Circumstances well beyond my influence have dictated that the Athens bar we know as Repent will change hands very soon. Tuesday 11 September turned out to be the last of my weekly karaoke there, for Saturday 15 September will supposedly be the venue's last night as the Repent incarnation.

I have enjoyed my karaoke hosting very much this summer. I hate to see such a friendly place vacate so abruptly but I greatly appreciate the time I had there. The people who made the scene what it was will mostly remain in town, of course, so the kindred will enjoy many more happy times in the future, however they transpire.

Meanwhile, I am a free agent for karaoke hosting, available for parties, weddings and any other special events deemed worthy of my services. I will be happy to receive notes of interest here at my band account.

Again, I thank everyone who contributed to this brief but very enjoyable chapter of my townie life. I look forward to making new memories with you all.

Jon

Osama has an adult son who married Zawahiri's daughter a few years ago. I suspect the son's voice is close enough to Osama's to pass voice analysis and that his is probably the one we've heard in recent years. Indeed, have we ever had a good voice sample to compare new recordings with? I can't substantiate that beyond a suspicion but it's interesting that as time goes by, the media-savvy al-Qaeda's recordings have grown progressively worse in quality.