The READ: Ephemera, Run

 

The most interesting piece I read in the Times last week—excluding the profile in which Reykjavik’s new mayor said that he would rule out as a coalition partner “any party whose members had not seen all five seasons of ‘The Wire’”—was Book Review editor (and TNR contributor) Sam Tanenhaus’s 2,500-word exploration of John Updike’s archive. Tanenhaus reports that Updike, who died about a year and a half ago at age 76, left an enormous cache of papers “fashioned as meticulously as one of his lathe-turned sentences.” Now at Harvard University’s Houghton Library, it is closed to the public until archivists have had a chance to catalog its 170 boxes—which they estimate will take about two years. In the meantime, Tanenhaus got a sneak peek, and writes that the files, which occupy an aisle and a half worth of shelves, “hold the keys to Updike’s literary universe.” They include manuscript drafts in pencil and typescript, photocopied pages of research material, and hundreds of letters Updike wrote to his parents that chronicle nearly 20 years of his life.

Just about any person fascinated by books has felt the seductive pull of the writer’s archive. Human beings love creation stories, and that’s what the researcher hopes to discover: to witness, in retrospect, the birth of a masterpiece. Literature itself is full of these fantasies, from the stack of letters that obsess the narrator of James’s The Aspern Papers to the revelatory discovery about a famous poet’s private life made by a young researcher in the first pages of A.S. Byatt’s Possession. Tanenhaus writes excitedly of the trove of materials that went into the making of Rabbit at Rest: snapshots of storefronts in a Pennsylvania town, photocopies of pages from medical books on heart disease, a memo from a researcher on sales practices at Toyota dealers, a list of basketball moves. There’s even the wrapper from a Planters Peanut Bar, “as lovingly preserved as a pressed autumn leaf,” which Tanenhaus imagines Updike using to come up with the novel’s vivid description of Rabbit dumping the “sweet crumbs out of the wrapper into his palm and with his tongue lick[ing] them all up like an anteater”—one of those actions we’ve all done but would be at pains to describe.

But if these are the keys to a literary universe, where are the locks? None of us, presented with this miscellany of sources, could sit down and write the Rabbit novels. What they actually reveal is how mysterious the essential act of creation is. You might as well gather together Picasso’s paint jars, canvas, and easel and try to reconstruct Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, or imagine a ballet by looking at the music, costumes, shoes. What’s missing is the alchemy that takes an assortment of random objects and transforms them into a work of art. And that process leaves no trace.

The READ: Ephemera, Run1

 

What’s more, the archive offers an illusion of completeness not entirely different from the way the novel itself offers an illusion of reality. All those boxes, their contents neatly filed and numbered and alphabetized, in all their exquisite order! But anyone who has spent time poking through a writer’s archive—and I have been doing a bit of this myself lately—will realize that the apparent intactness masks what is not there. The letters that got torn up, the drafts that were burned—if you’re lucky, there are hints of these in other documents, so that you can agonize in frustration over what was lost. But for all the diary entries and recipes and Christmas cards that your subject saved, there might have been an equal number that he or she threw away. And perhaps rightly so. Even the most dogged researcher, poring over pages after page of publisher’s correspondence (“Enclosed please find your royalty statement for the period January through June 1951 …”) and similar monotony, will remember why this stuff is called ephemera. In 170 boxes of stuff, is there really nothing that Updike could have parted with? A judicious edit of the archives would make it easier to find those documents with true literary value.

Soon, of course, it is the archive itself that will be ephemeral. Adam Begley, Updike’s biographer, writes that his archive “may be the last great paper trail.” Which of the young writers at work today—the New Yorker’s “20 under 40,” for instance—print out their emails for the sake of posterity? What will the “miscellany” file hold for a writer who keeps all his or her appointments on a PDA? (There is a certain undeniable amusement to going through the ancient datebook of a famous person.) Writers’ archives will no doubt continue to exist, but in far different form: perhaps someday a researcher in a manuscript reading room will be offered not a shelf full of musty cartons but his or her subject’s ancient laptop, complete with virtual sticky notes, Web bookmarks, and probably porn.

But the computer discourages the keeping of archives, at least in their traditional form. If Updike had been working in Word, he might have left no trace of the numerous emendations to the opening airport scene of Rabbit at Rest, which Tanenhaus carefully chronicles. (The pun of “terminal air-conditioning” came in a rewrite, we learn.) That medical information he photocopied could now be taken care of with a glance at Wikipedia. Is this a disaster? For biographers and the editors of variorum editions, perhaps—not to mention all the archivists who currently guard the flame. But the rest of us are unlikely to register a dip in the atmospheric pressure. And it could well lead to a useful conversation about how much all this stuff is actually worth—and how much time, money, and effort ought to be expended in preserving it. In the meantime: Novelists of the world, throw out your Planters Peanut Bar Milky Way candy bar wrappers.

The PICTURE: American Abstraction

 

Fireworks are kinetic drawings inscribed in the sky. On the night of July 4, in the little upstate New York town of Narrowsburg, we stood on the bridge over the Delaware River and watched with a few hundred other people as the bursts of choreographed color exploded overhead. I had been thinking about the fantasy element in American art for a week or so, since I saw the Charles Burchfield show that has just opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Although Burchfield’s forests and skyscapes do not always give me enough subtleties of color or form to entirely engage my eye, I do admire the Gothicizing, fairy tale dimension in his paintings, which are almost without exception done in watercolor. There is something winningly mysterious and magical in Burchfield’s hymns to nature, with trees gathered together to create elaborately spun cathedral visions, a small town version of a medieval dream world.

I felt some of that same spirit, grave and humorous at the same time, as I watched the explosions of gold, silver, and green lights—and, of course, red, white, and blue lights—in the darkening July 4 sky. The setting was perfect. The Delaware is intimate and meandering at Narrowsburg, and the trees on each bank, framing the light show, turned the scene into a romantic postcard, the sort of postcard of an American town that 90 years ago would have been chromolithographed in colors that were not quite perfectly registered. Of course the fireworks display that we saw the other night was pure kitsch, with great gilt chandeliers of light turning into streaks of glitter before they expired. And the red, white, and blue of the grand finale did not really have the coloristic punch that one hoped for. But taken together, it was an enchanted vision: the little town, the handsome bridge, the winding river, the deep green foliage, and the crowd clapping and hooting in delight. The blaze of July 4 fireworks, starbursts, and floral symmetries suspended in the velvet sky, reminded me of the elaborate arabesques, like New World adaptations of motifs from Old World tapestries, that Burchfield worked into his fantasy kingdoms. In Narrowsburg, we were watching the afterimages of fireworks of yore, of all the princely displays in all the European capitals, but now reduced to the perfectly intimate scale of an old American town.

Here was an indigenous version of nonobjective art, a dime store Kandinsky with its own matter-of-fact honesty, an American abstraction that was immediately comprehensible to everybody who was there. In the end, after the ultimate onslaught of gaudy color, a great yell went up from the crowd. We were saluting those fiery decorative flourishes, but also the democratic vision they honored. For a minute or two we were all united in our faith in the United States of America. And then everybody headed for their cars and the drive home.

Early and Late

 

A smart distributor, on whom be peace, has decided to give a theatrical premiere to an early film by Yasujiro Ozu. This is good news, not just because the film itself—I Was Born, But...—is endearing but because it draws further attention to this Japanese master. Much of Ozu is available on DVD, including this film, but more theatrical recognition may increase this country’s care for a wonderful artist.

Ozu (1903–1963) began to direct in 1927 and made a total of fifty-four features. He is best known here for the group of pictures that began in 1949 with Late Spring and concluded with An Autumn Afternoon in 1962. Couched in differing subtleties, these later films share, in some degree, one quality. The poet and dance critic Edwin Denby said often that what he prized most in ballet was stillness, which I take to mean the recovery through motion of a resident serenity, an apprehension behind the dancing of quiet pure existence. This view relates to Ozu. The best among his last films, Tokyo Story, has a certain stillness behind all that we see and hear, a hushed apprehension of human mystery.

A smart distributor, on whom be peace, has decided to give a theatrical premiere to an early film by Yasujiro Ozu. This is good news, not just because the film itself—I Was Born, But...—is endearing but because it draws further attention to this Japanese master. Much of Ozu is available on DVD, including this film, but more theatrical recognition may increase this country’s care for a wonderful artist.

Ozu (1903–1963) began to direct in 1927 and made a total of fifty-four features. He is best known here for the group of pictures that began in 1949 with Late Spring and concluded with An Autumn Afternoon in 1962. Couched in differing subtleties, these later films share, in some degree, one quality. The poet and dance critic Edwin Denby said often that what he prized most in ballet was stillness, which I take to mean the recovery through motion of a resident serenity, an apprehension behind the dancing of quiet pure existence. This view relates to Ozu. The best among his last films, Tokyo Story, has a certain stillness behind all that we see and hear, a hushed apprehension of human mystery.

Behind the Scenes of Windows 7 Enterprise

 

An article is posted on the window of the enterprise value of the blog outstanding team and how it reflects the Windows and customers and partners have told us the most needed. It is this essay read -

With Windows Vista, we learned a lot about how to participate in our customers and partners will be how to the development of an operating system, in short, early and frequently. Windows 7, we have changed our Windows operating system is developed in order to better response, feedback. So, before we found three main principle for our new technology.

Our team planning: s plans spent six months "visual window 7 stages." We have analyzed the trend and customer demand characteristics of buildings before. We also pay more attention to in end-to-end commercial scene, not just in function and technique.

Predictability: to give us our s customers and partners and we release time frame. We are still in the three years of Windows Vista ship Windows and release. We are only sharing information, we have a window to a higher degree of certainty in July from early revealed slight change.

S: early contact with partners in ecological development, early Windows and instead of traditional beta schedule. This makes for a more perfect experience and the compatibility of the fields.

This article is big enough, so you can post here on the window reading the other team's blog

For more than twenty years, we have been in the office with a clear vision: to provide our customers the best productivity of experience. Nine out of ten beta users find office is in 2010 they present productivity, and this fact suite become more exciting, considering the actual user beta users 70% of the current version, our office will be closed from July 2007. Here are some additional data from our 2010 beta users:

First, the beta users have 80%, encouraging people to download.

That new users, 75 percent of their application in the background check that office. Better, Background is a new way to organize all the features and functions of the documents, you can/documents (.). The characteristics and function, you will be held in the document with the ribbon) - this means you have easy access to Shared, printing, such as administrative authority, etc.

, a considerable number of talent, in the field of view for the 2010 conversation is one of them. In fact, those with its three said it lets them less messy inbox!

For those who have heavy users of Excel, you may be interested to know the four 5 say their sparklines to Excel in the data. Sparklines is a new kind of data, graphics, said in a cell.

Download Windows 7 build 7048 wallpapers

 

7 7048 built window contains some new wallpaper these wallpaper is high quality of a resolution in 1920 * 1200

This wallpaper bag contains all five areas (wallpaper, Australia, Canada, UK, USA, South Africa, etc.). The size of the wallpaper is 52 MB and can be downloaded

Rapidshare here

In view of the wallpaper photo

We were asked to remove the download link, so all the connection has been demolished

Search article purchase.

S WINDOWS 7

Do you know 7As s wallpaper, project provides different views: gantt charts view, calendar, network diagram's point of view, this several aspects. When you see a print, you also can print notes with this idea. (for example, when you want to print notes in gantt charts view, the task is printing. Comments

1. In the menu, click on the "check what you want.

If you want to use a point, not in the menu, click, click on the view of the more you want to use, and then click on the list of ideas.

2. On the file menu, click page Settings, then click "check" TAB.

3. Select print checkbox.

4. Click the print. You know in 5.5 million users download our office 2010 test? This makes the biggest office beta program by 2010, we have in the history of the office. We ask the broad beta user feedback response, the feeling is very good. This level of positive feedback we receive will make us feel very represents the business (work) and humble (products, is very important, so many people). We are very excited, many great story of our customers are in this new product. Here are some interesting facts, I want to share my reading of feedback.

Microsoft in talks over Windows 7 broadband bundles

 

Say to the UK, growth and innovation ZDNet Microsoft Thursday in Brussels, Neil management strategy, vice President of Microsoft company, said in international negotiations and telecommunications companies and other service providers to calculate netbooks running Windows and can be tied with other hardware and service, in order to improve the market.

"Microsoft and telecom enterprises as a particular channel," holloway. "That Carphone mobile phones, computers, warehouse bundle is amazing. Laptop we will do a few similar, make some quotations, including Windows equality.

Holloway said: "netbooks stay here," and reiterated Microsoft announcement from February is developing a pared - down versions of Windows operating system netbooks use.

Because of their inherent flexibility, netbooks has become a standard, most of the extended use their mobile operators of 3G network.

Say to the UK, growth and innovation ZDNet Microsoft Thursday in Brussels, Neil management strategy, vice President of Microsoft company, said in international negotiations and telecommunications companies and other service providers to calculate netbooks running Windows and can be tied with other hardware and service, in order to improve the market.

"Microsoft and telecom enterprises as a particular channel," holloway. "That Carphone mobile phones, computers, warehouse bundle is amazing. Laptop we will do a few similar, make some quotations, including Windows equality.

Holloway said: "netbooks stay here," and reiterated Microsoft announcement from February is developing a pared - down versions of Windows operating system netbooks use.

Because of their inherent flexibility, netbooks has become a standard, most of the extended use their mobile operators of 3G network.

Windows 7 build 7054 torrents confirmed fake

 

They have some seeds can explain it is established in Mininova 7054 x32 Windows 7. Although we may be quite a number of confirmed these seeds is fake. This file version, it 6.1.7054.0 roll images of the properties of 7054 running Windows established 7 installation files

Now, check of digital signature setup file

The digital signature confirm rapids is false.

Some Chinese BBS has started talking about 7056 Windows established as soon as possible and we issued more information

Read the text aloud can automatically in my photo. Yes, yes, science fiction is true. I had a quick search in my notes of "sex", this is our designers really let everyone can read and use our site. OneNote search function words in the photo slideshow found that day of talks. I didn't take photos into my notes. It just do it!

Now, let me make a happy every day, but it is the robot dance better than this. OneNote can also understand your audio and video files, you can search words in your recording automatically. Say:

Therefore, to help me in OneNote killer features. Photos will become a copy of my records from now on. Point and stem faster than typing. ),

This is march Rogers, design office.com lead. This week, I have participated in web design conference in Las Vegas. One is able to change the colors, fonts, layout and many other sites. Since I read the latest survey, 61% of the company are deployed, IDC, I think many of you want to know how to change the execution of executive for you, you can ask your company's IT and design for you to do, so folks are the best you can execute experience.

Theme - these are predefined graphics, color and type, you can choose how to execute look you want it. One of the cool, you can change the execution of the theme, click a button and executive with a good selection of default theme and more can download site. How to change the subject, see this article.

Windows 7 Client Software Logo Program

 

In the Windows of the ecological system has broad platform and partner, the product platform. Display on your Windows symbol represents a relationship and commitment to product quality, sharing Microsoft and your company. The trust of customers, you'll see that brand products can satisfy Windows compatible standard and performance of Windows platforms.

Windows software program consists of seven mark policies and requirements to help ensure identification, easy to install and reliable running applications in Windows 7 PCS.

This document is the purpose of its technical requirements and qualified eligible to apply to join window must meet the client software project and hidden web parts - mark cool thing in life is when you implement hidden pages, it is just part of you, you haven't affect how the site looks to others. So, if you are a information, you can find all of your company and the project properties in a place or, if you like, you can have more people with only a few parts of the network experience do you really want to watch. This is a good article custom how you see executive network components.

If you want to order menu, you will need to ask people for some help, design. Who is your website administrator, can change affect how all users see this place. As you can change the theme, make a new topic - according to your company or organization, changed, the types and quantity of the brand of network part for everyone. But, let you far more than that. Administrators to a designer, and can completely change the look of the site. You may not know its execution - except you will still have those great collaboration tools. ),

So if you want to the execution of your total new sites and then hall and send them to it, the great resource for them to write only in their favorite high-tech talk!

Incidentally not web site. The web sites may establish in execution, can look like a different other web sites. For our new office.com website - currently in beta is established in the forthcoming execution. Check and let me know what you think!

In the future, I will tell you some other cool website built in execution. You may be surprised to discover that many of you know!

When you gotta dance: SmartArt animation in PowerPoint: Crabby's Daily Tip:

 

You can activate your entire PowerPoint SmartArt graphics or a particular shape. Step 3: to find the most suitable for your animation works graphics, decide whether to do every shape or as a separate, Then take time off. The most basic is:

1. Click you want SmartArt graphic animation.

2. In animation "TAB, select group in animation, you want the animation lifelike list.

When you activate your SmartArt, depending on your choice, you have the different choices of layout. Animation can occur.

As an object. ,

Who is much better

One by one

One branch

By level, is much better

By level, have joined

Now, if you decide to work, you can not switch to a new dress is very easy, each animation you have been transferred to the new layout (no one was left).

Now try. If you want more deeply, instructions, information, read all about how to activate your SmartArt graphics.

You can activate your entire PowerPoint SmartArt graphics or a particular shape. Step 3: to find the most suitable for your animation works graphics, decide whether to do every shape or as a separate, Then take time off. The most basic is:

1. Click you want SmartArt graphic animation.

2. In animation "TAB, select group in animation, you want the animation lifelike list.

When you activate your SmartArt, depending on your choice, you have the different choices of layout. Animation can occur.

As an object. ,

Who is much better

One by one

One branch

By level, is much better

By level, have joined

Now, if you decide to work, you can not switch to a new dress is very easy, each animation you have been transferred to the new layout (no one was left).

Now try. If you want more deeply, instructions, information, read all about how to activate your SmartArt graphics.

Our 7 best tools to use The Office Ribbon

 

Like you, we experienced the honeymoon with ribbons in storm Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other office procedures. Here are some psychological balm to appease transition, make you afficionado ribbon.

1) office casual: how to work the office ribbon

I want to explain what tape. First, it doesn't work, it is like a beautiful heartier ribbon. This is an office casual video work office ribbon.

2) new ribbons

Three years of customer information to make us the best features of the new content, in a local office of 2007 and office 2010. The new office? Bookmarks.

3) interaction guide

These simple interactive tools you click a command in 2003 and automatic saw command office is in the ribbon. Here the interactive tour Word, Excel, outlook, access, and slide. All here to find their or.

4) ribbon of heroes

The free download turned into the game with orders. This is our own Crabby office lady bear ribbon of heroes.

5) to help TAB

If you need help, we have put together a free video demonstration, the interaction of the guidelines, and through this free online training courses for downloading the help option or Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

6) search commands

From the manufacturer of the ribbon hero! Download free search commands, simply enter any command button.

7) rapid access toolbar

Your favorite commands always in front of you. Consistent. Watching a video about quick access toolbar to provide all programs with ribbons.

Likewise, if you can personalize toolbar in 2010.

There are several ways to communicate with the prospect of 2007 (2007) can OneNote and work together. Today I show me the two most popular.

When you send an email IMing

Maybe you need to share files or email with someone, you are IMing with (or others) to your table. No need to jump back and forth between you and the instant window.

1. In an instant communication session, select the product name, you want to send an E-mail to the participants list.

2. Right-click the contact's name, then click "send an E-mail.

(you can arrange meetings.

When you send a me in email:

If you and others have important via E-mail, IMing time sensitive discussion may be just what you need to do.

In outlook, window, click the existence state indicators the contact's name, then click back and instant messages.

More interested in? Learning, communication, OneNote work together.

How to use the Quick Access Toolbar: Office Casual

 

In 2007, in the office or the 2010, you can put your favorite commands in rapid access toolbar (QAT) have been preparing whatever tags or with your work. Let me tell you how to in this short this job.

To learn more about how to use the rapid access toolbar.

I appreciate your quick access toolbar office casual. Good information.

Separate projects. I'm sure you have trillion good idea, I like fairy tale ideas but add another three, if you can help me.

I work in a government office, do a lot of documents. I will enjoy the following characteristics in ms word. Can hide/collaspe part. Similar to MS Excel hidden rows and columns. I can reduce unnecessary materials to summarize information and can choose to display a button or key or icon to open the file button read more details. I know we have contact, but if we can characteristics of documents and readability collaspe fast, can save a lot of hard work.

For ms Outlook, you can improve the distribution of contact characteristics. I can only choose one in time and place it in the lighting distribution box. I want to duplicate paste or drag a list of names of E-mail from someone's name, become distro list... I do a lot of different meeting and murdered distro make a list.

Microsoft thinks it can merge with ms Outlook more calenders linked together. I have several boss and tracking to my hand jam and vajrayana calendar ate up my work efficiency.

Jacques -- I told a prospect and writer. Their answers.

Words.

The word of what type of reminds me of the syllabus and similar to what you can do in the navigation pane. But I will forward this letter to my point of contact.

Prospects.

Now distribution in Outlook contacts by 2010. You can select multiple contacts, and contact group. Drag-and-drop does not support.

Watch multiple calendar "co-mingled:" we recommend LiGuan day in 2007 and 2010.

Select the first or last cell in Excel: Crabby's Daily Tip:

 

Walk straight ahead, a martyr, cramps in hand or your mousewheel data. Or, enjoy your time on this earth (or any) from... CTRL + families choose the first cells in the worksheet, or in a list of Excel.

CTRL + ultimately chose the cells, including data and format.

Jacques -- I told a prospect and writer. Their answers.

Words.

The word of what type of reminds me of the syllabus and similar to what you can do in the navigation pane. But I will forward this letter to my point of contact.

Prospects.

Now distribution in Outlook contacts by 2010. You can select multiple contacts, and contact group. Drag-and-drop does not support.

Watch multiple calendar "co-mingled:" we recommend LiGuan day in 2007 and 2010.

I work in a government office, do a lot of documents. I will enjoy the following characteristics in ms word. Can hide/collaspe part. Similar to MS Excel hidden rows and columns. I can reduce unnecessary materials to summarize information and can choose to display a button or key or icon to open the file button read more details. I know we have contact, but if we can characteristics of documents and readability collaspe fast, can save a lot of hard work.

For ms Outlook, you can improve the distribution of contact characteristics. I can only choose one in time and place it in the lighting distribution box. I want to duplicate paste or drag a list of names of E-mail from someone's name, become distro list... I do a lot of different meeting and murdered distro make a list.

Microsoft thinks it can merge with ms Outlook more calenders linked together. I have several boss and tracking to my hand jam and vajrayana calendar ate up my work efficiency.

Outlook & Communicator can have playdates: Crabby's Daily Tip

 

There are several ways to communicate with the prospect of 2007 (2007) can OneNote and work together. Today I show me the two most popular.

When you send an email IMing

Maybe you need to share files or email with someone, you are IMing with (or others) to your table. No need to jump back and forth between you and the instant window.

1. In an instant communication session, select the product name, you want to send an E-mail to the participants list.

2. Right-click the contact's name, then click "send an E-mail.

(you can arrange meetings.

When you send a me in email:

If you and others have important via E-mail, IMing time sensitive discussion may be just what you need to do.

In outlook, window, click the existence state indicators the contact's name, then click back and instant messages.

More interested in? Learning, communication, OneNote work together.

There are several ways to communicate with the prospect of 2007 (2007) can OneNote and work together. Today I show me the two most popular.

When you send an email IMing

Maybe you need to share files or email with someone, you are IMing with (or others) to your table. No need to jump back and forth between you and the instant window.

1. In an instant communication session, select the product name, you want to send an E-mail to the participants list.

2. Right-click the contact's name, then click "send an E-mail.

(you can arrange meetings.

When you send a me in email:

If you and others have important via E-mail, IMing time sensitive discussion may be just what you need to do.

In outlook, window, click the existence state indicators the contact's name, then click back and instant messages.

More interested in? Learning, communication, OneNote work together.

What The Senate Climate Bill Would Achieve

 

The Peterson Institute for International Economics has just put out a great assessment of the Senate climate bill, the American Power Act. Dave Roberts has a post over at Grist with lots of colorful graphs pulled from it, but I thought this drab little chart was maybe the most helpful of the bunch. It shows how we can expect different energy sources to perform under the bill, compared with business as usual:

If this thing ever passed, oil consumption would drop quite a bit, coal use would go down, and even natural gas would drop a bit (this despite the fact that the bill has incentives for natural gas, which is the cleanest of fossil fuels). Nuclear does very well. Interestingly, the bill would make virtually no difference to the solar and wind industries. But that's not too surprising—the Senate's renewable energy standard is woefully weak, and not likely to do much to improve on existing state standards. Meanwhile, here's a graph of how the bill would affect energy prices:

The impact on consumers is relatively minor—by 2030, households can expect to pay anywhere from $136 more to $35 less in energy prices each year than they otherwise would, depending on whether and how cars and trucks keep getting more fuel-efficient.

And, in fact, the Senate bill could do even better on this front. As ACEEE has pointed out, the efficiency provisions in the Senate bill would only save one-third as much energy by 2030 as those in the House climate bill. By and large, efficiency improvements can save households a lot of money, but there are a variety of regulatory reasons why power companies don't always pursue this course (this old TNR piece on the always-fascinating world of electric utilities gets into why).

Again, if environmentalists wanted to strengthen the bill, boosting the efficiency and renewables sections seems like one of the most promising routes of attack. As the House vote on the "cash for caulkers" bill a few weeks ago showed, it's usually possible to pick off a few Republican votes for these items—cutting energy waste is such an obviously sound idea that even conservatives have a hard time objecting. (Well, sometimes.)

Rand Paul: Pressure On BP "Un-American"

 

We've had to wait all week, but Rand Paul has finally decided to bless us with his thoughts on the oil spill in the Gulf:

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you don’t want to get rid of the EPA?

PAUL: No, the thing is is that drilling right now and the problem we’re having now is in international waters and I think there needs to be regulation of that and always has been regulation. What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of, you know, “I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.” I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. I’ve heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill.

And I think it’s part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it’s always got to be someone’s fault. Instead of the fact that maybe sometimes accidents happen. I mean, we had a mining accident that was very tragic and I’ve met a lot of these miners and their families. They’re very brave people to do a dangerous job. But then we come in and it’s always someone’s fault. Maybe sometimes accidents happen.

Ah yes, the "oops" defense. But let's focus in on Paul's bit about "I've heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill." We now know that the oil company has been wildly lowballing the amount of oil leaking from the well: BP originally claimed 5,000 barrels per day, but that hasn't survived scrutiny, especially after video of the leaking pipe was made public. And why was the oil giant understating the amount? One possible motivation, as McClatchy reported, is that BP's low-end estimate "could save the company millions of dollars in damages when the financial impact of the spill is resolved in court."

Note also that BP isn't fully on the hook for the spill. Under current law, the company is obliged to pay direct cleanup costs, but its liability for indirect damages to wildlife or fisheries or beaches is limited to $75 million—and with the crude slick now lapping at the coastal wetlands of Louisiana and possibly spreading up through Florida, the total costs are surely going to be much higher than that. In essence, the government has socialized the risk BP and other drilling companies face. Surely that would bother a staunch libertarian like Paul, right? And yet Senate Republicans have been blocking attempts to raise the liability cap to $10 billion, and Paul hasn't said a word on the subject. Odd, that.

Yes, The Size Of The Gulf Spill Matters

 

In the past week, there’s been a long back-and-forth about how big, exactly, the Gulf oil spill is and how much crude is leaking out of BP’s well. First the oil company said 5,000 barrels per day were gushing out. Then that was shown to be false. Now some experts estimate it might be closer to 95,000 barrels per day, and various members of Congress have been accusing BP of a "cover-up" and demanding a precise barrel count.

Is any of this even important, though? For awhile, both BP and the federal government argued that all this gallon-guessing was beside the point, and they had better things to do than analyze videos of the leak and conduct estimates. But, as Lisa Suatoni explains here, knowing the size of the oil flow is quite crucial for a whole bunch of different practical reasons—and not just because people have a right to know:

1. Scale. The flow rate estimates differ by a factor of ten. Differences on this scale are not quibbles; they are big, fundamental differences.

2. Response. The discrepancy is sufficiently large enough to influence response strategies. For example, to promote the efficacy of dispersants, they are applied at a specific ratio to the volume of oil. This is not possible if the volume is unknown, by this large of a degree. In addition, the ability to successfully cap the well, engineer a dome, or pump the oil to the surface depends on a good estimate of the oil flow rate (both in terms of volume of oil and the force with which it is exiting the pipe).

3. Law. Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) must be conducted. This entails assessing the input of oil, its fate (i.e., where it goes, what it coats and contaminates), and the damage it caused. The ability to fully conduct this accounting—or ‘mass balance’—requires knowing the initial volume of oil.

4. Financial Penalty. Following discharge of oil into a water body, the federal Clean Water Act allows for a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per barrel of oil spilled. This penalty can not be calculated to its fullest extent without knowing the total volume of oil.

Why The Climate Bill Is Stuck In Neutral

 

Now that financial reform has passed through the Senate, is energy next? As always, that's… unclear. A big problem right now is that no one actually seems to be at the forefront of shepherding the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act through the chamber. As Darren Samuelsohn reports, Harry Reid was supposed to take charge of the process, but he's still trying to figure out whether to move ahead with a big climate bill or a smaller "energy-only" bill (which, in its current form, is basically a grab bag of subsidies that wouldn't actually accomplish all that much).

Reid is waiting to see how a couple different things unfold. First, he wants the White House to get actively involved—the way Obama helped salvage a deal at Copenhagen or stepped in during the intra-party skirmishes over the Waxman-Markey climate bill in the House. But so far, the administration has stayed aloof. (That's not too mysterious: According to Eric Pooley's excellent book The Climate War, Rahm Emanuel was extremely skeptical of having the House pass a climate bill, deeming it a political loser.) True, a few officials here and there have tried to make the link between the Gulf spill and energy reform, but the president certainly hasn't been pounding on that connection publicly, and he's done little more than voice perfunctory support for the climate bill.

Lately, a handful of frustrated green groups have begun running ads imploring Obama to get in the game. But this quote from ClimateWire pretty much sums up the state of affairs:

"The silence from the White House is deafening," said a former Clinton-era White House aide. "Clearly without a White House push there does not seem to be adequate political momentum."

The second thing Reid wants is a Republican ally who can help corral a few votes on the other side of the aisle. That point-person used to be Lindsey Graham, until Graham got in a tiff with Reid over immigration and bowed out of the whole process. Will he come back? That seems increasingly unlikely. Here's the latest from the South Carolina Republican:

Since leaving the Kerry-Lieberman talks, Graham has added to his list of demands for what needs to happen before he returns to the bargaining table. Now, Graham says he also wants a resolution to the uncertainty surrounding the month-old Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

"I know we need to enhance on- and offshore drilling, to make us more energy independent, but I'm not willing to say let's go forward boldly now until I find out what happened," he said. ...

Why The Climate Bill Is Stuck In Neutral（1）

 

Graham also said he could vote for a Senate energy and climate bill, but he must see offshore drilling provisions he originally negotiated with Kerry and Lieberman added back into the bill. At issue is language stripped out at the behest of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) that would maintain a 2006 law to keep rigs 125 to 235 miles off Florida's Gulf coast.

It's quite unclear what sort of clarity Graham needs before he's willing to work on an energy bill, but this is vague enough that he's essentially giving himself an all-purpose out—after all, this Gulf Coast mess is going to linger on indefinitely. And his second new demand looks like a deal-breaker. Opening up Florida's coast for further drilling would undoubtedly cause Florida's Bill Nelson to filibuster the bill. So unless Graham can haul in a slew of additional supporters for a climate bill (and he hasn't been able to so far), you'd just be swapping Graham's vote for Nelson's and getting nowhere.

Are there any other potential Republicans backers? Samuelsohn quotes Georgia's Johnny Isakson as saying he's intrigued by the fact that the Kerry-Lieberman bill would lead to a huge expansion of nuclear power (at least according to the Peterson Institute study I discussed yesterday). Isakson claims he'll keep an open mind until he reads the bill. But how likely is that? And, meanwhile, Kerry and Lieberman are reaching out to Olympia Snowe, Scott Brown, Judd Gregg, and Florida's George Lemieux, but nothing's come of those talks yet, either.

So, yes, there's still a slim chance that a big climate bill can pass this year. But something needs to change. Maybe the White House decides to make a full-court press. Maybe some of those Republicans who always claim to care about global warming (Snowe, Collins, Gregg) decide they actually want to do something meaningful about it. Or maybe after the EPA models the bill—and that will be done sometime in mid-June—the results will be so eye-catching that senators take a second look. But until there's some dramatic outside shock, the bill's stuck in neutral.

World Cup 2010: Radomir Antic punished for ref outburst

Serbia coach Radomir Antic has been given a four-match ban for dissent during his side’s World Cup last-16 defeat by Australia.

Antic was angry that referee Jorge Larrionda denied Serbia a penalty late on in his side’s 2-1 loss when the ball appeared to hit Tim Cahill’s hand.

On top of the ban, 61-year-old Ancic was fined 14,000 Swiss francs (£8,755).

The Serbian football federation issued a statement criticising the decision and stating its intention to appeal.

"The FSS is surprised by the harshness of this measure and will use all judicial measures to complain to [world football’s governing body] Fifa," the statement added.

Serbia beat Germany in group stage but failed to qualify for the last 16 after losing to Ghana and Australia.