I wrote a blog about someone on YouTube who made a shoutout video in dedication to me and my son. It's not everyday that someone takes the time to make a video commentary based on things I blog about. As I watched the video I couldn't helping thinking that this person was helping to spread awareness of the Asian and Black Community just by talking about us.

I started to wonder how many others are also spreading awareness about this community. Sometimes when your close to something you cant see the reactions to it beyond a certain point. Day to day I face the struggle and sometimes I feel like Im doing it alone. But I am wrong!

Others are also helping me in the struggle to raise awareness on so many levels. Just by speaking to their friends and families, sharing links I posted, commenting on my blogs or even tweeting with me...they show their interest and support. So for my readers I want to say THANK YOU for all that you do in support. I really appreciate it!

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The Making of a Mulatto will close on Friday night, Jan. 29 at 7:45pm.  For closing night, tickets are being offered at a discount...

The Making of a Mulatto is about an Afro American G.I. who attracts a white French woman. Reeling from the Nazi invasion of France, she goes against her family and marries the Afro American G.I. who stole her heart with his saxophone.

Roy Arias Theatre
300 West 43 Street at 8th avenue, 5th floor.

At the door, tickets are full price $20. Tickets are $15 using the discount code TGIF when paid in advance at https://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?EID=&showCode=MAK9&GUID=ac92b354-2fca-4a00-8a25-8cbe37f9a438

There will be a Q&A following the discussion. For more details about the show, visit http://www.mulatto.me

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I see blasians! I swear I do. I see them everywhere...on the train, in movies, walking down the street. Heck I even see them in online ads. Just the other day I saw a little boy in the yahoo mail ad I swear is half asian. I don't know how other people cant see the Asian and Black community. It's like it's hidden until you become part of the "community". Like in the Matrix movie after you take the red pill.

I'm always trying to get people to take the red pill. I'm constantly pointing out that we're not a "rare" community. People with blasian heritage have been around for YEARS. From entertainers to sport figures to politics if you stopped to look you'll find a person with blasian background.

I also think many people have blasian in their families histories. Someone's great great grand parents or 3rd cousin might have been blasian. If more people were honest or aware they'd see the community is larger then they think. Maybe then people can stop asking me to show and prove with hard "data" beyond myself.

Now I don't mind showing and proving by sharing my life. But it becomes tiring and discouraging when I'm just one person trying to stand against what society says about interracial family, black women and mothers with biracial children.

But finally through the 2010 Census awareness for the mixed race community will come with hard data to support all my ranting. While realistically I know it will take time to form a complete picture of the mixed race/ blasian population...it's definably a step in that direction. Then people see in black and white (pun intended) that the hidden community isnt really all that hidden.

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I first saw Marc Matsumoto of No Recipes when I attended a bloggers event. I wondered about this Asian guy walking around the room checking out the products. So I started following him on twitter.

Recently I saw Marc tweeted that blogger's were donating their months ad revenue to help Haiti. Since I'm always looking for ways the Asian and Black community crosses paths I contacted Marc for more info about about him, his Blog Away Hunger cause and to learn if he knew any Asian & Black fusion recipes.

1. How did you get into cooking and what's the idea behind No Recipes?

I can't remember when exactly I started cooking, but can say that I loved food before I loved cooking and so getting in the kitchen at an early age (maybe 5 or 6) was just a natural extension of my relationship with food. As for No Recipes, it's how I've cooked since the beginning. Maybe it was because I started cooking before I could read, or perhaps it was because my mother cooked without them. Either way, I've always found that using recipes is a bit like wearing a pair of shoes that are one size too small. Sure, I may post recipes on my site, but I try to go into the techniques behind the recipe so people have more leeway in improvising without missing something important.

2. Is there a certain style of cooking you favor?

I'm all about quick and easy. There's a lot of lore and old-wives-tales involved in cooking and I like to find faster easier ways of doing things without sacrificing the finished product. At the same time I'm also not a fan of processed foods, so when I can, I try to start with raw ingredients. For example, most people would call me crazy for making Japanese style curry from scratch when the packaged mixes taste pretty good, but I've found that it's not that much more work, and the results are worth the extra effort.

3. How did you get other chefs interested in joining your Blog Away Hunger program? How have your combined efforts helped different causes? How can others support your program?

Call me an idealist, but I've always believed that if people who lived a better life, helped those worse off than them, there would be no poverty or hunger in the world. The World Food Program estimates that of the 7 billion people on Earth, 1 billion go to sleep hungry every night and another 2 billion are malnourished. If the other 4 billion people pitched in a dollar per week, chronic hunger could be eradicated. The problem is that most people are waiting till they win the lottery to help people out. It's part of human nature to never be satisfied with what you have, but by giving to those with less than you, it's a reminder that your situation could be a lot worse.

Blog Away Hunger has never been about collecting large individual donations. Whether you're choosing to eat-in one more night a week and donating the savings, or saving a few bucks at the grocery store and donating that, the idea is that if a lot of people come together and make a small change in their lifestyle, together, they can make a big difference.

4. Whats your advice for those looking to cook but aren't great at it?

Pick a couple dishes that you really love and learn to make them well enough that you don't need a recipe. As you get better at them, try improvising with different proteins, vegetables, and spices. Also remember that cooking is about trusting your senses so it's important to watch the dish as you're making it to make sure it looks okay, smell the dish to make sure it smells good, and most importantly taste the dish at every step to make sure it tastes how you want it to.

5. We discussed that there might be recipes & foods that are a fusion of different Asian and Black cultures. Have you discovered any? Can I challenge you to come up with a recipe? :)

I think this is a type of cross-cultural cuisine that's been largely under-explored and reminds me of a Jamaican inspired sushi restaurant in the West Village. As for recipes, I'll see what I can come up with :-)

Of course I'm going to keep bugging Marc for that recipe! Think he'll name it after me? LOL. Thank you Marc for the interview!

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Little Pim, the award-winning DVD language series that makes it easy and fun to introduce young children in a foreign language, just launched its first application for the Apple iPhone. The application, "Little Pim Word Bag," is designed for children ages 1-4, and is the first children’s iPhone application tied directly to an educational DVD language learning series.

"Little Pim Word Bag," developed by Animax, is an interactive word game featuring Little Pim the panda. The game uses adorable artwork, music and sound effects to teach children 27 everyday vocabulary words in a second language – French or Spanish.

"Word Bag" costs $1.99 to download and can be used on both an iPhone and an iPod. This application is the newest product in the Little Pim line, which includes the DVD series, flash cards and CDs.

Products are sold on the website, www.LittlePim.com, on Amazon.com, and in Barnes & Noble stores, and more than 200 other retail outlets across the country. The company is currently working with PBS to create the first foreign language teaching game for its subscription website, PBS Kidsplay.

Recently I was part of the studio audience at the Martha Stewart show about blogging. It was exciting to be part of the show since I use blogging as a tool to spread awareness and connect with people.

But being in the audience that day gave me a bonus...

...after the show I met Pim Techamuanvivit, Chez Pim (chezpim.typepad.com) who during the show made Pad Thai with Martha. As we posed together we briefly chatted and I was impressed by how nice and approachable Chez Pim was.

After the show everyone in the audience took home her book "The Foodie Handbook: The (Almost) Definitive Guide to Gastronomy".

While I'm not a cook, I was interested to learn more about her international recipes and see if any was a fusion from the African/Caribbean culture.

I enjoyed reading over the book but after a quick read thru I didn't find anything black/asian fusion food related. Since I follow her on twitter at some point I'll try and ask if she knows of any recipes...maybe I can get her to agree to an interview? We shall see =)

I blogged more about who I saw, what else happened on the show and what I think about Martha Stewart after seeing her live and in person. You can read my recap of the show over on The Mommy Factor.

Blasian individuals like Hines Ward who find different ways of giving back to their community inspire me. I first learned of his community efforts from a blasian community member who grew up in Korea. I learned that Hines partnered with Pearl S. Buck International in Korea to help children suffering from social discrimination. Hines donated $1 million USD to create the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation, which the AP called "a foundation to help mixed-race children like himself in South Korea, where they have suffered discrimination."

Of course after learning and reading more about that, I took a special interest in what he was going to next.  Recently through his facebook fanpage I found out

Charity Fundraising Weekend - http://hinesward.eventbrite.com/

The first 100 people to register for any of the Celebrity weekend events will have their name put in a drawing for

(2) Pittsburgh Steelers home game tickets,
(2) pre game sideline passes, and
(2) to passes for a meet & greet with Hines immediately after the game.

Hines Ward and the Foundation Staff
The Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation mission is two-fold, we help bi-racial Korean children to have a better quality of life while promoting equality and we provide educational programs to help children build confidence and maintain a work ethic that will provide them the tools to succeed in life.

Today someone call me prejudice, the other day someone call me race crazy, along the way it's been implied I'm racist and a bit more. What starts all of this? It's simple really.  I speak.

You'd think from all the drama that surrounds me I was hanging out with Al Sharpton and causing riots in the streets!  But the irony is what I say or blogged about is nothing new...community, women & motherhood issues.  It's amusing. People are quick to take offense even when something isn't about them. Wait. Let me rephrase that. They take offense when something excludes them.

You'd think the right to speak, express yourself, share a thought is for everyone. But there's an unspoken racial understanding that sets limitations on speech. Black people know what I talking about. I suspect asian and spanish people are also familiar with these rules but I wont speak for them here...directly anyway.

So what's the rule? Speak on anything...as long as it doesn't in some way offend or upset a white person. Point blank that it. White words, experiences and thoughts have value. Many things online by white women/mothers that shocked me are praised for being honest and speaking up.

That same freedom is not encouraged for minority women/mothers. In my own experience, where a white mother can express concerned for her child and get support, information and encouragement...I get discouraging remarks about half black child being doomed and what not.

The fact that my biracial child is not half white stuns & confuses people. They dont know what to do and say. They struggle with the reality that minority people find love and start families outside of the white standard.

It seems for white society talking about issues outside of the white ideal is upsetting. Thinking and speaking in terms beyond "whiteness" which allow for a more colorful exploration...well for some thats impossible. If you're not basing things from a white view point then....

I'd say that's the thorn in the side of white society. When you take the focus off of them, exclude them for the conversation then their whole system goes out of whack. But...its time for a new system that supports a different conversation based on true freedom of speech...for everyone and beyond.

As most people know Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake causing thousands of deaths and unbelievable damage to the island.  Aid for the island is being organized on many levels with different organizations giving  aid. On a personal level this tragedy has touched so many people and they seek to help in any way they can.

The White House urges:

Here is the USA you can help immediately by donating to the Red Cross to assist the relief effort. Contribute online to the Red Cross, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999." Find more ways to help through the Center for International Disaster Information.

Families of Americans living in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888-407-4747

Another organization helping  the relief efforts is Yéle Haiti, founded in 2005 by Wyclef Jean, Grammy-Award winning musician, humanitarian and Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti. Yele Haiti is asking

Those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can donate online

To know that these organizations are doing their utmost to help warms my heart.  I have many friends with Haitian heritage who are worried for their family and friends back on the island. Even in the blasian community I know of Asian and Haitian couples and families struggling to cope through this disaster.

So I was happy to learn that the Asian community is also taking part in the relief efforts for Haiti both here in the USA and Internationally.

The Bay Area Benefit website mentions

The Glide Foundation, in partnership with Bay Area Benefit, Citizen Hope, and A Good Idea invites supporters from the San Francisco Bay Area to an benefit event to raise funds for the disaster victims in Haiti and for Glide on Saturday, January 30, from 9 p.m. at Nuit Blanche, 564 Market St, San Francisco.

Nuit Blanche, an exclusive penthouse in downtown San Francisco, will host this open bar event with tickets starting at $45 available at http://sfrecess.eventbrite.com

The Black Tokyo website reports

The Japanese chapter of the Red Cross is sending an official to the decimated Island of Haiti to asses what personnel and supplies will be needed for relief efforts

Everyday I see how the Asian and Black community works together. I hope through examples like this the rest of the world can begin to see it also.

Getting nasty comments is part of being a blogger. In truth I've gotten very few of them and I've been blogging for years. You would think since I blog about my thoughts and experiences on race and how certain things should change, I'd get tons of nasty comments? I guess maybe Im not controversial enough? or maybe I haven't touched the right nerve...yet.

But I think Im starting to touch some peoples nerves. I recently received a comment on my interview with Watermelon Sushi World that blasted me on all ends of my life. I'm sure the comment was meant to hurt/embarrass/enrage me towards going into hiding. But I've been in the fight for racial awareness and tolerance too long to be easily unsettled.

Usually I just address the comment and keep moving but this particular comment stayed with me all night. I kept thinking on it and thinking and thinking. One thing that was said bothers me. Not not my son being a bastard...we all know who his dad is...or me being crazy about race. No it was about getting another "hobby"

It bothers me that "AMY" thinks all that I do, write about and share is a hobby! What the hell. How can someone look at my life and think I do this just for fun, just as a side project, as a distraction until I can find something else worthwhile?

This is MY LIFE. I write about MY experiences, I share MY stories. I am living race issues everyday...Im not making things up as I go along here.

People act like I look for ways to make race an issue. Hell, folks if I can go about my day without random people stopping to ask me "Is that your baby?" and then not believing me at the supermarket dont you think I'd prefer it?!

If I could be just another mother picking up her son from daycare without someone whispering "he doesn't look like her" dont you think I'd prefer it?!

If people would stop looking for my son's "mother" when Im clearly standing there dont you think I'd prefer it?!

Trust me, I'd prefer those things and much more. But life isn't like that for me. No matter how idealized people like to think the world is or I should just enjoy my son without playing the race card...they need to recognize it is not possible for me.

So I continue to fight for awareness for black mothers with biracial children, I continue to fight for awareness for the Asian and Black community, I continue to fight where I need to for the sake of my son. The world says he's "rare" which to me is an underhanded way of saying he's a freak, an anomaly, something outside the norm of what society says should be.

I refuse the "rare" label for my son, myself and my community! I will use this space, my voice and my energy to show we are a normal and viable community doing wonderful and positive things. My "hobby" is a movement meant to make a difference in this world. Can others say the same about theirs?

I was recently interviewed by Yayoi Winfrey on her blog Watermelon Sushi World

http://watermelonsushiworld.blogspot.com/2010/01/blasian-baby-blogging.html

Yayoi asked me about

• why I blog about the blasian community,


• how do I feel about black women who date interracially


• what's the most common question asked by mothers with blasian children

Visit her blog and read what I have to say. Make sure to leave a comment! =)