You should be reading Juan Cole's blog

Juan Cole is one of those brilliant, brilliant writers, full of facts and insight, and having a really bright moral center. At his blog, Informed Consent, he writes about current events, history, and everything connected, with special reference to the Middle East, but ranging all over.

He is also translating Omar Khayyam, a verse at a time, and it's heartbreakingly beautiful, much more beautiful than the traditional translation.