Professor Jim Bucket

Helping YOU learn the things everybody ought to know! Find out more at

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

I wrote a book! It's called "Patriotic Passages: Songs, Poems, and Documents from American Tradition." Check here for more: https://t.co/Ii2voIMBRh

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Poe. Horror. Not much else I can say, except that I consider this to be his finest. Enjoy in this Hallowe'en season!
(Sorry this is a bit late BUT it's a l-o-o-o-ng weekend here in the Philippines, so technically I'm still good.)
https://t.co/jnKiwi8zcE

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Heard "the Sirens' song," or navigated "between Scylla and Charybdis"? If so, you have met some of the metaphorical monsters described thousands of years ago by the Greek poet Homer. Meet a few more in this week's brief lesson, "Monsters in the Odyssey"!

https://t.co/9WEnt1lnh3

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

It's almost Hallowe'en--time for some scary stories!

And this is one of the scariest stories I know, by M. R. James. Just promise me you won't read it alone, at night.

Enjoy! (sort of...)

https://t.co/fNbnWNqb2d

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

The story I share midweek is a summary of a longer work, loaded with comprehension questions great for students. PLUS some fun and games!

This week: Robert Louis Stevenson's "boys' book" (also enjoyed by girls), "Treasure Island."

https://t.co/nDio1jOuwp

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Every week I'll bring you a story that I love.

This week, one of my favorite fairy tales, a creepy one in which a boy battles the King of Elfland to save his sister.

https://t.co/iYKWmXU3Vc

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Dearest Friends: For the time being, I will be suspending posts (for the three of you that are following!) as I revamp my social media plan. Watch for more, and perhaps something a little different, in November!

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Boy Scouts of America: An American youth organization that trains boys to be good citizens and leaders, as Cub Scouts (ages 5-11) and then Boy Scouts (ages 10-18); other programs take members to age 21. Once highly respected, its reputation has suffered in recent years. #Culture

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

four-letter words: Many English "swear words" have four letters, so it can mean vulgar words with any number of letters, including words for body parts or functions related to sex (like the famous "F word") or toilet functions. "You can't use four-letter words on TV!" #slang

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

aborigines or indigenous peoples: first people known to live in a region, before outside settlers came. Although the term is often taken to mean the original inhabitants of Australia, every continent (and Oceania) has numerous aboriginal groups (though there are few in Europe).

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

The Bastille: Former Paris prison where political offenders were held. Its destruction on July 14, 1789 (now celebrated as "Bastille Day") was a symbol of liberation during the French Revolution. A public square with an opera house stands on the site today. #History #France

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

The Pyrenees: 310 mile (nearly 500 km) mountain chain with a max altitude of 11,168 ft (3,404 meters), located between France and Spain, with the microstate of Andorra in between. The Pyrenees separate the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) from the rest of Europe. #Geography

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

one's little girl (or boy): one's daughter (or son), especially when still very young. Nevertheless, a person may use it lightly for an adult offspring, or even for a dog or other dear creature. "My little girl is graduating from college today." #english #idioms #slang #culture

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Whistler's Mother: a famous painting by 19th-century American artist James Whistler of his seated mother. Whistler was a leading proponent of "art for art's sake," and thus called the painting "Arrangement in Grey and Black"--an arrangement, not a portrait. #english #art #culture

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Count Dracula: the first great vampire of fiction and movies, from an 1897 book by Irish author Bram Stoker. The novel is epistolary--that is, it is told in the form of letters (and other "documents" like newspaper articles). The overall effect is gripping. #english #Literature

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Proverb:
"When the cat's away, the mice will play." = People will relax when the boss, teacher, parent, etc.) is not there to keep them working.
A: Let's take a break!
B: Well, we just had one, but the boss is out, so why not? When the cat's away...
#English #culture #Proverbs

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

fringe benefit: something given to a worker besides the salary or wage. It could include: housing; health, dental, or life insurance; retirement benefits; daycare; sick leave; vacation; social security; profit sharing; and other specialized benefits.
#businessenglish #English

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

emoticons: from "emotion" and "icon," symbols people use to tell how they feel, like :( is sad or ;) is a wink. Strictly speaking, emojis--which look like a cartoon--are not emoticons; these are made up only of punctuation marks, numbers, and letters.
#culture #computing #english

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

chocolate: borrowed from the Nahuatl (Mexican native) word xocolatl or cacau atl, meaning "cacao water." Invented 3,000-4,000 years ago, cacao is the bitter substance which--with the addition of oils, sugar, and sometime milk--becomes the divine substance we all love.
#foodie

[Professor Jim Bucket @ProfJimBucket]

Binary: separated into exactly two parts. The information in computers is binary, composed of "on" or "off" switches, so all data can be represented as 0 or 1. Each character in a text takes eight digits, so "Jim Bucket" (with the space) takes 80 0s and 1s!
#computing #english