The Kirby tradition...

Warren Ellis today tells a wonderful story about Jack Kirby that he got from Mark Evanier:

Kirby liked to innovate, not follow. His attitude was best summed up a few years later when he read that some new artist would be taking over on Captain America and hoped "to do it in the Kirby tradition."

Said Jack, "This kid doesn’t get it. The Kirby tradition is to create a new comic."

I wish more people in creative businesses understood the importance of originality.

Walking behind Parliament Hill...

Walking with Lisa at lunchtime has always been a wonderful thing to do. Today, I met her at her office downtown, and she took me on a path I hadn't discovered before, behind Parliament Hill.

1. ( We had to go down a lot of stairs. )
   
   
   
2. ( Halfway down... )
   
   
   
3. ( On a peninsula jutting into the River by Portage Bridge, we saw this little guy. )
   
   
   
4. ( Near the bridge, we puzzled over these things. )
   
   
   
5. ( At the tip of the peninsula, was a plaque proclaiming this the beginning of the Rideau Trail. )
   
   
   
6. ( From that spot on the tip of the peninsula, there was a picture-postcard view of Ottawa. )