Man shot dead by police in London

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that, this morning, they shot dead a man at Stockwell underground station.

Link

Explosions in London

Four explosions have gone off on the London transport network. This is two weeks exactly after 56 people were killed in the capital.

The BBC is reporting that these explosions are significantly smaller, as are the reported number of casualties. There are reports that devices did not work as planned.

The news is on the TV now but nothing has yet been published online.

Carny lingo

Welcometothefair have listed a pretty comprehensive glossary of the language carnies use.

"BABY NEEDS MILK - When carnies see another carny flirting with the townies, they will often go by and say this just to mess up their buddies 'score'.

FAIRBANK - When the agent cheats himself to get the player to bet higher and higher sums.

HANKY-PANK - In the old days it meant a game where a you win a prize everytime. Now it is usually used to apply to any straight game."

Link

Another explosion in London

A bus has just exploded in Tavistock Square.

This incident, along with the explosions this morning on the Circle and Piccadilly lines haven't yet been confirmed as terrorist attacks but I don't see how this can be anything other than a coordinated attack on the city.

This is eerie, weird and fucking scary.

London explosions

Three explosions have occured on the London underground.

It's unclear whether anyone is hurt at this stage.

I hope everyone is okay.

Album Review: Illinois

With two years passed and just two states down, Sufjan Stevens should expect to conclude his 50 States project sometime around 2099. Whether he manages to finish the project or not is largely irrelevant because, like Michigan before it, Illinois is, in both theory and practise, a staggeringly huge collection of American artistry.

Weighing in at a hefty seventy-four minutes and with a selection of song titles that would double as mini-essays, the album - which Stevens recorded, produced and engineered entirely on his own - requires no small amount of patience. And, at first listen, Illinois does sound remarkably similar to its predecessor, his hometown tribute, Michigan. However, with repeated listening, the nuances of Stevens’ approach are revealed.

Stunningly arranged instrumental tracks like To The Workers and The Predatory Wasp mix with brilliantly written descriptive pieces like Casimir Pulaski Day and Decatur, which in turn sit beside the rousing singalongs, Chicago and The Tallest Man.

It’s all but inconceivable that the next forty eight albums will be this good, but with a talent like Stevens, you never know.