You probably knew about Tiger Woods, Steve Byrne, and Kimora Lee Simmons. Yeah, they’ve got Asian in ‘em. But did you know that funny man Rob Schneider is half Filipino? Or that model Naomi Campbell had Chinese blood? Vladimir Lenin, the father of Communist Russia, was part Mongolian, and Bruce Lee had German ancestry. Here’s more from Frank Agostinelli and asiansofmixedrace.com.

Plenty of famous, and talented people have partial Asian ancestry. And good-looking people….well, maybe not Rob Schneider. Ann Curry of NBC News is Japanese and Irish. Eddie Van Halen is Indonesian and German. New York Yankee Johnny Damon is half Thai, and singer KT Tunstall is a quarter Chinese. But the tag line on asiansofmixedrace.com is, “Percentages Don’t Matter!” Even if you have only a tiny fraction of Asian in you, be proud of who you are.
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Tags: asian, celebrity, Frank Agostinelli, Jason Tobin, Kelly Hu, Kimora Lee Simmons, mixed Asian, race, Russell Wong, Tiger Woods

He’s not a celebrity, just a regular Rhode Island guy. But what he has to say about race in America today is funny, hard-hitting, and well worth a read. He’s Frank Y. Pak Agostinelli, founder of asiansofmixedrace.com. With Frank, what you see is what you get. Everything about him, from his name to his “Random Thoughts of an Angry Half-Asian Man,” sets a powerful example of self-acceptance.

I wanted to learn more about the mixed-race experience because of my own half-white, half-Korean children. A mixed-Asian friend introduced me to Frank and the awesome content of his site. In the first part of this interview, you’ll get to know Frank. Stay tuned for Part 2, which features more about his site, including the fascinating issues and celebrities covered there.
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Tags: asian, Frank Agostinelli, hapas, Korean, mixed race Asians, race, white

Did you miss me? I haven’t been online the last couple of days, thanks to an Ohio hurricane. My whole life, Gulf of Mexico hurricanes have snaked up to the Ohio Valley, but left only torrential rains. This time, Hurricane Ike brought little rain, but wind gusts up to 77 miles per hour. Our power went out, and were it not for the lucky Thai joint, we’d have had no hot food.

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Tags: Cincinnati, Food, natural disasters, Thai

I’m not a golf fan, but I have heard a lot about Korean-American golf superstar Michelle Wie…..a sensation at 13, got to play on men’s circuit, now playing well recently. This season, she didn’t do well enough to qualify for the LPGA circuit, and must go back and qualify in the traditional way. Many blame her parents–her dad’s the manager.

Here’s a link to the Yahoo! Sports writeup by Jay Busbee. Some of the comments people made are offensive….particularly the one about her getting laid.

Link to Yahoo! Sports

Any thoughts? Any projections on her future career? And what about her dad, anyway?

Tags: golf, Michelle Wie, parenting

It was Saturday night, at my weekend waitressing job. I saw them at the host booth, and hoped they would end up in my section. It was slow, and I needed another table. But I also wanted a chance to say “Hi.” It’s not every day that you see a mixed Asian family in Clermont County, Ohio.
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Tags: asian, family, multiracial

Don’t forget, friends, Forbidden Kingdom comes out on DVD today. Jet Li, Jackie Chan, et al. Didn’t make it to the theaters for that one, but it’s in my Netlix queue. Check it out!

Tags: Forbidden Kingdom, Jackie Chan, Jet Li

Somebody give me a lighter. Journey, the ultimate stadium-rock band, has just taken the stage. Oh, the guitar solos…the nostalgia. But these days, there’s a different face mixed in with the aging Frisco white guys. It’s the boyishly cute mug of Arnel Pineda, recently emigrated from the Philippines, who’s now the lead singer of the band. His story’s something of a rock-and-roll fairy tale.
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Tags: arnel pineda, Journey, music, Philippines, Pinoy, rock