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I had to do some research for this piece and will link to some of it.

First the instruments, The Shakuhachi or Japanese flute, the string instrument accompanying the woman vocalist is the Shamisen

The performers are Teruhisa FUKUDA on shakuhachi and his wife Kineya SHIHO on shamisen and vocals.

An explanation of the music in the first video from the comment section:

The flute Mr. Fukuda is playing is a 1.8 shakuhachi, pitch of D with all holes closed. The first piece he plays is Shika no Tone (Distant Cry of Deer), a traditional Zen piece from the Kinko school. This piece is often played by two shakuhachi placed far apart on the stage, or even different parts of the hall, to emulate the sound of deer in the forest. The second piece (after the excellent Jiuta piece by his wife) is a modern piece written for shakuhachi in 1996 by Kaneta.

This is a very different style of music from any European derived music, simple sounding but complex and beautiful.

Enjoy, Jack

Attribution: Andy Marlette

Something wicked this way imports…

Trail Mix Live sits down with Tulane’s own Prof. Peter Ricchiuti — finance guru, market whisperer, and the man who makes economics sound almost fun — to unmask the monsters behind tariffs and trade wars.

Some questions for our chat guest professor. Add yours in comments and I’ll read them to him.

The Tariff Debate: We Got Questions

1. So who’s actually getting screwed here
2. Tariffs and inflation — are we basically setting our wallets on fire?
3. Do companies actually move, or just pretend to?
4. Is this economics or foreplay for foreign policy?
5. How do we even know if this mess works?

Bring your questions or your takes.
🕑 Friday | 2 PM ET
💬 Join the chat at https://trailmix.cc/chat

📺 Watch live on YouTube:

🎩 Topics on the slab:
• How tariffs haunt supply chains long after politicians move on
• What happens when “trade policy” becomes “scare policy”
• The real-world costs creeping into your daily life
• Why markets sometimes fear politicians more than recessions

Bring your candy and curiosity — we’ll be live dissecting the global economy, one spooky spreadsheet at a time.

But what will the judge do about it?
Federal judge warns Trump’s DOJ they could be in contempt after admitting defiance of restraining order in the Portland troop case.

Full analysis + filings:
📰Democracy Docket: DOJ Walks Back Key Evidence In Defense of Trump’s Portland Deployment 
📄 Oregon Public Broadcasting: National Guard troops briefly deployed to Portland despite judge’s order, federal trial reveals
📄 Reuters: Portland police say Trump’s troop deployment inflamed protests

BREAKING: Trump’s Portland troop plan just hit a Ninth Circuit wall — and this time, the whole court’s showing up.

*** Our Chat Room Tropic 10am ET — https://trailmix.cc/chat ***

In a stunning move Tuesday night, a majority of 29 active judges on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to reopen the Oregon National Guard case for full review. That wipes out a smaller panel’s earlier ruling in Trump’s favor — and keeps his order to federalize Oregon’s Guard on ice.

READ MORE: The Oregonian (gift link)

At issue: whether a president can seize control of state Guard units and deploy them domestically without a governor’s consent. Trump claimed he could do so to “restore order” in Portland and protect a federal immigration facility. Oregon’s governor called that an abuse of power and won a lower-court order blocking it.

Now the biggest appeals court in the country is stepping in — all 29 judges, signaling the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Their decision to rehear the case “en banc” freezes any troop movement and sets up a constitutional showdown over state sovereignty and presidential reach.

Bottom line: Trump’s Guard plan isn’t marching anywhere. The Ninth Circuit just turned a legal skirmish into a full-blown war over who commands America’s citizen soldiers.

Trail Mix Live “National Guard Files” playlist: