Shantu
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shantuellis.bsky.social
Shantu
@shantuellis.bsky.social
🇨🇦 🇹🇹 Dad of two daughters. Writer of many things, real and imagined. Displaced but searching.

Volunteer | Music Nerd | Radio Host
📚📝🏕️🎮🐶🎧🥁🔮
Just a picture of my city’s valley, taken on May long weekend from the high-level bridge in #yeg. #nature #skyline #canada
May 20, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Shantu
Tuesday evening reminder: Write the book. Make the zine. Pack the shelves. Fill the world with so many stories they'll never be able to silence us all.
May 20, 2025 at 8:29 PM
A bill has been introduced to the Texas Legislature that could result in bookstores facing fines and legal costs if they place material deemed "obscene" within access of a minor. #Books
Texas bill could punish bookstores for 'obscene' books
A new bill in the Texas Legislature, authored by Rep. Nate Schatzline, would allow businesses to be held liable if a minor reports damages from "obscene" books.
www.chron.com
April 26, 2025 at 3:19 AM
There haven’t been many artists who could blend soulful harmonies with political insights quite like Marvin Gaye. #BlackSky #Music
Marvin Gaye’s You’re the Man—A Buried Political Anthem
Marvin Gaye's You’re the Man is a timeless reminder of Gaye's ability to blend soulful music with powerful social commentary.
open.substack.com
February 8, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The other day, my oldest daughter asked me if there are any celebrated Black Canadians, like Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., or Malcolm X … #BlackSky #BHM #CanadianHistory #BlackHistory
Uncovering Black Canadian History: The Story of Mathieu de Costa
The First Recorded Black Man in Canada and the Fight for Recognition
open.substack.com
February 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
5 things to know about the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo #BlackSky #News
5 things to know about the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Rwandan-backed M23 rebels say they are now in control of the key eastern Congolese city of Goma. Their fighters continue to claim more territory in one of the world's most mineral-rich territories.
www.npr.org
February 1, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Don’t be afraid to do things alone. #SelfCare
January 24, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Now reading — Soul on Bikes: The East Bay Dragons MC and the Black Biker Set by Tobie Gene Levingston

#Books
#BlackSky
January 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”

#mlk #mlkday
January 20, 2025 at 7:07 PM
⛸️ 🎧 I’m bringing the roller rink vibe to the ice this Friday (Jan 17) — Churchill Square in #yeg from 6-9 pm 📅

Swing by for your recommended dose of funk, soul, disco, house & hip-hop. #edmonton #yegdj #yegdt #gooutside
January 16, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Diggin’ deep for this week’s Purple Room! 🎶 A soulful journey through the African diaspora—Sonya Spence, Leroy Hutson, Ebo Taylor Jnr, and more. No genres, just vibes. 🟣

Catch it Saturday at 2 PM MT on CJSR 88.5 FM or stream at CJSR.com. Playlist at PurpleRoomRadio.com. #CommunityRadio #BlackSky
January 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Anishinaabe artist Luke Swinton created this logo for the #Raptors, which you might have seen during the team's annual Indigenous heritage game tonight. #nba
Indigenous logo by Ontario artist Luke Swinson to be featured at Toronto Raptors game tonight | CBC News
Kitchener, Ont., resident Luke Swinson, a visual artist with Anishinaabe roots and a member of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, created a logo the Toronto Raptors will use during their ...
www.cbc.ca
January 7, 2025 at 6:31 AM
I don’t rock with ppl who read the rules before they play Uno.
December 31, 2024 at 6:59 PM
A manager once asked me, “now that your girls are older, are you interested in coming to the office more often?”

It was the hardest I’d ever laughed without making a sound.

#SelfControl #Parenting #GirlDad
December 21, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Young me would kick my ass if he saw old me happily filling my pill organizer at 11 pm.
December 17, 2024 at 5:50 AM
Here’s the playlist from this week’s Purple Room, celebrating a true icon of modern soul: Raphael Saadiq.

#Radio #YEG #SoulMusic
The Soul of Raphael Saadiq
This week in The Purple Room, we celebrated the genius of Raphael Saadiq, a true icon of modern soul. From his time with Tony! Toni! Toné! and Lucy Pearl to his remarkable solo career, Saadiq’s music...
www.shantuellis.com
December 11, 2024 at 6:56 PM
Lawrence Hill’s “Book of Negroes” banned.

"How are we to equip them to understand how difficult and painful a word can be … if we don't actually discuss the context in which these words are used?"

#BookSky #BlackSky #canada
'It's sort of burying our heads in the sand': Lawrence Hill criticizes Ont. board's teaching ban of his book | CBC News
A prominent Canadian novelist is speaking out after a London, Ont., high school teacher was ordered to stop using one of his award-winning novels in class because of its use of the N-word.
www.cbc.ca
December 11, 2024 at 3:37 AM
This book has travelled with me every time I’ve left the country in the last 10 years. #BookSky
December 9, 2024 at 5:01 AM
My youngest daughter asked me, “if two mind readers were reading each other’s minds at the same time, whose mind would they be reading?” and I think I’m gonna need a minute.

#questions #DadSky #GirlDad #parenting
December 8, 2024 at 4:20 PM
Everything I want to know about my neighbours, I learn on recycling day.
December 8, 2024 at 4:12 PM
Is “you should write a book about your life” just a nice way of saying, “stop talking to me”?

#Questions #AuthorSky #WriterSky
December 8, 2024 at 12:26 AM
Now reading: Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower graphic novel edition (2020) #BookSky #GraphicNovels
December 5, 2024 at 2:52 AM
The closing scene. #Alberta #lakes #photography
December 4, 2024 at 3:04 AM
Downside: the spacebar on my keyboard sticks.

Upside: just figured out how to increase my page count.

#writer #writersky #booksky #writingcommunity
November 20, 2024 at 11:48 PM
My daughters share the greatest books with me.

The Golden Hour by @nikismithcomics.bsky.social from the Edmonton Public Library 📚 💕
November 18, 2024 at 9:24 PM