i am me.....

Don't Judge a Book By It's Color

Here are some surprising and not so surprising hapa celebrities. For the sake of definition I’m qualifying hapa as part asian or pacific islander not just of mixed race

• Vanessa Minillo (1/2 Filipino)
• Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls (1/2 half Filipino)
• Melissa Howard from Real World New Orleans (Filipino/African American)
• Cris Judd – J Lo’s Ex (Filipino/Haole)
• Tyson Beckford (1/4 Chinese)
• Keanu Reeves (1/4 Chinese)
• Tiger Woods (1/2 Thai)
• Lou Diamond Phillips (1/4 Chinese/Filipino)
• Brandon Lee (1/2 Chinese)
• Rae Dawn Chong (1/4 Chinese)
• Tommy Chong (1/2 Chinese)
• Danica McKellar from Wonder Years (1/2 Korean)
• Eddie Van Halen (1/2 Indonesian)
• Phoebe Cates (1/2 Filipino)
• Meg & Jennifer Tilly (1/2 Chinese)
• Apl.de.ap - Black Eye Peas (Filipino/ African American)
• Enrique Inglesias - 1/4 Filipino
• Kirk Hamet from Metallica - 1/2 Filipino
• Kate Beckinsale - 1/4 Burmese
• Kimora Lee Simmons - (Japanese/ African American)
• Jimmy Smits - (Surinamese/Puerto Rican)
• Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Dutch/Indonesian)
• Amerie (Korean, Black)
• Dean Cain (Japanese, French, Welsh)
• Maggie Q - Model (Vietnamese, Haole)
• Michelle Branch (Indonesian, French, Irish)
• Rob Schneider (Filipino, Haole)
• Russell Wong (Chinese, Haole)
• The Rock (Samoan/African American)
• Foxy Brown (Filipino/African American)

Hapas REPRESENT!!! :-)

Being Hapa [Dedicated to Wendy who has Hapa Kids :) ]

I am proud to be hapa :-)

What's Hapa?

Ha•pa (hä´pä) adj. 1. Slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. n. 2. Slang. a person of such heritage. [der./Hawaiian: hapa haole (half white)] Brief History of 'hapa' Derived from the English word "half", Native Hawaiians used this word to describe someone who was "half Hawaiian". In colonial times, it was often combined with the word "haole" which meant stranger, foreigner, or white person. As time passed, "hapa" was used on the Continental United States by Japanese Americans and other Asian to describe a person of partial Asian ancestry. Many Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) considered the term to be derogatory. Today, "Hapa" is simply accepted as a way to describe a person of partial Asian ancestry.Hapa doesn't necessarily mean a Caucasian/Asian Pacific Islander mix either. ANY ethnically distinct mix with Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry is included in the definition (ie. Chinese/Vietnamese & African American/Japanese).

You know you are a hapa if...

• When people meet you they ask your name & race or ask “what exactly are you?"
• You would be a millionaire if you got a quarter for each time you were asked that
• People know you're a mix but don't know what you are exactly
• You stand out in family reunion photos
• When you speak your native language you get weird looks
• You get asked which race you prefer to date
• You get asked which race you identify most with
• Everybody thinks they know your sibling
• You are the "exotic one" in a group of friends
• You are ethnically aware
• In California everyone thinks you are Mexican and talks to you in Spanish

Oh Brother....

OK, I have no problem admitting that I’m terribly addicted to Reality TV. There, I said it. I love to watch all those shows that most people love to snicker at: Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, Real World, My Sweet Sixteen, Starting Over, Airline, American Casino, Family Plots, Intervention, I Want To Be A Hilton, Dog The Bounty Hunter, American Idol…….the list goes on and on and with the invention of TIVO and DVR its worse than ever!!

In fact I am watching BB6 (Big Brother 6 - for those of you reality show neophytes) right now. Why am I so addicted? Your guess is as good as mine ( I think it may have to with being a people watcher. I am sooooo fascinated by the way people behave or not behave as the case may be. I am also fascinated by the simple fact that there are people who have no problem broadcasting their “bid-ness” on National TV. That takes guts or a huge amount of stupidity ( That’s my .02 for today. Boy with this blogging I better stock up on pennies! Anyone have change for a 20?