Random tangent (blog)
Ameel Khan's personal blog. This is a blog about life, technology, photography, typography, the internet, science, feminism, books, film, music, and whatever other random stuff I come across or happen to be interested in today.
Nadia and I are laughing all the way to our 21st wedding anniversary :)
Selfie of a man and a woman laughing while trying to take a selfie. The man is bald, with a salt-and-pepper beard. He is wearing eyeglasses and a while linen button-down shirt. The woman has long hair. She is wearing glasses, large gold earrings, a gold necklace, and a dark-and-light green printed dress.
I’m on leave this week so I picked Nadia up from her office at the University of Melbourne. While I was there, I took a couple of photos.
Photo taken from the outside of a nearly-empty cafe. A barista is making coffee behind the counter and there are two people sitting at the only occupied table.
Photo of a smiling woman walking towards the photographer. The woman is wearing loose pants with pink and yellow butterfly designs on it, a red top, and a gold necklace with a sunflower pendant.
Photo of several items on a shelf in a large wooden bookcase. The items are an intersectional pride flag set in transparent resin, a large blue-and-yellow mug, a crochet potato, a Newton’s cradle, and several books. The crochet potato has an eyes and a mouth, and it is holding up a sign that reads: “Positive potato. I might be a tiny potato, but I believe in you. Go do your thing!”
Photo of the back of a large university building with floor-to-ceiling windows through which you can see a series of walkways, balconies, and office doors.
Nadia’s book, The Djinn Hunters, is back in stock at Readings in Carlton (stock is running low in their other stores).
You’ll find in the Australian poetry section.
It’s the one with the gorgeous blue cover, from Fauzia Minallah’s Sheema Kermani Inspiration series of paintings.
Since you’re probably always looking for an excuse to visit a bookshop, this is your prompt to go get your copy today! (Or, of course, just order it online.)
On 1 February 2004, Nadia and I got married at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Twenty years later we went back there to take a couple of selfies :)
Selfie of a man and a woman in their forties standing in a nook in a hotel lobby.
Selfie of a man and a woman in their forties standing outside a large hotel.
Later that day we celebrated with food and, importantly, with cake.
Photo of a man and woman in their forties standing in a dining room along one corner of a large, rectangular dining table. In front of them is a caramel cake with “Happy Anniversary Nadia & Ameel” written on it. The woman is holding up the large knife with which she is going to cut the cake.
That cake, while delicious, wasn’t quite as fancy as the one we cut at our actual reception.
Photo of a man and a woman in South Asian wedding attire surrounded by their families on their wedding day. The couple are in the process of cutting a large, fancy cake that’s been placed on a table in front of them.
Nor did we make a meme out of the cake-cutting, like we did for our tenth anniversary :)
Photo of a man and a woman in South Asian wedding attire surrounded by their families on their wedding day. The couple are in the process of cutting a large, fancy cake that’s been placed on a table in front of them. The couple and several of their family members are laughing at a joke that’s just been told by someone off-camera. Written in Comic Sans font across the photo in a seemingly haphazard fashion are several phrases in broken English that represent a kind of inner monologue. This type of internet meme, known as Doge, was popular in 2013 and 2014. These phrases are “so marriage”, “much decade”, “giggle”. “wow”, “many love”, “very bliss”, “caaaaake”, “10/10 would marry”, and (bizarrely) “once even flow alive why go black jeremy oceans porch garden deep release” (which is the song list from Pearl Jam’s debut album, ‘Ten’, in case you’re wondering).
The last time we were at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad we were dressed, well, a little differently :)
Collage of two photos, on above the other. The first photo, dated 1 Feb 2004, is of a man and a woman seated on stage and dressed in traditional Pakistani wedding outfits. The second photo, dated 1 Feb 2024, is of the same man and woman taking a selfie in a hotel lobby.
Happy 20th wedding anniversary Nadia!
In all of 2023 I think Nadia and I went out to brunch maybe just three or four times. The last time we went, I took a couple of photos :)
Selfie of a man and a woman standing by the side of the road. Both are wearing wide-brimmed hats and both are smiling at the camera. The woman is wearing sunglasses and a blue dress. The man is wearing a black t-shirt with blue lettering on it.
Photo of a woman seated at a café, looking down at a menu that is lying on the table in front of her. The woman is wearing a blue dress and has her sunglasses pushed back onto the top of her head.
Photo of a woman seated at a café, with a menu lying on the table in front of her. The woman is wearing a blue dress and has her sunglasses pushed back onto the top of her head. She is looking up at the photographer because she has just noticed that he had his phone up to take her photo.
Here’s to more bunches in 2024!
We celebrated a friend’s birthday with a picnic at Kingsford Smith Ulm Reserve in Glenroy.
I haven’t looked up the history of this place, but given it is located just north of Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne, I’m guessing they named it after pioneering Australian aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.
Here are some of the photos I took while I was there.
Photo of the top of an airport control tower peeking out from behind a low hill, in the background of the photo. In the foreground is the rise of a grassy hill, which is part of a reserve, with a road running through it.
Photo of the top of an large water tower above a series of industrial buildings at the top of a low hill. In the foreground of this photo is the rise of a grassy hill, which is part of a reserve.
Photo of a railway viaduct built across a creek’s valley and flood plain. The viaduct comprises steel girders supported by steel-framed towers. Behind the viaduct is the residential suburb of Gowanbrae.
Photo of a railway viaduct built across a creek’s valley and flood plain. The viaduct comprises steel girders supported by steel-framed towers. Behind the viaduct is the residential suburb of Gowanbrae, and you can see several blue paint and red brick houses behind the rail line.
Photo of a brown park bench in the shade of a few large trees in a park.
Photo of a low, wooden, green-and-brown frog sculpture in a play area at park. In the foreground of the photo are two park benches and several vertical logs that little children can climb over and walk on. A nearby tree is providing shade to this area.
Photo of a low, wooden, green-and-brown frog sculpture in a play area at park.
Black-and-white photo of a drinking fountain, with some blurry shrubs visible in the background.
Close-up photo of a tree stump embedded vertically into the ground. There are visible tree rings and several large cracks running through the cross-section of the stump. On the ground around the tree stump are wood chips, placed to soften the fall of children when they’re climbing on or over these stumps.
Close-up photo of a tree stump embedded vertically into the ground. There are visible tree rings and several large cracks running through the cross-section of the stump. On the ground around the tree stump are wood chips, placed to soften the fall of children when they’re climbing on or over these stumps.
Photo of a magpie on the ground next to a picnic table that has a few food bags placed next to it. The bird has a bit of fallen food in its mouth.
Photo of a two magpies on the ground next to a picnic table.
Photo of a two magpies on the ground next to a picnic table. The magpies have their mouths open, mid-song.
I guess it’s particularly appropriate to be publishing a photo of two singing magpies, given the Collingwood Magpies won the 2023 AFL Grand Final today :)
Selfie of a man and a woman at a park/reserve. The man has a mostly-white beard, and is wearing glasses and a straw hat. The woman is wearing a small necklace and sunglasses. Both are smiling at the camera.
Nadia’s book, The Djinn Hunters, has officially been launched!
Photo of a poetry book lying on a wooden table. Next to this is a metal-and-glass lantern with a lit candle inside it.
The turn-out was excellent, and a lot of our friends and Nadia’s colleagues attended.
Nadia was thrilled about it :)
Photo of a woman standing in an event space. The woman has long black hair and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing wearing a blue dress; black jumper; and round, gold coloured jewellery.
Instead of the speeches and readings you’d see at a typical book launch, in this one the publisher and editor (Jessica Wilkinson) asked Nadia and Will — the two authors whose books she was launching — a bunch of insightful questions. She also got them to read some of their poems that helped illustrate their answers. It was good format and it worked really well.
Photo of two people seated on wicker chairs in an event space. The man on the left is speaking into a wireless microphone that he is holding in one hand, while in the other hand he holds a folded-over book. The woman on the right is looking at the speaker. In her lap she has a book with several sticky-notes sticking out of it.
A whole bunch of people bought Nadia’s book.
Photo of two piles of books lying on a table, with a portable payment card reader and a tumbler of lemon, lime, and bitters lying next to the books.
And there was a long line of people who wanted her to sign their copy :)
Photo of a woman sitting in a wicker chair and leaning over to sign her name in a book that she is holding open on top of a table next to the chair. A small lamp shines a pool of light over the table top.
All told it was a fantastic evening, and then a bunch of us made our way to the pub down the street to have dinner :)
Nadia’s book, The Djinn Hunters, is out!
You can buy it online and, if you’re in Melbourne, you can join us at the book launch on Tuesday, 26 September 2023 at Crystal Palace in Carlton North. The event is free, but you do need to RSVP.
This is poet Kevin Brophy’s blurb from Nadia’s book:
‘Nadia Niaz dances worlds into being. Hers is a rich and heady poetry, unafraid to play with form, spun for us across contrasting worlds, languages, time, customs. It’s a poetry to savour, gasp and marvel at for its spirit of sustained and generous observation.’
—Kevin Brophy
Hope to see a bunch of you at the launch!
Nadia’s publication, the Australian Multilingual Writers Project, was invited to present a session at the 2023 Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne.
I went along and took a few photos :)
Photo of a woman standing on a stage and leaning out from behind a tall, blue pull-up banner that reads “Australian Multilingual Writing Project”. Next to this is another tall banner, this one green, that reads “Emerging Writers’ Festival”.
Close-up photo of a black microphone mounted on a podium. In the background, and out of focus, is a large, empty exhibition space bathed in pink light. The room is built in the Italianate revival style of Victorian-era architecture, with tall Ionic columns and a very high ceiling.
Photo looking down at a pair of white sneakers that are bathed in pink light. The floor is a pattern of black, white, and red terra cotta tiles.
Photo looking down towards a terra cotta tiled floor. From the left of the frame you can see the legs and feet of a person seated off camera. This person is wearing a yellow skirt with bright patterns on it, light blue socks with flower patterns on them, and slightly darker coloured light blue shoes with a different flower pattern on them. Another person is standing on the tiled floor with pink coloured trainers with blue lines on them. This person is also wearing white coloured ankle warmers and light brown coloured pinstriped shorts.
Photo looking through a doorway at a large event space that is bathed in pink light. There are people seated on plastic chairs that have been set out in rows in front of a stage. On the stage are two pull-up banners. The smaller blue coloured banner reads “Australian Multilingual Writing Project” while the larger green banner reads “Emerging Writers’ Festival” and “14-24 June 23”.
Check out Nadia’s interview on the first episode of Writing Home on 3CR (a community radio station in Melbourne).
Hosted by Madhvi Singh Thakur, Writing Home is a series about writers who have more than one home, and it features discussions with migrant writers of colour in Australia.
In case you look up this series online and get confused: Writing Home is one of four series being run simultaneously under the Satellite Skies podcast umbrella, and Satellite Skies will be featuring one Writing Home episode per month.
Source: satellite_skies on Instagram.
It’s my last teen anniversary with Nadia :)
Selfie of a man and woman standing outdoors. There is a large number “19” added to the corner of the photo. The man has a black-and-white beard and is wearing a black printed t-shirt and black baseball cap. The woman has long black hair and is wearing a black leather jacket. The woman is resting her head on the man’s chest.
How time flies when you’re having the best years of your life.
I attended the South Asian Round Table at the Australian Muslim Writers Festival 2022 which featured Nadia Niaz, Adalya Nash Hussein, Tasnim Hossain, and Tasneem Chopra (as the moderator).
The Coburg Library, where this event was held, is the very first library from which Nadia I got library cards when we moved to Australia in 2006 :)
Photo of a library event space with three green armchairs and a couple of coffee tables arranged in front of a wall. On the wall behind the armchairs is a TV screen with ‘The South Asian Round Table’ displayed in large letters on it.
The discussion was great!
The upshot was that we’re all excited about more (probably second and third generation) South Asians getting into the arts – both in front and behind the scenes. And though there’s been some representation in recent years, there’s still a long way to go and a lot more to do.
Photo of four women of colour sitting on armchairs, taking part in a panel discussion
Here Adalya is talking as a journal editor about making space at the table for South Asian writers.
Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point.
Here is Nadia talking about how she built her own platform to showcase multilingual writers in Australia because nobody else was doing it.
Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point.
And here’s Tasnim talking about creating safe spaces for minoritised groups in her role as theatre director.
Photo of two women of colour on a panel discussion. One of the women is gesturing with her hands as she makes her point. The other woman, who is the moderator, is listening attentively to what’s being said.
Finally, a big shout-out to Özge Sevindik Alkan from The Right Pen Collective for running the whole festival. (This particular panel discussion was organised in conjunction with the SAARI Collective, fyi.)
Özge is the festival director. And, as you know, a festival director’s job is never done!
Photo of a woman wearing a bright blue hijab. The woman is sitting on a chair with a laptop on her lap, while at the same time typing on a smartphone that she’s holding above the laptop.
It would’ve been nice to attend more events from this festival this year, but hopefully I’ll get to do that next year.
Happy birthday Nadia!
#StarOnAStick #PotatoQualityPhoto
Photo of a woman standing in a public park at night. The gardens behind her are decorated with lanterns strung on poles to illuminate walking paths. The smiling woman has long hair and is wearing a black puffer jacket.
We celebrated Nadia’s birthday with an evening at The Wilds, an outdoor festival of art, light, and performance that had food trucks, bars, and an ice skating rink.
We got a little wet – which we expected, given the weather forecast – but we had an otherwise lovely time.
Photo of a large, artistically swooshy, and brightly coloured wireframe sculpture bathed in strategically placed lights on a dark, overcast evening. People have gathered around the artwork, and some of them are taking photos. In the background is a metropolitan cityscape with tall buildings that have their lights turned on.
Of course we couldn’t bring a cake to an outdoor event, so instead we brought all the macaroon flavours for everyone to share :)
Overhead photo of a box containing fifteen brightly coloured macaroons of different colours.
For the record, those flavours were: French vanilla, Nutella, salted caramel, double Belgium chochlat, crushed pistache, original bubble gum, lemon meringue, crème brulée, authentic tiramisu, strawberry & cream, raspberry & white chocolate, and blueberry cheesecake. I got these from Antipasti Deli & Cafe in Yarraville.
The down side of voting just as the polls open on election day is that it’s too early for a democracy sausage. Oh well.
Photo of an empty schoolyard with two unattended plastic tables and a closed barbecue placed in front of the school buildings.
The up side is that we were done by 8:30am.
Selfie of a man and woman, bundled up in puffer jackets, standing across the street from a primary school that’s being used as a polling station.
Another year, another fantastic Barbell Babes Brigade lifting party for Nadia – with one equal and two new personal bests!
Photo of a woman in a large indoor power lifting gym. The woman is wearing black exercise gear, wrist straps, and a lifting belt and is smiling at the camera. She is leaning on a barbell with heavy weights on it that’s been placed on a lifting rack.
This year’s results:
Squat: 90kg
Bench press: 50kg
Deadlift: 107.5kg (up from 65kg just two years ago!)
Photo of a woman smiling broadly at the camera. The woman is wearing a sleeveless black exercise top and is standing in a large power lifting gym.
#JustStrong
Photo of the back of a woman’s head. The woman is standing in a large power lifting gym. She is wearing a sleeveless black exercise top and her hair has been arranged into a bun that’s being held together with paint brushes.
Nadia Tweeted this:
Best part of the day. (Less so for @ameel because he has to spot me these days.) pic.twitter.com/BfgngsknPA
— Nadia Niaz (@NadiaNiaz) March 2, 2022
Which I quote-tweeted and said:
Don’t tell Nadia, but spotting her is one of my favourite things to do. Not only do I get to watch her lift ridiculously heavy weights (and increasingly heavy ones at that) I also get the opportunity to hang out with her when she's having the most fun (+ take cool photos of her)!
Photo of a strong-looking woman in a black sleeveless shirt and hair held up in a bun with paint brushes. The woman is wearing wrist straps and a thick leather belt for lifting heavy weights. She is standing in a room in front of a weight rack that has a loaded barbell on it.
#JustStrong
Black and white photo of a woman standing at a weights rack with her hands on a barbell that has heavy weights on it. She is wearing wrist straps, a lifting belt, and a black sleeveless top with the phrase “just strong” written across the back in bold, all-caps letters. She looks like a badass.
It’s our eighteenth wedding anniversary today. I am a very fortunate man.
Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing black, both smiling at the camera.
From Nadia:
Happy 18th wedding anniversary to the (wiser) head growing out of my shoulder. @ameel pic.twitter.com/SHWzIM6LoE
— Nadia Niaz (@NadiaNiaz) February 1, 2022
Melbourne’s recent, super-humid heatwave finally broke when several bands of thunderstorms rumbled through the city.
Maggie Does Not like thunderstorms. She ran to Nadia when the thunder started.
Maggie's radar ears detect thunder and she would like to inform everyone that she is Not. Happy. pic.twitter.com/lxwPo4VWFM
— Nadia Niaz (@NadiaNiaz) January 28, 2022
I responded to Nadia’s tweet with my own freaked-out-Maggie photo a short time later.
Close-up photo of a stressed looking red/brown dog underneath a desk. The dog’s ears are pulled back and its mouth is open, with tongue hanging out.
Fortunately, playing Midnight Oil’s ‘Diesel and Dust’ album rather loudly helped – with the music easily masking the ongoing thunder as the storm system rumbled along. [x]
Selfie of a man sitting on a chair in a carpeted room. Sitting on the carpet behind him – alert, but not scared – is a red/brown dog.
This is personal website of Nadia Niaz and Ameel Zia Khan. Here we document our lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
