UBPorts #LineageOS #FDroid #DecSync #Phone #Murena #Teracube2e #eOS #Keyboard #Logitech #LogitechK310 #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

We see two Google Nexus 7 2013 tablets laid out next to each other above a keyboard and phone, all on a carpeted floor. The left tablet is open to the Ubuntu Touch launcher. The right tablet, running LineageOS, is open to F-Droid with the DecSync CC app in F-Droid. On the bottom, we have a gray and white Logitech K310 keyboard. Resting on the keyboard's numpad is a Teracube 2e phone open to the /e/ OS App Store.

You may be wonder why I am posting a photograph of Silk cashew milk at the grocery store. I have only two things to say about the photo. Firstly, I took this photo in New York City, which is in the United States, which in turn writes dates mm/dd/yyyy. Secondly, I took this photo on December 12, 2024. The rest is up to you.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/sell-by-november-cashew-milk-in-december/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #GroceryStore #CashewMilk #Pixel6a #GrapheneOS #TheNewLeafJournal #NewLeafJournal

A photograph of the non-dairy milk section at the grocery store. The camera is focused on an orange carton of Silk cashew milk. The best-by date listed on the milk is "11 02 24." Because this is the United States, that corresponds to November 2, 2024.

A ONE WAY/DEAD END sign seen on College Place in "America's first suburb," the Brooklyn NYC neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. The "DEAD END" sign is on point since College Place is, in fact, a dead end for vehicular traffic. The ONE WAY sign does appear in the photo to point at a the brick wall of a CVS, but from the perspective of a driver looking at it from Love Lane, which runs perpindicular to College Place, it would indicate that Love Lane is a one way street.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/december-2024-at-the-new-leaf-journal/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #BrooklynHeights #StreetSign #OneWaySign #DeadEndSign #DeadEnd #BrickWall #Shadow #GooglePixel6a #GrapheneOS #TheNewLeafJournal #NewLeafJournal

A ONE WAY/DEAD END Sign casts a shadow on the sidewalk and against a brick wall in the evening.

Seen on December 17, 2024: The Brooklyn Heights Promenade Christmas Tree. This tree appears annually at the Montague Street entrance to the Promenade. As you can see, it is joined by a mailbox for letters to Santa and a menorah contributed by the Chabad of Brooklyn Heights.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/brooklyn-heights-promenade-christmas-tree/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #BrooklynHeights #BrooklynHeightsPromenade #Christmas #ChristmasTree #ChristmasTreeLights #Mailbox #Menorah #Chanukah #ManhattanSkyline #TheNewLeafJournal #NewLeafJournal #GooglePixel6a #GrapheneOS

A well-lit large Christmas tree seen at night at the Montague entrance to the Brooklyn Heights promenade. It sits next to a little red mailbox which says "North Pole" and a metal Chanukah Menorah. The Manhattan skyline can be seen off in the distance.

I took this photograph from the end of Grace Court in Brooklyn Heights. The road-way is the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway ("BQE"). You can see one of the piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park before we reach the East River. In the background, of course, is the iconic Manhattan Skyline and, in the far right, the Brooklyn Bridge. The two buildings with the odd blue and purple lighting are the Freedom Tower (left) and City Hall (right).

Used in my November 2024 review article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/november-2024-at-the-new-leaf-journal/

#NYC #Brooklyn #BrooklynHeights #BQE #BrooklynBridgePark #EastRiver #Manhattan #ManhattanSkyline #FreedomTower #BrooklynBridge #GooglePixel6a #GrapheneOS #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Photograph of the BQE and Manhattan Skyline from Grace Court in Brooklyn Heights. Six cars are in the shot on the BQE in the foreground. In the background we see the full skyline including the Freedom Tower, City Hall, and, off to the right, the Brooklyn Bridge.

I drafted an article listing 54 things I learned in 2024. I wanted a featured image for the article. I searched my usual sources but did not find anything inspiring. Then I had an idea. Owls are wise. I have owls. I took the owls to my kitchen and took a photo. I call this photo "Fact: Nothing But Owls." There is nothing and no one here other than owls.

Article it goes with:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/54-things-i-learned-in-2024/

Tags:
#StillLifePhoto #Owls #Counter #Kokeshi #KokeshiDoll #GooglePixel #GooglePixel6a #GrapheneOSCamera #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

A photograph of three owl figures standing side-by-side on a kitchen counter. The left owl is a small, shourt, round condiment container from Japan with big eyes, gray sides, and a white breast. The center owl is made of three pieces for holding envelopes and other light papers. It is dark wood and has a somewhat crudely carved front. The third owl is short, emerald green, and made of bar glass. There appears to be a brown kokeshi doll peaking out from behind the center owl, but I deny it.

You can expect to see many things on a walk in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The river, boats, birds, park employees in golf carts driving recklessly, and Tesla Cybertrucks.

See article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/musing-about-tesla-cybertruck-at-brooklyn-bridge-park/

#NYC #Brooklyn #BrooklynBridgePark #Cybertruck #Tesla #River #Pier #Boats #Bike #GooglePixel #GooglePixel6a #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

A black Tesla Cybertruck parked alongside the sidewalk in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Across the street we see the river, Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6, and two boats docked alongside Pier 6. There is a bike chained right in front of the Cybertruck.

I'm sticking with election day voting but I do like the pigeon with a hat on the NYC BOE mailer. We got one in April for the presidential primaries. The pigeon on that one was smaller and did not have a hat. I would still like to see some improvement in the area of color contrast, but we are going in the right direction.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/nyc-board-of-elections-pigeon-with-hat-mailer/

Tags:
#NYC #Mail #Mailer #Pigeon #Hat #Elections #Election #TheNewLeafJournal #NewLeafJournal

A New York City Board of Elections mailer sent before the early voting period for the 2024 general election. About 80% of the center of the mailer has a dark blue background with two slanted burnt orange lines on the far edges. On the right side of the mailer is a large drawn pigeon with an Uncle Sam hat and bow-tie. Next to the pigeon it says "Avoid Long Lines Vote Early!" and "Skip the Lines Vote by Mail!"

Seen in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (NYC)... we have quite a bit happening here. I am partial to the big spider, but the grim reaper is demanding our attention. Moreover, the ghost on the far left looks like it is responsible for the beam of light. Go figure.

I discussed this photo and four additional photos in a full article on inflatable Halloween decorations seen in brownstone Brooklyn in October 2024:

https://thenewleafjournal.com/inflatable-halloween-pumpkins-ghosts-and-spiders/

Tags:

#NYC #Brooklyn #BrooklynHeights #CobbleHill #CarrollGardens #Halloween #HalloweenDecorations #Spiders #GrimReaper #Ghosts #Lanterns #GooglePixel #Pixel6a #GrapheneOS #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Photo of Halloween decorations in the evening in lawn in Carroll Gardens. An inflatable Grim Reaper is in the foreground, center right. We see in the background a large hanging inflatable spider from a tree. To the far left there is a white ghost from a sheed hanging in a tree. There is a lantern emitting a beam of light that looks like it is coming from the ghost.

I wrote an article about Halloween in Japan. I wanted to illustrate the article with photos. This proved to be challenging because I have never been to Japan, much less celebrated Halloween there. But that did not hinder my creativity. What you see is an owl container that I purchased at Ten Ichi Mart (I use it for sugar, by the way) surrounded by three fuyu persimmons. Why persimmons? One of the English-language Japanese sources in my article was heartened by the fact that he or she was seeing persimmons used as Halloween decorations. As for the owl, I previously wrote an article about a 1913 Halloween article which noted that owls were popular Halloween decorations in the United States a century ago.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/halloween-in-japan-through-english-sources/

Tags:
#Fuyu #Persimmons #Persimmon #Owl #Counter #GooglePixel #Pixel6a #NewLeafJournal #thenewleafjournal

PS:
The persimmons were good.

A small Japanese owl container on a counter surrounded by three Fuyu persimmons on a brown kitchen counter.

There is a dignified Christopher Columbus statue in front of a large, unfortunate-looking court house on Brooklyn's Borough Hall. On August 25, 2023, I used my LineageOS-powered Google Pixel 3a XL to capture the statue when it was crowned with an avian visitor. I only just remembered that I decided to hold off posting the picture here until Columbus Day.

Article on the photo with more information about the statute:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/christopher-columbidae-in-brooklyn/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #DowntownBrooklyn #BoroughHall #Statute #ChristopherColumbus #CourtHouse #Pigeon #GooglePixel #Pixel3aXL #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Photo of a classical-style Christopher Columbus statue on a pedistal in front of a courthouse on Brooklyn's Borough Hall. There is a black pigeon sitting atop Mister Columbus's head.

I took this photo of my shadow and a public trash can in the Brooklyn NYC neighborhood of Gowanus on the evening of October 1, 2024. I used it for an article recalling a 2020 post I wrote about rescuing a fallen public trash can not far from where I photographed this standing public trash can.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/trash-can-hero-returns-to-scene-of-heroism/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #Gowanus #TrashCan #PublicTrashCan #Shadows #GooglePixel #Pixel6a #GrapheneOS #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

A public trash can standing on a corner next to a street sign post in the evening. It is bracketed by two shadows from me taking the photo.

Issue 203 of The Newsletter Leaf Journal is out with links to my 4 newest articles (and a note on one being withheld due to its reliance on a Wayback Machine link), 21 links from around the web, and other news and notes.

https://buttondown.com/newsletterleafjournal/archive/203/

#Newsletter #NewLeafJournal #AroundTheWeb #Links #Anime #Anecdotes

Seen in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (NYC) on the evening of October 2, 2024, some charming Halloween chalk art. I speculated in an article about which parts were likely drawn by an adult (or at least older kid) and which parts were drawn by a young child.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/halloween-chalk-art-in-cobble-hill/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #CobbleHill #Stoop #Step #Brownstone #Chalk #ChalkArt #Ghost #Pumpkin #WitchHat #Hat #Boo #Cat #GooglePixel #Pixel6a #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

Chalk art seen on two steps on a brownstone stoop in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. On the top step from left to right, we have a Pacman-esque ghost, a pumpkin, and a witch's hat. On the side of the top step, we see "Boo!" written out. On the bottom right of the next step down, there is a cat's face.

Seen at Barnes & Noble on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood, a creative staff recommendation for a book about fossils.

Article (note my clever headline, thank you):
https://thenewleafjournal.com/no-bones-about-needing-the-bones/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #CobbleHill #BarnesAndNoble #Bookstore #Book #Drawing #Bones #Fossils #Dinosaurs #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Science, and the Global Quest for Fossils by Paige Williams with its orange jacket is on display at Barnes & Noble. Beneath the book, attached to the shelf, is a staff recommendation plaque with a drawing. The drawing has the text "GIVE ME THE BONES! I . NEED . THE . BONES!" There is a drawing of a t-rex skull on the dar left and to the right four hands gripping or trying to grip bones.

An ailanthus webworm moth on the wall in my building. It was there for about five days. I rescued it and took it outside, where it flew away. Only after the fact (and based on the photo) did I identify it. I wrote an article about my heroism (you're welcome X2) and some facts about the bug.

Article:
https://thenewleafjournal.com/rescuing-an-ailanthus-webworm-moth/

Tags:
#NYC #Brooklyn #Bug #Moth #AilanthusWebwormMoth #Pixel6a #GooglePixel #NewLeafJournal #TheNewLeafJournal

#NewLeafJournal

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