Conversations and Considerations

Writings

Every now and again one of us might write something. When we do, it will appear here. Anything published here is done so under CC BY-SA 4.0

Headshot of Wendell Berry, American Writer and Poet

“As I understand it, I am being paid only for my work in arranging the words; my property is that arrangement. The thoughts in this book, on the contrary, are not mine. They came freely to me, and I give them freely away. I have no “intellectual property,” and I think that all claimants to such property are theives.”

Wendell Berry, in Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community

Watch, Read, Listen

  • Hobbies

    I’ve had a variety of hobbies in my life, many of which I retain in some way or another. This is a bit of a list of some of them.

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    by

    martin
    in

  • The speed of trust

    This is a reflection I wrote for and delivered during a service at First United Church recognizing Indigenous People’s Day in 2024.

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    by

    martin
    in ,

  • Sugar Shacks

    The Ottawa/Gatineau region has a long history of maple syrup production. Each year, maple farms open up seasonal restaurants, serving pancakes, bacon and sausages, and other items that go deliciously under a generous helping of maple syrup. Breakfast is one of my favourite meals, and sugar shack breakfasts are the best. Here is a list…

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    by

    martin
    in

  • God Between Us

    My onetime roommate and friend Shawn came to visit Ottawa a couple of weeks ago. I know a few Shawns, and more than one of them have been my roommate. So, to be clear, I lived with this Shawn for six months just prior to moving in with Brigitte, and immediately before the COVID epidemic…

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    by

    martin
    in

  • Letter to PM Trudeau

    I sent this message by e-mail to some of our Canadian politicians today (in particular, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Global Affairs, and the Minister of International Development and Assistance). I would encourage everyone to send a similar message, if you agree with the intent. Feel free to copy or adapt mine, if that…

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    by

    martin
    in

  • On regret

    Individuals really do get screwed around by systems… Over the last few days I’ve had a number of conversations that have led me to think about the structural-functional role that personal guilt plays in maintaining problematic social structures. Even reflecting on my previous blog post brings up this issue. For years we were told that…

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    by

    martin
    in

  • 1.48 degrees

    I’ve been worried about the environment for a long time. In fact, my concerns about the environment were the root for what was likely the most significant crisis in my life. It was a long time ago. More than 33 years. When I was in high school I joined the first environmental club ever formed…

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    by

    martin
    in

  • One small step

    A few months ago I decided to once again set up a home server for hobbying and file management purposes. A major goal was to try hosting my own mastodon instance. I also wanted to give a space for my son, Noa, to host a minecraft server. Those things are both live on this machine,…

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    by

    martin
    in