Korean

Robert Horsting is combining his two passions — history and filmmaking — in his new documentary “Citizen Tanouye,” and making some inroads into promoting peace and ending hate and intolerance. The Glendale resident and his friend Craig Yahata of Valencia have co-directed and produced the documentary that is based on the life of a Japanese American who was killed while serving in Italy during World War II. The documentary has won several awards at film festivals and will be broadcast this week on American Public Television stations, including KLCS.

As a young woman I studied in Japan and have spent subsequent years continuing my exploration of the food, art and culture of Japan. I admire the rigorous training sushi chefs undergo to master their knife skills. For many years, they hone their art, preparing aesthetically pleasing arrangements of raw fish and rice. For me, a sushi purist, it is difficult to accept less than excellence. My visits to sushi bars, where Korean chefs prepare traditional Japanese sushi, have been disappointing.

Korea is next stop for `The Producers' with former La Crescenta resident Christina Marie Norrup as choreographer.Christina Marie Norrup has spent much of the last five years working on Mel Brooks' musical "The Producers," in New York and Los Angeles. The Crescenta Valley High School graduate began as a dance captain with the show on Broadway when it opened in 2000. She was assistant choreographer on the film starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, which opens in limited release on Dec. 16, and citywide Dec. 25. But her work with the show doesn't end there.

Memorial Park in La Cañada Flintridge felt like the old American town squares of yesteryear on Sunday, as hundreds gathered for the big barbecue and community celebration that has become a tradition in the city every Memorial Day weekend. About 700 people had already gathered at the park by 6 p.m. for the barbecue portion of the three-day Fiesta Days celebration, said Pat Anderson, the executive director for the La Cañada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce and Community Assn. "We fully expect a couple of thousand by the end of the night," Anderson said.

     It was pretty scary for Jenny Jang almost two years ago, when she and her parents moved nearly 6,000 miles across the globe from Seoul, Korea, to their new home in La Crescenta, Calif. The then-9-year-old spoke no English, and neither did her parents, Sam and Lillian Jang nor her 7-year-old brother, Joseph.      But now, after lots of hard work and dedication to learning in her new language, Jenny, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Valley View Elementary School, speaks English fluently and helps translate for her parents as needed.

When Argentina has a match at the World Cup, Rene Vildoza, owner of El Morfi on Brand Boulevard, arrives at 3:30 a.m. to get his restaurant ready. On Sunday, he hosted dozens of devotees who came to watch Argentina's Albiceleste top Mexico 3-1 to advance into the quarterfinals. Most of El Morfi's early-morning visitors are Argentina natives, Vildoza said. "The funny thing is, you can watch it at home," he said. "But these people, they come here." Some local restaurateurs have taken advantage of World Cup fever to market their spots to crowd-seeking fans.

In response to a recent article of July 14, "Homes sought for students," I wish to clarify that though the newspaper conveyed a sense of desperation about the need for homes for fifth- and sixth-grade South Korean students, that sense of urgency was not conveyed by Nacel Open Door, but rather the perception of the writer. We are, however, stunned that the message of such a need, to a community of more than 200,000, has resulted in zero response. In complete contrast, the community of Inglewood has received our message with a warm outpouring of people answering the call.

I can empathize with the lady who lost her dog and felt the need to publicly express her feelings ("Pet obituary hurt no one, helped one," July 1). Indeed, I find it difficult to understand anyone who has no empathy for, or appreciation of, species other than our own, be it a gopher snake or Gita, the elephant. We lost "Butchie" recently and I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about him, if only for my own benefit. Butch still had a healthy appetite and wagged his tail so vigorously it seemed the tail was wagging the dog, but his hind legs were so frail he could barely walk and he had trouble navigating.

48 HOURS Three companies have merged their expertise on a magical theater experience for the whole family titled "When Tigers Smoked Long Pipes," continuing at 8 tonight at The Victory Theatre Center in Burbank. The collaboration is between The Victory Theatre, The Lodestone Theatre Ensemble and The Orphans Theater Company. Angela Kang of Orphans Theater Company wrote the play, which is receiving its world premiere at The Victory. "When I wrote this play, I wrote it with adults in mind, but I wanted to bring my grandmother and young cousins to something that would appeal broadly to many age groups," she said.

It hasn't quite sunk in yet for John Huh that he's on the verge of completing the grand slam tour of major championships within the first 18 months of his burgeoning career. The 2008 Crescenta Valley High graduate has already participated in the British Open, PGA Championship and the Masters. Now, he's set to participate in the United States Open. Huh will make his inaugural appearance in the 113th U.S. Open, when he tees off at 4:51 a.m. PDT Thursday at Merion Golf Club's East Course in Ardmore, Pa. "It's going to be great to be a part of this and competing against a lot of the best players in the world," said Huh, last year's PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.