FamiLee Life

New Adoption Twist to Parachute Kids

I heard about this new, disturbing "adoption for education" trend among Koreans from Twice the Rice's blog. Ji-in does a wonderful job at critiquing the issue at hand, so I refer folks over to her site. If you want to read the article, click here.

Basically, it is a new twist on an old trend. In the past (and still today), we had parachute kids [read related article]. These are Korean children from relatively wealthy Korean families who are sent to boarding school in the States or sent to stay with Korean American relatives (or close family friends) to receive an American education. They are called parachute kids because they were dropped off by plane, solo, without parents. Past news accounts of parachute kids are not glamorous. Kids living alone in apartments with big allowances and fancy cars, getting into trouble with alcohol, gambling, etc. A culture of narcissism for sure. Of course, to be fair, not all kids run into trouble. I know of many parachute kids from back home who are doing fine.

Next, we had Korean families who were going transnational with one parent living in America and the other parent staying in Korea to fund their children's American education. Some call this the kirogi family. Click here for a related story. This migration pattern has been described as flexible citizenship by anthropologist Aihwa Ong,

Now, it seems Koreans are willing to allow American couples (Korean or White) to legally adopt their children for the sake of a "better" education. Of course, better education is a relative concept but that is a different issue. This new brand of parachute kid is being set up for even more problems. It is a bizarre mercenary trade that has so many opportunities for things to go wrong, completely wrong (e.g., exploitation, abuse, abandonment, etc).

When I was in Korea a few years ago, it was considered a matter of prestige and status to send your child off to America for a few years to receive an American education and, more importantly, to learn English. After the IMF bailout of South Korea in the 1990s, the English language has become like currency in South Korea. Everyone wants ot learn some English because Koreans learned (after the fall of their economy) that they need to open their culture to the West in order to succeed in a global economy. So now, this obsession with all things American has now led to the exploitation of this adoption loophole.

Sigh...

Racial Differences in Ear Wax

Do you pick your ears? Do you use a cotton swab or other random objects to clean out ear wax from your ears? What? Huh? Why is Rich asking these questions? Well, the topic of ear wax has come up in conversations with friends in recent months and now it seems to be a "hot topic" of sorts in the news.

Even though doctors discourage it, most people clean their ears, even if only with a cotton swab. Asians are particularly known for their fastidious ear cleaning. In Asia, there is actually a "tool" of sorts for this sort of job. Here is an image of one. Most are made of bamboo and do a much better job than a cotton swab.

Growing up, it was something family members did with each other. My parents used to clean my ears and my siblings and I used to clean each other's ears. You might be thinking it is gross, but it is actually quite relaxing (like a massage) and refreshing (odd as it may seem). In fact, KoreAm Journal recently listed an electronic ear cleaning tool as one of their holiday gift ideas. This photo was taken from the magazine and demonstrates the correct cleaning position. It obviously requires a great deal of intimacy and trust among two people.

More recently, a new research report from Nature Genetics was featured in the New York Times. The researchers have confirmed what has long been known. That is, there are racial differences in the type of ear wax found in people from Asia, Africa, and Europe. Specifically, Asians and American Indians are more likely to have "dry wax" and Africans and Europeans are more likely to have "wet wax." Strange but true.

Some of my Asian friends and I had discussions about this difference but I never knew it was scientifically true until recently.

Human earwax consists of wet and dry types. Dry earwax is frequent in East Asians, whereas wet earwax is common in other populations. Here we show that a SNP, 538G right arrow A (rs17822931), in the ABCC11 gene is responsible for determination of earwax type. The AA genotype corresponds to dry earwax, and GA and GG to wet type. A 27-bp deletion in ABCC11 exon 29 was also found in a few individuals of Asian ancestry. A functional assay demonstrated that cells with allele A show a lower excretory activity for cGMP than those with allele G. The allele A frequency shows a north-south and east-west downward geographical gradient; worldwide, it is highest in Chinese and Koreans, and a common dry-type haplotype is retained among various ethnic populations. These suggest that the allele A arose in northeast Asia and thereafter spread through the world. The 538G right arrow A SNP is the first example of DNA polymorphism determining a visible genetic trait. [abstract taken from Nature Genetics]

Since the wet form is so common in Africa and in Europe, this was likely to have been the ancestral form before modern humans left Africa 50,000 years ago. The dry form, the researchers say, presumably arose later in northern Asia, because they detected it almost universally in their tests of northern Han Chinese and Koreans. The dry form becomes less common in southern Asia, probably because the northerners with the dry earwax gene intermarried with southern Asians carrying the default wet earwax gene. The dry form is quite common in Native Americans, confirming other genetic evidence that their ancestors migrated across the Bering Strait from Siberia 15,000 years ago....[E]arwax type and armpit odor are correlated, since populations with dry earwax, such as those of East Asia, tend to sweat less and have little or no body odor, while the wet earwax populations of Africa and Europe sweat more and so may have more body odor. [excerpt from NYTimes]

Now, I am not sure whether this finding informs our understanding of racial differences, but it is an amazing piece of trivia...and as many people know, I love random trivia.

Happy cleaning...

Happy New Year

Today is the Lunar New Year. In Korean, we say "May you receive many blessings in the new year."

Much like the Gregorian New Year on January 1st, the Lunar New Year is a time to start anew. Growing up in a Korean family, however, this meant we began the day by honoring our parents and elders. It's sort of the opposite in America, where the first born child in the new year is given top honor. Quite a notable difference in individualism-collectivism, eh? Personally, I like the Korean tradition of honoring those who have come before you. It gives me a sense of belonging and situates family as the driving force behind one's life and future. You can read more about the Korean celebration of the New Year [click here].

As in past years, I am away from my family. So, I have decided to honor them through photographs this time around. I don't have lots of photographs of my parents on file ((I really need to buy a scanner), so I had to make do with what I have. Here is one that I happen to have of my mom from long ago. She was probably around 28 or 29 years old back then. What a beauty. Yes, that's me in the matching hat and onesie. You can see where I get my natural good looks. I miss her terribly but know she is watching over me day and night. Love you, mom.

Here is a more recent photograph of my mom and dad on a trip to Alaska to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday - another important Korean tradition. If I recall correctly, this photo was taken in the early summer of 2000. I love this photograph because they are so happy together and in their individual lives.

As for me, I will celebrate the holiday by making some duk-guk (rice cake soup) which represents adding a new year to one's life. Then, assuming I am not too sick (i.e., coughing too much) I will take the day to relax with friends and think about all the blessings I have received in my life.

Desperation Breeds Innovation (of sorts)

A few weeks ago, I splurged and purchased a KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart Mixer in Cobalt Blue. It is beautiful as a piece of mechanical craftmanship. That said, I always admired it from afar when visiting Williams-Sonoma or even Costco, never thinking I would ever purchase one. First of all, they are expensive - averaging around $265 or more. Second, I don't really bake which seems to be the main reason to own one. Then one day, I was checking out recipes on CookingforEngineers and noticed on the DealsBlog page that Amazon.com was having a sale on the mixer. It was a super deal. With all the rebates, I was able to buy it for only $155 (with no tax and no shipping either). Despite the savings, I still can't explain why I bought it. I guess we can chalk it up to post-holiday shopping energy.

Well, since it arrived, I have taken up baking! Surprise, surprise! Mostly, I have made chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies (from scratch). I also made some pumpkin muffins using a packaged mix. It has been a very pleasing experience.

Still being sick, I awoke this morning and wanted to just putz around the house. I noticed some cake flour sitting on the counter, which I had purchased shortly after getting the mixer to make sugar cookies. However, I never made the sugar cookies because I got so caught up in the peanut butter cookies which were very yummy. So, I decided, it is early in the morning (not yet 9:00), might as well do something. And then I proceeded to soften the butter, measure out the flour, and use the mixer!

After mixing everything together, I realized I acted too quickly! I did not own a rolling pin nor did I have any cookie cutters -- two important things when making these cookies (or so the recipe said). Desperation...what to do...what to do...

Over in the recycling pile, I noticed old issues of NYTimes newspapers. Ah ha! I arranged a bunch of newspapers together, alternating the direction of the fold to make an even curl, and rolled the papers up in a tight ball. Then, I used packaging tape to wrap it all together.

With the newspaper rolling pin complete, I went ahead and rolled the dough. First, I floured the pin to keep the dough from sticking on it and then I rolled gently. It took a few tries but it worked amazingly well. Not as good as a well worn wooden roller but good enough to do the job. In fact, having wrapped the tape up evenly and without too many wrinkles, I can reuse this make-shift rolling pin in the future.

As for the cookie cutter, I first tried to use a pizza cutter to cut out shapes but this didn't work out too well. Then, I grabbed a butter knife and tried to "sculpt" out shapes. Again, this was not terribly effective or efficient. Hm...stumped, I looked around my kitchen and rooted around my workbench in the basement. I thought briefly about using my measuring cups (which I know would have worked well) but decided (out of laziness, really) to go old-fashioned. I just rolled up the dough in the palm of my hand and flattened the dough into shape. In the end, this approach worked fine.

Twelve to fifteen minutes later, my first batch of sugar cookies were made. They tasted great too despite my minor moments of baking desperation. Yes, desperation (even minor ones) can breed innovation (of sorts).

Random Moments

Okay, I am still sick with a hacking cough that keeps me up half the night. Yet, oddly, I feel alert and refreshed when I awake and even now as I type. Weird. Maybe it is the false start of Spring that is freaking out my body.

Here are a couple of random thoughts and things to share for today.

* I have made it a semi-habit of getting a small cup of americano at a coffeeshop (Bordertown Cafe) near campus. It's in between my parking ramp and my building, so it is quite convenient. There is one young woman who works there that knows service. When I come up to the counter, she smiles and immediately says "small americano?" and gets the espresso ready. I love that. It's the "where everybody knows your name" Cheers experience. I always look for places that have such good service because it means they like their job and are making a sincere effort to connect with the customer. It is a touch of small worldness in an increasingly big world. My mom and dad taught me the importance of such customer service, having owned many small businesses throughout the years. People respond to these small gestures. I sure do and prefer to support these small businesses.

* A couple of nights ago, I came home late from work and shortly after I entered my home through the back door, the doorbell rang. I went to the front door and there was a young Hmong American boy, maybe around 10 years old, standing there. He had a badge with his name on it and a pad/pen in hand. Then, he looked up and said the funniest thing. He looked at me and asked "Is your mom or dad home?" I almost laughed right there. He thought I was some teenage kid opening the door of his parents' home! Somewhat startled and taken aback, I responded, "What do you want?" He said he was selling fruit as a fundraiser. It's my policy to not buy anything at the door, so I sent him along the way. But I do need to thank him for giving me a nice chuckle after work.

Minnesota Cold(s)

As you may have noticed, I have not been very active on the blogging front lately. Aside from being busy (okay, overwhelmed) at work, I have been plagued by this darn cold that has slowly worked its way through my coworkers and friends. On Saturday, it finally got to me. It's relatively benign compared to the flu, but it has slowly been wearing me down. It began with some sinus congestion, then fatigue. Now, I have a hacking cough that keeps me from getting a good night's rest. It's really an annoyance more than anything. Better than the flu, I suppose. Last winter, there was such a panic over the flu shot shortage. This year, we have worries over the Avian flu. So, I got a flu shot in late Fall - hoping it would keep me sick-free all winter. I also have been devoted to the neti pot (for sinus irrigation) which is believed to help prevent colds and such. But, alas, I was still struck by this bugger.

I also want to comment briefly on Minnesota attitudes about weather (the "other" cold). I heard on the news last night that this is the warmest month of January on record in Minnesota. How about that. Usually, we hear the opposite sort of news, such as "It's the coldest day on record since 1941."

Living in Minnesota means talking about the weather. It's not just a conversation starter like in other states. It is a topic as worthy as politics, hollywood gossip, and finances. Everyone has a view on the weather, specifically cold weather. On the one hand, folks are quite devoted to Minnesota life. For example, there are many who says that you have to embrace the cold to survive winters. They make no qualms about the cold, short summers, etc. Take my friends over at the Art Shanty Projects. That is embracing. On the other hand, Minnesotans have a bit of a chip on their shoulder in which they feel the desperate need to prove how good a life it is up here - despite the cold weather. Folks can get quite defensive about the cold jokes thrown at us by the rest of America (except maybe North Dakota). Rather than just say, "yeah, it's cold but you learn to live with it," we often add all the virtues of Minnesota living. It's as if we have to prove something more. Consequently, we are a city/state of -estness. We love to say we have the most theater seats per capita outside of NYC, we have the best regional theater, we have the largest mall in America, we have the most lakes in the country, etc.

Me? I say we just take the former position and enjoy living the good life up here. Meanwhile, I am gonna keep cursing at this cold until it is beaten out of me.

Art Shanty Project Update

The Sunday edition of the Minneapolis/St Paul Star Tribune featured the Art Shanty Projects plus they produced a slick little video (click here) of all the different shanties and activities.

Above is a photograph of David's CineShanty (but which I refer to as a the glass shanty). It is architecturally beautiful. David is one of the two curators (or surveyors) for the projects. In the evenings, he projects a film onto the glass and you can sit back on the ice and watch a movie. Tune into 97.7 (K-ICE) to hear the audio of the movie.

My Office and My Colleague

When I first became a professor 9 years ago, I had the opportunity to be on a cable access television program to discuss the value of an Asian American Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin. I was excited (even though it was just cable access) because I had never been on television before. I thought to myself, "Self, here is your big break!" Well, break is what happened. Specifically, I think I broke my ego! When the show was aired, I found myself mostly looking into the wrong camera and speaking with a stilted, slightly lisped voice that made me appropriately sound incoherent.

Alas, since then, I have never been back on television. My 15 seconds of fame were fleeting.

Well, last night, I was not on television but my office was featured on KARE-11 news for an Extra segment on Vietnam Vets Never Stop Giving Back. Huh? You see, my colleague, Dr. Patricia Frazier who is an expert on post-traumatic growth and mental health was interviewed for this segment and they elected to use my office because it had better lighting. I thnk my office performed much better than I would have. I know my colleague did. Here is what they quoted on the show:

"One of the things that people who've experienced traumatic events, including combat, often report is that they have a lot more empathy for people who've gone through similar things," says Frazier. "It makes a lot of sense. Vietnam vets. Who could understand better?"

Check out the story and video by clicking on this link.

American Idol (circa 1972)

You see...my love for karaoke dates back a few years. I found this photograph while organizing my home office the other day. My brother Martin is in the background, along with an unknown female fan. Enough said, I'll sit back and just let you enjoy the image.

Art Shanty Opening Day

The Art Shanty Projects opening was held on Saturday. It was an amazing day. There was excellent press coverage of the event. Most of the local major network affiliates were present, as well as the Associated Press.

I arrived early with Mike to help set up the Norae Shanty. Once all the gear was checked, we opened the door for those wanting to sing karaoke. It was a huge success and people sang from noon to 10:30 pm.

There were many other amazing art shanties. My favorites include the Rendezvous Cafe (pictured above), the Knitting Shanty, and the Igloo. I will post images of these other shanties in the days to come. Here is a photo of some other shanties, including David's Glass Shanty which wins the best constructed award (if there was such an award).

The turnout was probably around 300 people throughout the day. The young and old were there, as were local neighbors and those from afar. Supporters flew in from Colorado and Ohio. Other drove down from Duluth. Most stayed for hours in the cold, sipping on hot chocolate (and other elixirs) to stay warm and watching the array of entertainers, including Zombies on Ice, Live Action Set, and a Shanty Fashion Show.

I encourage folks to come check out the exhibit on ice on Saturday. You will not be disappointed.

The Summer of Strat-O-Matic

There is a wonderful article today in the NYTmes on the continued popularity of the baseball boardgame called Strat-O-Matic. It is perfect timing because I was just talking to the Tuesday night basketball guys about how I used to spend my summers playing a variant of this boardgame.

My oldest brother, King, introduced me to the game when I was a child. We were too poor to purchase the actual game. Instead, we (actually, King) resourcefully created our own version. We had a very large collection of baseball cards (thousands of them) and we used basic probability statistics to create tables that contrasted the batting average (BA) with the pitcher's earned run average (ERA) to create multiple outcomes, such as a strike out, base hit, walk, and hit by pitch. We also made statistical adjustments for players who were more likely to hit home runs or throw strike outs. Then, we picked our teams and played the game much like the original Strat-O-Matic.

Each major league player is represented by a card, on which his statistics from the previous season are crunched into various rankings and outcomes. A roll of the dice and a check of the batter's or pitcher's card then determines the result of each play. [from NYTimes]

From the age of 10 (through the middle of high school), I played this game with my middle brother, Martin, over and over again, mostly during the summer when we had a lot of time to kill. We modified King's original game by making new tables with sometimes looser and other times tighter probability estimates, but the game remained the same. Each "season" we picked our teams (a la fantasy baseball) and used the previous season's statistics. However, we would re-calculate the players' BAs and ERAs based on our role playing performance. Then, we would re-calibrate the numbers according to the weekly player updates that were printed in the sports section of the local newspaper. It was a wonderful game to play and, as I look back on it, a fun way to learn math and statistics.

I recall religiously reading the sports section day after day. I kept a booklet filled with tables which I would use the BA and ERA formulas to track the progress of my players. If a player was not doing well (either in real life or because of my poor dice rolling), I would bench him in favor of another player who was more "hot." Other times, I would remain loyal and hope he worked through his slump. Yes, even back then, I was conscientious and analytical.

Oddly enough, my brothers and I rarely played this game with our friends. Maybe every now and then, but it was more a game for us to play. I have many fond memories playing this game with Martin. We would listen to the local FM radio station while we played, eat meals rolling dice, and challenge each other to game after game. We also used to ride our bikes a couple mile to the local 7-11 to buy pack after pack of Topps, Fleer, and other baseball cards. We had thousands of them which we would sort by team. I believe Martin still has a collection of these cards (or at least I hope he still does). In this way, it also was a great family game.

This past holiday, I went home to Connecticut and spent a lot of time with my niece and nephews, King's children. One of the things that they always wanted to play with me was Monopoly. It's funny because today's kids have so many alternatives from cable tv to video games, yet it was Monopoly (among the oldest of boardgames) that captured their attention. Like our childhood version of Strat-O-Matic, Monopoly is a game that must be played with other people. It is about matching wits, relying on luck, and good gamesmanship. Great life lessons.

I wonder if we still have the baseball boardgame somewhere in a closet or box or did we throw it away as we got older. I think I still have some life lessons to learn.

Baritone on Ice :: The Art Shanty Project and Music Lessons

"It has begun..." This was the subject line of Mike's email regarding the upcoming Art Shanty Projects on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN. The above photo is a shot of three art shanty's in construction. The exhibit will premiere on the lake on Saturday at 12 noon and run February 19th. If you are in town, be there!

For me, the highlight will be Mike's norae shanty (aka the karaoke ice house). You will find me there often this winter, trying to stay sane during the long cold season (although I must say it has been unseasonably "warm" this winter).

And, I learned this week from two independent sources (Holly and Christopher) that I am a baritone. This was an interesting revelation because I am so unmusical (despite 3 years of minimal effort on the piano as a pre-teen!) and thus quite illiterate in such matters. But I trust my sources given that they are both trained singers/vocalists and outstanding karaoke singers.

What does it mean to be a baritone? Of course, I had to do some "research" on this matter. According to Wikipedia, a baritone (from Greek βαρυτονος 'deeply, heavily sounding') is a male voice of intermediate pitch, between bass and tenor. It is typically written for in the range A one octave and a third below middle C to F above middle C (i.e. A2-F4), though it is often extended at the top.. Dummies.com gives this definition -- The baritone can usually sing from an A (first space bass clef) or F (first space treble clef) below the male High C. The bass-baritone has some height of the baritone and some depth of the bass and his range is usually A-flat (first space bass clef) to F (first space treble clef) and sometimes as high as G below the male High C. The baritone's register transitions usually occur at the A or B just below Middle C and the D or E above Middle C.

Now, given that I am so musically illiterate, these notes really mean very little to me. It is like trying to understand statistics by simply looking at equations. I am a more practical thinker who needs concrete examples to illuminate an idea. Fortunately, Wikipedia lists some well known singers who are baritones. And, as concurrent validity to my friends' assessment of me, there are a number of singers on the list whose songs I sing or at least recognize as singable. For example, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley are all considered baritones (Cash is viewed as a bass-baritone).

My usual karaoke set has included songs that can be sung in this range, such as Born to Run by Springsteen, Sister Christian by Night Ranger, as well as a medley of songs by female singers which I bring down a register or two, such as Beautiful by Christina Aguilera and If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys.

Lately, though, I have been practicing some new songs. If you come visit me at the norae shanty, I promise to sing one of them. These songs include Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash, Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet, and Dance Hall Days by Wang Chung.

So come for a music lesson on the lake this Saturday! Until then, I will be practicing my voice and my breathing.

Martin Luther King - 1956 Comic

From Boing Boing, I learned that there is now available online a 1956 comic that portrays the story of Martin Luther King and the Montgomery civil rights protest. You can read the actual comic here thanks to Ethan Persoff.

http://www.ep.tc/mlk/index.html

Auscultation + Empathy = Wisdom

Aus·cul·ta·tion
1. The act of listening.
2. Medicine The act of listening for sounds made by internal organs, as the heart and lungs, to aid in the diagnosis of certain disorders.

I came across this uncommon word while reading a story about the use of a supersoaker water gun to clear out ear wax in a person who was on vacation (see CMAJ via www.boingboing.net). The story about the water gun was published in CMAJ's Auscultation section and, although the use of a water gun as a medical device is novel (and quite refreshing), I found the word "Auscultation" to be more interesting. Frequently used in medicine, it is not an everyday sort of vocabulary word.

In medicine, they even have developed teaching tools to help medical students with auscultation. For example, visit the online Auscultation Assistant which was developed by a medical student at UCLA. Ironically, the knock on physicians is that they are too focused perhaps on ausculation and not skilled enough at empathy. In fact, teaching better communication skills has become a priority at medical schools (see article on learning empathy).

As a psychologist, we are trained to be expert in auscultation, but we call it active listening. Its twin goals are to develop empathy and to make a diagnosis. Empathy , by the way, is defined as identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives or the attribution of one's own feelings to an object. It is believed by many to be a key ingredient in psychotherapy and more broadly in helping a person to resolve or work through personal problems. To identify with and to understand emotions, however, is much more challenging than physical, organic sounds, such as a heart beat or wheezing.

I know of teaching videotapes that show people expressing verbally and nonverbally a range of emotions, but they are obviously less precise than listening to heart beats. This is what makes trying to master empathy such a challenge. It is not as scientific. It requires what some call emotional intelligence. Others believe that empathy is more of an art than a science or trait. It is something that some people may have more skill at doing than others.

In life, I think we need to do a better job at both auscultation and empathy -- balancing reason and emotion. Sometimes, we need to be quick to judge and act. Other times, we need to be patient and understanding. It's a life time of learning. I think philosophers, religious scholars, and our elders just refer to it as wisdom.

Book of Daniel: A Chinese Adoptee = Preacher's Kid

The new television show, Book of Daniel, premiered on Friday night. I happened upon it by chance when the word "Oriental" caught my ear. Afterward, as I walked into the room to glance at the television to see who said that word on television, I noticed there was an Asian American character in the show. As it turns out, Adam Webster is a 16 year old Chinese adoptee who happens to be one of three PKs (Preacher's Kid). Adam is portrayed by Ivan Shaw. I could not find out much Mr. Shaw, except that he is a Taiwanese born Chinese American who previously was on the soap, All My Children (click forinterview). Here is a photo of Ivan Shaw for those curious...

A few organizations (American Family Association) and television stations have boycotted the show and are not airing it and a number of newspaper columnists/critics (e.g., Indianapolis Star) have criticized the show as well. Interestingly, I have found that few of the reviewers mention that Adam is a transnational, transracial adoptee. Some don't even mention that he is adopted (e.g., Houston Chronicle), although the Salt Lake Tribune (of all places!) does acknowledge this reality. Not surprisingly, the SLT critic is Asian American.

Upon first impression, I think that this show has promise. It is scripted in a witty, modern way that tries to be an amalgamation of Desperate Housewives, Dawson's Creek, and 7th Heaven. The dialogue and character storylines are not great but maybe it will develop over time. I am not a media critic.

What I liked the most about the show is the head-on manner in which they address the fact that one of the children in the Webster family is transnationally and transracially adopted. Using humor directly and indirectly, the show writers reveal how the stigma of adoption is still prevalent and how racism and discrimination play out in day to day life. In the first episode, the word "oriental" is used in teasing (among siblings) and disparaging ways. The latter way is used by Adam's White girlfriend's mother who disapproves of the interracial relationship and goes on to say that she does not want to have little Oriental grandchildren. The diversity within the family (race and sexual orientation) is acknowledged openly by the family members who struggle and accept these differences.

I also have to say that this is the first prime time show that I can recall which actually shows on air an interracial Asian-White relationship in which the man is Asian and virile! Usually, if you see an Asian-White relationship, it is a White man with an Asian woman, but here the reverse is shown. Plus, Adam has wit, humor, and personality. He is athletic and compassionate. He breaks the Asian male sterotypes of the effeminate nerd. It will be interesting to see how this story line develops over the season.

All in all, The Book of Daniel is not a show about a clean cut preacher's family. Instead, the show attempts to reflect the complexity of modern family life, in all its diversity and love. I look forward to seeing if this show can mature into a solid program.

Racially Unknown (aka White)

The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted a recent study conducted by the James Irvine Foundation that examined the actual race and ethnicity of college students who fall into the "ethnicity/race unknown" category on demographic data. Usually, students are assigned to this category by college administrators when the students leave the ethnic/race category blank, choose more than one category, or choose "other." It was believed that the majority of these students were multiracial people and thus reflected the ethnic and racial diversity of higher education. The report examined the demography of three private small colleges in California and found unexpected results. Specifically, the majority of students who initially were classified as unknown were in fact White.

Why is this study so interesting and relevant? First, colleges tend to suggest that their student body is more racially and ethnically diverse because they include students classified as ethnicity/race unknown as minorities. Second, some minority students may elect to attend a college because they believe it is more racially/ethnically diverse than the truth of the matter. Third, some White students may choose to not disclose their ethnicity/race because they believe it will disadvantage them in the admissions process. Fourth, other White students may choose to not disclose their ethnicity/race because they subscribe to a colorblind philosophy that mistakenly assumes race/ethnicity does not matter in society. This view clearly draws upon unacknowledged White privilege. Fifth, multiracial children are further discounted when they are inadvertently lumped together with White students.

Six Degrees of Third Space :: Adoptees, Art, and Athletics

This is a rambling story about adoptees, arts, and athletics in the context of the notion of third space. By third space, I am referring to a sense of identity and place where people can intentionally live among similar others and at the same time live in contrast and in reaction to dominant social structures that otherwise marginalize them. For Asian Americans, for example, it is not the same as ethnic enclaves that attempt to recreate the homeland and it is not an effort to mimic or assimilate to the White mainstream culture. Instead, it is a fluid space in which people find common ground with like and not like minded others that defy (or transcends) traditional categories that are used to make people feel like the "other". It is a term used increasingly by ethnic/racial/cultural studies scholars in the humanities (rarely by my colleagues in the behavioral sciences).

Drawing liberally upon this notion of third space, I have come across a number of interesting websites by activists and artists that capture the power of the third space. For example, check out In Third Space which is a new e-magazine for and by transnational adoptees who are coming together to define their own identities and bring voice to their own experiences. Also, check out two emerging Asian American musicians (Kevin So and Jared Rehberg) who are creating their own sound that reflects their lives as complex and layered Asian Americans.

In a bit of six degrees of separation, I learned about In Third Space from my friend, Holly, who happens to be working on a photographic book about Korean adoptees in Minnesota (titled HERE) that I previously had mentioned. Then, I noticed that the website is maintained by Jared Rehberg, a Vietnamese adoptee. I happened to have met Jared a year or so ago when consulting with Also Known As in NYC. Jared's website has a link to Kevin So who is a Boston based singer-songerwriter. It turns out that Kevin is associates with Mary Lou Lord, another singer-songwriter originally from Boston. Now, I used to have a big crush on Mary Lou Lord back in the late 1980s when I was in college and she used to play in the subways of Boston. To bring this story full circle, Mary Lou was mentored by the musician Shawn Colvin whose former home in Austin, TX was purchased by my good friends, Tony and Kelli!

Phew...okay, so back to third spaces...or maybe to athletics...hm...how to tie this all together.

I have lived in Minnepolis since 2000 but it was not really until a couple of years ago that I started to find my social niche in the community. And through these various activities and other assorted outlets (notably my good friend, Ken), I started to play basketball with a group of 30-50 year olds. It turns out that this group started to play basketball together over 20 years ago. Originally, it began as mostly a group of local artists who (defying stereotypes) enjoyed playing ball. Amazingly, through many permutations, this group continues to play weekly.It is still mostly artists tho' a couple of us teacher types have made our way in. I was fortunate to join in this summer, despite my lack of real talent with the ball.

Now, to me, this group reflects a third space of sorts, though perhaps not in the scholarly sense. On any given Tuesday night, we have a photographer, screenwriter, actor, painter, art professor, building contractor, internet marketer/web designer, sociology professor, psychology professor, art gallery owner, poet/playwright, furniture maker, musician, school principal and more come together to play a scrappy game of basketball. We transcend occupation, social class, education, ethnicity, race, and religion and find common ground in athletics but also in humor, intellect, and good spirit. As I have gotten to know many of these fellow ballers, I have learned how much of a support network this group has become for many. It reflects a true sense of social capital in which people go out of their way to help each other out. Many of us live intentionally on the court and off in a fraternal bond that lets people drop pretension and expose honesty and intimacy.

The world is small and it seems that the more you allow the world to enter into your life, the smaller the world becomes. To me, this is a good thing and I am always excited to discover when social circles overlap, entwine, and expand. In defining our identities for ourselves on our own terms, in the context of all the demands put upon us in life, there is freedom in this new space.

UMN International Adoption Clinic

There is an article in the New York Times today about medical screenings for international adoption and specifically the University of Minnesota International Adoption Clinic, founded by Dr. Dana Johnson (pictured above) in 1986.

Dana is a colleague of mine who also is involved with the International Adoption Project. His work has been seminal to the field of adoption studies and I greatly admire him as an exemplar of balancing practitioner and researcher.