What do u think about my English blog

Question

Hi this is my blog about English http://lewme.blogspot.com/  Is it good ? What do u think ? If u have some advices i will happy to know

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

Dear Boris,

Welcome to the Forums.

Nice blog!

Very nice, indeed. You have obviously put A LOT of work and time into this project. I think it's really well put together and I like the way you have used the quote of the day feature.

However, I think you should be really careful when you choose the quote for the day. The current one, by Jonathan Swift, asks your readers to discuss what he said.

I read the quote several times and I even Googled it to make certain that it was correctly transcribed. All I can say is, "discuss"? What is there to DISCUSS ?
Swift was saying that he'd rather be free a man than be a slave. Was this a profound thought from a great mind? No! It's was nothing more than common sense, akin to saying "I'd rather be in good health than have a terminal illness!"

Or, I'd rather be a rich man among the poor than a poor man among the rich.

Or, I'd rather have enough to eat than go hungry.

You have invested a great deal of your time in your blog and I'll continue to read it because I think it's absolutely great. Just keep an eye out for inane quotes. Maybe in a hundred years someone will blog about that famous quote by George W. Bush: "The French have no word for entrepreneur".

Bravo - well done.

John

Boris Damyanov · Answer

Thank you. I am happy to hear this for my blog. About quote of the day I will be more responsible when I publish it.

About todays quote I think this opinion will be interesting.

"It is easy to miss the point of what appears to be a transparent platitude. But a man of genius like Swift must have had something other than the obvious in mind. And in fact the quotation is from his letters in which he responds to entreaties from friends to return to England from Ireland where he lived in political exile "like a rat in a hole." Although he was poor, he lived in dignity in Ireland where he championed the Irish cause in works like A Modest Proposal. Swift was still a free man in Ireland, free to express his opinions even though the Irish themselves were political "slaves" to the English. Therefore, he was a "freeman among slaves." If he returned to England, Swift feared he would sacrifice his freedom to become a "slave among freemen." Hence the saying."

JohnParis · Answer

Hi Boris,

OK, I can accept that explanation of Swift's quote.

It makes a great deal of sense.

But taken at it's face value, the quote still seems inane to me and I'm not certain that is a good way to teach English to non-native speakers.

The content of your citation seems more like what one would find in a fairly advanced class of English literature studies, perhaps at university level. Without its context known to all, there is still nothing to discuss about the quote.

Boris, do you have an email address? I have a question I'd like to ask you privately. You can email me directly - my address is in my profile? I would appreciate it very much.

Cheers,

John

JohnParis · Answer

Boris -

You cannot post your email address here on this public thread.

You must send it to me in a Private Message.

To do this:

1. Click on my name and this will open my Profile.

2. Click on "Start a private Conversation".

3. Write your email address in the box provided.

4. Click "send".

I will write you back at your email address with the information I have for you.

Thanks,

John

Boris Damyanov · Answer

write me in msn email.

Iksem · Answer

Your blog seems to be not working longer :/ I got some errors

Cathyregar · Answer

Hallo Boris,

I was curios about your blog and went to check it out, alas, your blog has been removed.

Cathy

Cathyregar · Answer

Hi Iksem, I would love to but I didn't find any of you blog/website address...

What do u think about my English blog

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