“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” +Arundhati Roy (@arundhatiroyauthor )
Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, September 12th, 2025
We wrote a little about our love for Qawwali music, how foundational it was and still is. The mehfil earlier this week was a transformative and transcendental experience. We met people we knew and people we wanted to know.
Here is a little more about the gathering. This time with some texture.
The sound bed to this video is from an album by Ustad Saami.
Our deepest gratitude, days later, still, to @thesaamibrothersofficial , @barzakh.cafe , @nermeensaba , and @cultural_vibrancy for bringing us all together.
A moment from this month. Whole range of lessons but also especially the type of humour I try to pass on to the next generation.
A poem:
Calling the Lost by Mai Der Vang (@maidervang )
Hmong people say one’s spirit can run off,
Go into hiding underground.
Only the physical stays behind.
To heal, a shaman checks on the spirit
By scraping the earth,
Examining the dirt.
If an ant emerges,
They take it inside,
Careful not to crush the ant with the hold,
Nor flutter its being into shock
With one exhale.
Sometimes we hide in ants, they say.
They will call for what left to come back,
and for the found to never leave.
(Via @kavehakbar.kavehakbar )
Nearly 10 hours in.
A 24 Hour event is in-progress with readings of Palestinian Poetry. It marks the Nakba and is happening at the Theatre Centre (@thetheatrecentre ).
The event is co-presented by Poetry for Palestine (@poetryforpalestineto ), the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival (@topalestinefilmfestival ), Another Story Bookshop (@anotherstorybookshop ), and Aluna Theatre (@alunatheatre ).
Poems by Palestinian writers will be read here until midnight.
Pleased to accept a position with CJSR (@friendsofcjsr )! Just when my parents had gotten used to me being a couch potato and regular yet blurry fixture.
CJSR, a campus and community-radio station, is based out of the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton.
The place is contemporarily and traditionally stewarded by the Néhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Nakoda (Stoney), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway/Saulteaux).
My relationship to Alberta predates my cycling into the province along the Crow’s Nest highway in 2013, one of the years of the Alberta floods. I’ve never met an Albertan I did not like, admire, respect, or all of the above. It is, in the words of one of my favourite reporters in the province who is not a Jeremy (@jklaszus or @appel.jeremy ), a national story.
You will find me being shelfish at @paperbirchbooks or @magpiebooksyeg .
🗳️Municipal election watch continues! 🌇
Alison Gu on Zohran Mamdani
Burnaby, B.C. – Alison Gu, a local councillor, recently announced she won’t be running for re-election. First elected in 2021, Alison was the youngest city councillor.
Municipalities across British Columbia and Ontario exercise their right and responsibility to vote this Fall. B.C. votes on October 17th and Ontario on October 26th.
Longer feature to follow, but this is a quick clip from the interview.
Do you know about Balloonfest 1986? 🎈
Helium balloons always reminds me of one of my favourite happenings. Cleveland, Ohio! I posted some screenshots from Wikipedia.
For context:
I zipped through New York a few times last week, arriving first at Grand Central Station. I spotted this lonesome seeming helium balloon, heart-shaped, slowly deflating but for now against the ceiling.
Yesterday, before flying out of JFK, I seen the airport ceilings were scattered with helium balloons!
It made me think of a few things. Including the fact that these are perfect imagery for a certain type of New York City resident or person. Just trying to rise above your own ceiling, whatever it is. Glass ceiling, bamboo ceiling, you name it.
I have a very specific relationship with helium balloons dating back to my late teens and early 20s.
Thankfully there isn’t much evidence of it.
📪 We got mail! From students at Coventry Hills School in north-central Calgary. The Sprawl visited their class at City Hall School a couple months ago, showing them how to print (with a printing press!) and type (with a typewriter!) and make zines. Fun to go down there with @asad_ch ! Who smartly suggested that we wear the old-timey aprons. Commit to the bit! 😄
Spring and the end of Ramadan are my year-end so I’m finally getting to this.
Mim (@mimmified ) and I came up with something we’re calling ‘midlights’. We riffed off of a Sonali (@sonaleeeeeee ) post which really resonated and inspired some back and forth.
define midlights. mundane, unaesthetic moments, these are not curated highlights and they are not rock bottom, just moments which are drops which make up a day, week, month, or year
1. Climbed onto stuff to get the right photo or fruit,
2. (Please)
3. Had a lot of guidance by locals guides to seek out mosques
4. Played vinyl records after many years
5. Printed a buncha stuff which I was happy about, one order was REALLY stressful and involved a midnight delivery. 🫠😳#
6. Found some good shoes! Wore out my soul some and some soles too! Where o where is a cobbler for your spirit to be found?
7. Biked a bunch but car-biked, bus-biked, no airplane-biking!
8. time on the floor, a sufficient amount of it
9.
