Journo James's Journal

East L.A.’s Hidden Gem

It’s a hidden gem.

From the outside there is nothing remarkable about the large building on Third Street. It’s easy to miss; it’s camouflaged in a dull beige-color and sits quietly across from the Metro Gold Line station.

The L.A. Music and Art School in East Los Angeles, Photo by JournoJames

But step inside the brick structure and it’s anything but dull. Bright paintings and drawings jump off the walls, dancers leap and spin in the studio, and music echoes up and down the halls. This is the Los Angeles Music and Art School (LAMusArt) and the place is alive. (more…)

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I Can’t Handle the Truth

Originally published Mar. 30, 2012

William Faulkner once sarcastically commented, “Facts and truth really don’t have much to do with each other.”

The Nobel Prize laureate had a point: people find different truths from a single set of facts. And here lies the challenge for journalists, fact-checkers, and — for at least one morning session — our J556 Online Seminar class.

Consider this: “the majority of Americans are conservatives.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Photo by Joe Raedle, courtesy of Getty Images

That’s what Florida Rep. Sen. Marco Rubio claimed anyway in a speech at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington on February 9.

Is it true? Is it even factual? (more…)

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Chef Hong Preaches the Virtues of Hansik

Originally published Mar. 23, 2012

Near the gleaming mirrored wine bar in cozy Sebastian’s Bistro in Huntington Beach, California, a short 46-year-old Korean man in chef’s whites and black-rimmed glasses, sets up a cooking station on a large rectangular table for a demo. His compact stature, boyish looks and nimble movements make him appear closer to 30 than 50.

Chef Mike Hong, Photo by JournoJames

This is chef Mike Hong. He preaches about Korean food. Even in little Italian bistros absent of any hungry Koreans.

While he considers himself a professional sushi chef first, he says that introducing people to Korean cuisine, or Hansik, is his true calling. (more…)

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