Will you watch "Live Earth"?

Who's asking: Various people

Hell, no.

Here's what Vice President Gore told the Associated Press:

"This is going to be the greenest event of its kind, ever. The carbon offsets and the innovative practices that are being used to make this a green event, I think, will set the standard for years to come."

This is like saying this will be the least sinful orgy in history, and the purchases of indulgences and Masses will save everyone's souls for eternity.

If you're really concerned about the environment, do what I plan to do tomorrow: leave the car at home. Take a long walk. Pick up some trash. Water some plants. Turn off your air-conditioner, and unplug appliances you aren't using.

Whether or not one believes in global warming -- and I'm not sure I do, although it's obvious that we're going through some climate changes -- being a responsible resident of the planet is the right thing to do. Jetting thousands of miles, or driving hundreds, to be part of a giant energy-sucking orgy of self-congratulation does not meet my standards for responsible stewardship.

I'm having a bad day, and it's not even 10:00 yet.

What I Read This Week

Jeffery Deaver, The Sleeping Doll. I burned out on Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series a few books back, but really liked his standalone, The Garden of Beasts, and admire his short fiction very much. I had high hopes for this book, which gives center stage to kinesics expert Kathryn Dance, who is a sort of human lie detector. Dance leads the chase when a vicious killer and cult leader escapes from prison, and seeks help from the killer's victims -- the women who'd lived under his spell and the girl who survived his last murder scene. The problem is that the villain of this book, Daniel Pell, is so much more interesting than the good guys that the book feels ponderous whenever it shifts away from Pell's point of view.