Voice Mail Archives

Past editions of Voice Mail, Beth Dunn's newsletter on writing and voice.

The True Beginning of the Year

The True Beginning of the Year

I've always been a bit of an academic at heart, and so I always feel like September is really the beginning of the new year, not January. How bizarre is it to think of January as the beginning of anything? But Autumn, now, that's a clear, obvious, vivid transition period. The old passes away. The new begins.

Qigong Dog Days

Qigong Dog Days

So it's nearing the end of the summer here on Cape Cod, and I appear to have been swamped with work and family and such things. I'm changing roles at my day job, moving into a different and significantly larger sphere of responsibility, so that's been taking up a lot of my time. Especially since it is still a 2.5 hour commute each way, and the new role means I have to be in the office a little bit more, and work from home a little bit less.

Another Evening in Paradise

Another Evening in Paradise

Today was a special day for me -- an anniversary of sorts -- so I went out after work and celebrated with friends. After that little gathering was over, I drove out to Chatham to watch a free concert by my good friends in Tripping Lily.

Raising the point

Raising the point

My Dad took me out for lunch today to celebrate my birthday. It's far too hot around these parts these days, but we braved the heat and the summer traffic and drove out to The Corner Store in Chatham to get some lunch to go. If you're ever in the neighborhood, I highly recommend you stop by The Corner Store and get yourself a burrito. (Follow them on Twitter to get a heads up on the daily special.) Can't say enough about how nice they are in there, and how good the food is. Super double plus.

The Polite Tourist

The Polite Tourist

"The architectural monuments of England and Wales have been accessible to outsiders for centuries. And for centuries men and women have made special journeys to see them. Like us, they admired the image of Elizabeth I in the Long Gallery, or that portrait by Joshua Reynolds in the Drawing-Room. Like us, they raised their eyebrows at the owner's taste in furnishings, or applauded his scheme of landscape design. And like us, they often indulged in a rather vague nostalgia, or dreamed of what it must be like to live in such a place.