Leon Stevens's Blog, page 36
September 17, 2024
Tuesday Top Ten: Ways to help the housing crisis
Average US House Size Has Been Increasing Over Last 50 YearsIn the US, the average house size has been increasing since the 1970s. The peak was actually in 2015 at 2467 sq ft (229 sq meters) and then it dropped slightly over the next two years. New data from 2022 indicate that things haven’t changed much – the average house size was 2,299 sq ft which still puts it below the 2015 peak.
The Top Ten ways to solve the housing crisis10. Build smaller houses
Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
After the Second World War, houses were built to solve the housing crisis. Yes, they were identical, but they were cheap and quick to build, and many houses are still standing today. from 900-1200 square feet, they made the perfect family home that today would be called a starter home.
I’ve seen news stories of new housing developments that are touted to ease the pressure of lack of supply. Most of those houses are large houses, and yes we do need them for families wanting to upgrade, but the more families we can get into a reasonably-sized and affordable home, the better, because those are the ones that need it.
That’s all I have to say.
-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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 16, 2024
Music Monday: 2013
There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.
Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it.
Maybe you will find a new favorite.
CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music
[Note: If you are reading this on my Goodreads page, music videos do not display]
2013
If this song reminds of something The Police might have written, I just made the connection when I added it to today’s list.
Just to prove there are other artist from Iceland other than Bjork:
Ed Sheeran made his debut, and it was a good one:
Passenger did not.
I’ve always thought these two shared a similar voice:
Serena had a bigger hit with “Stompa” but I like this one much better:
I featured this song once before and this is what I said:
Metric is a rock band from Toronto.
For the American readers/listeners, Toronto isn’t the capital of Canada (although many Torontonians will argue otherwise), and no, you do not have to convert to your Imperial system* to understand it.
*But you should really consider joining the rest of the world in the metric system. There is no need for 2 full sets of wrenches.
2013 also gave us this gem, which I realized up until today, I had never heard the complete song. I miss those days. I really do.
Did I miss any of your favorites from that year?
-Leon
(Note: The music of 2014 will be the last until 2025.)
Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Peat Long’s Blog, Fox Reviews Rock
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 15, 2024
Songs for a Sunday: How is it I have never heard of Guthrie Govan?
Spoiler alert: If you don’t like electric guitar soloing, you will not enjoy this post.
What do you get when you throw Alan Holdsworth, Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen, Larry Carlton, and Frank Zappa into a pot and stir? You get Guthrie Govan. He won Guitarist magazine’s “Guitarist of the Year” award in 1993.
I have only heard of him now.
OK. He can play stuff that he’s written and practiced to death. But can he improvise?
I think he can.
-Leon
Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Fox Reviews Rock
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 14, 2024
Weekend Wrap-up: Sour Dough
I was given sourdough starter a few years ago. Remember a few years ago when everyone was doing what the 49s did to keep themselves fed?
So, every week or two, I would take it out of my fridge and feed the beast, then leave it out overnight to give it a little holiday before splitting it up to make a tasty loaf and putting the rest back into the fridge.
I finally neglected it for over two weeks—I blame the sauerkraut for shielding it from my view—so when I took it out, I poured off the layer of pinkish liquid an did the mandatory sniff to determine it was still, in fact, sour.
Not planning on making a loaf, I fed it and placed it back into the fridge. Later that evening I heard a clunk from somewhere in the apartment, but could not figure out the source.
The next morning when I opened the fridge, several items rolled out onto the floor and I noticed blobs of dough hanging off the now opened-lid container and shelves.
I guess it didn’t like being ignored. Sorry, doughy. I’ll do better.
-Leon
In case you missed it:Weekend Wrap-up: Sour DoughFree Book Friday Sept. 13: Superstitious Feelings (and some music)Thursday Thoughts: How much is too much?Weird Wednesday: K vs DTuesday Top Ten: James Earl Jones (1931-2024)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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 13, 2024
Free Book Friday Sept. 13: Superstitious Feelings (and some music)
There’s a joke from my childhood and it goes like this:
[Spoiler alert: It’s not that funny]
A man walks by another man who is standing and snapping his fingers.
“Why are you snapping your fingers?” he asks.
“It keeps the elephants away,” the other man responds.
The first man looks puzzled and says, “But there aren’t any elephants in this area.”
“See how good it works?”
Superstitions get started when someone does something an something bad happens, so the connection is made between this cause and effect. Now, most superstitions were formed hundreds of years ago when people would latch on to the easiest explanation.
In the present, people will still adhere to solutions that involve superstitions, most notably the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, wearing the same red underwear for every game and tight end Travis Kelce who always plays better when a certain someone is in attendance.
Here are some songs I found about superstitions.
Yes, I did omit the obvious song. The last time I listened to it I stubbed my toe, so that’s not going to happen again.
-Leon
The 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.
Reads From StoryOriginStoryOrigin allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!
Free Books/KU
Sales/Purchase Links None available
Ends Sept 13th
Aug 14 – Sept 13Review Copies (These are free!)Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
Newsletter:Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction): Leon’s Newsletter
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 12, 2024
Thursday Thoughts: How much is too much?
Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott, just signed a 4-year deal worth…[drumroll]
Two hundred and forty million. That’s $60 million/year. To throw a football.
Granted, an athlete’s earning time frame is shorter than most peop—Wait. $60 million a year is still ridiculous, isn’t it?
According to stats, 0.1% of earners make over a million dollars a year. So making over 60 puts Mr. Prescott into the top 0.0001%—Okay, I didn’t do that math. But he’s up there.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid soccer player in the world with his $75 million-per-year contract. Here are some others:
Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Los Angeles Dodgers: 10 years, $700 million ($70 million per year).
Jayson Tatum, PF, Boston Celtics: Five years, $313.9 million ($62.79 million per year)
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing: Five years, $275 million ($55 million per year)
Then there is poor Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers: who only makes 14 million. (Eight years, $112 million)
Before you bring out the tax argument since these sports stars do pay into the federal and regional coffers, which is a valid argument, on average, the tax rate is around 40 percent. I’ll wait till you do the math.
Done? Now do you feel sorry for them for pulling in 8 to 45 million a year?
Does this include endorsements?
It does not. Ronaldo gets an extra $35 million/year from endorsements. In 2016 he signed a lifetime deal with Nike worth 1 billion dollars.
Basketball star Lebron James who makes a paltry $34 million/year also inked a 1 billion Nike deal. Whew. I was getting worried about his financial situation.
So, I’m I just complaining because I didn’t have the chance to get a piece of the athletic salary pie? Or am I justified in thinking that there must be a better way to spend the money that’s out there?
-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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 11, 2024
Weird Wednesday: K vs D
Who won last night?
That depends on your political views, so how do I write a post without getting political? Hmm. Oh, that’s right, you don’t. But let’s take a look at some of the awards that were up for grabs.
Best Regurgitation of the Same RhetoricBest Almost Janice from Friends ImpressionBest Not Answering the Question Best Not listening to the ModeratorsBest “I almost called you something nasty that you can’t say on television”. That also comes with the “Bite my Tongue” award. Best Fact FabricationQuickest Fact-checkingParticipation RibbonsBest Celebrity EndorsementAnd that’s a wrap.
-Leon
My newsletter goes out every Wednesday: Lines by Leon Super Newsletter Extravaganza
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 10, 2024
Tuesday Top Ten: James Earl Jones (1931-2024)
I will always remember James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader. Oh, and the CNN thing. But he does have 190 acting credits to his name.
I saw The Lion King once but don’t have a lot of memories from it. Not because I was young (far from it), but it wasn’t a movie that interested me at the time.
if there is another role I remember him in it would be Terrance Mann in Field of Dreams. But the way he makes fun of himself when he appeared in The Big Bang Theory was priceless.
I debated on the topic for today’s post. I had a few ideas. Top Ten: James, Darth Vader catchphrases, Memorable roles…but in the end, since many celebrities have made memorable cameos in that now iconic show:
The Top Ten Cameos on The Big Bang Theory10. Wil Wheaton: His frequent appearances on the show may have resurrected his career.
9. William Shatner, Joe Manganiello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kevin Smith. They were all in the same scene, so they’re all at #9
8. Nathan Fillion: Raj is convinced it isn’t Nathan Fillion but they wrangle a selfie anyway after this exchange:
7. George Takei. If you didn’t know he was gay before…
6. Bill Nye. The restraining order guy.
5. Adam West. Best line: Happy birthday, Sherman.
4. Mark Hamill. His scene marrying Sheldon and Amy is priceless.
3. Stephen Hawking. A bit of a cameo slut (and I say that with the upmost respect.) He’s made several appearances on that Big Bang as well as The Simpsons, Futurama, and on in Star Trek TNG.
2. Bob Newhart. No, it wasn’t a cameo, but his role as Professor Proton and how he performed it showed what a comedic talent he was.
1. James Earl Jones
-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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 9, 2024
Music Monday: 2012
There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.
Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it.
Maybe you will find a new favorite.
CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music
[Note: If you are reading this on my Goodreads page, music videos do not display]
Warning: I included 14 songs this week. That might be a record.
2012: Toby Keith introduced us to something we already knew about, the red solo cup. Adele had a few hits and so did Maroon 5. And The Lumineers gave us the shout/clap sound.
But the breakout artist of the year?
How big was it? ABC news did a exposé of it:
https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/06/why-call-me-maybe-is-so-catchy
Jimmy Fallon’s cover using elementary school music instruments was the first time for this now long running bit.
And when Sesame Street uses your song, you know it’s special.
Carley had five hits on the Canadian charts, second only to some guy named Justin Bieber who had seven.
Speaking of seven hits, Goyte had his one and only hit:
Here is an absolutely brilliant cover of that song from Walk Off the Earth, which could also be considered a parody of sorts.
But wait! There’s more. That cover sparked an actual parody by The Key of Awesome:
We did have some .fun in 2012, didn’t we?
This is my favorite Katy Perry song:
I always forget that Train has some good tunes.
Like Carly Rae, Taylor hits us four different hooks in the same song.
Speaking of favorite songs, this is my mine from Coldplay:
Ask me to name a Flo Rida song and I can’t, but I remember this one:
How long did it take you to figure out Flo Rida was Florida split up?
Goyte would have been the year’s top one-hit wonder if it hadn’t been for this guy:
Yeah, it’s a catchy tune. Admit it.
Did I miss any of your favorites from that year?
-Leon
(Note: I’ll probably do two more editions of this topic. Why? I’m thinking 10 years is not a real long time to look back on, so 2014 will be the last until 2025.)
Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Peat Long’s Blog, Fox Reviews Rock
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
September 7, 2024
Weekend Wrap-up: Creativity
Writing is hard. No, let’s rephrase that. Writing entertaining content is hard.
Sometimes creativity flows like a swollen river, sometimes it dries up like an arroyo. Many days, the drip of a leaky faucet is the apt metaphor describing my writing process.
I retired my Miniscules cartoon earlier this year, and as of late, have not posted any Untitled on my Weird Wednesday post. Poetry has been fleeting since my last book, A Wonder of Words, was released.
Thankfully, I am 24 000 words into the prequel to Euphrates Vanished and it looks like it’s on track to be published early next year.
What’s it called?
I can’t tell you yet.
Please? Just a tease?
Okay. Here is a title reveal: * ****** ** *******e
-Leon
In case you missed it:Weekend Wrap-up: CreativityFree Book Friday Sept. 6: Freefailing?Tuesday Top Ten: Signs summer is overMusic Monday: 2011Songs for a Sunday: Hannah GeorgasHope 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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
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, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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
