Khan's Castle

I stumbled across a couple musicians that, although I've only heard a tune or two by them, they're enough off the beaten path to be interesting. The link between the two is that they've both been guest artists on tour with Jethro Tull in the last couple years. Tinkara Kovac is a Slovenian flautist and singer. She plays a nice duet with Ian Anderson. It was nice to hear another flute player working in the pop/rock genre after all these years of Ian being the only one. Anna Phoebe is a violinist that plays a custom built six-string violin.

On Iraq, from the conservative side, Hanson has some thoughts about withdrawal.

I'm trying to read a little more on the liberal side of late and really have enjoyed a few columns at The New Republic. Sometimes the liberal view doesn't make too much sense to me in certain arenas, but I do enjoy a good writer's thoughtful analysis.