
I realized the other day that it’s been a couple months since I updated you on my personal life. No one’s asked for an update, of course, but I figured the fan letter that said “Send me the music from Running Scarred because I dont know how to use the internet except for email and this is the first time I have used email – I swear – so please hurry” was probably from a non-English speaker who really meant to say, “How’s your girlfriend, Aimiee, and the child you abandoned in Nebraska last fall?”
Well, I have good and bad news about Xing, our adopted son who’s really our daughter. The good news is she’s doing really well for herself in Lincoln, Nebraska, having been accepted for early enrollment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at the tender age of seven. She’s also reclaimed her natural name of Zhen, along with the gender Aimiee and I denied her. (Every parent makes mistakes. Don’t judge our gender reassignment until you’ve seen for yourself how it can have an unexpected negative side.)
As is the case with almost all children, Zhen got bored while waiting for school to start, so she took advantage of her free time and created a new iPhone application. Her “app” tells you how much longer you’ll be able to hold out before you break down and buy the latest iPhone.
I’m so proud of my little boy-girl! She’s all grown up now. This bird has flown, it’s time to let her make her own mistakes, we set the bar as low as possible as parents so she’d have nowhere to go but up, et cetera, et cetera, and so forth. Of course her new family in Lincoln still sees her as a seven-year-old who needs love and attention and discipline, even if she is a genius, but frankly I think that’s an insult to someone of her caliber.

The new Disney/Pixar collaboration, Up, has just opened to some of the best reviews the studio’s ever received. While it’s a very enjoyable film, I have to say it certainly isn’t among their best, in spite of the talent behind it.
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1), starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber, directed by Gavin Hood.
No, it wasn’t a nightmare. I was surrounded by jive-ass talking cartoon animals, and so were you.