My favorite blogs are by good writers. I look for and accumulate on my RSS reader blogs by people who are thoughtful and write very well. The same applies to op-ed columnists, and I read quite a few every day. Unlike these good writers that turn a good phrase, I struggle with writing. I can structure an essay fairly well and nail the grammar (usually), but my writing is not exciting and evocative. It takes me a long time to write each post on this blog and improve the writing to a point where I can at least publish it.
A blogger that I especially enjoy reading nowadays is Hal Medrano on the blog hanoi scratchpad. He is always able to articulate his thoughts about his life in Vietnam very easily in a way that brings back memories to me or makes me see things in a different way.
I have written before about my frustrations regarding my inability to converse in Vietnamese language. I have been getting much better at the pronunciation, but I can't seem to retain an adequate vocabulary. Much of what I have been thinking about the Vietnamese language has now been superbly articulated by Hal in a recent posting. I encourage you to click on that last link to enjoy good writing about a very interesting subject.
