Human Interest Stories: From Tabloid Sensationalism to Texts Worth Reading

Each day the broadsheets and news programs feed their readers and followers news regarding politics, business, crime, sports, celebrities and many more.  Most of the stories focus on presenting facts and figures about topics such as elections, global warming, war efforts, cancer research, sports athletes’ salaries, latest technology and others.  Although most of these topics are useful to know and of great importance to most, sometimes you would like to hear how an issue really affects a community, a family or an individual.  This is where a human interest story enters.

A human interest story is one where you have a human lead.  It is a feature story that presents the side of an individual or a group of individuals in an emotional manner. It may talk about people’s achievements, concerns and problems or a human disaster and how the human wave is coping.  This type of story is written in such a way that it elicits both interest and sympathy for the person or persons involved.  A human interest story is often called by journalists as ‘the story behind the story’.  They point to the person in the local interest story as ‘the face behind the story.’

Newspapers and magazines abound with human interest stories about everything from the life of soldiers or their families, volunteers in famine stricken Africa, persons with unbelievable achievements, survivors of cancers and other health issues, to natural disaster and financial ruin survivors and much more.  On television, there are human magazine shows tackling similar topics but are more thought provoking and heart wrenching for viewers because you see the actual person or persons describing their experience.

Another source of human interest stories is the internet.  If you are interested in finding this type of feature story online:

1. Type ‘human interest stories’ on the search tab of your browser.
2. Refine the search by entering what topic the story should be about.  For example, you can look for stories about Afghan refugees, famine, bank foreclosures, a blind swimmer, a child prodigy and many more. 

Below are some websites you may want to check out for human interest stories:

• CNN – go to World’s Untold Stories for video versions of human interest stories.
• UNICEF – type ‘real lives’ in the site’s search engine to bring you human interest stories around the globe.
• International Middle East Media Center has human interest stories focusing on the Middle East region.
• The Salvation Army has very short human interest stories for quick reading.
• Reader’s Digest - Look under ‘Inspiring People’ to read about individuals who went beyond what they thought they are capable of achieving.

For more human interest stories, check out the websites of the following:  local and international newspapers, magazines like Time and Newsweek, television news programs and magazine shows.  They usually have many stories dealing with triumphs and adversities of the human spirit.

Although some human interest stories may tend to be sensationally written, others really peel off the layers of a person or group of persons’ experience and describe how this experience affected them and the people around them.  When you read a human interest story in this jaded world, try to read it with a fresh eye and look beyond the sensationalism.  Allow human interest stories to inspire you to go beyond your comfort zone.  Who knows, maybe you can write one yourself and inspire others.

Have a great week,
Inma.

Some Fun :-)

Funny Complaint Letter


Our friend Sebastian (5th F) sent this hilarious text and I'm still laughing! :)) Thanks a lot for sharing it!

Hope it brings laughter to all of you too, enjoy!

Happy Saint Patrick's!

 St. Patrick’s Day, Chicago.
SOURCE: http://online-english-lessons.eu/wordpress/2011/03/st-patricks-day/

St Patrick's Day is on March 17th and it is the national day of Ireland. It is a secular celebration, and an important religious festival. It is holy day of obligations for Roman Catholics in Ireland, as well as a religious celebration for the Anglican Church of Ireland.

St Patrick's Day has been an official public holiday since 1903.

St Patrick

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He lived from approximately 387 – 460AD.

It is said he was born in Wales to a wealthy family, but he was kidnapped by Irish raiders as a teenager and held as a slave in Ireland for six years. He worked as a shepherd for those six years and during that time his faith as a Christian became very important to him.

St Patrick escaped his life of slavery by stowing away on a boat to Britain. He dreamt that he should return to Ireland as a missionary and preach Christianity so he studied to be a priest. 

According to legend, St Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland but it is interpreted metaphorically as leading pagan traditions out of Ireland.

He is buried at Down Cathedral, County Down, Ireland and many people across the world make the pilgrimage to his grave.

St Patrick's Day celebrations

Irish people all over the world celebrate St Patrick's Day with parades and special events.

Many people wear green and in some cities the rivers and streams are dyed green. Some pubs even serve green beer!

The "wearing of the green" means wearing a shamrock. The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland and St Patrick used it to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans in Ireland.

 St Patrick's Festival

The first St Patrick's Festival was held on the 17th March 1996. Every year, Irish culture is showcased with parades, music, film, poetry, fireworks, treasure hunts and other special events.

Irish Language

Irish and English are both official languages in Ireland.

Irish is an official language of the European Union.

The Irish Republic is officially bilingual, and English and Irish appear widely on signs, public buildings, and official forms and documents

 Some English words of Irish origin from St David's School, Dublin

galore – plenty, a lot. From go leor, Irish for plenty.

phoney – (from fáinne, ring) meaning 'fake'. The term originated from Irish immigrants in the US and referred to fake gold rings illegally marketed there.

shenanigans – deception or trickery

Tory -  (from tóraí) outlaw, robber

(check more terms on the above link).

Examples of common Irish Slang from the BBC

acting the maggot - in a mischeivous mood, trying to get others to laugh at you

crack – fun

the life of Reilly – having a very good time, often while others are not

fellas – men

wans – women

mot or ol'doll – girlfriend

a fine half – a good looking person of the opposite sex

deadly – really good

very tired - banjaxed

 IRISH/GAELIC PHRASES

 (check more terms on the above link).

MOLLY MALONE SONG

HISTORY

"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") (Irish: Mol Ní Mhaoileoin) is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City.

The Molly Malone statue in Grafton Street was unveiled by then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Ben Briscoe during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, declaring June 13 as Molly      Malone Day.

The song tells the fictional tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. The name "Molly" originated as a familiar version of the names Mary and Margaret. While many such "Molly" Malones were born in Dublin over the centuries, no evidence connects any of them to the events in the song. Nevertheless, in 1988 the Dublin Millennium Commission endorsed claims concerning a Molly Malone who died on 13 June 1699, and proclaimed 13 June to be "Molly Malone day".

LYRICS

In Dublin's fair city,                                                            Alive, alive o!
Where the Girls are so pretty,                                           Alive, alive o!
I first set my eyes,                                                Crying cockles and mussels,
On sweet Molly Malone,                                                   Alive, alive o!
As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,                          She died of a fever
Crying cockles and mussels,                                              And no one could save her,
Alive alive o!                                                                       And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone,
                                                                                              But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Alive alive o!                                                                       Through the streets broad and narrow
Alive alive o!                                                                       Crying cockles and mussels,
Crying cockles and mussels,                                              Alive, alive o!
Alive alive o!She was a fish monger,                                                     Happy Saint Patrick’s!
And sure it was no wonder,                                              Let’s   celebrate with a cup of GREEN tea! J
For so were her                                                                   Comments/requests on our blog:
Father and Mother before,                                               http://englishfifthyear.blogspot.com
And they both wheeled their barrow,             
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!                     

ACTIVITIES:
 St. Patrick's Day Jeopardy (click here).



"Danny Boy" is one of the most representative songs of Irish culture, a ballad written by Frederic Weatherly and usually set to the tune of the "Londonderry Air”. It is most closely associated with Irish communities.

Background

The lyrics to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit "Londonderry Air" in 1913, when his sister-in-law in America sent him a copy. Ernestine Schumann-Heink  made the first recording in 1915. Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who in turn made it one of the most popular songs in the new century.

History

Although penned by Englishman Weatherly, "Danny Boy" is considered to be an unofficial signature song and anthem, particularly by Irish Americans and Irish Canadians.

"Danny Boy" enjoys popularity as a funeral song but, as it is not liturgical, its suitability for funerals is sometimes contested.  In 1928, Weatherly suggested that the second verse would provide a fitting requiem for the actress Ellen Terry.

Meaning

There are various theories as to the true meaning of "Danny Boy". Some listeners have interpreted the song to be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora. The 1918 version of the sheet music included alternative lyrics ("Eily Dear"), with the instructions that "when sung by a man, the words in italic should be used; the song then becomes "Eily Dear", so that "Danny Boy" is only to be sung by a lady". In spite of this, it is unclear whether this was Weatherly's intent, or simply a publisher's note; Weatherly did, however, acknowledge that "Danny Boy" was sung "all over the world by Sinn Feiners and Ulstermen alike", and noted that the song had "nothing of the rebel song in it, and no note of bloodshed".

It is considered by many as the lyrics of the National Anthem of Northern Ireland.

Lyrics

(There are a number of variations on these lyrics.)

“

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to glen, and down the mountainside. The summer's gone, and all the flow'rs are dying. 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide. But come ye back when summer's in the meadow Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow. 'Tis I'll be here, in sunshine or in shadow, Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so. And when ye come, and all the roses falling. If I am dead, as dead I well may be, Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying And kneel and say an "ave" there for me. And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me, And, all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be, For you will bend and tell me that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me. Oh, Danny Boy, Oh, Danny Boy, I love you so.

”

(Missing third verse, very popular among Irish Diaspora in the north of England at beginning of 20th century) But should I live, and should you die for Ireland, Let not your dying thoughts be all of me; But say a prayer to God for our dear Sireland That He may hear and help to set her free And I shall take your pike and sword, my dearest And strike a blow, though weak that blow may be, To help the Cause to which your heart was nearest And you will sleep in peace until I come to thee."

Check video attached, version by Sinead O’Connor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT7PbQMurAg

LINKS FOR MORE ACTIVITIES:

WEBQUESTS:

http://www.onestopenglish.com/teenagers/topic-based-materials/festivals/festivals-webquests/festival-webquests-st-patricks-day/550903.article

VIDEOS FROM WN.COM

http://wn.com/Saint_Patrick's_Day

St. Patrick's Day Parade, Dublin (YES)

Danny Boy sang by the Muppets

VIDEOS (YouTube)

IRISH PRIDE (IMAGES OF IRELAND, TUNE: ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ozdTZjaZyE&feature=fvwrel

FOLK/ACTIVIST: BRITISH SOLDIERS GOING HOME AT LAST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObbcKbNbhHo&feature=related

TRUE IRISHMAN (COOL IMAGES OF ÉIRE AND ITS CULTURE: MUSIC, LIT. JOYCE N SO ON…)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwEgijnc4L8&feature=related

CRY OF THE CELTS (INSTRUMENTAL)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmwTYcDuyks&feature=related

BRITT. POP

JOHN LENNON: LUCK OF THE IRISH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVp7lkH10Gc&feature=related

PAUL MCARTNEY: GIVE IRELAND BACK TO THE IRISH! (ACTIVIST)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaO4XeHhwo8&feature=related

Thanks to all those who made that in-class St. Patrick's day event possible, it was great fun and very enriching! Special thanks to our friends from 5thA Irene and Antonio, wonderful musicians who so generously played beautiful Irish tunes for all of us! And, sure, Patricia (Happy Saint's Day!), Esteban, Ángeles and her sweet American friend, María Jesús, Gelen...all of you!  Stella, your cake was delicious and so were your sweets, Mercedes...Sebastian, thanks for the eloquence of your visual joke! YOU GUYS MADE IT POSSIBLE, I AM SO POSITIVELY OVERWHELMED WITH YOUR MOTIVATION.

La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Daoibh!

 Pics an videos of the event are coming...!.

An Irish blessing to all of you,

Inma.

International Women's Day

Unintended Beauty, her story…

Sharbat Gula (Pashto: شربت ګله, literally "Flower Sharbat") (pronounced [ˈʃaɾbat]) (born ca. 1972) is an Afghan woman who was the subject of a famous photograph by journalist Steve McCurry. Gula was living as a refugee in Pakistan, during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed. The image brought her recognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine, at a time when she was approximately 12 years old. Gula was known throughout the world simply as "the Afghan Girl" until she was formally identified in early 2002.

An Afghan (Pashtun) by ethnicity, Gula was orphaned during the Soviet Union's bombing of Afghanistan and sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984. Her village was attacked by Soviet helicopter gunships sometime in the early 1980s. The Soviet strike killed her parents—forcing her, her siblings and grandmother to hike over the mountains to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in neighboring Pakistan. She married Rahmat Gul in the late 1980s and returned to Afghanistan in 1992. Gula had three daughters: Robina, Zahida, and Alia. A fourth daughter died in infancy. Gula has expressed the hope that her girls will receive the education she was never able to complete.

1984 photograph, “Afghan Girl” 

At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Gula's photograph was taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image.

Although her name was not known, her picture, titled "Afghan Girl", appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and with her piercing sea-green eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980s Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image itself was named "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the magazine.

Search for the Afghan Girl

The identity of the Afghan Girl remained unknown for over 17 years; Afghanistan remained largely closed to Western media until after the removal of the Taliban government in 2001. Although McCurry made several attempts during the 1990s to locate her, he was unsuccessful.

In January 2002, a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan to locate the subject of the now-famous photograph. McCurry, upon learning that the Nasir Bagh refugee camp was soon to close, inquired of its remaining residents, one of whom knew Gula's brother and was able to send word to her hometown. However, there were a number of women who came forward and identified themselves erroneously as the famous Afghan Girl. In addition, after being shown the 1985 photo, a handful of young men falsely claimed Gula as their wife.

The team finally located Gula, then around the age of 30, in a remote region of Afghanistan; she had returned to her native country from the refugee camp in 1992. Her identity was confirmed using biometric technology, which matched her iris patterns to those of the photograph with almost full certainty. She vividly recalled being photographed—she had been photographed on only three occasions: in 1984 and during the search for her when a National Geographic producer took the identifying pictures that led to the reunion with Steve McCurry. She had never seen her famous portrait before it was shown to her in January 2003. 

 

 More recent pictures of her were featured as part of a cover story on her life in the April 2002 issue of National Geographic and she was the subject of a television documentary, entitled Search for the Afghan Girl, which aired in March 2002. In recognition of her, National Geographic set up the Afghan Girls Fund, a charitable organization with the goal of educating Afghan girls and young women. In 2008, the scope of the fund was broadened to include boys and the name was changed to Afghan Children's Fund.

The Sharbat Gula Justice Center

Educating and Empowering Women World WideMen and women are two wings of the same bird, unless they work in synchronicity the bird can not soar. 

Sharbat Gula Justice Center's mission is to promote human rights in societies that are undergoing transition from war and its associated social upheaval. They provide educational facilities, legal advocacy for victims of gender apartheid and vocational resources and training for women and girls. The core of their work is to assist women in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. While their geographic focus is on this triad, they promote equality between men and women worldwide, and work within the international framework and mandates adopted by the United Nations for developing nations. Their work is non-partisan and has broad based institutional support as the most effective means of transitioning developing nations from disorder to one governed by rule of law.

Her Life Revealed

Sharbat Gula which means "flower nectar" in Afghanistan's main language (lingua franca), of Pashto, is the most iconic recognizable face in the world, yet VERY few who recognize her haunting green eyes, know where she is from or her struggle.

Upon finding her after 17 years, she was asked what she most wanted in her life. What she asked for was not for herself but for her three daughters. Her wish has been the education of her three young daughters. To this end the Sharbat Gula Justice Center was created; to provide the means for the education of girls and women in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. While their geographic focus is based on this trinity, they assist women worldwide, building schools, providing vocational training and legal asylum for victims of gender based persecution. Their work revolves not around 'charity' but JUSTICE. It is only JUST that everyone, most importantly WOMEN have the same opportunities that exist for men, if not more so, for women are the first teachers of children and the creators of future generations. This work and programs on behalf of women have inspired other NGO's and policy makers to focus on women as the focal point of effective "nation building". Women's rights promotion and socio-economic development opportunities for women have been cited and documented by numerous United Nations studies to be the most effective remedy for societies in transition who wish to join the group of developed nations.

UPON REFLECTION ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, MARCH 8^TH:

§  Victimization and Third World: being orphaned, a girl and a refugee.

§  Beauty Standards/Awareness: how do you think Sharbat Gula conceived her own beauty as opposed to the Western standards?

§  Reaching Goals/ Motherhood/ Main Wish: Education for her daughters.

§  Recognition/Achievements/ (Un)intentionally.

Reflect Upon the Following extracts:

When they met again, McCurry told Sharbat her image had become famous as a symbol of the Afghan people. "I don't think she was particularly interested in her personal fame," McCurry said. "But she was pleased when we said she had come to be a symbol of the dignity and resilience of her people."

The award-winning photographer said his original image of Sharbat had seized the imagination of so many people around the world because her face, particularly her eyes, expressed pain and resilience as well as strength and beauty.

When Sharbat agreed to have her picture taken for the second time in her life, she came out from the secrecy of her veil to tell her story. She wanted the people around the world who knew her face to know that she survived the refugee camp in Pakistan.Sharbat said she fared relatively well under Taliban rule, which, she feels, provided a measure of stability after the chaos and terror of the Soviet war.

According to Matson and McCurry, Sharbat Gula has returned to anonymity; the latest publicity about her name and face is unlikely to draw attention to her in Afghanistan. "She will not give another media interview and she wishes not to be contacted," Matson said.

"Clearly she has become a symbol that National Geographic has used to illustrate the circumstances of refugees like her, and many people have inquired about her," he said. "She stood for an entire group of refugees, not just Afghan refugees. She has helped us with our mission of educating people about other cultures and regions—and she's helping us again by drawing attention to the lives of Afghan women and girls in general."                                                                                                                                             

Have a nice week you all.

A special mention to all women within our group and beyond on this day...

Cheers,

-Inma.

Class Reading Assignment: MORE ON ROALD DAHL'S_The Landlady

The Landlady-MOVIE.

The Landlady-CONTEXT. PDF by BBC    
                  
The Landlady-WORDWORK. PDF by BBC

The Landlady-KEY. PDF by BBC


Have a good one,

-i.

New York Times. Speed-Dating, Muslim Style by Adam B. Ellick

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/nyregion/13dating.html?_r=1&nl=nyregion&emc=ura1&pagewanted=all#

SOCIAL ANIMALS newyorker.com

What the science of human nature can teach us: newyorker.com

Article by David Brooks.
Comments are welcome, as usual.

Have a good week,

-i

CLASS READING ASSIGNMENT

               
LINK:  Cideb - Black Cat Publishing - World of Difference (A)
                                    INTERACT WITH LITERATURE

Read nearly 3 million free ebooks with Google

http://www.googletutor.com/google-ebookstore-puts-more-than-3-million-ebooks-at-your-disposal/