Revenge Of The Ghost Of Anne Boleyn

She's right behind you! Severed head and all! And she's got a machete and a rusted spoon! 

Don't look! Just run for your lives!

I know. I'm silly. This surly looking Jack O'Lantern is in Old Ottawa South. Happy Hallowe'en!

Playing Games In The Nest

I have some action shots for you today. The Raven's Nest is the name for the largest gym in the athletics complex at Carleton University, so named for the sports teams, the Ravens. The men's basketball team here is the best in the country, having had won almost all of the championship titles since 2002. Games in here tend to be well attended, and the team performs at the top of their game.

In August, a number of American college teams came up for some inter-league play, including the Hoosiers. It was mentioned in some of the papers that people drove up from Indiana for the occasion, since the games there are sold out long in advance, and this was a chance to see the team they root for in person.

A reminder to members of City Daily Photo: the theme for November is Landmarks.

A Tribute To Animals

In Confederation Park is the newest military monument in the city, one that I've shown on a previous occasion, but not the plaques. It's dedicated to animals that served with soldiers through various conflicts. The plaques tell the story, with vivid work done on the bronzework to illustrate their role. Each plaque is set on old stone, which seems appropriate.

The three plaques are accompanied at the monument by this statue of a working dog, which I have shown before, but which seems right to feature again. The monument in the background is the oldest in the park, commemorating veterans of the South African War. Having both side by side is fitting.

Going Up The Steps

A few days back I showed you the York Steps. Here they are again at late in the afternoon, during a day with different sky conditions.

Stealing Lollipops

"Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects." ~ Lester Pearson

"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad name." ~ Henry Kissinger

"Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake." ~ Nelson Mandela

"Listen, I'm a politician, which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops." ~ Jeffrey Pelt, The Hunt For Red October

Today is the day across Ontario for municipal elections, with mayors, councilors, and school board trustees all running for office. I thought this spring archive shot of the Heritage Building at City Hall would do nicely. I  have already voted in an advance poll. Our mayor is almost certain to win re-election; his only two serious opponents leave much to be desired in actual ideas and competence. While I disagree with his cheerleading of the Lansdowne Park project and think he's far too fond of photo ops, those are the only issues I have with him. Otherwise, he's bland but does reasonably well. With the events of last week, he came across as calm and steady (imagine the current mayor of Toronto in the same situation had it happened there).

Speaking of which, to my readers in Toronto: I hope your city does the country a favour and turfs out all three members of that reprehensible family of drunken hillbillies running for office. Yes, I mean Rob, Doug, and Michael Ford. Enough is enough of the Ford circus in whatever combination. And check out my election day prediction over at my writer's blog.

For those of you who might not have seen these the first time around, the parody bobbleheads are still more accurate than Rob Ford's official version.

Muskoka Chairs

Each summer these Muskoka chairs (Adirondacks to you Yankees) are set out in this area alongside Plaza Bridge. It's a nice place to relax, with the Government Conference Centre in the background. This is right across Elgin Street from the War Memorial.

This is more of an autumn shot, one of several I took about a year ago, but from a short walk away on Plaza Bridge, looking south along the Rideau Canal to the Laurier Avenue Bridge. The water in the Canal is already lower than the summer season.

In Memory

After my post the other day, an editorial cartoon turned up in the Chronicle Herald out of Halifax. Bruce MacKinnon is one of two such artists at that newspaper, a man whose work I've enjoyed for years, and who has won numerous awards for his cartoons. He captured the events in Ottawa on Wednesday in just the right way, linking the fallen Corporal Cirillo to the War Memorial. This cartoon caught attention both here and abroad and has gone viral. I think it's the best of his career thus far, and it is a powerful yet comforting work of art. You can also view it here at the newspaper website, and bookmark that link as a future reference if you enjoy his style. In addition, this link is for an article on the national and international reaction to Bruce's work, and is well worth the read. Reprints of the work are being made available from the Chronicle Herald, with a portion of the proceeds going to Nathan Cirillo's family.

Pure Red

Thank you all for your kind remarks in yesterday's post.

This tree on a quiet street in the Glebe can always be counted on to put on a good autumn display.

Gunshots

Yesterday, a corporal named Nathan Cirillo lost his life while on duty. And it wasn't overseas on hazardous duties. It was here, as an honour guard at the War Memorial. It is a tradition for several years now to post sentries during the summer at the foot of the Memorial; they're on duty for an hour and relieved. There's a distinct ceremony to each change in shift, and I'd meant to photograph it. It should have been just another day, but a gunman shot the corporal there at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier.

National War Memorial

There are still plenty of questions at this point in time. Was he acting alone or were there others? How did he get from the Memorial up into Centre Block armed? Unconfirmed reports circulated here through the day, people speaking with strangers to see what they knew. We do know that this particular gunman met his end in the Hall of Honour. Members of Parliament were in nearby rooms at the time, having caucus meetings. More than anyone else, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons, a former Mountie named Kevin Vickers stopped him, shooting him down in this corridor. Many of our politicians and their staff literally owe him their lives.

Hall Of Honour, Parliament Hill

I was downtown at the time at an appointment, a few blocks away. Little did any of us know how radically the day would change. Buildings were evacuated, appointments interrupted, shops closed down, office towers and schools placed on lockdown. Buses and cars were re-routed, and a police line established in the core. There was an eerie quiet downtown- I've never heard it that quiet- and a tension on the faces of others, a sense of uneasiness. 

As I write this in the evening, I'm still feeling uneasy. I'm also feeling angry that someone has turned these places into crime scenes, into places of violence. Particularly with the Memorial, which I consider hallowed ground. A young man in the prime of his life is gone, just like that, killed by a coward. What his family must be going through...

It's been a difficult day. I think I'll leave off with two editorial cartoonists whose work, of what I've seen thus far, seem to be the most effective. Brian Gable works for The Globe And Mail, while Graeme Mackay draws for the Hamilton Spectator.

In Pursuit

I have photographed these statues before, but it doesn't hurt to take shots from time to time of a favourite subject. The work depicts a First Nations hunter on the lower side, a row of vegetation separating him from his prey, a deer on the far side. The pair are set outside an office building a couple of blocks south of Parliament Hill, meant to be taken in together, though you can only glimpse them at the same time now in winter, as the vegetation grows throughout spring into the fall.