I would have written earlier this week, but it was another busy week at work, and this level orange terror alert had me spooked for a few days. On Thursday morning, I got up to go to the gym as usual, and put on the "Today" show. The first three news stories were the tensions with Iraq, North Korea has a missile that can reach the western US, and al Qaeda is ready to attack. My first thought was "can I just go back to bed?" To ward off the fear, I reminded myself that my chances of being a casualty in a terror attack are far smaller than my chances of being hit by a car on any given day. And I stocked up on food and water, just to be safe. We've got enough tuna, soup, and peanut butter to last a few days if there's any unpleasantness.

Liz and I continued our run up to the Oscars by seeing The Hours on Saturday. It was good, but I didn't get into it like other movies I've seen this year. The acting was spectacular all around, which was good, since that's all there is to the movie. It's not like an action picture that distracts you from subpar performances with special effects and explosions. But Chicago is still the best movie I've seen in the past few years, and that includes the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I saw it again last weekend, and tapped my feet and sang along (quietly, of course) throughout the film. It just makes me happy in a way that few movies ever have. I can't wait to see it one more time.