Author Archives: Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Could I Be Related to Ben Franklin?

Posted on Thursday - April 2, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

One of the United States’ most important cities in its early history was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, located in the northeast part of the US.  Philadelphia was the site (location) of the first meetings of the Revolutionary War leaders in the late … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 17 Comments

Please Don’t Overshare

Posted on Thursday - March 26, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Ted Landphair of Voice of America had an interesting story recently about a contest that is held (takes place) each year by the publishers of Webster’s New World Dictionary to pick a new word or term that became popular in … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms | 20 Comments

A Paperboy Looks Back on a Disappearing Job

Posted on Thursday - March 19, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today I want to look back (think or talk about something from my past, my personal history).   Back in the mid-1970s, at the age of 11 or 12, I worked as a paperboy for the evening newspaper in St. … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 23 Comments

Bestsellers – March, 2009

Posted on Thursday - March 12, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the bestselling books in the United States now to give you an idea of what Americans are reading.  The New York Times has a bestseller (most books … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States, News and Current Events | 13 Comments

Did I mention I’m reading Shakespeare to my friend, Nelson Mandela?

Posted on Thursday - February 26, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

I saw a report recently on the BBC about a survey of 1,500 adults and teenagers on their reading habits, and it had a very interesting finding (result): Almost half of all the men and about one-third of the women … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 28 Comments

Shoveling Money

Posted on Thursday - February 19, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

This week, President Obama signed (approved) a law that will spend $787,000,000,000.00 ($787 billion) to help the US economy.   The new law is being called a stimulus package.  A stimulus increases activity or causes a reaction or response in … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 29 Comments

Happy Birthday, Abe!

Posted on Thursday - February 12, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the United States’ 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln is perhaps the most famous president in US history, and certainly someone who has received an extraordinary amount of attention.  One person estimated … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 11 Comments

Signs of the Times

Posted on Thursday - February 5, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

There’s an old idea among American economists that the stock market and hemlines are correlated.  The hemline refers to the length of a woman’s skirt (technically, the hemline is at the very bottom of the skirt, were the fabric or … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 14 Comments

President Obama’s Inauguration Speech Explained

Posted on Thursday - January 22, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday.  All presidents deliver (give, say) a speech after they are sworn in (take an official oath or promise).  These speeches are often difficult to understand for non-native speakers, … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 27 Comments

The Oath

Posted on Tuesday - January 20, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today Barack Obama becomes the first African American president of the United States.  Standing before the U.S. Capitol building – which was built by black slaves – he will swear an oath (make a promise) that is given in the … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 15 Comments