Leon Stevens's Blog, page 20
March 16, 2025
Song for a Sunday: One Song Leads to Another.
I heard this song by the singer Leith. While looking up Leith, the name Leith Ross kept coming up, but it wasn’t the same person, because Leith is a pseudonym for Jessie Munro.
Jessie Munro started her journey in classical music and musical theatre growing up in Toronto, Canada.
Now, you may not hear the similarity, but as I was listening to Running Wild, I kept thinking about the Wye Oak song, Civilian, which I first heard on an episode of The Walking Dead (Season 2 to be more exact).
Wye Oak is an American indie rock duo from Baltimore composed of Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner. Their sound has been described as “earnest folk-influenced indie rock with touches of noise and dream pop” as well as indie folk
But back to Leith Ross. Turns out I had heard them before.
Leith Ross is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
-Leon
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance, A Matter of Sabotage, will be out in spring 2025, so time to get reading book one!
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
March 15, 2025
Weekend Wrap-up March 15: Close, but no cigar.
I did a post for Pi day which got me thinking how the area of a circle was calculated [insert the comment, “Nerd!” here], and how accurate it really is, considering we only use a fraction of Pi in the formula.
The formula of the area of a square (length X width) seems to be straight-forward, but measuring the sides of a square incorporates an error into the mix.
I know what you are thinking (no, it’s not, “You’re a geek” although that is a high probability). No, you are thinking, “Unless you are assuming a perfect theoretical square, only then you can be assured of accuracy.”
To that I’ll respond, “I’ll call you when I’m ready to tile my theoretical bathroom.”
But what about those cigars? Where did that saying come from?
in the early days of carnivals, cigars were handed out as prizes, so if one fell short of the winning requirements, which was frequent because we all know that carnival games are rigged, they were…well, you know.
The first utterance of this phrase was in 1901 on Coney Island, when Howard O’Grady missed landing the last ring onto the final milk bottle. When his wife asked him how he did, he said, “I was close, but I didn’t get the cigar.” to which Mrs. O’Grady replied, “Good. Those things stink.” To which Mr. O’Grady retorted:
“Well, you stink.”
-Leon
In case you missed my blog:Weekend Wrap-up March 15: Close, but no cigar.Free Book Friday March 14: Happy Pi DayThursday Thoughts: Part II – Economics 101Thursday Thoughts: Reasons to Read…Weird Wednesday: Ethics, Smethics
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance series is out in April, so time to read books one! http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Hope you enjoyed the recap! Feel free to share it with others.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
March 14, 2025
Free Book Friday March 14: Happy Pi Day
A = π r²
Yay! Junior high school math! Why do I need that formula? Well, considering you just built a round bathroom and you have to calculate the area so you know how much tile to buy, you are pretty much stuck. And it’s too late to change the floorplan.
So you get out your measuring tape and spend 15 minutes trying to find the center of the room so you can measure the radius, until you realize you just have to measure the diameter and divide by 2.
Okay, you built a round bathroom with a diameter of 4 meters. Is that the only number you need? That’s where π comes in. you might know it: 3.14
That’s all I know from memory. Want to know more?
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510
Ahh, now you remember why π is a weird number: it apparently is infinite, meaning it goes on forever. But we really only need the first three digits. So how much tile do we need? 3.14 X 2². Uh-oh. Now I have to remember the order of operations. What was that acronym? BEDPOST? No, that’s not right. BEDMAS?
Brackets, Exponents, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction.
So, no brackets. 2 X 2 = 4. Now…now you’re glad the diameter wasn’t 4.3 meters. Now the last calculation is 3.14 X 4 = (yes, you can use your calculator) 12.56 square meters! Great! Round that up to 13 and head to your local building supply store only to find out every thing in the construction business is still in the Imperial system…
I know what you are thinking. How can a number go on forever?
As the great Stephen Hawing once said, “Ask Archimedes. He’s the jerk that started it.”*
Want to know more about Pi?
Thursday Thoughts: Happy Pi Day!
-Leon
*You thought I was going to say, “Beep boop” didn’t you…
Check out this week’s book promos below.
Buy Euphrates Vanished (Kindle/KU)Preorder A Matter of Sabotage (Kindle)Don’t feel like buying the book?
Sign up to review Euphrates VanishedSign up for an Advance Review Copy of A Matter of SabotageSci-fi not your thing?
Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
Deals and Reads From StoryOriginFree books to review!
Starts Feb. 27The story behind Free Book Friday: I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
March 13, 2025
Thursday Thoughts: Part II – Economics 101
Let me preface this post by saying I’m not an economist nor an expert in trade.
The US buys more stuff from Canada than we buy stuff from them. This creates a trade deficit, which is not, as the president called it, “a subsidy.” The US does not give Canada a wad full of US greenbacks.
Why is there a trade deficit?
Canada’s population is about 40 million people. It used to be 40 million polite people, but there are a lot more angry people now. The US population is about 350 million people.
So why do Canadians buy less stuff? Duh.
Okay, you are thinking, that’s stuff, but what about the stuff that makes the stuff?
The US imports raw materials from Canada. Wood, minerals, oil. Why? They don’t have enough resources to supply their manufacturers. The president said the US doesn’t need our lumber. 30% of their lumber comes from Canada for a reason. The president said the US doesn’t need our minerals. Then why does 80% of aluminum come from Quebec?
Now you are wondering how much potash the US produced last year. Well, it was 400,000 metric tonnes, which sounds like a lot, but they have to import 90% to meet their needs and 80% comes from Canada.
I could go on, but class is over and almost everyone in the world knows that this trade war is stupid.
Almost everyone…
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
Thursday Thoughts: Reasons to Read…
My books, that is.
Why you might enjoy science fiction books written by Leon Stevens.Less alien species than Star Wars so it’s easier to keep track of.Kinda like Star Trek.Not hard sci-fi. No in-depth explanations of how the technology works. It just does. I know how a microwave works: you press the button and a minute later you have a hot Hot Pocket.Techno-babble. Yes, some. You have to have some techno-babble. That anti-matter relay isn’t going to uncouple itself without a phase inverter. Yeesh. And if here’s a neutrino surge in the tungsten charge thruster housing, there’s no option other than to re-route energy to the cesium gel. But then you’ll have to completely resynchronize the ventral chroniton propulsion nullifyer.No long detailed descriptions that don’t advance the plot. Probably why all my novels are novellas.Realistic dialogue. Sure there are people who can ramble on and on, but usually there is more back and forth.Humor. I try to make you chuckle at least once.Short stories that leave you scratching your headAffordable. $0.99 – $2.99 and also in Kindle Unlimited.And he writes poetry too.Oh, and the book link is easy to remember: http://books.linesbyleon.com/-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
March 12, 2025
Weird Wednesday: Ethics, Smethics
Here is something fun to do this morning. Open up your search engine and type this: The Office of Government Ethics section 2635.702
No, you don’t get a funny animation (as do some Google searches…you did use Google, right?) but you do get this:
“A federal employee ‘shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons…“
Hmm. So why did the President of the United States turn the White House into a Tesla sales lot? The only thing missing was the wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man:
If you haven’t seen the news, Trump had Musk bring five Teslas to the White House so he could buy one to give a boost to slumping sales.
Oh, the poor billionaire is losing money…boo hoo. What about all the working class American citizens you are firing or the retirees who are watching their 401ks tank as you f^@k with the stock market?
Ethics, smethics…
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
Join my email list
RECEIVE A FREE EBOOK WHEN YOU SUBCRIBE TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Processing… Success! You're on the list. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
March 11, 2025
Tuesday Top Ten: Other Stocks
If you are an investor, you probably are not reading this because you are too busy fuming at a certain individual, or maybe you are reading and just need a break from the chaos.
Top Ten Other Stocks
A punishment deviceGun: Without the stock of a gun, shooting would be quite uncomfortable.Plant: Something has to keep the flowers and leaves up.Merchandise: Most stores need stuff in the back to put out in the front. (Some stores like shoe stores, always have the correct size in the back.)Item: Something that is widely used/soldAnswer: overfamiliar or unfamiliar through overuseSupply: I think many people are stocking up for the apocolypseLive: Stock, that is…Pile: Stock, that is…Soup: I could probably do 10 different soup stocks-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
March 10, 2025
Westminster Monday
I’m sure the president of the United States will be confused when Mark Carney calls him for for the first time. Don’t worry if you are, I’ll explain poorly in just a second. But here’s how the conversation will go:
“Mr. President, Mark Carney is on the phone.”
“Who?”
“The new Prime Minister of Canada.”
“What!?”
“There’s a new Liberal party leader.”
“When?”
“They elected him yesterday.”
“Why?”
“Justin Trudeau resigned.”
“Why?”
“His party lost confidence in his leadership and he did the right thing and bowed out.”
“I don’t have to do that, right?”
“No, sir. They use the Westminster system of government.”
“WTF is that?”
“Read the pamphlet we gave you sir.”
“I don’t have time for that.”
[sigh] “Mr. President, Mark Carney is still waiting.”
“Who?”
Yes. Canada has a new leader. Why? Because as we just overheard, he submitted his resignation after pressure from public opinion and his own party members.
The main different between the Canadian and US form of government is that Canadians don’t elect their leader directly. The leader of the party with the most elected members of parliament is the Prime Minister of the country. So you are essentially voting for the party that fits your ideals and not an individual.
The other difference is that if the majority of sitting members of parliament decide that they have no confidence in the ruling party, they can vote to have a new election.
This would never happen if Canada had a two party system, but since there are multiple parties, the Liberal party has less seats than the others combined. The breakdown is:
Liberal: 153 / Conservatives: 120 / Bloc Quebecois (the regional party representing French speaking Quebecers): 33 / New Democrats: 24 / Green Party: 2
So, quick math, the Conservatives, with the support of the Bloc and New Democrats can oust the Liberals. This hasn’t happened yet because the New Democrats have been supporting the Liberals in order to get some of their political agendas implemented such as free dental care and greater access to cheaper pharmaceuticals.
I know what you’re thinking, “Quid pro quo.”
No? How about “I’ll do this for you if you’ll do this for me?”
Quid pro quo has developed a negative connotation lately, but in this case, as I mentioned, it has led to more stability in the government and implementation of important social programs.
So, once Mark Carney settles into his new job, he will probably call for an election to get a mandate from the Canadian people, because they didn’t elect him to be Prime Minister.
Let’s get back to the conversation, shall we?
“Mark Carney, sir. He is a businessman who was the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.”
“A businessman, you say? I think I’m going to like him.”
“No sir. I don’t think you will.”
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
March 9, 2025
Song for a Sunday: Thelma & James
If you are married, you don’t have to do everything together.
Nashville-based singer-songwriters MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge have been together for 10 years (married for five) but this is the first collaboration.
MacKenzie Lea Porter is a Canadian country singer, songwriter, and actress. She has released two albums and achieved four Canada Country number ones.
Actor and composer Jake Etheridge was born on 25 April 1988 in Lexington, South Carolina, USA.
-Leon
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance, A Matter of Sabotage, will be out in spring 2025, so time to get reading book one!
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
March 8, 2025
Weekend Wrap-up March 8: Executive Privilege
One of the perks of being in power or being higher up on the corporate ladder is getting to use the executive bathroom. No 1-ply in sight. Not even 2-ply. Rumor has it that they have 6-ply…
But “With great power comes great responsibility“. Wait. Who said that? Was it Voltaire or Uncle Ben? Wait. Uncle Ben? The rice guy? No. Uncle Ben, Peter Parker’s father’s brother. Wait. Peter Parker? You mean Spiderman?
Yes. Here’s another quote. Lord Acton, an English historian and moralist who lived in the late 19th century said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
You probably know where this post is going. Let me give you a few more quotes and see if you can guess who said them:
“I want to not use too many executive orders, folks. Executive orders sort of came about more recently. Nobody ever heard of an executive order. Then all of a sudden Obama, because he couldn’t get anybody to agree with him, he starts signing them like they’re butter. So I want to do away with executive orders for the most part.”
“The country wasn’t based on executive orders. Right now, Obama goes around signing executive orders. He can’t even get along with the Democrats, and he goes around signing all these executive orders. It’s a basic disaster. You can’t do it.”
“The problem with Washington, they don’t make deals. It’s all gridlock. And then you have a president that signs executive orders because he can’t get anything done. I’ll get everybody together.”
“He doesn’t work the system. That is why he signs executive orders all the time because he can’t get his own people to go along.”
“You’ve got to close the door and get things done without signing your executive orders all the time. That’s the easy way out.”
“Right now, we have an executive-order president. He just keeps signing.”
You have Republicans, Democrats, you’re supposed to get together and pass a law. [Obama] doesn’t want to do that because it’s too much work. So he doesn’t want to work too hard. He wants to go back and play golf.”
Yup. That guy. So the person who though that signing executive orders was “the easy way out” has now broken the pervious record of 277 set by Obama in his two terms.
I guess Pesidenting is hard, but you wanted the power, now you have is so don’t screw it up.
Oh, yeah. Too late.
-Leon
In case you missed my blog:Weekend Wrap-up March 8: Executive PrivilegeFree Book Friday March 7: Tariff-free books!Weird Wednesday: The Curse of Hoax Island / CartoonTuesday Top Ten: Signs of SpringMusic Monday: Boy Golden
Book two of the Orion Arm Alliance series is out in April, so time to read books one! http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Hope you enjoyed the recap! Feel free to share it with others.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup
